The secret had been out about Devontay Chaffin as far back as Week 2 at Everman last season. Even after he ran down an Amarillo track star in the final leg of the 4X100 relay race earlier this spring (he started 20 yards behind his man), everyone in the area knew he was poised for a breakout season. The Highlanders from Lawton Mac, however, saw it as a challenge. “Don’t kick it to Chaffin” is how the prevailing wisdom would read. Never let it be said that Lawton Mac subscribes to that theory. Not only did they kick it to him, they played blanket coverage on him for most of the night and rattled last week’s player of the game, Dylan Sheffield, en route to a 49-14, weather-shortened game here at Memorial Stadium on Thursday. Lawton Mac, the number six team in 5A in the OSSSA rankings, did their homework for this one. They saw everything that went right for the Coyotes last week and made it their mission to disrupt the timing that is so critical in this offense. Mission accomplished.
WFHS head coach Jayson Lavender had said in his pre-game interview that the main keys to beating Lawton Mac waere to not turn the ball over and to not make mistakes. Sheffield was intercepted three times, one of them being returned for a touchdown. They also saw Lawton Mac block a punt in the end zone, and recover it for a touchdown. “The first quarter was tough on us, with a special teams error on the blocked punt,” Coyotes head coach Jayson Lavender said. “We usually capitalize on special teams.” Lavender also gave credit to the Highlander coaching staff for their defensive scheme, as Sheffield could never find an exact rhythm on the night. He finished 11 for 27, 201 yards, 2 touchdowns, and three interceptions. On Sheffield’s two touchdowns, however, he showed the vision and touch that will serve him well in the future. His first TD pass, a 76 yard hookup with Diondre Singleton, he stood in the face of an angry blitz, side-stepped a couple of defenders, and went through his progressions as if it were all in slow-motion for him. He spotted Singleton, who had broken free, for the long score. His second touchdown came on a bit of a gamble by Lawton Mac. They decided to play one-on-one against Chaffin. Big mistake. Chaffin raced by his defender, and Sheffield displayed some beautiful touch, as he put the ball in a spot where only Chaffin could get it. After that, well……nobody is running Chaffin down from behind.
For the Coyotes defensively, much was made prior to this game about Lawton’s offense being as high powered as the Coyotes. It’s the same system, in fact. But, Lawton Mac used a punishing ground game to take the upper hand in this game. They finished the night with a collective 228 yards on 37 carries and five touchdowns. Next up for the Coyotes is Frisco Wakeland, who dropped a close game to Rockwall Heath last night, 40-36. This will be the Coyotes first road game of the season, as they now stand at 1-1.

Patrick Lowe – North Texas Analyst