Friday, Nov. 14, 2008

Playoff Football

Bi-district Round Coverage

Sports Department

We've got a final in Marcus vs. Trinity ...

Trinity 24, Marcus 10 (final)

A 28-yard field goal from Marcus' Trevor Mouton cut the deficit to 14 for the Marauders, but they could do no more, and the Marcus football season comes to an end.

Check next Friday's edition for a season wrap-up.

- John English

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We've got finals in Flower Mound vs. Coppell and in Marcus vs. Hebron ...

Coppell 51, Flower Mound 28 (Nov. 7)

The Jaguars weren't able to make the playoffs for what would have been the third consecutive season.

Check next week's edition for a season wrap-up on the Flower Mound football team.

Hebron 35, Marcus 21 (Nov. 7)

The Marauders didn't need a win tonight as badly as their crosstown rivals did, as Marcus had already clinched a playoff spot before meeting the Hawks tonight.

Check next week's edition for a preview to Marcus' bi-district playoff game to be held next Saturday at Texas Stadium.

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We've got a final in the Mound Showdown ...

Marcus 28, Flower Mound 21 (OT) (Oct. 31)

The Maruaders and Jaguars battled to a 21-21 tie at the end of regulation, but what else could be expected in the final Battle of the Mound game ever at Texas Stadium?

Marcus took a 21-14 lead in the fourth quarter when quarterback Brad L'Huillier connected with Michael Gill on a 65-yard touchdown pass, but Flower Mound tied it up to force the game into overtime.

Stephen Hopkins scored on a 2-yard run in overtime to give the Marauders a 7-point lead, and Marcus held the Jaguars on their attempt.

The Marcus win snaps five-year streak for the Jaguars in the rivalry game.

Marcus faces Hebron next Friday, while Flower Mound takes on Coppell.

-John English

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We've got a final in Flower Mound vs. Carroll and in Marcus vs. Coppell ...

Carroll 38, Flower Mound 14 (Oct. 24)

In what was a tight game late in the third, the Carroll football team overcame turnovers to roll to a 38-14 district win over Flower Mound.

Clinging to a 17-14 lead with 3:39 remaining in the third, the Dragons scored three touchdowns over the final 13 and a half minutes of the game.

Carroll quarterback David Piland threw for 209 yards and four touchdowns, while running for another. Piland connected with receiver Ryan Walker for three scores, including touchdowns of 37, 3 and 26 yards.

"Piland's a gunslinger," Walker said of the junior quarterback who took over for Kyle Padron, who broke his right hand against Marcus last week. "Kyle's one of the greatest quarterbacks I've ever been around, and it was hard losing him. But Piland can move. We have a lot of confidence in him."

Meanwhile, the Dragons smothered the usual-potent passing and receiving game of quarterback Brandon Colquitt and receiver Collin Ashley. The duo were kept in check, as Colquitt completed 11-30 passes for 135 yards and was intercepted twice. Ashley caught just three passes for 16 yards.

-Zach Warner

Marcus 31, Coppell 26 (Oct. 24)

After playing Carroll close last week, the Marauders pulled off what can fairly be termed an upset tonight over a Cowboys squad that dealt the Dragons a historic district loss just two weeks ago.

While a fourth-seed playoff berth now looks far more realistic for Marcus than it did just yesterday, the Marauders still face the intense Mound Showdown game next Friday at Texas Stadium against Flower Mound, then wrap up the schedule the following week against first-place Hebron.

Be sure to sound off below in our Football Message Board!

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We've got a final in Marcus vs. Carroll and in Flower Mound vs. Lewisville ...

Flower Mound 39, Lewisville 7 (Oct. 17)

The Jaguars handled a team they were supposed to handle and righted the ship after last week's loss to Hebron.

Next week, Flower Mound travels to Southlake to take on the Dragons on their homecoming night. It should be an intriguing game, given how close Marcus came to handing Carroll a second district loss tonight.

Be sure to sound off below on our Football Message Board!

Carroll 42, Marcus 35 (Oct. 17)

David Piland, substituting for injured Carroll quarterback Kyle Padron, hit Josh Rake with a 19-yard touchdown pass with just 15 seconds remaining in regulation to end the deadlock with Marcus and avoid what would have been a truly huge story.

Marcus next faces Coppell next week in what should be another pivotal match-up.

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We've got finals in Marcus vs. Lewisville and Flower Mound vs. Hebron ...

Marcus 28, Lewisville 14 (Oct. 10)

The Marauders open district by hanging on to the Ax in a battle that, really, they were supposed to win.

Marcus faces Carroll, who lost in double overtime to Coppell tonight, next Friday.

Be sure to sound off on our Football Message Board below!

Hebron 24, Flower Mound 21 (Oct. 10)

A shocker as previously undefeated Flower Mound loses its district opening game tonight to the Hawks.

The Jaguars take on Lewisville next Friday, which is FMHS Senior Night.

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We've got a final in Flower Mound at DeSoto and in Marcus at Tyler Lee ...

Flower Mound 35, DeSoto 19 (Sept. 26)

The debate is over -- at least the debate about whether Flower Mound is for real. The Jaguars were looking for their first 5-0 start in school history and got it in decisive fashion.

What was expected to be a tough challenge at the end of the non-district schedule against an athletic DeSoto squad was carried decisively by the Jags.

The only downside is that they carry this massive momentum into ... a bye week. Flower Mound won't take the field again until Oct. 10, when they travel to Hebron for their first district game.

Tyler Lee 21, Marcus 13

On the road, Marcus played close against a tough Tyler Lee program but came up just short.

The Marauders were playing on a short schedule, having faced Katy last Saturday.

