The showdown is set. 

The Class 6A Division I Region I area playoff is at 7 p.m. on Friday at John Clark Stadium. Coppell (11-0) takes on Lake Highlands (9-2) in a chance to extend both teams’ seasons and face the winner of the North Crowley (11-0) and Odessa Permian (8-3) matchup in the top half of the bracket. 

With a chance to extend the season, the Cowboys look to find some type of offense in the first half that has been lacking for most of the season. 

“We cannot start off slow every playoff game like we did against Prosper,” Coppell coach Antonio Wiley said. “The deeper we go the better the teams get and another slow start could cost us our season.”

Being known for their run game, Lake Highlands looks to use its junior running back Christian Rhodes for a lot of the game.

“Our defense is pretty stout,” Wiley said. “We have to come out and attack early, and if we can gauge the understanding of their run game we have a chance to stop the run.” 

The pressure and attention will be on the Cowboys as they have a No. 8 ranking in Class 6A according to Dave Campbell’s Texas Football official High School rankings and a No.3 ranking in the state according to MaxPreps. 

“This is the most important football game of the season,” Wiley said. “We have had the same message all year and it is not going to change.” 

Already making history going undefeated in the regular season for the second consecutive year, Coppell is looking for another piece of history – a state championship. 

“I tell them to leave their legacy and set the bar higher for the incoming class,” Wiley said. “We have a chance to do something special this year and we are going to try our best to play in that mid-December championship game.”

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