Matt Wixon

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MESQUITE – Late in the first half Saturday, Plano running back Rex Burkhead took a pitch from quarterback Carson Meger and threw back to Meger for a touchdown.

It was a play Plano practiced a lot last week, Burkhead said, because if the game against Skyline was close, his team "might need some trickery."

Turns out Plano could've kept that trick in its bag. Its 41-20 victory over Skyline wasn't close, other than close to being over in the third quarter.

The reason was Plano's offense, which piled up 565 yards and five touchdowns against a defense that hadn't allowed more than two touchdowns in a game all season. Plano ran, passed and pretty much overwhelmed a typically dominant defense that carried Skyline into the Class 5A Division I Region II final at Mesquite Memorial Stadium.

"We knew Skyline had a tremendous defense and we have to mix it up to keep them off balance," coach Gerald Brence said. "We weren't going to be able to run it right at them."

Although that worked pretty well, too. Almost everything Plano (13-1) did on offense worked, which is how it scored more points than Skyline (12-2) had allowed in its last nine game combined.

Plano rushed for 223 yards, with Burkhead leading the way with 24 carries for 158 yards. Burkhead rushed for a touchdown, passed for one and also scored on a 64-yard punt return that Brence called "one of the most exciting plays I've ever seen."

Meger threw for 322 yards to become the first Plano quarterback to throw for 3,000 yards in a season. He did throw three interceptions, but they were inconsequential by the time he found Kris Lott on a fade route for a 10-yard touchdown.

That came with 1:18 left in the third, and it gave Plano a 34-13 lead against a team that had allowed no more than 17 points this season.

"They're a good team," Meger said, "but if we go out and execute, we're really hard to stop."

The Plano defense also played well, but 20 points had been more than enough for Skyline this season. Its defense shut down, and often shut out opponents. But Skyline hadn't faced a team with Plano's balance.

Burkhead?

Yes, he's really, really good. That's why Plano receiver Nate Christian said that, early in the game, Skyline defenders were yelling out, "Watch No. 20! Watch No. 20!"

But the Skyline defenders had a lot to watch. Too much, because Plano's receivers are also very, very good. Lott and Grant Davis each had more than 100 yards receiving and Nate Christian had 68.

Plano was just too deep.

MIKE STONE / Special to DMN

Plano wide receiver Kris Lott (left) just misses a catch as Skyline defensive back Kelvan Turner defends.

"We have an offense that's very talented," Lott said. "We have three great receivers, and then there's Rex, and it's hard to focus on only one person."

Plano led 21-6 at the half, the same lead it took into halftime against Spring Westfield a week ago. Against Westfield, Plano stuck to the run in the second half to try to drain the clock. The offense began stalling, and the door was left open for a comeback.

But on Saturday, Plano closed the door in the third quarter. And it kept it closed by continuing to attack with its offense in the fourth quarter.

"We got a little conservative last week," Brence said. "We weren't going to do that this week. We were going to fire away all the way."

And in most cases, score a direct hit. That's why Plano dominated.

There was nothing tricky about it.