The Allen Eagles defeated the Coppell Cowboys in an impressive game on the road, winning by a score of 42-20 and improving their record to 3-0 on the season.

Coming off of wins over the then-second best teams in the states of Alabama and Louisiana (according to Max Preps), the Eagles struggled early against the Cowboys, even falling behind 10-7 in the first quarter. The game remained close until the Eagle offense took control of the fourth quarter.

“We upped the tempo [in the fourth],” senior receiver Josh Cornell said. “We got into more of a spread offense and lined up faster.”

The Eagle defensive line was the strength of the team for the third week in a row, with the line putting quick pressure on the Cowboy’s quarterback and shutting down their running game. The defense accumulated five sacks and allowed only 100 rushing yards on 50 carries. The Eagle secondary was the only weak point of the defense, as they struggled to defend the deep ball for the second consecutive week on their way to giving up 262 yards through the air for two touchdowns.

“[The defense] just stayed focused,” said senior defensive lineman Cole Maxwell. “We did what we had to do to make sure that no one can beat us.”

Allen junior running back Kirby Bennett was the star of the Eagle offense, showcasing good vision and balance in addition to delivering punishing blows to would-be tacklers. Bennett racked up 80 yards rushing and 25 yards receiving in addition to one total touchdown. The Eagles struggled to get yards through the air for a majority of the night until getting hot in the fourth quarter, with senior quarterback Mitchell Jonke finishing the game 20 of 34 yards passing for 234 yards and two passing touchdowns as well as one rushing touchdown.

“[My performance] is all because of the offensive line and the team,” Bennett said. “Without them I wouldn’t be anything. We got it together this week and worked hard.”

Next week the Allen Eagles have a bye week, which will be followed by a road game against McKinney Boyd in McKinney on September 23. Stay up with all the action here at The Eagle Angle.