By Chris Reagan

Staff Writer

1. Coppell Volleyball wins Class 5A state Championship

This year was the first time in Coppell history for volleyball to win a state championship. To make it even more impressive, the win was with first-year coach Julie Green, who came in at the end of last year with a new philosophy.

“By shaping us into better volleyball players she also shaped us into better individuals,” senior libero Kristen Dickerson said. “She taught us the value of hard work, responsibility, and perseverance.”

Green brought in a plan that called for constant test of mental and physical toughness. This paid off in season as the girls went on to have a very successful regular season with their only district losses coming to an excellent Southlake Carroll team.

Despite a couple close matches against an always-tough Hebron Lady Hawks and San Antonio Johnson the Cowgirls rolled through playoffs, capped off with an 3-1 win over McKinney Boyd.

Green was recognized for her work with the team with the ESPN Coach of the Year award.

But Green would not be able to do it without a very talented team behind her. The team came together under the leadership of seniors Sarah Arnold and Dickerson as well as juniors Cassidy Pickrell and Chiaka Ugbogu

“I am always going to remember this season,” Arnold said. “All these girls, I love them so much and we went through all this together and getting to state together was incredible. We have worked really hard and to come out and finish and be number one it feels amazing.”

2. Senior quarterback Jake Larson injured against Denton Guyer

In a shocking twist of events early in the football season, senior quarterback Jake Larson was injured in a Thursday night matchup against Denton Guyer.

Larson was later found out to have torn his right anterior cruciate ligament, medial collateral ligament and meniscus, and was unable to return for the remainder of the season aside from short series of limited action. The injury left Coppell in a bind at the quarterback position leaving the already ailing Cowboys to rely unproven junior Tyler Zabojnik and sophomore Connor Wilson.

The two shared the amount of snaps and despite promising throwing abilities, coach Joe McBride moved the Cowboys to a very simple run based offense to help out the young, inexperienced team.

The injury deflated the team looking to rebuild after losing the graduating seniors, and trying to prove themselves. The team rallied but was unable to recover from the loss and narrowly missed playoffs.

“I was coming off the field, and I saw everyone get on their knees,” junior wide receiver Jason Lister said. “I realized someone was hurt, and I asked who it was. Someone said ‘Larson.’ After that, everything sucked.”

Larson has made his recovery and in February signed to the University of Texas-El Paso to continue his dream of playing football in college.

The injury was a devastating end to a hope filled season for Larson, but his determination to make his dream happen is an inspiring one.

3. Offensive Coordinator Mike Dormady departs mid-season

There were many surprises that came from the football team, but no more shocking than the early departure of offensive coordinator Mike Dormandy.

This philosophy did not fit with Dormady’s pass oriented offense, and it was decided he should depart from the team.

The system was a simple run based offense with just a few plays so it was easy for the new starters to remember.

The loss of Larson as well as Dormady was too much for the Cowboys to overcome as they went 2-3 in the remainder of the season.

Jay Jones was named the interim replacement for Dormady but after the season Michael Odle was named the permanent offensive coordinator.

4. Boys soccer completes almost undefeated season

In addition to volleyball, the boys soccer team also experienced a great regular season with their only defeat coming at the hands of Southlake Carroll.

For the majority of the year the Cowboys stayed undefeated and were even ranked number one in the state and number two in the nation.

The Cowboys success this year, much like the volleyball team, came at the hands of first-year coach Chad Rakestraw. Rakestraw came from Justin Northwest replacing Shane Bybee after his departure to Southlake Carroll.

Coppell was a step up from Rakestraw’s previous school, taking advantage of the tradition of talent that comes through the program.

“I think we’re back to the point,” Rakestraw said, “We’re bringing back the tradition of the program and the deep playoff runs. We’re taking a step in the right direction.”

Senior captains Will Simmonds, Phillip Ellis and Tanner lines all took different roles in motivating the team and getting them back in their winning ways after a disappointing season last year.

Though the Cowboys had an upsetting first round loss in the playoffs the accolades they earned, including a district championship mark a successful season and a promising start in Rakestraw’s young career at Coppell.

5. Boys basketball team experiences regular season and playoff success

Led by seniors Austin Mankin, Jett Raines and Warren Oishi the basketball team was going into the season with high hopes and expectations. The trio has all been on varsity for years and was looking to continue last year’s success which ended in a district championship for the Cowboys.

The team had a successful season going 25-9 overall and 12-1 in district, finishing second to Keller Central.  The Cowboys were still hungry for more and were disappointed at not earning a second district championship.

“Overall I think this was a very successful season however we did not finish how we wanted to,” junior Patrick Barden said. “We accomplished a lot of great things and we won a lot of great games. Everybody played their hearts out every game and gave it all they got.”

The Cowboys went on to playoffs and played some very exciting, close games defeating Allen in the first round and a disappointing second- round loss to Mansfield Timberview in a close 53-51 defeat.

The game was a quick end to a promising playoff run, but the game went down to the wire and the Cowboys made sure to finish through the end.

The team’s success is credited not only to the wealth of talent available, but also the leadership on the team as well as the closeness of the team.

“The seniors brought their leadership on and off the court so we could grow together as a team,” Barden said.