McKinney North hangs on to hand Tyler High its first defeat

Bulldogs jump out to a 24-0 second-quarter lead before fending off Lions for 31-26 triumph

TYLER, TEXAS - A week after knocking off Lancaster, McKinney North made yet another statement in District 5A-7 Division I.

The Bulldogs jumped out to a 14-0 lead on Tyler High before the Lions were able to run an offensive play. McKinney North later extended its lead to 24-0 late in the first half before fending off a furious comeback in going on to spoil the Lions' undefeated start with a 31-26 win Thursday night at CHRISTUS Trinity Mother Frances Rose Stadium.

Last week, McKinney North (4-1, 2-0) opened district play by downing Lancaster, 28-21. The Bulldogs carried that momentum over into their trip to East Texas.

North scored on the game's opening series, as junior receiver Kameron Powell took a short pass from quarterback Colin Hitchcock and sprinted 42 yards down the sideline for the game's first TD. Senior kicker Trevor Dutton added the PAT for a 7-0 lead.

Then, the Bulldogs pulled off another surprise, going for an onside kick. They got it, with Isiah Griffin making the recovery.

That led to a 1-yard TD run from senior tailback and Army commit Jayden Walker, making it 14-0 before the Lions finally got their hands on the ball less than five minutes into the ballgame.

Tyler (4-1, 1-1) - which started 4-0 for the first time since 2009 - had a pair of scoring opportunities in the first half, but the Lions missed a field goal and turned it over on downs inside the North 25.

North then built its lead. Shortly after a 56-yard run from Walker into the red zone, Hitchcock threw his second TD pass on the night, with senior tight end Nate Markiewicz - a UTSA commit - elevating over a defender to haul it in from 6 yards out, making it 21-0.

It became 24-0 with 1:24 left in the half on Dutton's 20-yard field goal, set up by an interception and long return from senior defensive back Keithon Davis.

But the Lions finally got the spark they needed 10 seconds later, as quarterback Caden Granberry found a wide-open Derrick McFall. McFall, a senior and a UCLA commit, sprinted into the end zone from 70 yards out as Tyler High cut its deficit to 17 points.

Tyler then got the second-half kickoff and faced a fourth down inside its own territory, but failed to convert. North quickly cashed in, as Walker had his second TD run, going in from 23 yards out to extend the Bulldogs' lead back to 24 points. Walker finished with 188 yards.

Granberry tossed his second TD throw with less than five minutes left in the third, finding receiver Marquette Martin from 21 yards out. With 10:09 left in the game, the Lions got within 12, 31-19, as running back Ashton Arriaga went in from a yard out.

On the very next series, Tyler senior defensive back Zachaun Williams intercepted a pass at the Bulldogs' 15 and went in for a pick-six, making it 31-26, North, with more than nine minutes left.

Tyler stopped North on downs inside the Lions' 15 with more than two minutes left. The Lions advanced into North territory inside the final minute and appeared to get the go-ahead TD; however, it was wiped out due to an ineligible man downfield penalty.

On fourth-and-long, a desperation pass to the end zone was knocked away by the Bulldogs' Sean Kessner with seven seconds left, as North was able to escape.

Photo of McKinney North's Jayden Walker by Elias Valverde II, The Dallas Morning News

-- Buck Ringgold | buck@scorebooklive.com | @SBLiveTX