ESPN

To say the Flower Mound softball team had a rough week would be a terrible understatement.

The team thought it had Saturday's one-game Class 5A regional quarterfinal against Plano East in the bag on a walk-off hit that scored a runner from second base in the bottom of the seventh.

The play appeared to end when the runner slid past a tag from the Plano East catcher, eliciting a safe signal from the home plate umpire.

But the runner was tagged during the Flower Mound celebration and was called out for not touching home plate.

The controversy boiled down to a small difference in rules between softball and baseball as mandated by the National High School Federation.

Rule 2, section 1, article 9 of the NHSF rule book states: “If a runner misses home plate and the catcher misses the tag, the umpire should hesitate slightly. If no tag is made, the umpire should declare the runner safe. If an appeal play is then made by tagging either the runner or home plate, the umpire should then make a decision on this appeal play.”

In baseball, umpires are instructed to hold position and refrain from making any call if no tag is made on a play and the runner misses the plate.

“The intention of the rule was probably meant to be good but in this situation it was not,” Flower Mound coach Mark Larriba said.

Flower Mound failed to plate any more runners in the seventh and could not come from behind in the eighth after Plano East took a 3-2 lead, ending the Lady Jaguars’ season in a crushing fashion.

And it came while the team was already dealing with tragedy.

Earlier in the week, Flower Mound catcher Christy Lisenby's father died in a car accident. The team did not practice Wednesday and had a memorial service to attend after the Saturday's game.

“There was a lot of emotion going around and then to have that happen,” Larriba said. “It was difficult to tell the girls the right thing. We realized softball is like life – it’s not fair. Sometimes things go against you but how you react to adversity is what coaches teach you and we really had to apply that.”

Larriba said he has no hard feelings toward the umpire, whom he said was trying to do his job to the best of his abilities, and wished Plano East the best of luck in their journey deeper in to the playoffs.

He just chalks it up to the human element to the game – which includes those who write the rules.

“The lesson is that people make mistakes. If we never forgave people for making mistakes, the world would be a hateful place,” Larriba said.

At least one area team destined for Austin

All that remain in the Class 4A Region II bracket are four strong teams from the Metroplex, meaning one will earn a bid to the state tournament in Austin.

Defending state finalist Forney returns to the regional semifinal to face a hot Rockwall squad that has yet to face much of a challenge in its playoff run. The first two games will be held at Forney on Thursday and Rockwall on Friday, with a rubber match Saturday at Plano West if necessary.

The winner of that series has either Frisco Wakeland or Ennis to look forward to in the region final.

Wakeland has been impressive, outscoring opponents 53-2 through four games in the first three rounds of play.

In 4A Region I, Birdville is the only area team still alive.

Hebron ousts Plano in regional quarterfinal

Plano will not make a return trip to Austin after falling to Hebron 4-2 in a one-game Class 5A regional quarterfinal Saturday.

That leaves just Plano East and Hebron representing the area in the 5A bracket, both in Region I. Plano East faces Lubbock Coronado and Hebron takes on El Paso Americas in the regional semis this weekend.

Three area athletes are among those highlighted in the ESPNHS NEXT feature, which spotlights players destined for greatness.

Aledo running back Johnathan Gray, who is headed for Texas, is on the list. So are Seth Jones and Kellyn Acosta of Plano.

Here's what ESPNHS has to say about these future stars:

Kellyn Acosta, soccer
Acosta is part of the next generation for U.S. soccer. The athletic defender from Plano, Texas, is rated as the nation's top player in the Class of 2013, and he has already proved he can produce on the biggest stages. Acosta made the U.S. U-17 men's national team last season and worked his way into the starting lineup for the Under-17 World Cup in Mexico, and it may only be a matter of time before he's starring for the men's national team at the 2018 World Cup. Or maybe even 2014 …

Johnathan Gray, football
Texas Longhorns fans are getting antsy. A 13-12 record over the past two years for a team used to greatness will do that. But there is a silver -- or should we say Gray? -- lining to all this. The down years didn't scare off Gray, the record-setting running back from Aledo (Aledo, Texas). The No. 2 player in the 2012 ESPN 150, Gray became the nation's all-time leader in touchdowns scored with 205. Expect him to be Texas' most dynamic playmaker since Vince Young. Can a trip back to a BCS bowl be far behind?

