ARLINGTON – A black and gray flash dashes across the field. Forty-nine yards later, the Coppell football team is only 16 yards away from scoring its third touchdown on the night.
Coppell senior quarterback Edward Griffin takes the snap and connects with senior wide receiver Harry Hassmann for the touchdown that would kick the game into high gear for the rest of the night.
On Friday night, Coppell defeated Arlington Bowie, 72-33, in a high-scoring offensive affair at Wilemon Field.
The second quarter was a big one for Coppell, with touchdowns from senior wide receiver Tucker Cusano, senior running back O’Marion Mbakwe and Hassmann.
However, the Volunteers tried to rally in the second quarter with big plays from senior quarterback Larry Nichols, senior running back Zion Shelley and an interception returned for a touchdown by senior edge Okello Okello. Despite the Volunteers efforts, Coppell led 34-14 by halftime.
The Volunteers made efforts to continue their rally throughout the game with multiple quarterback scrambles, player changes and two-point conversions. However, Mbakwe had three 45+ yard one-play drives ranging from 10 to 20 seconds resulting in touchdowns which helped Coppell run away with the lead.
“[I’ve been preparing for this kind of night] my whole life,” Mbakwe said. “Every day with the team, waking up at 6:30 a.m. it’s not easy. Every day is a preparation for the next game and the next game and the next game so this week waking up and working out with the team, getting our chemistry better, it was all preparation for this moment.”
Creating big plays such as those were not easy. They required great communication by every member of the offense and ultimately, trust in Mbakwe.
“On the sideline, Edward tried to get me and our line to get focused and locked in because that’s what they came out to do,” Mbakwe said. “I couldn’t have done any of that without my line, they came in and locked in and so all I had to do was lock in with them. Whenever we do that, we put great things together.”
Though the Cowboys had a strong night, Coppell coach Antonio Wiley is always looking to improve.
“We had to play mistake free in the second half,” Wiley said. “We made some big mistakes, but the game went as we thought it would, we knew we would be able to move the ball. We thought we would be a lot better on defense, but we found ways to let that quarterback scramble around and make plays with his legs and his arm. We gave up too many points, I think we should have given up about 21 or less points.”
While the Cowboys are celebrating going 3-0 as they head into the open week, for Wiley this win is bittersweet.
“It was one of those things where things just went well late in the game,” Wiley said. “We’re just trying to run the clock out, running the ball and it’s popping for 50–yard runs, 60–yard runs and there’s nothing I can do about that. [Bowie coach Sammy Epps] over there, he’s a good friend of mine so I wasn’t trying to score 72 on him, I was trying to run the ball and get out of here. They just, they weren’t tackling and, and we were creasing them and going to score. What can I say?”
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