WAXAHACHIE – The Waxahachie Indians had the ball in the second possession of the first overtime as the Coppell football team was unable to contain the run. They rumbled down the field in rhythm and scored with senior running back Wade Lemons taking the ball into the endzone.
Now, a monstrous decision needed to be made. Waxahachie decided to go for the two-point conversion for the win, as sophomore quarterback Jerry Meyer III took the snap and rolled right. Coppell senior defensive lineman Blake Isbell and linebacker Weston Polk immediately pursued forcing him to the sideline.
Meyer III was forced to throw it into a window which was closed by senior safety Scott Fishpaw who batted the ball down for the 28-27 Coppell victory on Friday at Stuart B. Lumpkins Stadium..
“Being in that situation was not just exciting, but it allowed us to see who we were,” Polk said. “That overtime was just us trusting ourselves and our teammates and knowing that we can do what it takes to win.”
It was Coppell’s first overtime since Oct. 8, 2021 against Flower Mound Marcus.
With the score tied at 21 at the end of regulation, Coppell took the ball first in overtime. After senior running back O’marion Mbakwe broke free yet again for another long rush, it was bottled up at the Waxahachie 9 yard line. After two good plays of defense, Coppell senior wide receiver Tucker Cusano broke free on a slant route and senior quarterback Edward Griffin found him for the touchdown.
“We were finally scoring and we found our rhythm in the second half,” Griffin said. “On top of that our defense was playing extremely well and that really boosted us.
With six minutes left down two touchdowns in the fourth, Griffin found Cusano streaking down the middle of the field, capping the drive off with a 30-yard touchdown.
With one defensive stop needed, Coppell got it, forcing Waxahachie to go three and out.
Three minutes and 71 yards away from completing the comeback.
With the pocket collapsing and the play seemingly over, Griffin was milliseconds away from being taken down. Then, sprinting through the middle of the field emerges Mbakwe. Lightning quick, Griffin releases the ball placing it at the knees of Mbakwe. Sixty-one yards later, Mbakwe is taken down at the Waxahachie 10-yard line.
“When you are playing such a good team like Waxahachie, it is hard not to be stressed,” Mbakwe said. “However, going into half I knew I had to step up and help the team get back on our feet.”
Two plays later, Mbakwe rushed, this time getting to the one-yard line, setting up a quarterback sneak on the next play for Griffin.
For the first time since Sep. 30, 2022 against Lewisville, Coppell was unable to put up any points in the first half down 14-0.
“I’m not calling it a shutout in the first half,” Coppell coach Antonio Wiley said. “We had multiple big plays get called back because of penalties and our guys knew what we had to change to come out in the second half.”
With the comeback not coming until the fourth quarter, it was hard for Coppell to think they had any fight.
“Even though it’s hard to forget, we told our guys to try and forget about the first quarter,” Coppell assistant Eric Hill said. “We knew that as a team we had to try and stick to the plan earlier on and we were unable to so we made sure to tell them to forget and focus on the next play and not the scoreboard.”
With Coppell now 2-0 this season, it is looking to extend that streak against Arlington Bowie at Wilemon Field in Arlington on Friday.
“This isn’t a win that we just want this week,” Wiley said. “We want to play at the level we played at all season and stay 1-0 every week.”
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