“We just came out with a lot to prove,” Coppell football coach Antonio Wiley said.
And prove it they did.
On Friday night at Buddy Echols Field, the Coppell football team shut out Flower Mound, 35-0, to clinch a playoff berth with its largest margin of victory this season heading into the final week of district play.
From the very first snap, Coppell (7-1 overall, 5-1 District 5-6A) sent a message. Senior defensive lineman Braylon Powell broke through and sacked Flower Mound (3-6 overall, 2-5 District 5-6A) quarterback Baron Sampson on the opening play, setting the tone for a relentless defensive performance.
After an interception by Coppell sophomore safety Anthony Lewis, Coppell sophomore quarterback Carter Zingelmann and senior running back Dylan McAfee capitalized. McAfee lowered his shoulder and burst through a gap for a 26-yard touchdown run, putting Coppell ahead 7-0 early with 9:17 left in the first quarter.
“From the start of the day through every snap we took, the kids were locked in,” Wiley said. “I saw it in them, they were ready to go.”
Flower Mound responded by driving to Coppell’s 1-yard line midway through the quarter, but the Cowboys’ defensive line stood tall. Three straight stops kept the Jaguars scoreless, preserving Coppell’s lead.
Coppell’s offense wasted no time extending it. Early in the second quarter, Zingelmann, who finished his first game back from an injury with 314 passing yards and two touchdowns, found senior wide receiver Crew Davis on a play-action pass, who was left free to sprint 11 yards into the end zone to make it 14-0 with 10:47 left in the first half.
“It feels good,” sophomore wide receiver Jacob Anene said. “All the work we put in as a team just continues to show. We just keep doing the same things in practice, being ourselves, and getting better every day.”
The Cowboys’ defense continued to dominate. With Flower Mound threatening late in the second quarter, senior safety Daylon Montgomery intercepted a deep ball by Sampson to end the Jaguars’ best drive of the half.
Moments later, Zingelmann rolled right and fired to Anene who pulled the ball in for a 9-yard touchdown, and the Cowboys headed into halftime with a 22-0 lead.
McAfee’s 1-yard score with 5:45 left in the third quarter, and senior Jayden George’s 9-yard touchdown made the score 35-0 with 5:40 left in the game.
Powell sealed the shutout with another sack late in the fourth, as Coppell’s defense recorded its first shutout of the season.
“We stalled out on a couple of drives that I felt like we could’ve finished and added a few more scores,” Wiley said. “But for the most part, we played well. The goal now is to get a little better next week and roll into the playoffs on a high note.”
Coppell finishes the regular season on Thursday at Flower Mound Marcus.
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