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Top sports stories of the year: No. 3

Published: Friday, December 28, 2012 7:37 PM CST

Football: Cowboys finish off perfect regular season

By Matthew Costa, Staff Writer

COPPELL-- With the end of a tough regular season in the books, Coppell and Lewisville fought for little more than bragging rights Friday night as both teams' fates had already been decided.

The Cowboys (10-0, 5-0 in district 5-5A) defeated the Farmers (1-9, 0-5) by a final score of 41-3 at Coppell.

"Our kids really wanted to come out on senior night and tribute this win to Jacob Logan," said Joe McBride, Coppell head coach. "We've been playing well and had a great week of practice. Our kids just made a great effort."

Coppell quarterback Colby Mahon and the offense came out red hot against the Farmers, running just four plays for 48 yards on their opening drive before taking a 7-0 lead. The first touchdown of the night came on a rollout to Mahon's right side as the senior found his favorite target, senior receiver Cameron Smith, in the corner of the end zone from 22 yards away.

"That play was just a tribute to them," McBride said. "It's just a case of communication and working together to succeed on a play."

Lewisville's defense did not let itself get down after the early deficit. Senior lineman Hendrick Ekpe recovered a fumble by Mahon, rumbling down the sideline to the Cowboys' 4-yard line. Ekpe's run gave his offense a chance to put points on the board against a tough Coppell defense, which they did by way of a 30-yard field goal by junior Tiuang Hmung.

"My safety got the sack and as soon as I saw the ball I tried to scoop and score," Ekpe said.

Leading just 7-3 early in the second quarter, Coppell needed to make a push in order to keep its perfect season out of harm's way. Starting at their own 25-yard line, the Cowboys quickly got to midfield in four plays before sophomore running back Charles West sprinted up the right sideline for a 50-yard touchdown run and a 14-3 lead.

"That's just one of our bread-and-butter plays," McBride said. "It's a common play for us. Our kids just executed a little better this week."

West's carries were limited to only the first half, but he was very efficient with them, running nine times for 113 yards and the score.

The Farmers were unable to respond and punted three plays later. Lewisville was unable to sustain any long drives, gaining 85 total yards and three first downs against the Cowboys' defense.

Coppell used a strong defensive performance all night, giving its offense short fields following several punts by Lewisville. Mahon found his fellow senior, tight end Josh Self, for an 11-yard touchdown after a three-and-out by the Farmers gave the Cowboys another short field, and grew the lead to 21-3 before the first half came to a close.

Mahon finished his regular season in style, completing 7-of-11 passes for 90 yards and two touchdowns to give the senior 24 for the season.

Lewisville's final chances of a comeback were squashed early in the third, as senior back Luke Jenner ran three times on the Cowboys' first drive after halftime, and scored on a 2-yard plunge. Coppell's lead grew to 27-3 and the defense shut the door on the Farmers from that point on.

"As one of our assistant coaches said this week, 'it's like putting football helmets on bears,'" said Gregg Miller, Lewisville head coach. "They're one of the best defenses I've ever seen. They're outstanding."

Coppell brought in the reserves after that score and went on to finish the game with that outstanding defense, 41-3, over a dejected Lewisville squad.

"We just have to teach them how to finish in the offseason and rebuild from there," Miller said. "These senior did a good job though of building a foundation for us."

While Lewisville's season is over, Coppell will enter the Division I 5A tournament undefeated going against Irving MacArthur Saturday at 11 a.m. at Cowboys Stadium in Arlington.

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