Blake Seitz
Sports Editor
In its debut game of the 2009 season, Cowboys football epitomized the axiom ‘Out with the old, in with the new.’ With new head coach Joe McBride at the helm, newly-starting senior quarterback Hayden Hawk under center and newly-starting junior running back Cam McDaniel close behind, they led the team to a 45-0 rout of South Garland.
In what was generally a bloodless game, the first (and only) injury was, ironically enough, to McBride himself. On the first play of the first series, with the Colonels pinned to their own 15, an off-balance player took out McBride’s legs—McBride managed to keep his feet, showing some of his former agility, but at a cost: the hit took a chunk out of his leg, the injury going down to the bone.
“I saw it and was prepared for it,” McBride said. “I guess I’m not as quick as I used to be. I got spiked or something and got a big gash in my leg.”
Some might see the injury as an ill omen for the game to come, but those fears were quickly allayed when, not three minutes later, McDaniel put points on the board with a 27-yard touchdown run, his first of four on the night.
The shellacking continued for another 11 minutes, as the ball didn’t move beyond midfield until the final seconds of the first quarter. It was subsequently pushed back into Colonels territory following a Coppell sack.
If McDaniel was the offensive workhorse, then the defensive squad can be commended on the other side of the ball. The defensive line combined for four sacks, with senior Naveed Amirhermat bagging a pair himself. The secondary had two interceptions on the night, one by junior cornerback Bennet Okotcha and another—run back 57 yards for a touchdown—by senior safety Kevin Rutledge.
Back on offense, the Cowboys were persistently harried by the Colonels’ experienced defensive line. Hawk was forced to throw off his back foot on a number of occasions, a problem that will have to be dealt with before district play against higher-caliber opponents.
He managed to post big numbers despite an often nonexistent pocket, with 184 yards in the air and a touchdown.
Although Coppell’s offense slowed down as the game wound on, its defense held to the final buzzer, a credit to McBride’s defensive prowess. Principal Brad Hunt seemed to think similarly, lauding the first game under McBride and even foreshadowing a repeat of last season’s game against Southlake Carroll.
“It’s an exciting start to a new season,” Hunt said. “I see another 57-53 in our future.”
The Cowboys’ next game is at Jesuit on Friday.
