Week 5 Winner:Joe McBride
Coach McBride
Courtesy photo
Football hopes for
Coppell (Texas), rosy at the completion of spring practice, turned uncertain leading up to kickoff of the 2012 season.
The
Cowboys would be without a couple of contributors at key positions,
dismissed for repeat rule violations over the summer.
But now at the midpoint of the regular season, any apprehension is long gone.
Coppell
boasts a 5-0 record, its latest triumph Friday night's 27-24 overtime
thriller over Allen (Texas), then No. 10 nationally in the
MaxPreps Freeman Rankings.
For
his team's upset victory, and conviction to principle, Coppell coach
Joe McBride was selected as the Dallas Coach of the Week presented by
Comerica Bank.
"Every place has its rules, its black and white
boundary,'' said McBride. "I'm a guy that believes all kids need to have
second chances. I consider myself a mentor to kids. We invest a lot of
time and we care about them. But there is also a point where kids have
to be held accountable to each other.''
From the outset, Coppell
has focused on the task at hand this season. Coming into the Allen game
Coppell had built a perfect 5-0 record.
Allen, however,
represented Coppell's biggest test to date. Buoyed by the opening of its
$60 million stadium this season, Allen's resume included impressive
wins over defending Class 5A Division I state champion Carroll
(Southlake, Texas) and Cedar Hill (Texas).
Coppell
got off to a fast start and led Allen throughout the first half, only
to fall behind in the third quarter.
Trailing by eight points in
the fourth quarter, Coppell had to dig deep to drive 78 yards for a
touchdown and make good on a 2-point conversion to reach overtime.
Colby Mahon's 35-yard touchdown pass to
Cameron Smith with five minutes remaining brought Coppell to within two, 21-19. Luke Jenner added a conversion run to tie.
A
Coppell goal-line stand limited Allen to a go-ahead field goal in
overtime. When Coppell got its overtime chance the senior connection of
Mahon-to-Smith found the end zone again, this time from 23 yards, for
the game-winner that spurred a walk-off celebration at Coppell's Cowboys
Stadium.
"I'm just so proud of the way our kids responded,''
McBride said. "It was a great game by both teams in a playoff-type
atmosphere. We battled through a lot of adversity.''
Smith
finished with six catches for 129 yards and Mahon, a transfer from Class
3A Bridgeport (Texas), connected on 11 of 22 throws for 165 yards.
Coppell,
which climbed from No. 66 nationally in the Freeman rankings to No. 14,
got a big lift from a 116-yard rushing performance by junior
Gavin McDaniel, the younger brother of former Coppell star runner Cam McDaniel, now a sophomore for the Fighting Irish of Notre Dame.
"Gavin
is unique in his own way from Cam,'' said McBride, "but he shares the
same passion and effort. Both of them play the game with a lot of
heart.''
When McBride took the reigns of the football program in
2009, he became Coppell's third head coach in three seasons. He has
stabilized the situation and endeared himself to Coppell fans with a
record that now stands at 35-7.
The Cowboys reached the third
round of the Class 5A Division I playoffs in McBride‘s first season.
They went a step deeper in 2010, going 13-1, losing to Euless Trinity in
a memorable state quarterfinal.
Dogged
by injuries in 2011 — including injuries to two quarterbacks — Coppell
failed to make the playoffs.
McBride has earned the reputation
for "defense first'' in an era of offensive-minded mentors. Coppell's
defense is allowing only 10.5 points per game.
"I don't
de-emphasize offense, but I'm a firm believer that defense wins
championships,'' McBride said. "You've got to be able to stop people or
it doesn't matter how many points you score.''
The strength of this particular Coppell defense is its front four led by defensive ends
Solomon Thomas and
William Udeh, a University of New Mexico pledge.
McBride
and his Cowboys have an open week to bask in the glow before opening
the District 5-5A schedule at Hebron on Friday, Oct. 12.