Seth Jones, ice hockey
Jones is built like a basketball player (6-foot-3) -- his dad, after all, is former NBA stalwart Popeye Jones. But Seth prefers to do work on the ice. A member of Team USA's Under-18 Worlds squad and one of North America's top prospects, Jones decided last week to bypass college and play for the Portland Winterhawks of the Western Hockey League. In 2013, the two-way defenseman could potentially be selected first overall in the NHL draft. The 17-year-old from Plano, Texas, might be raising the Stanley Cup before long.

Plano senior midfielder Tony Santibanez was named the 2011-12 Gatorade Texas Boys Soccer Player of the Year on Tuesday.

Santibanez becomes a finalist for the Gatorade National Boys Soccer Player of the Year award to be announced in later this month.

The District 8-5A MVP scored 11 goals and had nine assists for the Wildcats, who reached the Class 5A Region 1 semifinals this season.

“Tony always had an impact on the game,” Monte Pace, coach of rival Hebron, said in a news release announcing the award. “He was good on possession, able to attack with great speed and was a good finisher. He was a player that you always had to account for. Even then, you could only hope to contain and slow him down. You could never truly stop him.”

Santibanez, who is signed to play at Furman University, is the third Plano player to win the state award, joining Corben Bone (2006-07) and Dillon Powers (2008-09).

Rockwall and McKinney faced off twice this softball season in District 10-4A play, with district champion Rockwall winning both times, 3-1 and 8-2.

Just because district play is over doesn’t mean these two are done battling.

Rockwall and McKinney are slated to square off again in the regional quarterfinals of the 2012 UIL softball state playoffs in a best-of-three series at Allen High School.

Rockwall rides a high into the regional quarterfinal after knocking of Frisco Centennial decisively in the bi-district round. Centennial eliminated the Yellowjackets last year in the regional semifinals, Rockwall’s deepest trip into the playoffs under head coach Shadie Acosta.

Rockwall did not return the veteran experience it had last season but has peaked at the right time, taking a few lumps throughout the regular season to prepare for the challenging grind of the playoffs.

“You’re going to have some rough times in the beginning if you have a young team and you have to build that chemistry,” Acosta said. “I think we decided that we were going to make this work. We’ve had many opportunities this season to touch on those things and how important it is to have that common respect for each other on and off the field and how your work ethic will always pay off.”

Two of the highs in Rockwall’s roller-coaster season were wins over McKinney.

While the second score was lopsided in Rockwall’s favor, McKinney proved it could play with the Yellowjackets in the first matchup, leading 1-0 through the sixth inning before Rockwall mounted a three-run rally.

“They have a great pitcher and a few good players so we know that they’re not going to roll over for us," Acosta said. "They are our district rival and one of the better teams in our district so we’re always excited to face off against them.”

Plano and Plano East destined for playoff duel

Over the past two years, high school football fans have dubbed Allen-Euless Trinity playoff matchups as the biggest must-see games this side of the state championship.

In high school softball, the matchup of that caliber is looming just two rounds away.

Plano and Plano East share a district and placement in the ESPNHS Fab 50, with East coming in highest at No. 11.

Plano East took the season series and in turn claimed the district title over second-place Plano.

Before that matchup can happen, the two Plano schools will have to face their most challenging opponents to date in the regional quarterfinals.

Plano East will face the third-place finisher from its district, Flower Mound, in the regional quarterfinals this weekend.

In an interesting twist, Flower Mound handed Plano East its only two district losses of the season.

