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With a chance to ice the game and his team likely needing a victory to keep its playoff hopes alive, Chance Culley forgot about his fumbles and came up with the biggest run of his season.
The Plano running back broke through the secondary and dashed 42 yards to the end zone with 2:10 remaining to give Plano a 34-24 win over Plano East at John Clark Stadium on Friday night.
Culley put the ball on the ground twice, including on the first drive of the game, leading to Plano East’s opening score, but he held onto it when it mattered most. The junior had 128 yards on 24 carries and two touchdowns in a game the Wildcats (5-4, 4-3) had to have to keep pace in competitive District 6-6A.
“He’s been the bell cow for us, so he just had to flush it,” Plano head coach Cody White said after the game. “The offensive line did a great job with the zone blocking, and Chance made the big play for us.”
Plano put Culley in a position to seal the game by playing some stingy defense in the second half. The Wildcats held Plano East (6-2, 4-2) to just one field goal after the break, and the Panthers did not pick up a first down in the fourth quarter.
Plano forced two Panthers turnovers on the night, including a third-quarter fumble that led to a touchdown.
“Overall we put together a competitive effort, which has been lacking at times this season, so I’m really proud of them for pulling this one out at the end,” White said.
Plano East scored first on an 11-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Jackson Hays to wide receiver Jackson Howard. Wildcats quarterback Tyree Fisher answered with a 9-yard touchdown on a fade ball to wide receiver Thatcher Killion.
On the next drive, Hays rolled out to his left and dashed into the end zone to put Plano East ahead as time expired in the first quarter. Plano responded with a 17-play, 74-yard drive that chewed more than six minutes of clock, and capped it with a 4-yard touchdown run by freshman running back Kaedyn Brown.
On the first drive after halftime, Plano forced a fumble on a screen pass at Plano East’s 34-yard line and capitalized with a touchdown run by Culley. Plano kicker Dax Dunham put the Wildcats back in front with a 37-yard field goal before Culley’s sprint to the end zone to close the victory.
The win was crucial for Plano, which is one of four teams in 6-6A likely vying for the final two playoff spots behind district leaders Prosper and Allen. With only one game remaining on its schedule next week, the Wildcats will be waiting to see how things unfold in the final week of the season.
“We knew that we were going to be playing postseason football from here on out, after Prosper kicked us around a couple weeks ago,” White said. “We didn’t play well at all in that game, but we’ve given ourselves a chance down the stretch here.”
Plano closes its regular season at Prosper Rock Hill next Friday night. Plano East will play McKinney at home next week before traveling to Eagle Stadium to face Allen.
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