Capital One Bank Dallas Coach of the Week: Don Drake

The situation facing Boyd (McKinney) was desperate Friday night at McKinney's Ron Poe Stadium.

The Broncos trailed Plano 23-17. The clock showed 1:11 to play and Boyd, with no timeouts, was backed up to its 3-yard-line, 97 yards away from the end zone.

"It looked pretty bleak,'' said Boyd head coach Don Drake. "The odds are against you right there.''

But one play changed everything. Senior quarterback Curtis Ladd connected with Dedrick Scrivens on a 97-yard pass and run touchdown that will long be remembered in Bronco land.

Final score: Boyd 24, Plano 23.

Drake, who called the winning play from his customary spot in the press box, was selected as the Capital One Bank Dallas Coach of the Week.

"It helps to have a senior quarterback in a situation like that,'' said Drake, in his eighth season as the only head football coach the school has known. "He understands that with no timeouts, we had to either get to the sideline or make sure anything in the middle of the field would be for a first down so the clock would stop.''

Drake anticipated the Plano secondary would be playing man-to-man, as it had for most of the game. His play call was "Choice Sprint Left,'' a sprint-out throw for Ladd with a receiver deep and another coming across. But the quarterback sensed a problem, reversed field and rolled back to his right.

At some point he spotted Scrivens, a running back already responsible on this evening for 91 of Boyd's 95 rushing yards, coming open in the middle of the field.

Drake said Scrivens was the third choice in Ladd's receiver progression on the play. But he was the right choice.

After making the catch, Scrivens avoided a pair of tacklers, then angled from the middle of the field to the sideline, just managing to cross the goal line before the arrival of a final Wildcat defender.

"It was about what you'd expect on our sideline, kids and coaches running along, jumping up and down and going crazy,'' said Drake.

But there was more drama. The touchdown only tied the game. With its regular kicker injured, Boyd was relying on sophomore Cameron Powell — kicking in only his second varsity game — to boot the extra point for the lead.

"Cameron drilled it right through the uprights,'' said Drake. "I'm so proud of him.''

Plano still had 55 seconds with a strong wind at its back and a long-range field goal kicker available in Colton Gier.

But the fired-up Boyd defense recorded sacks on second and third down, then sophomore Brandon Bowling, who caught an 89-yard touchdown pass in the first half, clinched victory with a fourth-down interception.

The game was full of dramatic turnarounds.

Just before halftime, Boyd came out on the short end of a 10-point swing when a 102-yard interception return for a touchdown was negated by an interference penalty. Instead of leading 17-10 at the break, the Broncos trailed 13-10 after a Plano field goal on the final play of the half.

Boyd improved to 4-3 overall, but more importantly to 2-0 in the rugged District 10-5A, tied with defending Class 5A Division I state champion Allen for first place. Boyd plays at 7-0 Allen on Friday. With three district games to play, the Broncos are one win away from assuring their fourth straight playoff berth.

Boyd was picked to finish fifth in the six-team district before the season.

"It was a critical win,'' said Drake.

District 10-5A contains the three Plano schools in addition to Allen — with four of the largest enrollments in the state.

"Enrollment is not something we focus on,'' said Drake. "We try to schedule in non-district to get us ready so that when we see the speed and size of these kids, it is not overwhelming. It really is risk-reward because there is a chance a team can lose self-esteem and confidence with a difficult schedule. But it has worked for us.''

Drake has been running the show from the press box since last season, somewhat unusual for a head coach but not unprecedented. A better view of the field benefits his play-calling.

Before being named Boyd's first head coach, Drake worked as quarterback coach and offensive coordinator at The Colony and McKinney North.

He graduated Magna Cum Laude from Louisiana Tech University in 1995 with a bachelor's degree in health and physical education with a minor in mathematics. He earned his master's degree in education from Centenary College.

Drake's record at Boyd is 43-41, and that includes an 0-10 mark in the school's first year when it did not have a senior class. The Broncos have qualified for the playoffs four times, advancing to a Class 4A quarterfinal in the school's second season and being eliminated by Copperas Cove and quarterback Robert Griffin III.

The coach's biggest fans are wife Patricia, a fourth-grade teacher in McKinney, and their three children, sixth-grader Collin, third-grader Kelsey and Katy in kindergarten.