Plano East will be without star running back Ismail Mahdi this week, and possibly for the rest of the season, after he suffered a knee injury in last week’s 28-14 loss to Plano.
Mahdi ranks third among area Class 6A players in rushing yards with 1,362, he has run for 14 touchdowns, and he ranks second on his team in receiving (22 catches for 242 yards). Plano East coach Joey McCullough said Mahdi will undergo an MRI on Wednesday to get an official diagnosis on his injury.
“It hurts us immensely,” McCullough said. “He had the majority of our yardage, and he really is your backup quarterback. We like to run the football and throw play-action pass. He makes an impact on the game not only running the ball but catching the ball.”
Plano East will also be without starting quarterback Drew DeVillier for Friday’s game at Coppell. DeVillier, who has thrown for 1,101 yards and eight touchdowns, suffered a foot injury against Plano but hopes to be back for the regular-season finale against Flower Mound Marcus on Nov. 4.
The initial diagnosis was turf toe and a bone bruise, but McCullough said that DeVillier will have another X-ray on Thursday to make sure nothing is broken. David Do will start at quarterback against Coppell and will share time with Elijah Prince, and Xavier Franco will replace Mahdi as the starting running back.
Plano East (2-6, 1-4) needs a win this week to stay in the playoff race in District 6-6A. With two games left, Plano East is one game behind Coppell and Flower Mound, which are tied for fourth place.
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