Plano faces Hebron, which finished fourth in District 8-5A but knocked off District 7-5A champion Keller and 6-5A runner-up Hurst L.D. Bell in the first two rounds of the playoffs.

Plano went the distance in its three-game area-round series before dispatching Mansfield Legacy, making nothing certain against a hot Hebron squad.

A year has passed, but not much has changed in the North Texas softball landscape.

Plano again enters the playoffs highly ranked nationally and a favorite to return to Austin to contend for a 5A state title. For its players, Friday’s bi-district opener against Denton Guyer couldn’t come any sooner after last season’s loss in the state semifinals.

“They’re so excited to finally get to the playoffs after such a hard district, finally getting to the playoff part,” Plano coach Cynthia Zea said.

The opening rounds of the playoffs could easily be thought as a brief reprieve from the gauntlet the team faced through district play, which included the area’s other highly ranked team, Plano East.

Plano didn’t run away with a district title this season as it did in 2011. It fell twice to Plano East, surrendering the championship to their cross-town rivals by heads-up tiebreaker. All but two of their District 8-5A competitors finished above .500.

However, there will be little time for Plano to catch its breath, with one of the toughest roads to state ahead of them. Denton Guyer finished third in District 7-5A behind strong competitors Keller and Keller Central.

If Plano pushes on to the area round, it could face ESPN Fab 50 No. 35 Mansfield Legacy, then Fab 50 honorable mention Keller in the third round.

“Our region, the North Texas region, in the last three or four years has really stepped up our game,” Zea said. “It used to be just he Houstons and the Austins. Now, I think softball is so strong that definitely someone from our region is going to Austin to represent us well. We just hope it’s us.”

Plano East has a slightly easier path through the introductory rounds of the playoffs, with District 7-5A runner-up Keller Central not an option until the third round.

In 4A, District 9-4A champion Frisco Wakeland could be a serious threat to make a long district run through a majority of Dallas ISD schools, with third-place finisher Frisco as a challenge in the third round. Wakeland took the season series from Frisco, winning 11-6 and 12-0.

Regardless of the district, what every coach has to deal with is a new set of challenges presented from teams across the state.

“They present a whole different set of challenges, but our girls just have to get up there hit the ball and play good defense and we’ll be fine,” Zea said.

Ashley Lindsey took the circle in Dallas Woodrow Wilson’s first-fast pitch softball game in the late '90s and led her school into a whole new era of Dallas ISD girls sports.

More than a dozen years later, and under her married name, Ashley Palavicini returns to Woodrow’s newly renovated home field at Randall Park as much as she can to pitch batting practice and fine-tune the technique of the team’s pitching staff, providing a softball fix she lost since she finished playing at Stephen F. Austin University.

Just as valuable as her knowledge of drop balls and risers is her experience building up a program.

“It’s been an awesome experience to see how much public school fast-pitch softball has grown and to see the team that Coach [Joe] Sawyer has put together," she said. "I was blown away.”

For the first time, Woodrow had an amazing 50-girl turnout for tryouts this season, allowing Sawyer to be more selective in his first year at Woodrow than the coaches who came before him.

That created a dedicated group of girls who have put together an 8-3 record in District 12-4A, putting the Wildcats in the hunt for a quality playoff seed.

Just as Palavicini helped build Woodrow's early softball program, freshman catcher Nina Hernandez is keying the team's resurgence.

Hernandez has a staggering .793 batting average with six inside-the-park home runs while managing Woodrow’s pitching staff from behind the plate.

“Nina could play anything,” Sawyer said. “I told her mom the other day that I wished she was my son because that’s how good she is.”

Woodrow outscored its last two opponents, Thomas Jefferson and Dallas Lincoln, by a 53-8 total.

“We have a sense of urgency towards playing hard in every at bat and every play, so it’s good that we can put this many runs on these teams.” Hernandez said.

Last undefeated team falls

No area teams remain undefeated in 2012 after Lake Highlands took its first loss to District 9-5A rival Richardson Berkner 5-3 last week.

