Its been six years since the Panthers were in a position to win an Area title game. But this year they’ve got a shot at it after weeks of good football and concentration and a 31-24 overtime win over Irving Nimitz last week.

Nobody expected the Panthers to accomplish what they have so far, after the first two games of the season. With that said, It’s been a good run for the Panthers. They have been able to rebound after the few losses they have had and finish as Co-District Champions. Even with a tough loss to Cedar Hill they bounced back into the win column.

“We’ve made good progress this year,” junior wide receiver Malcolm McKenney said. “We’re real excited about this Saturday and I think we can perform well.”

With the win over Nimitz the Panthers claimed their first Bi-District title in six years. They will now face Coppell at Cowboys Stadium on Saturday for a chance to move even further in the playoffs. Coppell is without a doubt the heavy favorite for this game, and with good reason. They are undefeated so far this year (11-0) and they dominated Plano last week defeating them, 23-6 in route to a Bi-District title themselves.

But Plano isn’t exactly a power house and that score should of been double for Coppell. So either Plano was playing some pretty decent offense or Coppell has maxed out its potential in a way. Either way this should give the Panthers a feel of how they can convert some of those mistakes by Coppell into points on Saturday. The players don’t seem to be too intimidated by Coppell’s stats and are aware of the conditions for Saturday.

“We’re serious about this game,” sophomore running back Aaron Piper said. “Our coaches have posted some notes on our lockers about this game. Everyone is saying that Coppell is going to keep us to 14 points, but we’re going out to win.”
Coach Dicus knows they have a tough challenge ahead of them on Saturday, but he’s going in with the intention of winning.

“There 11-0 for a reason, and they are ranked top 10 for a reason, but hopefully our kids understand that we are going to this stadium to win a game,” Dicus said, “Don’t ever underestimate the Panthers.”

If the Panthers can get the upset at Cowboys Stadium then there is no reason why they shouldn’t be able to continue in their success. After all, upsetting a big team like Coppell wont be easy and if they do, then they certainly gain those dreaming rights for the State title.