Texas Football

By Travis Stewart/Texas Football  --  What exactly is Plano's identity these days?

Plano, for reasons unbeknownst to me, has always appeared to be a team of opposites.

One year, brilliant. The next, forgettable. Extraordinary, then ordinary. The pendulum swings back and forth, without even distribution between the two extremes, making life difficult on fans and even more so on hapless writers tasked with mapping out the playoff landscape before we even start two-a-days.

I speak to recent history, by the way — obviously Plano's past is littered with success and losing seasons are few and far between. As a matter of fact, starting in 1960, the Wildcats didn't finish below .500 once until 1996. But after that point, whatever magnetic force held the pendulum at one extreme let go, and on the roller coaster ride we went. 

A few years after that event, in 2002, Plano abruptly went bottom up, finishing 3-7 and then an unthinkable 01-0. Had the program lost it? Of course not — two years later, the pendulum swung the Wildcats and coach Gerald Brence to a 13-1 record. Appropriately, it swung right back, and the next year Plano staggered to a 4-6 finish. 

The very next year, Brence's last, Plano went 13-2. One more double-digit win season followed, then someone pulled the rug out again and the Wildcats went 5-7. You can try and deduct a sweet science out of why the program has been so up and down as of late, but the truth is that those swoons have been largely unpredictable.

So what are we in store for in 2010?

We here at DCTF are of the more positive mindset. This team dropped Duncanville in the first round last year in a stunner. A week later, it came oh-so-close to torpedoing Euless Trinity's eventual state championship. Though it came up just short, Plano showed an impressive amount of fight with its young crew. We noticed.

Despite Plano's sterling record of offensive prowess, it's the defense that has us excited. The pair of Laures' at linebacker (Ben and Zach) is likely the district's top combination, and with six other starters back around them, expect a unit that showed signs of greatness in '09 to be even better in '10. 

The offense is a bit more a mystery, since some of the skill spots (besides quarterback, which has more talent than it can handle) are going to be filled by fresh faces. But scoring points shouldn't be an issue under third-year coach Jaydon McCullough. Surviving a tough district, however, will be.

District 8-5A is a legit eight-team deep district. Allen, which has enjoyed the most success of any team in the group lately, has the inside track for No. 1. Plano East might have the most individual talent. Hebron has excellent skill, as does Marcus. Plano West has speed. Flower Mound has an incredible passing attack and Lewisville has a new coach (Dick Olin) with plenty of experience. It won't be easy in there.  

But we think Plano is at least the third-best team of the group. And if it can build off of last year's experiences — and keep that pendulum from swinging the wrong direction — it could be starting on a new golden era in Wildcat football.