Tisdale throws for four TDs as Allen crushes McKinney
Grant Tisdale threw for 280 yards and four touchdowns and also rushed for 76 yards in less than three quarters of action, powering Allen, the Star-Telegram’s top-ranked team in Class 6A, to a 54-14 rout of McKinney at McKinney ISD Stadium on Friday night.
“I thought he did a good job,” Allen coach Terry Gambill said of his senior quarterback. “But, in some areas, we weren’t very consistent early. And it showed. Once we got locked in and focused, we took advantage of our opportunities and executed a whole lot better.”
Allen (5-0 overall, 2-0 District 9-6A) built a 31-7 halftime lead and outgained McKinney (0-5, 0-2) 324 yards to 64 yards in that span. The Eagles finished with 562 yards and didn’t have to punt once. The Lions totaled just 170 yards of offense.
Allen had to work through a couple of missed opportunities early in the game. The Eagles drove inside the red zone on each of its first two drives, but was held to a 43-yard James Griffith field goal on its first possession, and missed a chip-shot 19-yarder on their next possession.
Tisdale helped Allen to finally punch it in the end zone a short time later. Sophomore Bryson Green caught a screen pass and ran in from 13 yards out on the ninth play of his team’s next drive for a 10-0 Eagles lead with 3:20 left in the first quarter.
Green and his twin brother Blaine, who is six minutes younger than Bryson, combined for three touchdowns. Bryson had scoring passes from 13 yards and 38 yards out, while Blaine had a nine-yarder of his own.
“It’s always a competition between me and him,” Blaine said. “I always want to beat him out, but he did good tonight. But, we’re just trying to grind and be the best people on the field.”
Tisdale’s lone mistake of the first half was a fumble that he coughed up and was recovered by McKinney’s Mitchell Tyler at the Allen 2-yard line early in the second quarter. Three plays later, Christian Knighton ran up the middle, spun through a missed tackle and backed his way into the end zone for a 4-yard touchdown, cutting the Eagle advantage to 10-7.
The miscue didn’t rattle Allen.
The Eagles scored three touchdowns in the final 6:54 of the first half to blow the game wide open. Darrion Sherfield ran an inside reverse for a 13-yard touchdown. That drive was kept alive thanks to a running-into-the-kicker penalty on McKinney. Blaine caught a 9-yard fade pass for a score less than two minutes later. Bryson capped off the scoring frenzy with a 38-yard touchdown reception.
Tisdale completed 16 of 20 passes for 219 yards in the first half and also rushed for 76 yards in that span.
“It was last year (since Tisdale had that amount of yardage in one half of play), but it felt good to do it again,” he said. “Just executing. I can’t thank those guys on the o-line enough for what they do. They’re probably the hardest working unit at Allen. And just our receivers, I can’t do it without them. It’s a team sport.”
Play of the game: McKinney had a chance to get its defense off the field trailing by three points in the second quarter. However, a running-into-the-kicker penalty called on the Lions, not only switched the momentum, but led to a touchdown for Allen. Sherfield ran a reverse for a 13-yard touchdown four plays later, for a 17-7 Eagles lead, with 6:54 left until halftime.
Offensive player of the game: Tisdale commanded the offense well and was a threat to score every time he passed or threw the ball.
Defensive player of the game: Allen senior linebacker Marcus Thomas. He sacked McKinney quarterback Kelvin Thomas to force a Lions punt on the Lions’ first drive of the third quarter. He would have also had a forced fumble had it not been for a penalty accepted by Allen in the final minute of the first half.
Unsung hero of the game: Allen senior defensive lineman K.C. Curl pounced on a fumble in the third quarter.
What’s next? Allen travels to Richardson, Oct. 4, 7 p.m. McKinney is on a bye and will return to action at Plano, Oct. 12, 7 p.m.