Coppell takes down Denton Guyer

Coppell senior linebacker Brandon Mullins was having a good game Friday night as his team took a 17-14 lead into the final minute. But his nine tackles were about to be dwarfed by two plays that turned a good game into an unforgettable one.

With 45 seconds left, Mullins lined up as a tight end on fourth down and caught a 5-yard touchdown pass to give Coppell a 24-14 lead over Guyer (Denton). He then intercepted a pass and returned it 60 yards for a touchdown in the final seconds of Coppell's 31-14 victory.

"You've just got to make the big plays when you need them," Mullins said.

Coppell (5-0, 2-0 in District 7-5A) needed a lot of them against Guyer (3-2, 1-1). Neither Coppell, No. 4 in the Dallas Morning News' 5A rankings, nor No. 5 Guyer could break away in the matchup at Coppell's Buddy Echols Field. It seemed fitting that, during one play, Guyer defensive lineman Dan Kottman’s facemask became locked with the mask of Coppell offensive lineman Leighton Light.

Coppell broke free with the play of senior quarterback Joe Minden, who completed 31 of 43 passes for 340 yards and two touchdowns to steal the show from Guyer quarterback J.W. Walsh, who is orally committed to Oklahoma State.

After Walsh's 27-yard touchdown run gave Guyer its only lead at 14-10, Minden drove Coppell 70 yards and threw to Kyle Echerd for a 9-yard score. But Minden’s biggest play of the game came with two minutes left and Coppell up 17-14. On fourth-and-8 at the Guyer 26, he completed a 21-yard pass to Cam McDaniel to move the chains and move Coppell closer to victory.

He then connected with Mullins for the 5-yard touchdown that sealed the game.

"Guyer is a very good team,” Minden said, "and we wanted to show everyone that we could play at a high level."

Walsh finished 12 of 20 for 119 yards with an interception. He also rushed 11 times for 106 yards.

More top stories of the last week from around the Dallas area:

2. Defense ends three teams’ perfect starts: Skyline (Dallas), Kimball (Dallas) and Corsicana each knocked off unbeaten teams Friday, and they did it with defense. Skyline allowed only 202 yards in a 16-3 victory over Richardson and Corsicana allowed only 173 yards in a 44-10 win over Poteet (Mesquite). Kimball allowed 349 yards to South Oak Cliff (Dallas), but it forced four turnovers in a 23-14 win.

3. Flower Mound quarterback posts amazing stats: Flower Mound quarterback Paul Millard completed 30 of 39 passes for 497 yards and five touchdowns Friday as his team beat previously unbeaten Flower Mound Marcus, 52-49. Millard has completed 149 of 227 passes for 2,165 yards and 23 touchdowns this season for Flower Mound (3-2, 1-1 in District 8-5A). He has thrown only three interceptions.

4. And then there were four unbeatens in 5A: With losses by Flower Mound Marcus and Richardson, only four Dallas-area 5A teams remain unbeaten: Trinity (Euless) (6-0), Allen (5-0), Coppell (5-0) and Mansfield (5-0). Mansfield, which finished 1-9 last season, rallied from a 13-7 deficit Friday to beat South Grand Prairie, 24-22.

5. Frisco Centennial volleyball team rolling: The Centennial (Frisco) volleyball team swept Carrollton Creekview Friday to improve to 7-0 in District 9-4A play. Centennial, which is led by big hitters Hannah Rauch and Sara Mossakoski, has lost only two sets in the seven district matches.

TOP PERFORMERS
Among the outstanding efforts last week:

* Blair Burns, Plano football: The senior defensive back had an interception and also returned a kickoff 96 yards for a touchdown in a 33-6 win over Hebron.

* Divan Ealy, Duncanville football: The senior quarterback threw for 336 yards and four touchdowns in Duncanville's 51-13 win over Mansfield.

* Alex Mueller, Grapevine football: The senior kicker made all four of his field goal attempts in Grapevine's 33-6 win over Haltom.

NEWS AND VIEWS
The District 4-4A executive committee ruled last week that The Colony boys basketball team must forfeit all 30 victories from the 2009-2010 season. The Colony conducted an internal investigation and found that its star player from last year's team, forward Jordan Williams, was living in an extended-stay motel and that someone outside his family was paying for part of the rent. The Colony advanced to the 4A state semifinal last year. … Plano West defensive end Nathan Broussard has orally committed to Cal, according to Rivals.com. Broussard (6-4, 230), who has 31 tackles this season for Plano West (3-2, 0-2 in District 8-5A), is expected to play a defensive end/linebacker hybrid position for the Golden Bears. … The University Interscholastic League will present Lovejoy (Lucas) with its 2010 Class 3A UIL Lone Star Cup trophy Friday at halftime of a game vs. Prosper. The UIL Lone Star Cup is awarded annually to five high schools, one in each of the five UIL classifications (1A, 2A, 3A, 4A and 5A), based on their team performance in district and state championships. Lovejoy won its first Lone Star Cup trophy with help from a second consecutive state championship in volleyball, two second-place finishes in girls and boys cross country, a third-place finish in girls track and field and a run to the state semifinals in football.

Matt Wixon is the high school sports columnist for The Dallas Morning News. He can be reached at mwixon@dallasnews.com or on Twitter @mattwixon.