By David Wolman
COPPELL — For much of Thursday night’s regular-season finale, Plano East was within striking distance of Coppell and a home playoff game.
Then the Cowboys took control.
Coppell scored 28 points in the final 5:21, capitalizing on a series of Plano East mistakes to pull away for a 48-15 victory at Buddy Echols Field.
The Panthers committed three of their four turnovers during that closing stretch, including an interception that junior Anthony Lewis returned 98 yards for a touchdown on the game’s final play.
The loss dropped Plano East to 6-4 and gave Coppell (8-2) the No. 1 Class 6A Division I playoff seed from District 7-6A.
Plano East, which had already secured its first postseason berth since 2023, will instead travel to face Euless Trinity in the bi-district round.
Despite the final margin, the Panthers were in contention deep into the fourth quarter.
Trailing 20-9 late in the third, Plano East put together a scoring drive that brought it within five points with more than 10 minutes remaining.
Senior quarterback Josh Gordon opened the possession with a 15-yard completion to senior tight end Aidan Forthman, then connected with sophomore Cristian Clancy for a 41-yard gain into the red zone.
Gordon finished with 188 passing yards on 10 completions for Plano East.
Sophomore Treyce Seldon finished the drive with a 3-yard touchdown run, cutting Coppell’s lead to 20-15 with 10:13 left.
Seldon finished with 155 total yards.
Plano East also missed other opportunities throughout the game. A touchdown reception in the second quarter was wiped out by offensive pass interference, and the Panthers failed to capitalize on favorable field position on several possessions.
The decisive sequence came with just over five minutes remaining.
Plano East had forced Coppell into a third-and-14 situation, but Zinglemann found senior Ishan Mair for a 15-yard completion to extend the drive.
Four plays later, senior Jayden George scored on a 2-yard touchdown run, stretching the Cowboys’ lead to 27-15.
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By David Wolman
For 31 years, Dr. Williams C. Burns II has been a familiar presence on the Plano East sideline, providing medical care, guidance and unwavering support to generations of Panther student-athletes.
Last Friday, the school recognized that commitment by inducting Burns into its Hall of Honor during a ceremony between the first and second quarters of Plano East’s home football game against J.J. Pearce at Tom Kimbrough Stadium.
Burns became the Hall of Honor’s 10th inductee and its first honoree who was not a football player.
“It’s pretty awesome,” he said. “I’m impressed. I didn’t expect it because most people that have been inducted have gone onto have pretty big football careers.”
A native of Boise, Idaho, Burns earned his Bachelor of Science degree from Baylor University before attending UT Southwestern Medical School, where he was inducted into the Alpha Omega Alpha medical honor society.
He completed his orthopedic training at the Medical College of Virginia in Richmond, Virginia, followed by a sports medicine fellowship at the University of Chicago.
Board-certified in orthopedic surgery, Burns was also among the first orthopedic surgeons to earn board certification in sports medicine.
His professional accomplishments include a nomination for the Charles Neer Award from the American Shoulder and Elbow Surgeons for outstanding clinical or research investigation.
Burns also received the Dow Corning Wright Award from the American Orthopaedic Foot & Ankle Society for outstanding foot and ankle research and the Cabaud Memorial Award from the American Orthopaedic Society for Sports Medicine for outstanding research.
For the past 12 years, Burns has worked at the Frisco location of Craig Ranch Orthopaedics and Sports Medicine.
His relationship with Plano East began in 1995, when an athletic trainer informed him that the school needed a new team physician.
Burns accepted the opportunity and has remained a fixture in the program ever since.
He has attended home and away football games and numerous basketball contests, missing only two Plano East football games in 31 years. Those absences came while he was recovering from back surgery five years ago.
“I’ve been through several principals, head football coaches and athletic trainers, but it’s a real honor to work there,” he said.
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By David Wolman
LUCAS — Plano East struggled to find its offensive rhythm through the first two sets of Monday’s Class 6A Division I area-round volleyball match against McKinney Boyd.