It was Marcus' second loss in a row.

Next Friday it's the Battle of the Ax, as Marcus and Lewisville head to Texas Stadium at 8 p.m.

Reported to Stephen English by Paul LeBon

Be sure to sound off in our message board below!

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We've got a final in Marcus vs. Katy and Flower Mound vs. North Crowley ...

Katy 17, Marcus 14 (Sept. 20)

Marcus couldn't best a Katy team that has struggled so far this season but was a powerhouse last year.

The Marauders didn't score in the first half, entering the third quarter trailing 10-0. A key turnover on a bad snap led to one of Katy's scores.

Joel Free returned this week and had two touchdowns.

Marcus has a short week to prepare to host Tyler Lee at 7:30 p.m. Friday.

- Reported to Stephen English

Flower Mound 31, North Crowley 13 (Sept. 19)

The Jaguars wasted no time on their homecoming night on Friday, as Brandon Colquitt connected with Collin Ashley on a 58-yard touchdown pass on the first play from scrimmage.

Flower Mound took a 7-0 lead into the second quarter, when Colquitt and Ashley hooked up again for a 15-yard touchdown reception.

North Crowley scored and was driving with just under a minute to go in the half when Jaguars defensive back Steven Sumpter intercepted a Panthers pass and Colquitt hit James Kelly on a 10-yard pass with 29 seconds left to give Flower Mound a 21-7 lead heading into the break.

With 8:25 left in the third, Colquitt hit Ashley for the third time on a six-yard pass to put the Jaguars up by 21.

Two rowdy fans, one dressed as a gorilla and the other dressed as a banana, ran the length of the field between the third and fourth quarter, chased by field security.

The gorilla was caught, but the banana got away, and Flower Mound took a 31-7 lead into the fourth quarter.

North Crowley scored once in the fourth.

- John English

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We've got finals in Marcus vs. Fossil Ridge and Flower Mound vs. Haltom ...

Marcus 49, Fossil Ridge 28 (Sept. 12)

Marcus showed more offense than usual and corrected its course after last week's heartbreaker to Plano West, demolishing Fossil Ridge, a new entry to Class 5A this season, on homecoming night.

The Marauders are back on the road next weekend, traveling to Waco to take on state power Katy in a 1 p.m. game on Saturday, Sept. 20.

Flower Mound 37, Haltom 0

Flower Mound ran its record to 3-0 on the season after trouncing Haltom tonight at home. The Jaguars have now outscored their opponents by a total of 69 points on the year.

Flower Mound has its homecoming game next Friday against North Crowley.

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We've got results for Marcus and for Flower Mound ...

Plano West 27, Marcus 23, Sept. 5

Marcus couldn't duplicate its success last week against Grapevine, losing on the road tonight.

The Marauders had the lead with under three minutes left in the game, but a bad snap on a punt play gave West the ball around Marcus' 30 yard line, where they mounted a scoring drive.

Marcus took their next possession nearly to the Plano West red zone, but could go no further.

Marcus has its homecoming game next Friday, hosting Fossil Ridge.

- Reported to Stephen English by Paul LeBon

Flower Mound 36, Fossil Ridge 13, Sept. 5

Flower Mound scored on its first offensive play of the game, a 32-yard touchdown pass from Brandon Colquitt to Collin Ashley. The Jags led 7-0 at the end of the first quarter.

With just under nine minutes to play in the first half, Colquitt scored on a 10-yard keeper to put the Jaguars up 14-0.

Colquitt connected with Ashley on a second touchdown less than a minute later to give Flower Mound a 21-0 lead.

Brad Kapten scored on a five-yard run with just over two minutes left in the half and a blocked PAT made it 27-0 Flower Mound.

Zach Robinson drilled a 29-yard field goal to make it 30-0 Jaguars at half time.

Fossil Ridge finally got on the board midway through the third on a 65-yard touchdown completion from Jacob Bermejo to Aaron Fisher.

Flower Mound came back two drives later and scored on a 5-yard run from Kepten, making it 36-7 Flower Mound.

Fossil Ridge scored once more on a 10-yard pass from Bermejo to Mark Munson.

Flower Mound hosts Haltom next Friday.

- John English

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We've got finals in the Flower Mound/Plano East and Marcus/Grapevine games ...

Flower Mound 40, Plano East 8

Jaguars quarterback Brandon Colquitt looked in midseason form, tossing a slew of touchdown passes, and Flower Mound demolished a highly regarded Plano East team, 40-8.

Flower Mound faces a feisty new entry to Class 5A football in Fossil Ridge next Friday. The game starts at 7:30 p.m. at the Keller ISD Athletics Complex, which has seen significant renovation over the summer.

Marcus 55, Grapevine 3

Turnovers were the story of the first quarter of the Grapevine at Marcus game tonight, as two Mustangs fumbles and an interception allowed Marcus to jump out to a 14-0 lead.

Brode Boyd ran 25-yards on a keeper to give the Marauders a 7-0 lead, and Stephen Hopkins ran for a 2-yard score after a botched punt was kicked out of the end zone.

The trouble continued for Grapevine in the second half, as Marcus scored again on a 2-yard run by Hopkins to give Marcus a 20-0 lead after a failed kick.

Grapevine threw another interception with just under five minutes to play in the half, and the Marauders capitalized three minutes later on a 9-yard run by Hopkins.

Marcus led 27-0 at half-time.

The Marauders scored four more touchdowns in the second half, including an 88-yard kickoff return with five seconds left, to give Marcus a 55-3 victory.

Marcus travels to Plano West next Friday at 7:30 p.m.

- John English

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