MANSFIELD – Ball on the one yard line. Clock is running now at 4:25 to go. False start Coppell.
Six yards to the end zone now. A handoff to senior running back Josh Lock gets the Cowboys all the way down to the two yard line. On the next play, the ball is handed to Lock again, and North Crowley senior linebacker Jabrelle Asberry dives over the line and punches the ball free and it lands in junior cornerback Thomas Cook’s lap, essentially securing the game.
The Coppell football team’s season came to an end on Saturday with a 35-24 loss to North Crowley at Vernon Newsom Stadium in the Class 6A Division I Region I semifinals. The Cowboys end the year 12-1.
North Crowley (13-1) advances to play Allen in the Region I final.
“We made one too many mistakes today,” Coppell coach Antonio Wiley said. “They weren’t the best football team today, however, they won the game and capitalized on our mistakes.”
With there still being 3:53 left in the game, there was a chance to get off the field without utilizing time outs. However, North Crowley ended those possibilities after getting a first down, eating two minutes of the clock.
“Our guys played to the end man,” Wiley said. “They have been the best group all year and they didn’t give up until that final whistle blew.”
With an impressive start to the game, Coppell looked dominant in the run scoring 21 points, all coming via senior running back O’Marion Mbakwe who also had 16 carries for 140 yards.
“I came out and I just wanted to be a dog,” Mbakwe said. “I knew that we needed to set the tone early and show that we are not the team that you want to mess with.”
On the other side, North Crowley’s UNLV commit Cornelius Warren rushed for 204 yards on 30 carries, scoring three touchdowns.
“He has been great all season for us,” North Crowley coach Ray Gates said. “We know that if we need the ball to go somewhere that he is our guy.”
With the loss signifying an end to Coppell’s season, Wiley could not be prouder of his guys, choking up giving his last post-game speech of the season.
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