But with their season on the line, the Lady Panthers found a spark in freshman outside hitter Ava Nzegwu.
Nzegwu recorded six of her team-high 10 kills in the third set, helping Plano East erase a pair of deficits and briefly pull even with the Lady Broncos.
The rally wasn’t enough, however, as McKinney Boyd held off a late charge to complete a 25-13, 25-16, 25-22 sweep at Lovejoy High School.
The loss ended Plano East’s season after 30 victories and a fourth consecutive year with at least one playoff win.
“McKinney Boyd is a phenomenal team,” Plano East head coach Sarah Perez said. “They set a block. They swing aggressive every time. I think that we have a lot of young kids, had a lot of nerves coming into this game. We didn’t play the way that we wanted to play. We didn’t follow our game plan. This is what we will use to fuel us for next season.”
McKinney Boyd’s combination of strong defense, powerful hitting and effective blocking made life difficult for Plano East throughout the match.
Junior Trinity Johnson led the Lady Broncos with 13 kills, while senior Olivia Permenter added 10.
Senior middle hitter Catelijne Van Ham, who stands 6-foot-2, contributed nine blocks as McKinney Boyd earned its 30th victory of the season.
The Lady Broncos controlled the opening set, winning 25-13, and maintained their advantage in the second.
Between sets, Perez pulled sophomore setters Anna Lukas and Luz Luna aside to discuss adjustments to the offense and ways to attack McKinney Boyd’s block.
The conversation helped Plano East generate more scoring opportunities.
Kills by Nzegwu, senior Leyna Anderson and sophomore Kyla Slaughter kept the Lady Panthers within striking distance during the second set, but McKinney Boyd pulled away for a 25-16 victory.
Facing elimination, Plano East showed more offensive consistency in the third.
The Lady Panthers trailed 11-7 and 14-11 before Nzegwu helped fuel a comeback.
She recorded three kills during a five-point stretch, with the third tying the score at 15-15 and forcing McKinney Boyd to call its first timeout of the match.
It was the first time Plano East had pulled even after falling behind in the opening set.
Senior libero Dakota Huynh also provided one of the match’s most memorable defensive plays.
Reaching out with one arm in the back row, Huynh managed to send the ball back over the net. The Lady Panthers eventually won the point when McKinney Boyd hit the ball into the net.
“She truly is phenomenal,” Perez said. “She has a high IQ, is a great teammate. She can dig. She can serve. She truly is amazing.”
Despite Plano East’s improved play, McKinney Boyd regained control and built a 22-16 lead late in the third set.
The Lady Panthers refused to go quietly.
Plano East rallied to within 23-22 following a tip kill by Lukas, putting pressure on the Lady Broncos in the closing moments.
McKinney Boyd answered, however, and sophomore Gabby Fiori delivered a service ace on match point to secure the sweep.
Although the loss brought Plano East’s season to an end, Perez found plenty of reasons for optimism.
“I’m proud of this season,” Perez said. “We’re young. We’ve got brand-new pieces. We have a lot of people to build an offense around. It’s obviously good for those young kids to get that experience. Obviously, we wish that we were still playing. Now, these young kids have two rounds under their belts. Next year, it won’t be as quite the shock when we get here.”
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By Seth Dowdle
(Click on the link to view a photo gallery from the game: https://www.dotphoto.com/viewalbum.asp?AID=6890192)
Plano East punched its ticket to the postseason Friday night, overcoming a pair of double-digit deficits to defeat Richardson Pearce 52-41 at Tom Kimbrough Stadium.
The Panthers (6-3, 4-2 District 7-6A) found themselves trailing 14-3 early before mounting their first comeback, taking a three-point lead into halftime. Pearce regained control in the third quarter, building a 35-24 advantage before Plano East responded with 28 unanswered points.
