Lake Highlands football triumphed over the state-ranked Coppell Cowboys for a 27-19 victory on Friday at Wildcat-Ram Stadium.

Lake Highlands quarterback John Cothern scrambles to evade pressure during a 37-9 victory against Richardson Pearce on Oct. 8, 2026, at Eagle-Mustang Stadium.

“I’m super proud of our football team,” Wildcats coach Cory Campbell said. “There’s probably not a lot of people outside of our building that believed that we could do this and our kids believed. They’re the ones that put in the work, whether it was summertime, or this week or video. Hats off to them because they believed we could do it.”

Lake Highlands Takes Control Late

Trailing 19-14 with 8:21 left in the third quarter, Lake Highlands (5-2, 4-0 District 7-6A) pushed down the field for its first lead of the game. The drive culminated in a 23-yard touchdown scramble up the middle for Wildcats quarterback John Cothern following a 37-yard reception from Mason Spangler. Lake Highlands’ two-point attempt failed, but it led 20-19 with 5:17 left in the third.

“(Cothern’s) been a dude all year long,” Campbell said. “When it gets tough, he gets better. I’m super, super excited for him.”

Cothern recorded 170 passing yards for two touchdowns, while adding another 59 yards and a score on the ground.

After forcing a Coppell (5-2, 3-1) punt, the Wildcats got the ball back and methodically drove the ball down the field, making it to the 25-yard line but facing fourth-and-15. Lake Highlands opted not to go for the field goal, going for it with seven-and-a-half minutes remaining in the fourth. On the play, Cothern rolled out right, delivering a pass to Spangler at the right hash mark and gaining 20 yards.

Two plays later, Cothern found Conrad Ince for a contested catch in the end zone to stretch the lead to 27-19 with 7:20 remaining. The Cowboys tried to respond, but couldn’t convert on a crucial fourth-and-7 in Wildcat territory with 3:33 remaining and Lake Highlands took over to win.

“We were just talking about what it looked like, how many timeouts they had, when they were gonna be able to stop it for the two-minute warning and then what we wanted to do offensively,” Campbell said of the fourth-down stop. “Proud of our o-line right there at the end, kind of buckled down, able to make a first down or two and ice that thing.”

The Wildcats Weather A Quick Coppell Start

Coppell found a rhythm early, but the Wildcats stiffened against pressure. The No. 13 team in the state seemed to have its way with Lake Highlands, gaining a quick 10-0 advantage with 7:58 still left in the opening quarter.

The Cowboys’ first score was courtesy of receiver Jackson Echols, who received a pass from Carter Zingelmann in the right flat and left a defender in the dust on a nice move en route to a 21-yard touchdown. Six minutes later, Caden Mechsner drilled a 21-yard field goal to extend the lead for Coppell.

After consecutive three-and-outs to start the game for the Wildcats, Lake Highlands had its back against the wall early and responded. Facing third-and-four from the 31-yard line, Franklon Evans took a handoff to the left side of the field and up the sideline for a 53-yard gain. The Cowboys were subsequently penalized and it took two downs for Evans to gain the five yards he needed for the score.

With just six seconds remaining in the first, the Wildcats cut Coppell’s lead to 10-7.

Momentum almost swung back to the Cowboys on the next drive, a good return on a kickoff and a 43-yard reception from Jaden Bibbs giving Coppell good field position. Lake Highlands stood the Cowboys up on back-to-back plays before a Coppell penalty and incompletion set up a 28-yard field goal. The attempt was up and wide right, the Wildcats escaping a scare.

Both teams held each other scoreless for almost eight minutes of game time, then Bibbs struck again. He caught a Lake Highlands punt at the 12-yard line and dashed 80 yards up the field on the return. On second-and-goal from the 8-yard line, Zingelmann rushed left and reached for the pylon with 1:50 in the first half. Under the Wildcats’ pressure, the Cowboys couldn’t convert the PAT and led 16-7.

With the ball back in Lake Highlands’ hands, Evans had another trick up his sleeve. Cothern dropped back and unloaded a deep strike up the middle, where Evans caught the ball through traffic for a 48-yard gain. The Wildcats got the ball to the 2-yard line, where Cothern found Ince in the middle of the end zone to make it 16-14 right before the half. 

“It’s unbelievable,” Campbell said. “You can hand it to (Evans), you can throw it to him and then we have some other guys on the outside. What a compliment he is to our offense.”

Evans finished the evening with 71 rushing yards and a touchdown, with 68 receiving yards on three catches.

What’s Next?

Coppell aims to get back in the win column against Plano West (3-4, 2-2) at 7 p.m. Friday at home.

Lake Highlands is back in action with a matchup versus Plano (2-5, 2-2) at 7 p.m. Friday on the road.