GARLAND — With 7:48 left in the third quarter, Coppell sophomore quarterback Carter Zingelmann spotted his chance. He lowered his shoulder, pushed past defenders, and powered 10 yards into the end zone, extending Coppell’s lead to three touchdowns and giving the Cowboys just enough cushion to hold on.
From there, the Cowboys’ defense faltered, but it didn’t break. Sachse scored twice in the second half as Coppell held on for a 28-20 victory at Homer B. Johnson Stadium
“We got better at playing a little bit of gap control, but it’s still not quite where it should be,” Coppell coach Antonio Wiley said. “We found a way to come out with a win without playing our best football, and that’s a big deal.”
The game opened with both teams trading defensive stops before Zingelmann broke through a gap and sprinted 45 yards down the field into the end zone. In the second quarter, he struck again, finding space around the Mustangs’ defense and scoring on an eight-yard touchdown run to make the score 14-0.
“It was a nerve-wracking game, but it was fun,” Zingelmann said. “There is a lot to work on together, but we did good and will work on our mistakes for the future.”
Throughout the game, a combined 23 penalties were called, and two interceptions were thrown. However, Coppell managed to steady itself, grinding downfield play by play until junior running back Jayden George leapt through Sachse senior tight end Ben Wright and junior defensive back Khoury Easley’s defense and into the end zone for a five-yard touchdown.
Coppell was flagged nine times for 85 yards. The Cowboys also had six dropped passes in addition to Zingelmann’s two thrown interceptions, and they admitted the season-opener was far from perfect.
“This is one of the sloppiest games I’ve ever coached since I have been here,” Wiley said. “We had a lot of mistakes, but at the end, we’re one-up.”
Sachse answered late in the first half as senior running back Roderick Rainwater scored to get the Mustangs on the scoreboard 21-6 with 1:07 left in the second quarter. Coppell senior running back Dylan McAfee countered with a 14-yard run that extended the drive and helped Coppell keep momentum.
The Mustangs fought back in the second half. A 50-yard run allowed the Mustangs to make it 28-14 in the third quarter, and quarterback Dirk Williams Jr. scored a rushing touchdown in the fourth. However, a missed extra point on their final score left Sachse down, 28-20.
“Obviously, we had our flaws, but we’re going to work on practicing that on Monday and get better each week,” Coppell senior safety Tyrell Roberson said. “We just need to make sure we all run to the ball, fill our gaps, and do our own job.”
Coppell moves to 1-0 and hosts Waxahachie on Friday at Buddy Echols Field.
“All we can do is go chase our next one,” Wiley said. “One and up every game.