Treyce Seldon delivered the decisive blows, scoring three fourth-quarter touchdowns, including a 78-yard run that extended the Panthers’ lead and just about wrapped up the win. Seldon finished with 190 rushing yards and three touchdowns while contributing another 71 yards and two scores through the air.
Quarterback Josh Gordon threw for 241 yards and four touchdowns, connecting twice with Braeden Quach, who recorded 113 receiving yards.
Plano East will wrap up the regular season at Coppell on Thursday, Nov. 5.
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By Devin Hasson
DALLAS — Plano East had little trouble defeating South Grand Prairie when the teams first met in August.
The Panthers won that tournament pool-play matchup 25-16, 25-18, but Thursday’s rematch carried much higher stakes.
With a spot in the second round of the Class 6A Division I volleyball playoffs on the line, South Grand Prairie pushed Plano East to the brink of dropping the second set.
The Panthers responded with a late rally, then carried that momentum into the third set to complete a 25-17, 25-23, 25-13 sweep at Thomas Jefferson High School.
Plano East improved to 30-11 and advanced to face the winner of Friday’s matchup between Hebron and McKinney Boyd.
“We had some moments where we came out and played really well and we had some moments where we played a little bit scared or played not to lose,” Plano East head coach Sarah Perez said. “But overall, we came out and competed and ultimately we came away with our first playoff win for 2026 and I’m proud of them.”
After winning the opening set comfortably, Plano East found itself in a much tighter battle in the second.
The teams traded points throughout the early stages, with seven ties before the score reached 9-9.
Kills by Luz Luna and Anna Lukas, followed by an ace from Luna, gave the Panthers a 12-9 advantage.
South Grand Prairie answered behind the hitting of Ryleigh Goss and Bailee Brown, putting together a 6-1 run to take a 15-13 lead.
The teams continued to battle before a kill by Jeidan Russell gave the Warriors a 23-21 advantage, leaving them two points away from evening the match.
But Plano East refused to let the set slip away.
A South Grand Prairie service error opened the door, and the Panthers capitalized.
Lukas and Ava Nwegwu delivered crucial kills to put Plano East in front before Lukas added another to complete the 25-23 comeback.
“That was a big momentum shift,” Perez said. “They started to believe in themselves, so they had to dig deep and they had to find that next gear in order to take that set and that really helped us going forward into the third set.”
The momentum carried into the third set.
Kills by Kieryan Hughes, Lukas and Nwegwu, along with an ace from Emily Iwanow, helped Plano East build an early 6-1 lead.
South Grand Prairie fought back to tie the score at 7-7 and remained within striking distance at 10-9 following a kill by Brown.
From there, however, the Panthers took control.
Jaiden Boutte’ delivered a key play at the net to extend the lead to 14-10.
Lukas then took over offensively, recording five kills during a 7-2 stretch that pushed Plano East’s advantage to 21-12.
The Panthers maintained control down the stretch, with Nwegwu delivering the match-clinching kill to secure the sweep.
Luna led Plano East with 10 kills while also directing the offense as a setter.
Nwegwu contributed nine kills and five blocks, while Lukas added nine kills.
Perez credited the victory to contributions throughout the lineup.
“It really was a team effort,” she said. “I haven’t seen the stats, but I feel like everybody played their role. We utilized our middles, we had a good block, we played defense really well, we served really well, I really feel like it was a team win.”
Plano East is no stranger to postseason success.
Last season, the Panthers reached the regional championship match before falling to eventual state champion Trophy Club Byron Nelson.
That experience has provided motivation for a program looking to make another deep playoff run.
“It’s great to have experience in those high-intensity games,” Perez said. “We actually have a really young team this year, we have a freshman that starts, we have a lot of sophomores, some juniors … obviously we have experience with our seniors, but every win we can get in the playoffs just helps the girls more and more. This is our fourth year to win a playoff game in a row and I think we’ve set the standard for where we are going and where we want the program to be and it gives the girls something to work for every year.”
