NationalHSFootball.com
It will soon become a chicken or the egg debate but the Allen (Texas) defense showed marked improvement in its 42-3 demolition of Plano (Texas) on Thursday night.
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The Eagles also changed its offensive approach in this contest as it moved away from a quick-strike to a methodical attack of mid-range passes and working on improving the running game.
Kyler Murray — arguably the best dual-threat high school quarterback in the country — finished the night completing 22-of-33 passes for 329 yards and four scores. He also added a score with his legs on short scamper in the first quarter.
His leading receiver was Notre Dame commit Jalen Guyton who hauled in nine passes for 178 yards, and one touchdown.
The obvious discussion point is whether the Allen defense is rounding into shape with coaching changes and development as it was breaking in 10 new starters or if it was a drop in competition that made the team appear stronger.
The Eagles had allowed 94 points in its first two games against HSFB100 programs Guyer (Denton, TX) and Dutch Fork (Irmo, S.C.).
It then conceded just 28 against Boyd (McKinney, TX) before its near shutout of Plano.
Boyd had been a hard team to evaluate as it lost to a quality Horn (Mesquite, TX) team and then followed that game with an unexpected victory over Coppell (TX).
Plano has a 30-12 setback against Tyler (TX) to go with its loss to Allen. It sandwiched those results with victories over MacArthur (Irving, TX) and Hebron (Carrollton, TX).
The remainder of the Allen schedule is not likely to reveal much in the way of an answer about the defense but the Texas 6A-DI playoffs will as its path will see at least three national-ranked opponents if it is to three-peat as state champions.
Miami Central impresses in 42-14 rout of Columbus
The Rockets took off on Thursday.
HSFB100 No. 20-ranked Miami Central (FL) has a similar ‘which came first’ moment as the offense got rolling in a 42-14 dismantling of Columbus.
Central entered the 2014 season replacing 10 starters on the offensive side of the ball and the team struggled to get out of the gate until it exploded in its fifth game of the year.
Junior quarterback Jerrod Thomas found his touch in a 12-of-15 performance which totaled 211 yards and three scores which pushed the team to a 35-0 lead at halftime which forced a mandatory running clock in the second half.
Thomas has started since the opening weekend of the season has seen his play improve each week.
Also, like Allen’s defense, the question becomes is the offense finding itself or is the competition decreasing.
Central struggled to find any footing against Hoover (AL) in its 24-21 victory. It was a game that Central trailed 7-6 into the fourth quarter before hitting on two big plays and sustaining a game winning drive.
It followed that up with an uneven performance against a quality Stephenson (Stone Mountain, GA) game. The Rockets won 21-20 but with a combination of weather and potentially looking ahead the team did not look elite.
Central fell in its next game to Booker T. Washington (Miami, FL), 21-20. The offense performed much better than it did in the previous two games but was unable to make a key play at the end to secure the victory.
The team has since beaten Coral Reef (Miami, FL) and Columbus by a combined 89-14.
The Rockets are unlikely to see a defense that can test it until a potential game with Mainland (Daytona Beach, FL) in the state semifinals.
Miami Central figures to be into the Top 15 of the HSFB100 by the time that game happens in late November.
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