By Marcus Krum
staff writer
@marcuskrum
On his first carry of the night, with a little over ten minutes remaining in the second quarter, junior running back Matt Naranjo took a sweep down the right sideline of Birdville Fine Arts and Athletic Complex 60 yards and into the end zone, putting the Cowboys up 21-0 on their way to a 55-0 win over Haltom.
In the first drive of the game, Haltom’s offense came out strong. After a 47 yard carry by senior running back Hector Vasquez, the Buffalos had the ball on Coppell’s 22 yard line and were threatening to score. The Cowboys stopped them on third down and 11 at the 12 yard line, forcing the Haltom field goal unit to come onto the field. The kick was blocked by senior defensive back Austin Michaelis, stopping the Buffalos only long drive of the game.
The Cowboys opened up scoring with a 63 yard touchdown run from senior running back Charles West and a 41 yard touchdown pass from senior quarterback Skyler Bonneau to junior wide receiver Josh Fink in the first quarter.
After those two drives, the starters came out, leaving it up to the backups to perform well. And that they did, starting off with the 60 yard touchdown carry from junior running back Matt Naranjo and a 57 yard punt return back to the house from senior running back Jacob Anderson.
“It is always good when a lot of kids that [usually] do not get to play a lot, get to play,” coach Mike DeWitt said. “I was real pleased with the way they stepped up, and I just tried to emphasize that it did not matter who was on the field, we were going to go out and try to play well, and I thought we did that.”
On a night that was dominated by flashy plays by Coppell’s offense, junior quarterback Myles Paschall turned a fairly quiet night on the highlight reel into a all-around solid one on the stats sheet. Coming in for senior quarterback Skyler Bonneau early on in the second quarter, Paschall had five completions on 10 attempts for 65 yards and a touchdown. He also ran the ball five times for 27 yards and a score.
“Everybody that is around Myles [Paschall] knows that he is a really good player,” coach Mike DeWitt said. “It is always good when, anybody, but especially your backup quarterback can get some live snaps in a game setting, so we were grateful that he could do that, and he played a really good game for us.”
During the third quarter, Naranjo, who finished with 17 carries for 185 yards and two scores, finished off a 58 yard drive with his second touchdown of the game, coming on a 20 yard run. Then in the fourth, Paschall completed a 13 yard pass to Cullen Gilliland in the end zone for the last touchdown of the game, putting the Cowboys up 55-0.
“We were able to keep some kids out, or play some kids sparingly,” DeWitt said. “it is always good to end the regular season with a win and get a little momentum [for the playoffs].”
