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Football: Marcus maligned by mistakes, lose 31-0 to Coppell
By Matthew Costa, Staff Writer
COPPELL- Errors abounded for Coppell (8-0, 3-0 in district 5-5A) and Flower Mound Marcus (2-6, 1-2 in district 5-5A) Friday night, but after the final gun went off it was the Cowboys who remained undefeated after a 31-0 victory.
"Our defense played great all night," said Joe McBride, Coppell head coach. "They played with a ton of effort. We just have to play better on offense."
Coppell started the game quickly, using a 58-yard kickoff return by junior returner Troy Parker to shorten the field, a common theme for the Cowboys in the first half. Four plays later, senior quarterback Colby Mahon found senior receiver Cameron Smith in the corner of the end zone for a 7-0 lead.
Marcus responded with a long kickoff of its own, bringing the ball out to the 47-yard line but could not gain a first down afterwards. Coppell stopped senior running back Wyatt Verret on a fourth-down attempt, and gave the ball back to Mahon and the offense at midfield.
After trading possessions late in the first quarter, Coppell fumbled inside Marcus territory, as junior running back Gavin McDaniel was stretching for extra yards, but could not hold on to ball. Unfortunately for the Marauders, the favor was quickly returned when senior back Court Prescott gave the ball back to the Cowboys at the Coppell 30-yard line.
Coppell cashed in nine plays later, as sophomore running back Charles West bounced a run outside from 1 yard out and doubled the Cowboys lead to 14-0.
Any chance of Marcus closing the gap with seven minutes remaining in the half was a long scoring drive to give the Marauders defense a chance to rest. Instead, Verret fumbled on the second play of the ensuing drive, setting Coppell up near midfield again.
Marcus' defense was able to keep the Cowboys out of the end zone, but junior kicker Adam Centers converted a season-long 51-yard field goal and pushed the score even further in Coppell's favor at 17-0.
The final attempt at a drive in the first half for the Marauders proved to be the most costly, as the exchange from senior quarterback Ryan Vaughn to Verret was dropped and recovered again by Coppell.
Coppell didn't waste any time in scoring its third touchdown of the half on a fade pass from Mahon to senior receiver Jason Lister, ending the first half scoring at 24-0 Cowboys.
After 24 minutes of play, Marcus and Coppell combined for four turnovers and five fumbles overall. The difference was the Cowboys ability to take advantage of Marauder mistakes and that proved to be the Achilles heel for Marcus in the second half.
"We just can't turn the ball over," said Bryan Erwin, Marcus head coach. "That's not what winners do. As long as that happens, we're not even giving ourselves a chance to fight."
Coppell gave the Marauders life on two consecutive drives in the third quarter, fumbling away possessions inside Marcus territory. Unfortunately, the Marauders' offense was unable to get past the defense of the Cowboys and ended the game with just eight first downs.
"Our defense is a stone wall," Mahon said. "They make good offenses like [Marcus] look bad at times."
The final points of the night were scored after Marcus failed to convert a fourth down attempt, giving the ball to Coppell near midfield. McDaniel made up for his earlier mistake by ending any chance of a Marauder comeback on a 10-yard run to the end zone, finalizing the score at 31-0.
"I thought overall our defense played well," McBride said. "You don't get a shutout without playing well. I'm proud of everyone who contributed."
Marcus will look to get back on the winning side in an attempt to reach the playoffs next week versus hometown rival Flower Mound at 7:30 p.m. at Marauder Stadium.
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