Thursday Night Showdown Preview: McKinney Boyd Broncos vs. Byron Nelson Bobcats
Thursday Night Lights are back and with that comes pretty great matchups around the state, but especially in the metroplex! This week, the top Thursday game of the week comes with McKinney ISD's McKinney Boyd Broncos and Northwest ISD's Trophy Club Byron Nelson Bobcats as they face off in a battle of the undefeated. VYPEDFW has the scoop on what to watch in this game.
McKinney Boyd Broncos
The Broncos are on a hot 3-0 start for the first time ever. Week one saw a McKinney Boyd shutout over Oklahoma's Midwest City (37-0) while week two saw an incredible 28-21 Bronco win over Grand Prairie. Last week, McKinney Boyd absolutely dominated over Richardson's J.J. Pearce in a 30-7 victory.
Bronco quarterback Ryan Shackleton is on fire as he has completed 72% of his passes (49 for 68) for a total of 576 passing yards and seven passing touchdowns so far this season. On the receiving end of the ball, Boyd hosts Caden Park who has tallied 184 receiving yards and four touchdowns on 12 catches as well as Peyton Shaw who has recorded 166 receiving yards and three touchdowns on 14 catches. On the ground, the Broncos are led by Carter Whitefield who has recorded three touchdowns and 278 total rushing yards on 51 carries.
Boyd's defense will be a true test on Thursday night as the Broncos' defense has allowed just over 200 yards and less than 10 points per game on average.
The Broncos will look to advance to a 4-0 start before next week's district opener against Little Elm's Braswell.
Trophy Club Byron Nelson Bobcats
The Bobcats have also faced off against quality opponents so far this season. In week one, Byron Nelson topped Plano 28-22 before moving on to a 34-24 win over Grapevine in week two. Last week, the Bobcats convincingly shut down Irving MacArthur in a 50-13 week three matchup.
Quarterback Jacob Wilson has led the charge with Byron Nelson posting 826 passing yards and 10 passing touchdowns so far on the season. Wilson is completing 62% of his passes and has even accounted for two rushing touchdowns. On the receiving end for Wilsonis an incredible trio in Landon Ransom- Goelz, Gavin McCurley, and Adam Stellato. Ransom-Goelz has accounted for 259-receiving yards and three touchdowns on 15 catches, McCurley has claimed 250 receiving yards and three touchdowns on 10 catches, and Stellato has tallied 115 receiving yards with a touchdown of his own on 11 catches. Not to be overlooked, however, are Michael Giordano and. David Kabongo who each have a touchdown and over 50 receiving yards to their names respectively. On the ground, Giordano has posted 242 rushing yards and two rushing touchdowns on 33 carries while Aaron Darden has tallied 196 rushing yards and two touchdowns on 28 carries.
The Bobcats' defense has held opponents under 25 points all season. Fans can expect to see Byron Nelson do everything they can to continue this trend against the likes of McKinney Boyd before heading into their first district matchup next week against Northwest ISD rival V.R. Eaton.
How To Catch The Game
Don't look too far! If you can't catch the game in person, be sure to catch it live on VYPE.com! Kick-off begins at 7 pm, you aren't going to want to miss this match-up!