Today, Coppell takes on McKinney for the Class 6A Division II Region I bi-district playoff game at Buddy Echols Field with kickoff at 7 p.m. The Sidekick’s executive- editor-in-chief Angelina Liu speaks to Manestream news sports producers Eva Grajeda and Champe Presley to gain insight on the game. 

How does this year’s McKinney football team compare to year’s past?

Grajeda: I think that they’re a lot closer together than they have been. The energy around the school has been different about how we’ve gone into the season. And just the energy around, not like one player has, like one like, everyone has seen the team as a whole this year. And so they’ve all been playing as a family. And they’ve been very successful doing that.

How has this season been overall? 

Grajeda: I think this season has been better than seasons in the past. Not just our record, but how everyone feels about the football team. There’s a lot more pride, more support for this. School pride has definitely grown over this year.

Presley: I think for most of the games this year, we went in with “There is a possibility that we could win this,” but in years past, like when we were going against Allen, we’d be like, “No, we’re definitely losing today.” But like, especially this year, like, no, there’s actually a chance for us to beat Allen this year, and we almost did, [41-38]. 

What are some strengths you’ve seen this season with McKinney’s team? 

Grajeda: There are a lot of individually good players. Playing together, I feel they haven’t been very cocky. They have been so trusting of each other during certain plays. They haven’t let any of that go to their head.

Who are the McKinney players to watch? 

Grajeda: Senior SMU commit quarterback Keldric Luster, junior running back Bryan Jackson, and  junior wide receiver Xavier Filsaime. 

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