Lake Highlands had taken the first game from the Lady Rams 10-1 earlier in district play.

The Berkner win ties the Rams with Lake Highlands for the top district seed at 10-1 with one game to play in the season.

Plano East pulls even with Plano

Plano East took the second district matchup against rival Plano on Tuesday in an 8-7 thriller, leaving the teams tied for No. 1 seed in District 8-5A.

The two highest ranked Metroplex teams in the ESPN Fab 50 poll both have one game left to play in district to attempt to sort out playoff seeding.

Plano East faces last-place Lewisville on Friday at 7:30, and Plano has sixth-place Plano West on Friday at 7 p.m.

Not much was guaranteed to Dallas Jesuit head coach Charles DeLong before the 2012 season.

Two seasons removed from a 5A state title, he faced the dread of losing some of his players to Academy soccer and then, at times, had to put five sophomores on the field.

Looking back, it worked out pretty well for DeLong.

He tallied his 500^th career win in district play, separating him as a Dallas coaching legend. Those five sophomores held their own, along with the majority of veteran players returning from last season, to put Jesuit back in the regional tournament this weekend.

Working on Jesuit’s side is decent continuity from the previous two years, but that doesn’t grant DeLong any more confidence in a return to the state tournament with the parity that exists now that Academy players no longer play.

“I’m not downplaying anybody, but I don’t think there is a super-powerhouse team,” DeLong said. “I think every team out there, on any given day, could beat each other.”

Jesuit is the lone area team playing in the 5A Region II tournament at Round Rock’s Kelly Reeves Athletic Complex, paired against The Woodlands in Friday’s semifinal match. The winner of that game will play either Midland Lee or Austin Westlake in the region final.

Two teams represent the area in the Region I tournament -- Plano and Mansfield. Plano’s chance at a berth in the state tournament last season was crushed by Southlake Carroll, who would go on to claim the 5A title.

Mansfield was also knocked out by Carroll in the area round of the playoffs last season and has not advanced past the area round since 2007.

GIRLS

Plano West began its 2010-2011 campaign as the top team nationally out of the DFW area.

That momentum slowed through district play and came to a screeching halt when West saw its season end in bi-district to Coppell.

This year, West enters the regional tournament as one of the most battle-tested teams in the state, surviving playoff matches against nationally ranked Grapevine and Flower Mound.

West’s path to Georgetown in 2012 must go through El Paso Montwood in the regional semifinals. West would then face the winner of Arlington and Flower Mound Marcus.

Marcus is the highest nationally ranked team still alive in the playoffs, sitting at No. 3 in the Week 19 poll, but West isn’t too far behind at No. 6.

The only area team in the Region II tournament is Sachse, who has gradually improved its playoff run every season since 2008-2009 and would continue the trend with a regional semifinal win over Georgetown on Friday.

Coming off a softball state tournament appearance in 2010 and 2011’s regional quarterfinal team, Hebron senior pitcher Heather Stearns surprisingly had to step her game up.

She is one of the few remaining leaders from 2010’s state semifinal team and one of the few returning from last season as Hebron (19-9, 5-6) graduated seven seniors in 2011. Since the offseason, Stearns has felt the pressure to carry 2012’s young team on her shoulders from inside the circle.

“She’s really had to hold her own this year.” Hebron coach Staci Jackson said. “She’s really had to show a lot of leadership and she most definitely has. She worked extremely hard over the offseason to really try and get stronger and hold her stamina up because she knows over the past two years during our playoff and state runs – it takes a toll on her.”

In turn, her diligence in the weight room has not only helped her longevity in the circle, separating herself again as one of the area’s leaders in strikeouts with 188, but it’s put her at the top of the home run charts in the Metroplex with 12.

“I think her time is still coming,” Jackson said. “We’ve got three games left in district which are huge and I think her time is coming offensively.”

