By John Loop
Sports Editor
Coppell head coach Joe McBride predicted a different outcome than the 41-8 thumping of Longview in 2012.
So when a rematch came on Friday night in the 2013 Tom Landry Classic, the Lobos were, in McBride’s words, the same unpredictable team came to play at Allen’s Eagle Stadium.
“I thought that [41-8] last year was a mirage,” McBride said. “I told our kids that. I said, ‘You are going to get a hungry, angry, great football team, and we are going to have to battle like gladiators to win.”
And so, the battle raged on. However, when it was all said and done, Coppell came out on top after the horn, in dramatic fashion, 32-24.
Junior quarterback Skyler Bonneau looked less than impressive in his first varsity start, completing only three passes for 67 yards.
The game started off slow, and the ball failed to cross the pylon in the first quarter. But things kicked right into gear in the second quarter, as Longview junior quarterback Dezmond Chumley found senior tight end Jordan Whitaker for the first points of the ball game.
Still, the Cowboys answered the call, rallying behind the combined efforts of senior running back Gavin McDaniel and junior running back Charles West, who continued their production from last year right where they left off. West and McDaniel racked up 165 total yards and three touchdowns on 28 combined carries. McDaniel earned the Jeremie Border Offensive MVP award for his 11-carry, 55-yard performance.
After heading into the locker room trailing by one point at halftime, the offense was looking for anything that could spark them onto victory. Much to its chagrin, Chumley found senior wide receiver and Texas commit Dorian Leonard for a 44-yard score and a two-score lead.
However, in a dramatic sequence of events, the Cowboys forced their first turnover of the season, which consequently allowed them to score one their next offensive possession. Charles West found senior tight end Blake Mahon in the back of the end zone on a halfback pass, which narrowed the Lobo lead to five points.
McBride chose to attempt an onside kick with just under four minutes remaining in the game. As luck would have it, senior cornerback Troy Parker, who showed all over the field on defense and in the return game, scooped it up, allowing the Cowboys to milk the clock and chew up game time.
Coppell (1-0) now moves onto play McKinney Boyd next week, but, according to McBride, there is still a lot of work to do.
“We made a lot of first game mistakes that we need to go back and fix,” McBride said. “But we will definitely get better.”
