By Marcus Krum
Sports Editor
@marcuskrum
In tightly matched games, one or two plays can make a world of difference. 70 yard touchdown passes with two minutes left in the game are nothing to be looked down upon.
However, two key takeaways late in the fourth quarter were the difference-makers for the Cowboys in their narrow 26-20 week one victory over Hebron.
Early on, the Coppell defense was stifling, allowing the Hawks only two first downs until late in the first half, when a Coppell fumble turned into a long drive by Hebron in which they marched 80 yards and scored with 14 seconds left in the quarter.
The two freshman starting on defense, defensive backs T.J. McDaniel and Jonathan McGill, performed very well in their first taste of high school football, looking comfortable in both pass coverage and run support.
“They played like studs,” assistant coach Eric De Los Santos said. “If you didn’t know they were freshman, you wouldn’t have known they were freshman. Obviously we have to go back and watch film, but to the naked eye, I thought they played really good.”
After taking a 14-6 lead into halftime, the defense allowed one touchdown on another long drive in the third quarter, then after two field goals from senior kicker Tyler Smith put the Cowboys ahead by seven. Hebron scored once more with 5:31 left to play, tying it at 20.
The Coppell offense then sputtered around midfield, giving Hebron the ball back with a little over two minutes to play. The Cowboys needed a stop.
“Defensively, we weren’t perfect, but we made some plays when we needed to, we caused some turnovers at crucial times,” De Los Santos said.
The first of these key turnovers came after Hebron quarterback Clayton Tune broke free for a twenty yard run in which, after being chased down by a Coppell defensive back, lost the football. The Cowboys recovered at their own 30 yard line with around two minutes left in the game.
“We’re the type of team that’s never going to give up no matter what happens,” senior linebacker Tyler Bell said. “We just went out there and did our best, and got the outcome we wanted.”
After sophomore quarterback Brady McBride hit senior wide receiver Josh Fink in stride for a 70 yard touchdown on the next play, the defense was thrust into a crucial situation once more. WIth a blocked extra point, Coppell was only up by six. And once more, they came up big.
The Hawks were forced to a 4th down and eight. Senior defensive lineman A.J. Stover-Grant recorded the huge sack on Tune, giving Coppell the ball and the six point lead with around a minute left in the game.
“I was just thinking ‘get to the ball’,” Stover-Grant said. “We had to get there, we needed the stop. Without that, I don’t know how the game would have turned out.”
I was very emotional, just because that was huge for us. That was a game changer right there. In all humbleness, I couldn’t have done it without my teammates. We all came together on that last drive and got the stop.”
Two clutch plays late in a game can help provide a team with a spark that continues beyond just one game. When a team can count on their defense to make stops when they need to, they go from being good to being great.
