Cove wins 48-26 over Boyd

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http://www.hsgametime.com/dfw/schoolinfo.htm?infoType=boxScore&schoolId=0&sportId=3&propertyId=1&y=2007&m=11&eventId=140113

McKinney Boyd can't keep up

11:58 PM CST on Friday, November 30, 2007

By DAVID HINOJOSA / The Dallas Morning News
dhinojosa@dallasnews.com

WACO – McKinney Boyd simply couldn't catch Copperas Cove Friday night at Floyd Casey Stadium.

Carried by a speed advantage, Copperas Cove ran away with a 48-26 victory in the Class 4A Division I Region II final on Baylor's home turf. Copperas Cove (11-2) plays Wolfforth Frenship or Aledo in next week's state semifinals.

Senior running back Troy Vital rushed 19 times for 325 yards and four touchdowns for Copperas Cove. Boyd barely laid a hand on him on each of his scores. He and the rest of his teammates proved to be hard to catch for most of the night.

"It was huge," McKinney Boyd coach Don Drake said of the Copperas Cove's speed advantage. "You could tell when they broke in the open field that we had a hard time running them down. We knew we had to contain them at the line of scrimmage, and we couldn't do that."

Copperas Cove established the tone on its second play from scrimmage as Vital raced 57 yards for the game's opening score. Copperas Cove followed on the next drive with a 47-yard score by Josh Boyce off a screen in which he outran Boyd's defenders.

Vital had three second-half touchdowns. His 18-yard run through the middle that capped the first drive of the second half came on fourth-and-5. He added scoring runs of 69 and 26 yards.

McKinney Boyd (9-4) dominated time of possession, but it was deceiving because Copperas Cove scored quickly. Boyd had 25 first downs, and quarterback Daryn Alves had 38 carries for 226 yards and two rushing scores.

Boyd took advantage of two Copperas Cove mishaps to get back in the game in the first half. Alves hit A.J. Jones on a 23-yard screen that pulled Boyd to within 14-7 at the 7:24 mark of the second quarter. The score came off a failed fake punt by Copperas Cove.

Boyd's Cameron Maser recovered a fumble forced by Keith Owens on the next drive that led to Alves' 1-yard touchdown run with 1:55 remaining. Copperas Cove blocked the extra point try to keep it in the lead, 14-13.

Copperas Cove regained the momentum on the ensuing possession. Tommy Mcleain took a screen pass 43 yards to Boyd's 20. Two plays later, quarterback Robert Griffin scored on a 7-yard draw, giving Copperas Cove a 21-13 halftime lead.

Vital broke a 57-yard run on the second play of the second half that led to his 18-yard score. His 69-yard touchdown run came on the next possession and put Copperas Cove up, 34-20, in the third.

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Semi tough: Bulldawgs return to state's final four
Posted on: Saturday, December 01, 2007

By Kevin Posival
Killeen Daily Herald

WACO – McKinney Boyd got a history lesson Friday night at Waco's Floyd Casey Stadium. Troy Vital rushed for a school-record 324 yards and added four touchdowns to his growing career list to beat the Broncos 48-26 in the Division I-4A Region II final.

"Troy had a tremendous night and he'd be the first to tell you that he couldn't have done that if the offensive line didn't block as well as they did," Copperas Cove coach Jack Welch said.

Added Vital, "I told my offensive line all week, if they make holes for me, I'd score ... I saw a lot of open holes."

Vital (18-324, 4 TDs) broke Josh Harrison's 2001 record of 300 yards. He scored once in the first half on a 57-yard sprint and added scoring runs of 18, 69 and 26 in the second half as the Bulldawgs pulled away.

The ninth-ranked Bulldawgs play this afternoon's winner between Aledo and Wolfforth Frenship in the state semifinals next Saturday.

If Aledo wins, the Bulldawgs will return to Floyd Casey. If Frenship wins, then Cove will travel to Abilene.

"It feels great (to break the record)," Vital said. "I hope (the game's) here (next week), I like the feel of the field."

The Bulldawgs (11-2) ran a combined seven plays in the first quarter and scored 14 points on two big plays. On the first, Vital scampered 57 yards for the game's first score.

It took the Bulldawgs a few more tries on their next possession, but Josh Boyce scored on a 47-yard catch-and-run with just under 2 1/2 to play in the first quarter, but the Broncos (9-4) were not yet dispatched.

Sophomore quarterback Daryn Alves hit A.J. Jones on a 23-yard touchdown pass 36 seconds into the second quarter. Tommy McLeain fumbled Cove's first of two turnovers and eight plays later, Alves dialed his own number from a yard with the PAT still to come.

Jonn Smart and the Bulldawg special teams preserved the Bulldawgs' lead by blocking the attempt. Smart was given credit for the block and Cody Seaber returned it 87 yardswhen the ball floated into his arms. He was brought down just 10 yards short of giving the Bulldawgs defensive special teams points.

"They're (Boyd) is incredible offense," Welch said. "Even though (our defense) got burned a few times, they didn't get their heads down, they kept getting in the huddle and that's what you want,"

Robert Griffin led the Dawgs to their only scoring drive in the second quarter. He tossed a 43-yard pass to McLeain that set up a first-and-10 at the Broncos 20 and then carried twice for the remaining yards to give the Bulldawgs a 21-13 halftime lead.

Last week, Vital took the Bulldawgs' first snap of the second half 80 yards and killed Dallas Samuell's hope of rallying. Friday night, he scored his second touchdown on an 18-yard dash on the fourth play of the second half.

Alves (37-224, 2 TDs rushing, 14-18-1-153, 2 TDs passing) answered with his second touchdown four minutes later with a 28-yard run with 6:22 to play in the third.

But, a minute later, Vital nailed the lid shut with with a 69-yarder. He added a final scoring run of 26 yards halfway through the fourth quarter before handing his position over to reserve Brandon Boyd.

"No. 1, our offensive line was making some big holes for Troy," Welch said. "No. 2, he's got great speed, so when he gets out there, he makes things happen. You saw what can happen when he gets to the outside."

Even Boyd found success in his six carries. He had 71 yards and a 1-yard dive in the fourth to punctuate the Bulldawgs' scoring.

Alves added a futile 13-yard touchdown pass to Jeff Fuller with one second left on the clock.