Taking Four Quarters at a Time…this week at Coppell

by Kirk Dooley

The Scots travel to Coppell this Friday to battle another 6A foe, the Coppell Cowboys, at Buddy Echols Stadium. Both teams enter the game 1-1.

Coppell opened the season with a convincing 42-28 win over Sachse then were stunned by Prestonwood Christian, 55-41, last Friday. The Cowboys offense is averaging more than 40 points per game, which is enough to  beat most mortal beings. But the Coppell defense is allowing an average of more than 40 points per game, which is enough to allow most mortal beings to beat them.

Let’s start with the Coppell offense. After two games, quarterback Jack Fishpaw has completed 31 of 50 passes for 537 yards and four touchdowns. He’s a solid QB who will get better each game. The not-so-secret weapon for the Cowboys is running back Dylan Nelson who is a serious threat as a receiver coming out of the backfield. In his first game this season he caught seven passes for 246 yards and three touchdowns against linebackers who don’t have sprinter speed. He averaged 35 yards per catch. On his spare time he gained 59 yards on the ground, averaging 7.38 yards per touch, and another TD on the ground. After all, he is a running back.

Last week while the Prestonwood defense focused on Nelson (who ran four times for 50 yards and caught seven passes for 98 yards) the Coppell offense introduced its other running back to North Texas football fans. His name is Blake Robbins. He clobbered the Prestonwood defense with 143 yards on 26 carries. His job was to get into the end zone and he did it four times.

Last week the Cowboys led 21-17 at halftime. Then the Prestonwood offense exploded and outscored the Cowboys 24-7 in the third quarter and then added 14 points in the final period.

Most sportswriters have picked Highland Park to beat Coppell based on the Cowboys giving up 38 points in the second half to Prestonwood. The Cowboys will be fighting mad about that when they play the Scots.

After getting tarred and feathered on national TV against Southlake Carroll two weeks ago, the Scots had to rally to beat Flower Mound, 28-24, last week in a game where most people in the stands thought HP was playing Mesquite Horn.

After leading at halftime, 14-7, and holding a 21-7 advantage after three periods, the Scots witnessed a 17 point run by Flower Mound to take the lead with 1:55 left in the game.

This is exactly the situation coach Randy Allen wanted to put the Scots in when he scheduled four 6A schools for their pre-district games. The Scots had two minutes to win the game. Or not.

Quarterback Brennan Storer marched his team 61 yards down the field. He needed to convert a key third-and-five so he ran for a first down. He hit receiver glue-fingered John Rutledge for a 22 yard reception. Then the Scots’ power runner, Ben Croasdale, bulled his way into the end zone from the four-yard-line with 45 seconds left in the game.

Yes, an inexperienced HP offense grew up in that drive.

The next eight quarters will be more challenging for the Scots. They best take them four at a time.