Fight, ejections mar Frisco's 20-17 win over Frisco Heritage

FRISCO, Texas - It was billed as a battle of unbeatens, and it turned into a battle of attrition.

Frisco beat Frisco Heritage 20-17 at the Ford Center on Thursday night in a game that was marred by a first-quarter fight that resulted in a 15-minute delay and six ejections.

With several key players in the locker room for the final three quarters, Frisco managed to pull out the victory in the District 6-5A Division I showdown.

“We knew this was going to be a tough ballgame,” Frisco head coach Jeff Harbert said. “We had two weeks to get ready for it, came out and I don’t think we played our best ball but a lot of that has to do with Heritage. They did really well, played really well, they’ve got some good players and they do a good job coaching them up.”

Heritage started the game by surprising Frisco with an onside kick - and it worked. After converting on an early fourth down, the Raccoon defense was able to hold Heritage to a field goal, and Jacob Culpepper put the first points on the board with a 40-yard kick.

After two fumbles and an interception kept both teams out of the end zone, Frisco finally got on the board with a 54-yard punt return for a touchdown by Jordon Hamilton to make the score 7-3.

On the ensuing Heritage drive, tensions boiled over. After a 12-yard pass play on the Coyotes sideline, a late hit occurred. Heritage players took exception to the play and a fight ensued on the field.

After five minutes, the officials finally got everyone back to their respective sideline. After deliberation between the officials and school administrators, six total players were ejected.

After a 15-minute delay, play resumed and the first quarter concluded with the score at 7-3.

The Raccoons got right back to business in the second quarter. After a long pass from Cameron Gibson to Jaylen Archibald, Kam Pendergraph capped off the drive with a two-yard sweep and beat the defense to the pylon.

Pendergraph finished the night with eight carries for 38 yards and a touchdown.

Heritage responded on the ensuing drive when Kameron Franklin found Jacob McDonald from 11 yards out to bring the halftime score to 14-10.

Franklin was the spark of the Coyote offense, finishing 8-19 for 74 yards and two touchdowns through the air, adding 17 yards on four carries.

The third quarter brought the game to a defensive stand-still until Ismael Taylor scored on a 43-yard punt return to make the score 20-10 after three quarters of play.

Heritage closed the gap on the first drive of the fourth quarter when Franklin threw a fade pass to Houston Brookshire in heavy traffic.

The Raccoons took the ensuing drive right back down the field, killing as much clock as possible. On fourth and goal from the two-yard line, the Coyote defense stood tall and got the ball back with just over a minute to go.

Heritage was able to pick up a first down, but was unable to drive the ball any further and Frisco made the defensive stop to seal the 20-17 win.

“We’ve got to grow up a lot,” Harbert said. “I think after the Sherman game, maybe we thought we had taken some steps and were in a certain spot where we were a little more mature, a little more improved and polished than we thought we were. But tonight showed us that we’re still young on offense, we’re still green, we’ve got some games under our belt where we gotta really get after it and practice because we’ve gotta grow up a bunch…”

Frisco (6-1, 5-0) will try to remain perfect in district at 7 p.m. Friday, Oct. 21 when they take on the Frisco Reedy Lions (7-0, 5-0) at Toyota Stadium in Frisco.

Heritage (6-2, 5-1) will have a bye week before also facing Frisco Reedy at 7 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 27 at The Ford Center at The Star.