Coppell senior quarterback Edward Griffin drops back to pass. He goes through his progression and sees covered wide receivers all over the field.
Then a hole, a split between three defenders opens up and Griffin is gone. 70 yards and a point later, Coppell had a 14–point lead with 6:34 on the clock and the game was slipping away from Sachse.
“The game plan coming in was to attack their playstyle on defense,” Griffin said. “Once we saw that they were playing a lot tighter in the field I knew that running lanes would open.”
On Friday Night at Buddy Echols Field, Coppell opened the season with a 31-10 victory over Sachse.
“It’s the first game in a long season,” Coppell coach Antonio Wiley said. “With that being said, I’m going to let these guys enjoy this one through the weekend.”
To start the game, it looked like both teams were trying to find any spark of offense as the defenses of both sides were impeccable.
“I loved how we came out with our guys to start the game,” Coppell defensive assistant coach Zachary Gonzalez said. “It really illustrated just how much effort these guys have put in all summer for this game.”
With the second quarter still scoreless, one team had to break through. Coppell did so with a reception by senior running back O’Marion Mbakwe to set up a one yard rush by Griffin.
However, Sachse senior four–star wide receiver Kaliq Lockette took matters into his own hand as he grabbed a ball with one arm pinned down and shook the defenders in the process en route to scoring, tying the game at 7.
“Coming into the game I told the coaches just get me the ball,” Lockette said. “They did that and we were able to make the game a lot more interesting.”
As the game progressed, Coppell started to find its stride more and more on both sides of the football. Junior Tyree Roberson had two interceptions and made a huge impact defensively.
“It felt good with those two interceptions,” Roberson said. “I know that we have to go with the one play mentality and it felt good knowing that I made an impact on the game.”
With Sachse on the back heel, it was unable to find another point on the scoreboard.
“Coppell is a pretty good ball club,” Sachse coach Mark Behrens said. “Playing extremely tough nondistrict opponents is a great way for us to gauge our team and get ready for district play.”
With Coppell now 1-0 to begin its season, it plays at Waxahachie on Friday.
“They have extremely immense firepower on the offensive side,” Wiley said. “We have to focus up and look to contain them if we want a chance of beating them.”
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