Fifty-five miles away. The outskirts of Dallas. The Coppell football team battles the Waxahachie Indians in Lumpkins Stadium at 7 p.m. on Friday. 

“Knowing that we have to travel such a long distance, we still try to stay as normal as possible,” Coppell coach Antonio Wiley said. “We have a set routine that we go through, and to be honest, I just try to keep from changing the kids too much.” 

Although Coppell (1-0) enters the game No. 13 in Class 6A, it is focusing on protecting senior quarterback Edward Griffin as he ran 13 times last week due to the pocket collapsing multiple times.

“We have to work on making sure Edward stays upright and safe in the pocket,” Wiley said. 

With the defense taking a step up, more notably junior cornerback Tyree Roberson and senior defensive linemen Blake Isbell, Coppell is focusing on containing Waxahachie sophomore quarterback Jerry Meyer III. 

“Defensively, we have to be able to contain their quarterback and their receivers because they can get out in a second,” Wiley said. “We got a tough draw for our non district games but it makes us a better team.”

Both teams are looking to move to 2-0 on the season.

“We don’t call it carrying our momentum,” Wiley said. “Instead we follow the same motto of 1-0 every week; leave the last game in the past and move to the next game.” 

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