Hebron heads into potentially its most important game of the season Friday against Plano West, which sits just behind Hebron in fifth place with a 4-7 District 8-5A record with three games to play.

District 8-5A continues to dominate area softball

The distance between No. 3 and No. 30 in the ESPN Fab 50 national polls is approximately 7 miles.

Last year’s state semifinalist Plano continues its domination in 2012 with a 23-3 season record and a 10-1 district record, but the Wildcats are in No. 3 Plano East’s rearview mirror in both the district standings and the Fab 50.

Plano East pitcher Holly Kern has held her own in the circle, putting up a 1.77 ERA, but has had plenty of offensive support from nine players hitting above .300.

The Panthers (26-2, 10-1) took the first game against Plano 8-1, but the Wildcats still have a chance for revenge April 17 in the second-to-last game of the season for both teams.

Also in the Week 6 Fab 50 poll from the area is Mansfield Legacy at No. 42.

Since District 8-5A’s conception two years ago, many considered it one of the strongest and deepest football districts in the state.

With realignment looming in February, Flower Mound Marcus and Allen losing this weekend marked the end of the perceived super-district.

UIL PLAYOFFS
STAFF PICKS Bi-district »   Area round » Region semis »   Region finals » State semis »   Finals »   Totals » STATE BRACKETS Class 5A: Div. I | Div. II Class 4A: Div. I | Div. II REGION BRACKETS 5A Division I: Reg. 1 | Reg. 2 5A Division II: Reg. 1 | Reg. 2 4A Division I: Reg. 1 | Reg. 2 4A Division II: Reg. 1 | Reg. 2

While the 8-5A performed well in nondistrict play during the regular season, its playoff record didn’t live up to the hype.

Consider these numbers:

-- 8-5A went an incredible 38-10 in nondistrict regular-season play;

-- 8-5A went just 3-8 in the playoffs;

-- 8-5A went 3-5 against District 7-5A, its bi-district rival;

-- No 8-5A team went beyond the area round, and only three teams made it to area – both Allen teams and 2011 Marcus.

Like with any statistic, these numbers come with caveats.

It’s hard to say how good the two Allen teams were because they got very unfortunate area-round draws against Euless Trinity. With a better draw, Allen might have improved 8-5A’s overall playoff record.

The same can be said of playing 7-5A in bi-district. If 8-5A had been number 9 or 10 instead of 8 and played a weaker district in the first round, it might have been a very different story.

However, the final results don’t refute two facets of 8-5A – parity and depth. Only two teams didn’t make the playoffs in the district’s two-year history (Plano West and Lewisville), and playoff-worthy teams got left out of the postseason both years because of tiebreakers (Hebron in 2010, Plano West in 2011).

And for evidence of parity within the district, one only had to watch a game. District 8-5A play produced some of the year’s best regular-season games of the season, and the average margin of victory for 8-5A playoff teams against other 8-5A playoff teams was less than a touchdown.

CARROLLTON, Texas – After playing four nail-biters this season, it looked like Hebron would finally get to rest easy in the fourth quarter against Plano on Friday.

The problem is, the Hawks did.

Nursing a 21-point lead, Hebron relaxed and Plano took advantage, giving the Hawks a scare by scoring on back-to-back drives.

But the Hawks survived by running out the clock on their final drive to escape with a 31-24 win at Hawk Stadium.

"We were relaxing," said Hebron quarterback Joseph Farley. "We made mental mistakes, penalties, big penalties. Sometimes that happens but we fought through it."

Hebron (4-1, 2-0 in 8-5A) and Plano (3-2, 0-2) seem headed in different directions following their game Friday. Hebron has won four straight behind its strong defense, including two wins in 8-5A play over teams it will likely have to beat out for a playoff spot.

Plano, however, hasn't measured up to the elite competition in its district and is now stuck in an 0-2 hole. Missing the playoffs entirely isn't out of the question.

Plano made it a point to keep Hebron from running the ball with its defensive alignments, so the Hawks turned to their passing game.

