With the exception of three big plays surrendered, the Collinsville defense fired on all cylinders last Thursday in a 28-12 win at Tioga.
The Pirates debuted a 10-1 defense, which resembled a 3-3-5 for most of the game. Although Collinsville (1-0) gave up 183 yards and two touchdown passes to Cole Boyd, the Pirates intercepted him five times.
“We just had a great week of preparation and knew what we had to do to beat them,” Collinsville football coach Garrett Patterson said. “Not giving up too many big plays was a huge focus. We held them to three big plays in total, two of them scored, but I felt like we did a great job of keeping their speed in check.”
Among the interceptions was one Caysen Schafer returned for a touchdown in the first quarter. Collinsville led 21-6 after one quarter thanks to two touchdowns from Chase Sheppard — one rushing and one receiving on a pass from Paxton Davidson.
“Offensively, we did not do much. We did what we had to do to win the game,” Patterson said. “Defensively, we did a great job of creating turnovers, and I felt like we won the special teams portion of the game as well.”
In addition to Sheppard’s 90 yards and two touchdowns of total offense, Davidson accounted for 197 total yards. The junior quarterback capped the scoring in the third quarter with a touchdown run.
As is the case with most season openers, Patterson found things he wants to see improve.
“We have to improve on the O-line. When you lose four starters from the previous year, it is going to take some time,” he said. “We have to do a better job as a coaching staff helping them out. Defensively, we have to play better technique to limit big plays. We gave up big plays because of bad technique.”
Facing a Cooper team that lost its opener 28-7 to Grand Saline last week might help the Pirates improve in those areas. However, Patterson isn’t taking his opponent lightly.
“Cooper is a senior-heavy team with 15 seniors. A new coach has arrived, and they are playing with good energy,” he said. “Cooper is a good football program, the community loves football, and you need to play a tough non-district schedule to prepare you for a long playoff run.”
Kickoff between Collinsville and Cooper is set for 7 p.m. Friday at Pirate Stadium. Patterson has a game plan for his opponent.
“We will have to limit what they do offensively. They keep getting better every week and it shows on film,” he said. “Offensively, we will have to play a cleaner, more consistent game in all positions. Always win special teams.”
TIOGA
Cole Boyd threw for 183 yards for Tioga (0-1) last Thursday, including 68 yards to Quesyn Arrington and 62 to Jake David. Arrington and David each caught a touchdown pass.
Those were the bright spots on offense, according to Tioga coach Zach Birdwell. He wants to see a reduction in turnovers this week when the Bulldogs visit Fort Worth Southwest Christian at 7 p.m. Friday.
“You can’t have six turnovers in a game and expect to beat anyone, especially a top-five team in the state like Collinsville,” Birdwell said. “Our defense played lights out last week, though.”
Tioga will try to earn its first win against a Southwest Christian team coached by Steve Wood, who built a decorated career at Aledo.
“Steve Wood is a Texas high school football legend,” Birdwell said. “They will be well coached. They’ll be the biggest team we face all season in terms of size and number of players. Their sideline will have double to triple the amount of kids than we have.”
In addition to having a depth advantage, Birdwell believes Southwest Christian will be “one of the best teams” the Bulldogs see this season. He believes facing the Eagles will benefit Tioga in the long run.
“They are extremely explosive on offense and fly to the football on defense,” Birdwell said. “When you have a back-to-back state champion in your district (Muenster), seeing teams like this early will be helpful.”
Birdwell said his team will have to “execute on offense and limit explosive plays on defense.” He also said the Bulldogs have a few injuries but are “healthier than [they were]” a year ago going into Week 2.