The Panthers will face another difficult test in the second round.
Their next opponent will be either District 5-6A champion Hebron (35-7), a perennial contender, or McKinney Boyd, which entered the postseason with a 28-7 record.
Perez believes her team is finding its rhythm at the right time.
“I do (feel like we are peaking),” Perez said. “I feel like we are going to give everything we have every night. In the DFW area, there are some really good teams that knock each other out in round one and round two and there is competition everywhere you turn, so South Grand Prairie was great competition for us, we are going to see more of that in round two, so we’ve just got to come out and play our game.”
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By David Wolman
One second.
That was all that separated Plano East senior Meena Mulford from qualifying for the Class 6A state cross-country meet.
With seven of the 10 individual state qualifiers from nonqualifying teams finishing among the top 10 overall at Monday’s Region I-6A meet at Mae Simmons Park in Lubbock, the competition for the three remaining berths was tight.
Despite a strong effort, Mulford finished 18th with a time of 18:34.5, just one second behind Denton Guyer sophomore Anneliese Hull, who claimed the final individual qualifying spot.
Hull placed 17th in 18:33.5.
Senior Brooke Tierney posted Plano East’s second-fastest girls time, finishing 74th overall in 20:01.
Senior Kate Salyer placed 92nd in 20:23, followed by junior Louisa Christensen, who finished 101st in 20:31.3.
Junior Sophia Nguyen took 109th in 20:41.4, junior Reagan Diggs placed 140th in 21:29.7, and freshman Taylor Chu rounded out the Lady Panthers’ lineup with a 144th-place finish in 21:38.9.
Plano East finished 13th in the girls team standings with 343 points.
Flower Mound captured the regional championship with 55 points, followed by Keller (103), Southlake Carroll (127) and Byron Nelson (129). All four teams earned berths in the state meet.
On the boys side, senior Isaac Updike led Plano East in his final high school cross-country race, placing 81st with a time of 16:42.2.
Sophomore Alex Castillo finished 114th in 17:19.4, while senior Michael Sharp placed 118th in 17:22.5.
Senior Deyan Bhakta took 123rd in 17:24.7, followed by sophomore Levi Rowe, who finished 129th in 17:32.5.
Sophomore Grant Updike placed 145th in 17:41.1, and junior Trinabh Madadi completed the Panthers’ lineup with a 159th-place finish in 18:03.
Plano East finished 19th in the boys team standings with 494 points.
El Paso Eastwood won the regional title with 48 points, followed by Southlake Carroll (53), Keller (113) and Flower Mound (154). All four teams qualified for state.
Although Plano East did not advance any runners to the state meet, the program enjoyed a productive season.
The Panthers qualified both their boys and girls teams for regionals in the same year for the first time since 2017.
The Lady Panthers also captured their second consecutive district championship, while the boys team made its first regional appearance since 2019.
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]]>By David Wolman
Last year produced one of the best seasons in program history for Plano East’s volleyball team.
The Lady Panthers won 31 matches and reached its first regional final since 2008.
However, the Lady Panthers entered this season facing the challenge of replacing several key players lost to graduation.
Two of the biggest departures came on offense, where Plano East had to replace a combined 1,024 kills from back-to-back District 6-6A MVP Simone Heard and Mari Sias. The Lady Panthers also needed two new setters following the departures of Emma Reeves and Megan Nguyen.
Despite those losses, Plano East hasn’t missed a beat.
The Lady Panthers recorded their fifth consecutive winning season under head coach Sarah Perez and are headed to the playoffs for the fourth straight year.
Plano East capped a 29-10 regular season with a dominant 25-14, 25-6, 25-11 sweep of Berkner on Friday, finishing 11-3 in district play in its first season in District 7-6A.
Sophomore Anna Lukas led a balanced offensive attack with 10 kills and also distributed 12 assists. Senior libero Dakota Huynh added 16 digs.
The Lady Panthers earned District 7-6A’s No. 1 Class 6A Division I playoff seed.