Farley had his best game of the year, going 19-for-24 for 290 yards and three total touchdowns.

"We took what was there," Hebron coach Brian Brazil said. "We're going to take what they give us. That's the whole idea of the no-huddle offense."

But it was a 99-yard kickoff return for a touchdown by Jamal Adams to open the second half that allowed Hebron to start pulling away. The score gave the Hawks a 21-7 lead.

Following a Plano field goal, Farley hit a wide-open Brandon Grant for a 74-yard touchdown, and the Hawks opened the fourth quarter with a field goal to extend its lead to 31-10.

That's when the Hawks thought they had it won.

Plano responded with an 80-yard scoring drive where the Wildcats finally found some offense. Following a Hebron three-and-out, Plano running back Rakeem Crawford scored on a dazzling 34-yard run to put Plano within a touchdown with just under five minutes remaining.

Hebron didn't give Plano a chance to score the equalizer. The Hawks sealed the win by converting a third down with two minutes left on a shuffle pass to Dezmond Wortham, a play they'd stung Plano with all game long.

"We lost our sense of urgency," Brazil said. "Plano's kids just kept battling. We were real fortunate to be able to run out the clock on that last drive."

PLANO (3-1, 0-1) at HEBRON (3-1, 1-0)
7:30 p.m. Friday at Hawk Stadium

When we saw them last: After going undefeated in nondistrict play, Plano got a humbling reminder of what life is like in 8-5A as Allen pounded the Wildcats, 44-7, in a game that may have actually been more lopsided than the score indicated. Hebron turned in one of the best defensive performances of the year against Flower Mound last week, holding the Jaguars to their lowest point output since 2008 in a 21-15 win.

2010 result: Plano shutdown Hebron’s explosive offense and put up 16 points in the fourth quarter to take a resounding 33-6 win. Special teams were a huge factor as Blair Burns returned a kickoff for a touchdown for Plano and a Hebron punt snap went over the punter’s head and through the end zone for a safety.

What’s at stake: With so much parity in the district, every game matters in 8-5A. A win would go a long way toward solidifying a playoff spot for Hebron after it cleared one of 8-5A’s pesky hurdles in Flower Mound. Falling into an 0-2 hole would put Plano’s playoff hopes in serious jeopardy, but the Wildcats still have the weakest part of their district schedule ahead of them.

Key matchup: Plano’s offense vs. Hebron’s defense. Plano did absolutely nothing against Allen’s defense last week. It may not get any better against Hebron, which is coming off a win in which it shut down the area’s most prolific offense.

Players to watch: Plano defensive end Xavier Harbert recorded three sacks and returned a fumble for a touchdown against Allen last week. Hebron defensive end Deatrich Wise, who has committed to Arkansas, has helped rejuvenate Hebron’s defense, which struggled at times last year.

Prediction: Hebron 28, Plano 24.

What we got right: The top of the 5A poll. There were no changes in the first four spots -- with Allen, DeSoto, Euless Trinity and Dallas Skyline maintaining their strongholds.

What we got wrong: We may have underestimated Highland Park. The Scots, who started the year at No. 3 in the 4A rankings, climbed past Denton Ryan into the No. 1 spot for the first time this season based mostly on its quality offensive play. We overrated Birdville, which had climbed to No. 5 in 4A but fell out of the rankings after losing to second-year program Trophy Club Byron Nelson.

Say hello to: 5A -- Denton Guyer; 4A -- Waxahachie

Say goodbye to: 5A -- Plano; 4A -- Birdville

Watch out for: 5A -- Hebron, Mansfield; 4A -- Wylie East, Trophy Club Byron Nelson

Tell us: Use the comments section to let us know what we have wrong.

PLANO, Texas – It's pretty tough to find flaws in Allen's game right now.

The Eagles missed an extra point. There's that.

And Plano stung Allen with a few big kick returns. Does that count?

