COFFEETOWN HS SPORTS

They’ll talk about the bloody battle of Coffeetown and Talon Junction for years to come.

The Coffeetown High School Copperheads took state with a 27-26 win over the Tornadoes with an unnecessary and head-scratching goal-line stand.

With their gelatinous one-point lead stapled to a corkboard, Coffeetown fans, coaches and players couldn’t believe their eyes.

Talon Junction head coach Bart Billingsley decided to send his offense out for one final crack at a touchdown, even though an 18-yard field goal with less than a minute left in the game would have given the Tornadoes the lead.

“I don’t know if he lost track of the downs, or if he doesn’t trust his kicker,” Coffeetown Head Coach Cliff Swansea said from atop the shoulder pads of his State Champion Copperheads.

“Whatever his deal was, we had more fight in the end. Hats off to Talon Junction but it’s clear that this was our game, our team and our destiny. Couldn’t be prouder of these guys.”

Coffeetown’s defensive line bristled when needed

Talon Junction quarterback Todd ‘ToddZilla’ Zimmerman down on the turf with all of the warm, fuzzy care of an old-timey saloon-owner tossing out the town drunk.

“I don’t know what coach did or didn’t know,” Tornadoes Quarterback and Mississippi State quarterback commit Todd ‘Toddzilla” Zimmerman said.

The Tornadoes were aggressive the entire first half, going for two-point conversions on all three touchdowns.

Whether it was Coach Billingsley looking for an exclamation point, or a kicker on the outs, it just wasn’t enough for Talon Junction.

“It was hard. We had state right there and Coach just couldn’t trust the kicker I guess. Derek (Fieldenwood, the kicker) never made one in practice this year, so I get it. But that doesn’t mean I won’t go put him in a trash can tonight.”

Reptile Henderson’s gritty heroics win the game for Coffeetown

The game took a harrowing turn on the first play of the game when Coffeetown’s star quarterback, Reptile Henderson, suffered a separated shoulder in his right throwing arm.

Coffeetown found itself in a 26-6 hole at halftime.

Henderson knew he couldn’t sit out all night in his final game as a Coffeetown Copperhead.

“I couldn’t sit out my final game as a Copperhead,” Henderson said.

On a fourth and long with two minutes left in the game, Henderson pulled out the play that will make him a legend around Coffeetown for generations to come.

With two Tornadoes pulling on each of his legs, Henderson switched the ball from his limp, numb throwing hand to his left hand. Henderson is good enough to play with his other paw, too.

He uncorked the prayer and Coffeetown wideout Lubbock Houston hauled it in for the win.

“I’ll always be a Copperhead,” Henderson said. “They can never take that away from me.”

Did Talon Junction ‘give’ the game to the Copperheads with the terrible call?

You would probably say that, if you just read the game report and statistical breakdown.

But to see it unfold in that moment, the decision made sense.

If you don’t put a Reptile away, it’ll come back to strike twice as hard, and the Tornadoes thought they should try to remove all doubt.

Instead, Coffeetown removed them from the winner’s circle. The Copperheads even removed Talon Junction’s head coach from the field.

They carried their tough-as-nails quarterback and Billingsley off into the Coffeetown night on their shoulders. No bad coaching decision should go unrewarded, after all.

Not sure anyone’s put him down since.