Lisle drops opener to Plano 27-0

For nearly a decade now the Lisle football team has had to prove that an opening-night loss is no roadblock to the playoffs.

Friday night's 27-0 home loss to Plano means the Lions must face that challenge yet again in 2007.

"I think the last seven out of eight years or eight out of nine years we've either had Wilmington (for the) first game, and Plano now two years in a row first game. We've had the horses first game," Lisle coach Dan Sanko said. "We've been 0-1 seven out of probably eight years, and we've made the playoffs somehow."

Lisle played the defending Class 3A champions to a scoreless draw in the first quarter, with neither team able to muster much on offense. The Reapers provided the quarter's only scoring threat but came up empty on Kevin Jernigan's missed field goal.

However, Plano lit the scoreboard early in the second quarter when senior quarterback Brian Green found tight end Chris Martinez down the sideline for a 55-yard touchdown strike. After the ensuing kickoff and a 1-yard rush by Lisle's Adam Carlson, Plano linebacker Luis Alvarado sacked John Surber, forcing a fumble that Randy Niles scooped up and carried 9 yards into the end zone for the Reapers' second touchdown in 43 seconds.

Alvarado's sack, combined with a paltry 1.8-yard rushing average, disappointed Sanko, who felt his team would be able to control the line of scrimmage much more effectively.

"Offensive line (was) my biggest disappointment of the night," he said. "I really thought we could come out and move the ball on the ground, and they just outplayed, outhustled and outhit us."

The Reapers increased their lead to 24-0 with one minute left before halftime, when Green hooked up with Alvarado for a 15-yard touchdown.

For Plano, getting the first score out of the way proved critical for the team's psyche.

"We took the ball on the (opening) kickoff hoping to get the offense going, and it didn't work out quite the way that we wanted," Plano coach Jim Green said. "Once we got that first touchdown we got a little more relaxed. That's why we went for the field goal early, just to get the points.

"We've got a lot of kids that played a lot last year but they didn't start, so this was their first time starting, and once we got the first one we felt a lot more comfortable."