Only two teams had beaten Coppell in district play since Antonio Wiley took over as head coach in 2022 heading into Friday night.
Lake Highlands became the third with its 27-19 win at Wildcat-Ram Stadium, a defensive effort that held No. 13 Coppell to a season-low 144 passing yards and two touchdowns.
The win gives Lake Highlands an inside track to the District 7-6A crown now with a 4-0 record.
With three minutes left in the third quarter, Lake Highlands junior quarterback John Cothern scrambled out of a broken pocket before cutting upfield and going nearly untouched before scoring a 23-yard run to give his team its first lead of the game, 20-19. Lake Highlands had battled back from an early 10-point deficit.
“There's probably not a lot of people outside of our building that believe that we could do this,” Lake Highlands head coach Cory Campbell said. “Our kids believe, and they're the ones that put in the work, whether it's summertime or this week, and hats off to them because they believe we can do it.”
Lake Highlands’ defense recorded a critical sack the next possession that brought up third and long and eventually forced a punt.
Cothern made the most of the opportunity provided with a 16-play drive that ended with him finding receiver Conrad Ince for the pair’s second scoring connection to go up 27-19.
“I've had this game circled on my calendar from the second we figured out Coppell was in our district,” Cothern said. “They're a great program, and I was excited to play them. They’re a great team, it was a great game. I'm glad we were able to come back. That was just such a dream come true right now. I know you hear it all the time but this really is.”
Coppell had plenty of time to tie it up with over seven minutes left to play, but Lake Highlands’ defense forced a turnover on downs to all but seal the win. Lake Highlands held Coppell to just one touchdown from four red zone trips in the game.
“We don't pay attention to rankings,” Lake Highlands junior linebacker Israel Samuel said. “We don't pay any attention to anything. They bleed how we bleed. Let's get it.”
The game looked like it’d be one sided early in favor of Coppell.
After forcing a three-and-out on the game’s opening possession, Coppell scored in five plays on a 21-yard strike from four-star quarterback Carter Zingelmann to receiver Jackson Echols. The defense forced Lake Highlands into another three-and-out and had the ball inside the 10-yard line on third down. Lake Highlands’ defense held firm and forced a field goal to make it 10-0.
On the ensuing possession, Boston College-pledge Franklon Evans Jr. ripped off a 53-yard run to put Lake Highlands inside the red zone before scoring to cap the drive with a 1-yard run. Lake Highlands’ defense stalled Coppell again inside the 10-yard line, in part thanks to a key tackle for loss from three-star linebacker Samuel on second down. This time, Coppell missed the chip-shot field goal and kept the deficit at three points.
“I mean, it’s just knowing everybody knows how to do their job,” Samuel said. “Trusting my teammates and getting that stop. We're confident around here. We know what we got to do, and we did it.”
With under two minutes to play, Coppell was in scoring position again after an 80-yard punt return from Utah-pledge defensive back Jaden Bibbs. Zingelmann put the team up 16-7 on a sprint out to the left with under two minutes left.
But Lake Highlands quarterback Cothern answered on a 48-yard pass to Evans and, coupled with a defensive pass interference, Lake Highlands was in scoring position in the waning seconds of the first half. Cothern connected with wide receiver Ince to make it 16-14 heading into halftime.
Cothern finished with 170 yards passing, 59 yards rushing and three total touchdowns. Evans finished with 71 yards rushing and a touchdown.
“[Cothern has] been a dude all year long,” Campbell said. “When it gets tough, he gets better.”
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