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Emotion-charged first-half surge helps Coppell shut out Marcus, clinch playoff spot

Coppell forces fumbles on three straight drives to doom FM Marcus

COPPELL — Coppell’s defense forced three turnovers to help build a 24-0 first-half lead and added three defensive stops in the second half for a 31-0 blanking of Flower Mound Marcus Friday night at Buddy Echols Field.

The victory clinched a playoff berth for Coppell (8-0, 3-0 in District 5-5A). The Cowboys are ranked No. 2 in the SportsDayHS Class 5A area rankings and No. 4 in The Associated Press’ state poll.

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The shutout was the first for Coppell since the 2010 season, but it marked the fifth time this season it has held an opponent to fewer than 10 points.

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It was the first home game for Coppell since the Oct. 14 death of Jacob Logan. A tribute video of Logan was shown on the stadium scoreboard minutes before kickoff.

Marcus (2-6, 1-2) lost fumbles on three consecutive possessions in the second quarter. Coppell took advantage, turning a 7-0 lead to 24-0 at the break.

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The fumbles were recovered by Chris Adkins, Collins Okotcha and Colin Peterson, who was wearing Logan’s No. 21.

“Each game, a player that plays one of Jacob’s positions is designated to wear his number,” Peterson explained. “It felt great to get that fumble.”

Colby Mahon threw two touchdowns in the first half and set up a third thanks to a leaping 34-yard catch by Cameron Smith. Smith was the target of a 10-yard scoring pass for the first Coppell touchdown, and Jason Lister had a 17-yard catch for the final touchdown of the first half.

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Another Coppell first-half highlight was a 51-yard field goal by Adam Centers.

Gavin McDaniel’s 10-yard touchdown run accounted for the only scoring in the second half.

Running back Conner Haugen led Marcus with 72 yards on 19 carries.

“Our hearts were in the right place to play hard at the start, but we came out flat in the second half,” said Coppell coach Joe McBride.