By Marcus Krum
Sports Editor
@marcuskrum
Nail-biter. Wild. Many words can describe the Cowboys’ week one 26-20 victory that saw 3 freshman starting, late heroics from a sophomore quarterback, and a 14-point lead get shaved down to zero.
However, none do quite as good as this: eye-opening.
Several aspects of the Coppell team looked very similar to last year, such as senior wide receiver Josh Fink, who picked up right where he left off with 10 catches for 160 yards and a touchdown, and senior linebacker Tyler Bell, who looked comfortable as one of the leaders of the defense.
Other aspects, such as sophomore quarterback Brady McBride, were a pleasant surprise as a new addition to the team. In his first start at Coppell, McBride went an impressive 21/26 for 241 yards and a touchdown.
Senior wide receiver Josh Fink lines up in
the red zone in the Cowboys’ week one win over
Hebron. Fink finished with 10 catches for 160
yards and a touchdown. Photo by Aubrie Sisk.
“I think he did really good,” Fink said. “He was really composed for a young quarterback, he made plays when he needed to. He did a really good job.”
After each team went three and out on their first possessions, the Cowboys started to drive down the field, moving slowly but surely with short passes from McBride to the sidelines. They made it inside the 10 yard line, but were stopped on fourth down and turned the ball over on downs.
Hebron missed a field goal on their next possession, and the Cowboys again drove steadily down the field, this time mixing in more runs from junior running back Joe Fex. Fex punched it in from the one yard line, giving Coppell a 7-0 lead early in the second quarter.
After more stout defensive play from the Cowboys forced a Hebron punt, McBride and the offense went 60 yards in only 6 plays, capping it with a one yard quarterback keeper into the left corner of the end zone.
“His actions speak for themselves,” Coppell head coach Mike Dewitt said. “He’s got a lot of great kids around him, he’s got 10 other kids on the field with him. Kudos to those guys, they stepped up.”
After Hebron punted for a third time in the first half, Coppell had one more chance to score, but a fumble on the one yard line that went through the back of the end zone kept it at a two touchdown lead for the Cowboys. The Hawks promptly marched right down the field and scored to end the first half down only 14-6.
“We’re going to watch tape tomorrow with the [players],” DeWitt said. “There’s a lot of things we need to fix and clean up, but a lot of things we did well. We just have to keep getting better.”
After the teams traded punts to start the second half, Hebron fumbled on their own 19 yard line to set up great field position for the Cowboys. However, they were forced to settle for a field goal from senior kicker Tyler Smith.
Hebron drove down the field with several long runs from their quarterback and scored to pull the score to 17-13 Coppell. Another field goal from Smith gave the Cowboys a 20-13 lead with 10 minutes left to play.
The Hawks, who had found their offensive stride, took their time with a long drive that tied the score at 20 with five minutes remaining. After a fourth down conversion for Coppell was unsuccessful, the Cowboys needed a defensive stop.
The Cowboys celebrate after scoring a touchdown
in the second quarter of the game against the
Hebron Hawks. The Cowboys played Friday
night and won 26-20. Photo by Aubrie Sisk.
Hebron looked as if they were about to strike again. However, at the end of a 20 yard run from their quarterback, the ball popped loose and was recovered by Coppell.
On the very next play, McBride, looking in midseason form, took the snap, a short drop back, and launched a pass to a wide open Fink for the 70 yard game winning touchdown.
“We were running a lot of quick game to the right, and I was [the backside receiver] and the weren’t looking at me too much, so I finally ran a backside post and got open,” Fink said.
The Cowboys’ defense came up big once more, forcing a turnover on downs and ending the game with a 26-20 victory.
A close win like this early on in the season is huge to help a team put everything into perspective and to show what they are capable of.
“It changes everything,” senior defensive lineman A.J. Stover-Grant said. “We are considered the underdog in our district [this season] and we all believe that that’s incorrect. We just came out here and showed everybody what we’re all about.”