Plano East is scheduled to open the postseason tonight at 6:30 p.m. against South Grand Prairie at Thomas Jefferson High School. The Lady Panthers are 1-0 this season against the Lady Warriors, having earned a 25-16, 25-18 win during Plano East’s second match of the season on Aug. 13. The winner of tonight’s match draws the Hebron-McKinney Boyd winner in the area round next week.
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]]>By David Wolman
(Click on the link to view a photo gallery from the game: https://www.dotphoto.com/viewalbum.asp?AID=6890019)
DALLAS — Berkner scored 14 points over the final 6:16 to rally for a 28-17 win over Plano East at Wildcat-Ram Stadium on Friday.
Trailing 21-17 with four minutes remaining in the fourth quarter, Plano East knew it might have only one or two offensive possessions left.
With time running out, the Panthers decided to attempt a fake punt.
Facing fourth-and-16 from their own 34-yard line, the Panthers appeared to have enough running room to pick up a first down. Instead, the ball carrier ran into his own teammates and was stopped five yards short of the marker.
Five plays later, Berkner senior running back Damarian Dunn scored on a 2-yard touchdown run with 1:58 remaining, sealing a 28-17 victory for the Rams and snapping Plano East’s three-game winning streak.
The Panthers fell to 5-3 overall and 3-2 in District 7-6A.
Plano East built a 14-7 second-quarter lead on the power of a four-yard rushing touchdown by senior quarterback Josh Gordon and a one-yard run by sophomore running back Treyce Seldon.
However, Plano East scored just three points in the second half.
The Panthers took a 17-14 lead on Watkins’ field goal with 8:56 remaining in the fourth quarter. However, those were Plano East’s final points of the game.
The Panthers were held to three first downs and 56 yards of total offense in the second half after gaining 156 yards before halftime.
The good news is that the two teams below Plano East in the 7-6A standings, Plano (2-6, 2-3) and Plano West (3-5, 2-3), both lost Friday, keeping the Panthers in a tie with Berkner (4-4, 3-2) for third place, though the Rams hold the head-to-head tiebreaker.
Plano East will have a chance to clinch a playoff berth next Friday when it welcomes winless JJ Pearce (0-8, 0-5) to Tom Kimbrough Stadium.
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]]>By David Wolman
Plano East head cross country coach Robert Reed felt the Panthers were as prepared as any team heading into the District 7-6A meet.
While some teams competed on flatter courses, Plano East wasn’t focused on chasing faster times. Reed believes that approach can create a false sense of confidence. Instead, the Panthers competed at venues that better prepared them for the hills of Myers Park in McKinney.
In fact, the District 7-6A meet marked Plano East’s second appearance at Myers Park this season. The Panthers previously competed against a much larger field at the McKinney Boyd Bronco Stampede on Sept. 12.
Plano East also raced on similar courses at Hoblitzelle Park in Plano, Pecan Grove Park in Sherman and Oklahoma State University.
That preparation paid off in a big way last week.
Plano East returned to Myers Park and captured its second consecutive district title in the girls’ division while finishing second in the boys’ race. It marked the first time since 2017 that Plano East qualified both its boys’ and girls’ teams for regionals in the same season.
“We were really prepared,” Reed said. “When the day is hot and the footing is tough, it’s about who has a tougher mentality. We did a good job of that. We have run on four of the toughest courses, other than Lubbock. I was trying to get the kids to understand that you can run faster later in the season, but it was about getting ready for district.”
Having conquered the district meet, the Panthers hope their experience on hilly courses will help them tackle another challenging venue: Mae Simmons Park in Lubbock, site of next Monday morning’s Region I-6A meet.
If Plano East competed in a different region, the Panthers might have had a state qualifier last year. Despite finishing 21st at regionals with a time faster than those of several state qualifiers in other regions, alumnus Reagan Noel fell eight seconds short of earning a berth at the state meet.
