Edward Griffin, Coppell QB, savoring undefeated start, revenge on Lewisville
COPPELL, TEXAS - Though he wasn’t the starting quarterback last season, Edward Griffin remembered the embarrassing loss.
Now the Coppell quarterback, Griffin was more than determined to rectify that when the Cowboys took on neighboring rival Lewisville. Last season, the Farmers inflicted a 38-3 defeat on the Cowboys, which turned out to be Coppell’s lone regular-season loss.
But on Friday, the Cowboys turned the tables on the Farmers, and then some, with Griffin helping lead the way. He threw for 313 yards - 262 coming in the first half - as Coppell scored five consecutive touchdowns in one stretch and ended up beating Lewisville, 49-28, at Buddy Echols Field.
It was also Coppell’s first win against the team nearly seven miles away since 2013. Lewisville had won the previous five games in the series.
“I told the team before the game, this was a great team we were going against,” said Griffin, a junior. “I mean, every week we play great teams, but especially Lewisville.
“You can see from the score last year and their record so far this year, they’re a great team, so I said to our team we’ve got to come out firing on all cylinders, but at the end of the day, just do your job. I really think, for the most part, we did that as a team and it was a great win.”
PURELY PRECISION
Griffin was masterful in Friday’s series-turning win. In the opening half, he completed 18-of-22 passes as the Cowboys erased an early 7-0 deficit, picking apart a Lewisville secondary that features two Division I commits in Jaydan Hardy (Oklahoma) and Tony-Louis Nkuba (Arizona State).
For the game, Griffin ended up completing 23-of-28 passes along with recording two TDs.
“I always try to remind myself just to take part in the system, get through my reads, not force anything,” he said. “So that’s been my goal this year, just to be me; that’s what Coach (Coppell offensive coordinator Tyler) Jones always tells me before the game, ‘Just be you and do you, let the game come to you.’
“We put the work in the offseason and I’ve just tried to let the work I’ve done show.”
Coppell junior quarterback Edward Griffin celebrates with his teammates following the Cowboys' 49-28 win against Lewisville on Sept. 29, 2023.
SIMPLY METHODICAL
Coppell racked up 529 yards of total offense in Friday’s win. There really wasn’t any major big-play touchdowns.
Rather, the touchdowns came as the result of several lengthy sustained drives.
The Cowboys’ first TD drive covered 75 yards in 13 plays immediately after Lewisville took a 7-0 lead. Griffin finished things off with a 10-yard strike in the end zone to receiver Tucker Cusano, enabling the Cowboys to tie affairs at 7-all.
Coppell then scored TDs on all three of its possessions in the second quarter, with drives covering 79, 64 and 81 yards. Up 14-7, Griffin nearly had his second TD pass with a screen off an incoming blitz to O’Marion Mbakwe, who fumbled near the goal line.
But, to symbolize the good fortune the Cowboys had all night, teammate David Richey immediately pounced on the ball in the end zone, which gave Coppell a 21-7 lead.
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Griffin capped the Cowboys’ last first-half drive - covering 81 yards in seven plays - with a 1-yard sneak in the final seconds before halftime.
“All week in practice, I always get there early to watch film with Coach Jones, our offensive coordinator, and he had been stressing all week, ‘Hey, take your checkdowns, they really bail out,’” Griffin said. “And they’re a great defense; I think they’re the most efficient defense in our district, and we just kept emphasizing, just get to the reads.
“Checkdowns aren’t bad, that’s yards. Take what they give you, and I think that shows those methodical drives really; take what they were given us."
The Cowboys then had a 13-play 75-yard drive in the second half for another TD. Their final scoring drive in the fourth quarter covered 37 yards, after stopping the Farmers on downs.
“Our run game did a great job,” Griffin said. “Those linemen, they stepped up, it was amazing, and that really came together to get those methodical drives.
“Take what they gave us, and with a defense as great as they are, that’s what you have to do. You can’t force anything because they’ll make you pay.”
ESCAPING DANGER
Perhaps Griffin’s most important throw came in the Cowboys’ second scoring drive, which broke a 7-all score.
Facing a second-and-18 from the Coppell 24, Griffin was heavily pursued by two defenders. But he somehow escaped the sack attempt and fired the ball on the run, which was caught by a wide-open Luca Grosoli for a 45-yard gain down to the Lewisville 31.
“That was a great play,” Griffin said. “Luca Grosoli, who was the receiver that caught it, that’s actually a dead route in our system usually. So it really would have been easy for him to kind of loaf on that route and not give great effort, but it was just a testament to him.
“He went full speed that route and then I was able to escape and he did a great job getting open.”
Five plays later, Coppell went in front to stay with a 1-yard rush from senior Xavier Mosely, who had three total TDs on the night.
Coppell’s defense continued to make things frustrating for the Farmers, picking off two passes to start the second half. The second of those picks was returned 8 yards by junior safety Matthew Neitzel, extending the Cowboys’ lead to 35-7 and putting the exclamation point on their 35-point barrage.
WINNING THE DAY
With Friday’s win, Coppell moved to 5-0, scoring at least 40 points in four of those victories.
Griffin noted afterward the team will celebrate the latest win. Then the focus immediately shifts to their next game.
“We’ve played some great teams so far, but 1-0 every week,” he said. “And every day in practice, I always break the team out with ‘Win the Day.’
“So that’s what I’ve really been trying to emphasize and that’s what we’ve been doing, winning the day. … It’s just one game at a time, it was a great win, but it’s not the end result. We’re gunning for 10-0.”
‘HE NEEDS OFFERS’
While Griffin was being interviewed following Friday’s game, a teammate hollered out, “He needs offers.”
Meaning college offers.
“Some interest from some schools, but I’m a little open right now,” Griffin said. “My goal is to play at the college level, and I’m just excited to keep on working and hopefully, make that dream a reality.”
Perhaps a performance like Friday will raise Griffin’s profile even higher.
“Yes, that would be nice (to raise the profile),” he said.
-- Buck Ringgold | buck@scorebooklive.com | @SBLiveTX
