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Football: Wing-clippers: Cowboys top Eagles in overtime thriller
By Justin Thomas, jthomas@starlocalnews.com
COPPELL - The top ranking in Class 5A may well have been on the line Friday night when unbeaten Coppell hosted No. 2 Allen.
But four quarters wasn't enough time to determine who earned it.
Instead, the Cowboys and Eagles needed overtime, where Coppell laid its claim to the top spot when quarterback Colby Mahon found receiver Cameron Smith over the middle for a 23-yard touchdown to give the Cowboys a 27-24 victory.
"They battled all night and we have a great group of kids."
Allen (4-1) had the first crack in overtime, but settled for a field goal despite being setup with a first-and-goal at the 1-yard line. The Cowboys (5-0) defense denied Allen twice before a delay of game set the Eagles back and a subsequent incompletion - on a pass in the back corner of the end zone that was hauled in by senior Troy Knudsen just out of bounds - forced the field goal from junior Carlos Arochi.
"We made a bunch of mistakes tonight," said Tom Westerberg, Allen head coach. "It's not the kids fault, I'm going to take the blame on the whole game and we'll have them ready to play the next time."
Coppell's rally started well before overtime as the Cowboys had to drive 95 yards with less than 10 minutes remaining in the fourth quarter and make a 2-point conversion just to force the extra period.
That's exactly what they did, pulling within two on a 35-yard scoring strike from Mahon to Smith on a third-and-1 with 5:03 left.
Mahon finished 11-of-22 for 165 yards and two scores, while Smith made plays throughout, totaling 129 yards on six catches with a pair of touchdowns.
"[Colby] was nervous early," McBride said. "He's been in Bridgeport and this was a big atmosphere. But he responded, battled and made the plays we ultimately needed to win the game. He came over in that timeout (before the game-winning score) and was emphatic about what we wanted to run. He called that play and we made it happen. I'm proud of his leadership and for not letting the moment of the game get to him too much and rallying us in the end."
In a game of big stretches, Coppell opened just as they closed.
The Cowboys posted the game's first 13 points and at one point early in the second quarter had run 34 plays against just seven for Allen. The Eagles also lost senior starting running back Jeff Harris in the first quarter with just one carry under his belt.
After scoring a field goal on its opening two possessions, Coppell intercepted Allen senior quarterback Oliver Pierce, taking over at the Eagles' 49 and cashing in on a 1-yard touchdown dive from Mahon. The senior threw for 101 yards in the first half, while the running game totaled 120 yards, including 59 from Gavin McDaniel and 39 from Jacob Logan. McDaniel finished with a game-high 116 yards on 20 carries.
"We wanted to start fast and didn't want to sit over there in awe of a great team like Allen," McBride said. "We wanted to go to work in our place and get the fans involved. I give the kids the credit for being focused and ready."
Allen, however, began to gain momentum late in the second after a botched snap stalled a Coppell possession.
The Eagles drove 58 yards to cut the deficit to 13-7 when Pierce scored from three yards out. The drive included three completions for 39 yards to junior Kendall Clinton, who finished with five grabs for 49 yards.
In the second half, Allen looked to sophomore quarterback Kyler Murray for a spark.
And he delivered.
Murray paced Allen with 95 rushing yards on 10 carries with two touchdowns, while senior running back Marcus Ward had 12 carries for 76 yards.
Through the air, Murray completed 7-of-9 for 43 yards, including three on one drive to Pierce for 23 yards to set up Murray's first touchdown run. That give Allen its first lead at 14-13, which was also the first time Coppell had trailed this year.
Early in the fourth, Murray appeared to give Allen control when he faked the handoff on a zone-read and darted 49 yards for a touchdown and 21-13 advantage.
"We didn't come out ready to play at the beginning of the game and waited too long to get geared up," Westerberg said. "But Kyler gave us a big boost and we started playing better offensively."
Coppell's first deficit was short-lived as the Cowboys answered with the 95-yard drive to force overtime. Coppell ran on seven of the first eight plays before the touchdown pass to Smith and subsequent tying conversion, which Luke Jenner ran in.
"We had to go 95 yards and get the 2-point conversion," McBride said. "I'm so proud of these kids for that drive."
Coppell has time to celebrate the victory with a bye next week before opening District 5-5A play at 7:30 p.m. Oct. 12 at Hebron.
"I'm really, really ready to relax for a week and rally our troops up for this district run," McBride said. "But there are a lot of great football teams we have to play and it's week-to-week. We have a great football team to start district against Hebron over there in the Woodshed. There is no easy road."
Allen also has a bye before it looks to bounce back at the same time and date against Plano East from Murphy's Kimbrough Stadium.
"We have to go back and look at the mistakes we've made over the past five weeks," Westerberg said, "and then get after it."
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