The McKinney North Bulldogs (TX) came to Sherman with a mission and that was to keep their playoff streak and tradition alive. The Bulldogs used a strong rushing attack and relentless pass rush to take over sole possession of the last playoff spot in district 7-5A.
McKinney North Head Football Coach Mike Fecci and his team knew how important it was to get a win against their district foe. "It's a must win, we had to win this game. To come out and play in a really tough place like this, we are proud of our kids to answered the call. They put us where we need to be to give ourselves a chance to get in there again.
Senior Running Back Jadan Smith (#25) led the Bulldog offense with 178 yards and 2 touchdowns. The McKinney North O-Line led the way for Smith, Jayden Walker, Elijah Alexander and Quarterback Collin Hitchcock to rush for a total of 312 yards and 6 scores. Smith was very appreciative of his O-Line, "They work their butts off. We had a great week of practice and we were ready to lay on them."
The Bulldogs sophomore Quarterback Hitchcock (#14), used his legs and arms to lead his team to the 50 point performance. He threw for 93 yards and a score, while rushing for 41 yards and a 2 touchdowns. Junior Wideout Korbin Hendrix (#11) led the Bulldogs in receiving yards with 54 yards and a score and senior Wideout Gavin Daniel led the team in receptions with 4.
4-Star senior Defensive Lineman Dylan Frazier (#19) had a monster night with 9 tackles, 6 tackles for loss, 3 sacks, 3 pass breakup, and a blocked punt. Even through the Bulldogs gave up 397 yards to an explosive Bearcat offense, they made key plays to keep Sherman out of the end zone. They had 7.5 tackles for losses, 4 sacks, forced fumble a fumble that was recovered and returned for a score by senior Safety and Davidson commit Luke Paley. Unfortunately, it was called back for a block in the back.
The Sherman Bearcats had some bright spots even in defeat. Junior Quarterback Phoenix Grant had led the Bearcat offense 322 yards and 4 touchdowns passing and rushing with 59 yards and a two point conversion. Junior Wideouts Vontrelle Sanders (#0) and Aries Jones both had over 100 yards receiving, while senior Wideout EJ Chapman (#3) had 98 yards receiving. Sanders caught 2 touchdowns, while Jones and Chapman caught the other 2 of Grant's 4 touchdown passes.
Joseph Gionfriddo led the Bearcats with 13 tackles and his brother Anthony Gionfriddo was second on the team with 10 tackles. Tre'Vian Knight (#15) and Chaz Brown (#74) recorded tackles for losses and Knight recorded the lone sack for the Bearcats.
Coach Fecci reiterated that the victory is big for McKinney North because, "It gives us some momentum going forward. It gives us the points we think we are going to need to give ourselves a chance should we in a tie with Sherman".
McKinney North (5-5, 3-2) will host the Longview Logos (6-2, 3-1) and Sherman (3-5, 1-3) will travel to face John Tyler (5-3, 1-3).
Photo Gallery Link: https://www.brandidsports.com/post/photo-gallery-mckinney-north-tx-vs-sherman-tx