Plano takes away Eagles' big-play attack

As any number of signs told them, including a big one staring back at them on the press box at Plano, Aurora Christian found itself in "Reaper Nation" Saturday night.

That can be an intimidating place to be, what with the Reapers' Class 3A state championship last year to go with their 37-3 record in their last 40 games and a large, boisterous crowd cheering their every move.

Especially for an Aurora Christian team playing in a game it never had -- a state semifinal with a berth to next weekend's state championship on the line.

All that didn't stop the Eagles from going toe to toe with the Reapers for 48 minutes, never once backing down or looking the part of a team out of its league.

In the end, a few too many mistakes and Plano's impressive ground game proved too much to overcome. It was going to take pretty close to a perfect game from Aurora Christian to beat the defending state champs, and that didn't happen with 7 penalties and trouble getting Plano's offense off the field on third downs all game.

That prevented Aurora Christian from continuing its season next weekend in Champaign.

It didn't keep the Eagles from making a lasting impression.

"Hats off to them," said Plano coach Jim Green, noting several of the Eagles and his Reapers know each other well from training together in the off-season. "What a great football game, just as we expected."

Normally with Aurora Christian, you expect to see eye-popping offensive numbers. That wasn't the case Saturday, though the Eagles still nearly found a way to pull out a win.

When you keep statistics at an Aurora Christian game, it's a great test of your quick math skills. It seems you are adding a 22-yard gain to a 15-yard burst to a 47-yard strike in the matter of seconds.

Yards weren't nearly as easy to come by against a Plano defense that yields just 8 points a game. In fact, you'll never see the chain gang come out to measure so many first downs as they did Saturday. Aurora Christian often needed three of four downs just to barely nudge out the 10 yards by the nose of the football and move the chains.

The Eagles did just that, grinding out yards that normally come much easier to them, showing their heart by converting three fourth-down conversions on a fourth-quarter drive that ended in their only touchdown.

In 52 plays from scrimmage, Aurora Christian only had one go for more than 20 yards. Yet the Eagles adjusted, with a 20-play drive in the first half and a 15-play march in the second half that were the opposite of their usual 3- and 4-play quick strike drives they had during almost all their 12 previous wins.

Running back John Smith and wide receiver Mike Friend were two of the players responsible for many of those quick scores, not just this year but the past couple seasons.

They are two of the seniors responsible for getting Aurora Christian to new heights -- its first 12-win season, its first semifinal game -- and two of the seniors that will be missed when the Eagles begin the 2008 campaign.

While there were hugs and tears and pats on the back from many of the Eagles, Smith and Friend were calm and collected in reflecting on the team's record-breaking season.

"Plano didn't make mistakes," Friend said. "It was a game of inches."

"No regrets," Smith said. "We never quit. It's been a fun ride."

A fun ride indeed, for the Aurora Christian players, coaches and fans -- 1,000-plus Saturday night in the middle of Reaper Nation -- alike.