Celina dashes Van Alstyne playoff hopes

BY JACK WALKER

SPECIAL TO THE HERALD DEMOCRAT

LITTLE ELM -- The Van Alstyne Panthers saw their undefeated season come to an end on Friday night as Celina won its 16th consecutive bi-district championship with a 35-14 win over Van Alstyne in a Class 3A Division II Region II game at the Little Elm Athletic Complex.

Celina (7-4) gave the Panthers a lesson in playoff football, winning the battle on the line of scrimmage and used two big plays to give head coach Butch Ford his 100th career victory.

Van Alstyne (10-1) could not capitalize on an early break and its running game was stymied by a Bobcat defense that limited the Panther ground game to just 39 yards.

Patrick Presley jumped on a Celina fumble on the opening kickoff, giving Van Alstyne field position at the Celina 28-yard line. After a pick up of 10 yards on its first play from scrimmage, Van Alstyne was stopped at the Bobcat six-yard line.

Celina drove 94 yards in 10 plays, scoring on a three-yard pass from Cody Worrell to Cody Sandler. Worrell finished with 157 yards passing and ran for 66 more.

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