Only one team in District 6-6A has a perfect record so far: Flower Mound Marcus. Sitting at the top of the standings, it is followed by Coppell, which holds the same district record (2-0) but is 4-1 overall.  

The Cowboys face Marcus tomorrow at 7 p.m. at Buddy Echols Field, looking to take over the standings. 

“This game right now is the game for the district championship,” Coppell senior defensive back Zach Stricker said. “I feel like whoever wins this game is going to be the team that wins district, and this will be the determining factor in that.”

Despite its perfect district record, Coppell has had fluctuating success on both sides of the ball.

“I don’t think we’ve played a complete game,” Coppell coach Michael DeWitt said. “It seems like we’ll start strong and not finish well, or we’ll struggle early on and finish strong. Last week [against Plano West], offensively, we didn’t start real strong, but in games past, we have, and it’s been the defense that has struggled. But [last week] the defense started strong, even after an interception and a Plano West field goal – which was huge.”

According to Stricker, this week’s practice has consisted of additional conditioning and time in the weight room. Stricker and the defense are faced with a highly scoring Marcus offense, putting up 55 and 56 points against Flower Mound and Plano respectively. 

“This is like the equivalent of going into the game against Highland Park, where we know this is going to be an offensive dominant team and that we’re going to have to play at the top of our abilities to be able to beat a team like this,” Stricker said. “We need to be locked in and laser-focused for this game.”

Marcus, ranked 15 in Dave Campbell’s Texas High School Football State Rankings, has multiple four-star recruits, such as quarterback Garrett Nussmeier, who committed to Louisiana State University and is ranked fifth in the Dallas Morning News’ individual passing stats with 1,560 yards and 20 touchdowns, as well as wide receiver J. Michael Sturdivant, who committed to the University of California—Berkeley. 

“We try not to overthink it, because yes, they’re four stars, but they’re also 17 and 18 year old kids, just like us,” Stricker said. “There’s nothing that special about them, but they are good athletes. I know we try not to put them on a pedestal, just try to treat them like any other high school kids.”

Last year, Coppell was on the lower end of district standings, and the 15-7 overtime loss to Marcus was one of the deciding factors in the team not advancing to playoffs. This year, the standings are similar for Marcus but very different for Coppell.  

“Any time Coppell and Marcus play, it’s going to be a very competitive game,” DeWitt said. “It’s probably going to be a close game, but both teams are a lot different. Even though there are players coming back from both teams from last year, we’re very different. We’ve been able to grow and mature in some areas, really on both sides of the ball, and so we’re a different team.”

Follow Sally (@SParampottil) and @SidekickSports on Twitter.