Argyle offense goes cold against Stephenville in hard-fought loss

The defending Class 4A Division I champions came up short in their clash with the Yellow Jackets on Friday night at Vernon Newsom Stadium in Mansfield, as their season ended in a 21-17 stunner.

After jumping out to a quick 14-0 lead over Stephenville in the first half thanks to a 63-yard touchdown pass from Jett Copeland to Ward McCollum and a 9-yard score by Landon Farris, the offense went silent.

Copeland was solid yet again with 193 yards through the air and a touchdown pass and 79 yards on the ground. McCollum finished with two catches for 78 yards and his lone score as well.

But that would be the extent of the Eagles’ scoring for the night as they collected 348 yards of offense, while also committing three turnovers.

After Caden Dodson drilled the 36-yard field goal to take a 17-14 lead with 7:34 to go, the Argyle defense forced the Yellow Jackets into another punt. The Eagles got the ball back at their own 34-yard line with 5:41 to go. Two plays later, Landon Farris fumbled the ball and gave Stephenville life and great field position.

“I don’t know what happened I didn’t see it, I’ll have to watch the video,” Argyle coach Todd Rodgers said. “We ran the ball, and we had a first down and the ball came out. I have to look at it on video.”

Once Stephenville got the ball back, the Yellow Jackets methodically worked a 16-play, 44-yard drive down the field and capped it off with a two-yard score from Coy Eakin with two minutes left.

Eakin racked up five catches for 90 yards and a score — with another 25 yards on the ground — and had the final nail in the coffin with the score to seal the win.

Argyle powered all the way to midfield, which included a magical 26-yard run on third down by Copeland to keep the drive alive. But the Eagles would come up short a couple plays later on a fourth-down-and-2.

For an offense that got out to such a quick start, the Eagles could not seem to find their footing ever again.

“We didn’t score,” Rodgers said. “We couldn’t put any points on the board. Stephenville made some adjustments, and we could never make some counter-adjustments.”

As for Stephenville, they rebounded from a rough first couple of drives that included an interception by quarterback Ryder Lambert and finally got on the board with a sneak from Lambert in the second quarter.

On the night, Stephenville compiled 303 yards of offense. The Yellow Jackets pulled even in the third quarter with an Eakin touchdown reception from 8 yards out. And as they say, the rest was history from there.

While the loss certainly stings for an Eagles squad that was looking to make another deep run, Rodgers spoke highly of the seniors that saw their careers end prematurely.

“They have made a huge contribution to the success of our program,” Rodgers said. “I’m proud of them. They put a lot of countless hours in preparing themselves for the success of our program. I love them and they’re awesome, and they’ve made a huge contribution to our success.”

It is no secret of how difficult it is to repeat as state champions. Argyle and Rodgers both knew that coming into the playoffs. And unfortunately, they saw their repeat hopes end on Friday.

“The fact is it’s really hard to repeat,” Rodgers said. “There’s a mindset and attitude and athleticism. There is a ton of pressure on 15-, 16-, 17-year-old kids to do that. And it’s probably not fair, but it is what it is. That’s the pressure on the coaching staff and the community. Unfortunately, that’s the way it happens.”