Finishing it off with a final touchdown reception from senior quarterback Brady McBride to senior tight end Reese Walker, the Coppell Cowboys varsity football team beat the Lake Highlands Wildcats, 49-34, last Friday night at Buddy Echols Field.

The Cowboys (5-1 overall, 3-0 in District 9-6A) scored the majority of their points off of passing touchdowns. The first of which was the Cowboys’ second touchdown of the game, following junior running back Ryan Hirt’s 47-yard touchdown run.

In the first quarter, the Wildcats (3-3 overall, 1-2 in district) jumped to a 10-0 lead. This was due to a quick touchdown by Lake Highlands, followed by a fumble recovery on the kickoff return. The Wildcats then kicked a field goal later in the drive.

But, things turned around for the Cowboys when Hirt scored the first touchdown. This was followed by another touchdown when senior receiver Gabe Lemons caught a 15-yard pass from McBride at the end of the first quarter to make it 14-10 Coppell.

To start the second half, McBride found Lemons in the end zone once again to extend the Cowboys lead to 28-20. This was followed by another touchdown reception, this one 45 yards to Walker to give the Cowboys a 35-20 lead.

Then, to start the fourth quarter, the Wildcats closed the gap a little bit with a touchdown to make it 35-27. But, the Cowboys returned the favor when Hirt runs it up the middle from a few yards out to bring the score to 42-27.

After one more Wildcats touchdown, the Cowboys ended it with a final touchdown to Walker.

In the second quarter, Lake Highlands took the lead for the second, and last, time of the game when they ran the ball in from the 14-yard line to bring the score to 17-14 Lake Highlands. The Cowboys retaliated with a 6-yard touchdown reception to junior receiver Jonathan McGill, giving them a 21-17.

On the next drive, the Wildcats kicked a field goal for the final points before the half. The score was 21-20 going into halftime with the Cowboys still with the lead.

This strong, versatile offensive combination of running and passing the ball worked well for the Cowboys, getting five receiving touchdowns to three different players and two rushing touchdowns by Ryan Hirt. After last week’s abundance of fumbles, the Coppell offense came out much more composed this time around.

The Cowboys defense improved its performance in the second half, allowing 14 points.

“In the second half, we came out and played with discipline,”McGill said.

On the offensive side, the Cowboys were able to finish each scoring drive with a touchdown, never needing to attempt a field goal.

The Cowboys will play next Friday night once again at Buddy Echols Field against the W.T. White Longhorns.