Noel has since graduated, but other Panthers have the potential to contend for a state berth.
Senior Meena Mulford ran a personal-best 19:20 at last year’s regional meet and has improved on that mark this season. She clocked a personal-best 19:02 at the Coach Marcus T Invite on Sept. 5 before finishing second at the District 7-6A meet in 19:30.
The Lady Panthers also have depth behind Mulford. Junior Sophia Nguyen placed sixth at districts, while senior Brooke Tierney finished seventh. Juniors Louisa Christensen and Reagan Diggs placed 16th and 18th, respectively, while senior Kate Salyer finished 17th and freshman Taylor Chu placed 26th.
On the boys’ side, Reed has praised the consistency of senior Isaac Updike, who earned All-District 7-6A first-team recognition after placing seventh.
Sophomore Levi Rowe qualified for regionals for the second consecutive year. After a slow start to the season, Rowe made significant progress over the past month, capped by a 12th-place finish at districts.
Sophomore Alex Castillo is peaking at the right time, while junior Trinabh Madadi, senior Michael Sharp and sophomore Grant Updike played key roles in helping the Panthers finish second in the district.
Plano East was without its No. 2 runner, senior Deyan Bhakta, at districts because of a hip injury. Reed is hopeful Bhakta can return for regionals.
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By David Wolman
Steve Piskor’s 4-yard touchdown catch from quarterback Zane Burgess with 34 seconds remaining has long lingered in the minds of the 14,000 fans in attendance at John Clark Stadium — a play that shifted the series between the Plano East and Plano football teams.
Plano East had never defeated Plano in their first three meetings as crosstown rivals.
That finally changed in 1985, when the Panthers defeated the Wildcats 21-17 for their first-ever win over Plano in the four-year history of Plano East. Piskor’s touchdown reception proved to be the difference.
But Piskor remembers plenty of other plays made by his teammates — not just his own — that helped Plano East earn the victory.
The eight plays preceding his touchdown reception were part of the most glorious drive in Plano East’s four-year varsity program history. Facing fourth-and-10 at the Plano East 20-yard line with 1:20 remaining, Burgess escaped several would-be tacklers and heaved a 54-yard pass to Tom Cadematori along the sideline at the Plano 25.
“I look at it more as great win for the team,” he said. “That’s how I remember it. Everyone had to play really good for us to win that game. The coaches had a good game plan. We were all focused. We executed the game plan pretty much to a ‘T.’ Plano’s quarterback at the time was Tony Cook. He was a really good player. Good runner, good passer. We were able to keep them in check.
“I just remember the eruption from the crowd after the touchdown. It was so loud. After the game, if you go anywhere in Plano and you had a Plano East jacket, you were treated royally.”
Memories of that game — and that catch — were rekindled Friday night. Piskor, a two-sport standout in football and baseball who graduated with the Class of 1986, was inducted into the Plano East Hall of Honor at Tom Kimbrough Stadium between the first and second quarters.
“It’s something that’s special,” he said. “It’s gratifying, but I’m looking at it more at as a team award. We had a bunch of good guys there. It is a good reflection on the whole group of guys.”
Piskor was born and raised in Cincinnati, Ohio, before moving with his family to Plano in seventh grade. He developed a passion for both baseball and football, playing both sports in middle school and high school, but football had a special way of energizing him.
“In Plano, football becomes part of your blood,” he said. “They’ve made movies about Friday Night Lights, but the movie is not far off what it’s like to play in Plano. I’ve lived in other places, but there is nothing like Texas high school football.”
Piskor also played cornerback, forming a standout defensive backfield duo with Roy Woods.
Highly recruited in both baseball and football, Piskor was selected by the New York Mets in the sixth round of the 1986 Major League Baseball Draft.
He chose to pursue professional baseball immediately after high school, spending four years in the Mets’ organization before returning to Texas to continue his education and football career at the University of North Texas, where he completed his degree.
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