By John Loop
Sports Writer
The DeSoto Eagles were just too quick to take down for the Coppell Cowboys, as the Eagles put 42 points on the scoreboard in a convincing 42-14 victory.
DeSoto junior running back Dontre Wilson reached the endzone four times, all in the first half, to give the Eagles a lead they would never relinquish.
Wilson, a University of Oregon commit, scored on the first Eagle possession to pull out in front for a 7-0 lead.
The Cowboys took the ball and started to work, but mistakes would halt the offense’s progress. Four costly penalties, totaling 25 yards, forced a Coppell punt early in the first period of play.
“We just started nervous,” head coach Joe McBride said. “You cannot have miscues, like we started with, against a great team. Give DeSoto a lot of credit.”
Coppell senior quarterback Colby Mahon had a tough time finding his receivers early, though he threw a pretty pass to senior Cameron Smith from 13 yards out to make the score 14-7.
Wilson found the endzone a third time on a 71 yard run to push score to 20-7 to end the first period of play.
The scoring would not stop for DeSoto. Wilson trotted in on a 46-yard pass from junior quarterback Desmon White to increase the lead to 28-7 at halftime.
Mahon, playing in his last game in a Coppell uniform, finished 17 of 28 for 217 yards, two touchdowns, and one interception.
“The Lord put me here, and he knew what he was doing when he put me here,” Mahon said. “[The game] did not turn out how we wanted it to, but to God be the glory every single time, no matter what the outcome.”
Smith finished his season with 1,071 yards and 15 touchdowns, but none more important to the course of the season than his game winning catch versus the Allen Eagles.
The Coppell upset of the then No. 1 team in the area told the entire high school football universe all it needed to know, that Coppell football was back and better than ever.
But things took a turn for the worse after the team had to take the field against Flower Mound without one of its brothers.
Senior wide receiver and defensive back Jacob Logan passed away in October after a tragic cliff-jumping accident at Possum Kingdom Lake.
Logan’s death gave the Cowboys a higher purpose and a larger sense of motivation to compete in their new district 5-5A, against which they had a sparkling 5-0 record.
The team rushed head-on into the postseason after a 41-3 victory against Lewisville for a matchup against the Irving MacArthur Cardinals, which Coppell won handily, 31-7.
Through the season’s ups and downs, this year’s Coppell squad has had to battle adversity from the start.
“We started the season with adversity and some stuff, and the, right in the middle of the year with more adversity losing J-Lo,” McBride said. “Our kids are resilient and close; they care, they are tight, and I just love them.”
