The Plano West Wolves football team (4-6) played their final game of the 2021-2022 season against the Plano Senior Wildcats (2-8) at Clark Stadium on Friday, Nov 5. The Wolves held the Wildcats scoreless in the second half after being down 21-17, and defeated their cross-town rivals, 40-21.  

Vance Feurerbacher, Plano West’s starting quarterback, said, “[Plano] Senior has always been a big game for us. Cross town rivals are the best type of games, but this year it’s more about sending off the seniors with a win.” Feurerbacher, 11, scored twice in the contest along with Gael Aguirre, 11, who had two touchdowns, and Suwi Musanda, 11, for a total of 5 touchdowns. 

West relied heavily on the run offense and totaled 331 yards in scrimmage while the Wildcats tallied 291 total yards. Feuerbacher, Aguirre, and Musanda rushed for 90, 77, and 92 yards respectively.   

The Wolves’ defense did their part by adding a safety to the scoreboard late in the fourth quarter. After which, Feuererbacher broke away for his second touchdown of the contest, a 50-yard scoring run to round out the tally at 40-21. 

Unlike the 2020-2021 season, Plano West failed to attain a playoff berth. Feuerbacher, 11, said, “The whole team has been greatly affected by injuries. There wasn’t one game where we didn’t have someone hurt.” Feurerbacher himself was injured twice during the season, but the quarterback/punter was able to return from both injuries quickly.   

Max Keogh, linebacker, said, “Injuries like Josiah [Shelley], Jayreed [Jaylon Reed], and Hassan [Rubio] definitely affected our team both offensively and defensively.” All three are from the 2022 graduating class and injured a foot (out for 6 weeks), arm (out for season), and knee (6 weeks) respectively.  

To the seniors, “Thank you for showing up everyday and working your hardest, and even though your senior year didn’t end the way you would’ve liked it, you helped change the culture at West!”, said Feuerbacher, a varsity football player since the 2020-2021 season.