It might to Allen's coaches when they do film study this week, but it didn't show up on the scoreboard Friday as the Eagles mauled Plano, 44-7, at Clark Stadium behind a dominating performance from both their offense and defense.

"It's not ever flawless, but we played pretty well," said Allen head coach Tom Westerberg.

Is that ever an understatement. Offensively, No. 1 Allen (4-0, 1-0 in 8-5A) scored on all but one of its possessions through the three quarters that the team's starters played.

Quarterback Alec Morris, who has yet to throw an interception this year, threw for 293 yards and four touchdowns, effortlessly guiding the Eagles down the field.

"You got to pick your poison each week," said Allen running back Jonathan Williams, who played for the first time since leaving Allen's Zero Week game with back spasms. "If you try to stop the run too much, the passing game will be dominating. If you try to stop the pass, the running game is going to dominate. It's a good system we have here."

Receiver Andrew Rodriguez caught eight balls for 145 yards and three touchdowns, the second of which was a beautiful diving grab in the end zone late in the first quarter that gave the Eagles a 13-0 lead.

That was all Allen really need. No. 10 Plano (3-1, 0-1) couldn't get anything going offensively, gaining only one first down through the first three quarters. Plano gained just 152 total yards, 56 of which came in junk time in the fourth quarter when Allen's backups were in.

"Our defense is playing lights out," Westerberg said. "Our front seven are doing a heck of a job this year. We were pretty good last year but we were pretty young. Now all those kids are returning starters from a year ago."

The only real bright spot for Plano was defensive end Xavier Harbert. He tallied three sacks and accounted for Plano's only points of the game.

Early in the third quarter, Harbert stepped between Morris and Williams during a handoff. The senior took the ball and ran 65 yards to the end zone untouched.

Williams looked as elusive as ever in his first game back since his injury. He gained 80 yards on 13 carries and scored a touchdown.

"They were trying to lighten my load because it was my first game back, but I felt good," Williams said. "I'm 100 percent healthy."

Welcome to Week 4, which features some big-time matchups that will have a major impact on district championships.

Jeff Andrews is in Plano, where the 10th-ranked Wildcats will take their shot at No. 1 Allen in 8-5A action. Randy Jennings is on hand for the Mansfield-Mansfield Timberview clash between unbeaten 5-5A rivals. And Travis L. Brown and Brittany Levine are in Bedford for a battle of 6-5A unbeatens: No. 3 Euless Trinity and No. 9 Colleyville Heritage.

Here's the link to the Week 4 games, including records, and here are our previews to select games.

No. 1 ALLEN (3-0) at No. 10 PLANO (3-0)
7:30 p.m. Friday at Clark Stadium

When we saw them last: Plano swept its nondistrict schedule, registering convincing wins over Garland Lakeview Centennial, Irving MacArthur and Mansfield Legacy. Allen did the same but against slightly better competition -- Cedar Hill, Justin Northwest and Longview.

2010 result: Plano led at halftime, but Allen scored 23 unanswered points in the second half en route to a 30-13 win. Allen running back Jonathan Williams showed a glimpse of things to come by running for 179 yards and two touchdowns.

What’s at stake: An early lead in District 8-5A. Allen is heavily favored to win the game, the district and even a state title, but an upset over Allen would instantly make Plano the frontrunner to win the district and a darkhorse in the playoffs.

Key matchup: Plano’s offense vs. Allen’s defense. Plano leads the area in scoring with 51 points per game, but Allen has given its opponents little to work with, giving up just 12 points per game. Plano running backs Kevin Merrill and Rakeem Crawford both average more than 8 yards per carry.

Players to watch: Running back Jonathan Williams missed Allen’s last two games because of injury. If the Missouri commit can return against Plano, he’ll add even more explosiveness to an already loaded offense. At 6-foot-6, Plano quarterback Richard Lagow has the type of measurables that make recruiters drool. He has 482 yards, six touchdowns and no interceptions on the year.

Prediction: Allen 24, Plano 14.