COPPELL – For the first seven games of the season, much of Hebron's fate was left in the hands of its offense, something coach Brian Brazil has referred to as being unusual for his program.

Yet it was Hebron's defense, a unit that had 11 new starters entering the year, that grew up Friday night and carried the team to a 35-21 victory over Coppell at Cowboys Stadium.

"It looked like the Hawks of old, defensively, tonight the way our kids were playing," Brazil said. "Just getting after it, and flying to the ball. I was real proud of that."

By limiting Coppell to two first-half touchdowns and matching that output on offense, Hebron put the home team in the unusual position of playing without a lead. Coppell had outscored its previous three opponents, 149-34.

Hebron (7-1, 5-0 in 6-5A) continued its stronghold in the second half, and didn't give Coppell (5-2, 3-2 in 6-5A) any breathing room until a late fourth-quarter touchdown.

In all, it limited Coppell to 188 yards.

Sophomore defensive lineman Michael Diary and junior defensive end Stansly Maponga had two sacks each, and senior defensive back Shelton Johnson snagged an interception.

Senior linebacker Absalom Jones punished Coppell ball carriers and even doubled up in the second half on offense. He scored the go-ahead touchdown in the third quarter on a 2-yard run and finished with 10 carries for 49 yards.

The defense's efforts contained Coppell enough for Hebron and its offense, which had to work for everything against Coppell's aggressive secondary and linebackers, finally got in gear in the second half.

Hebron scored 21 unanswered points in the third and fourth quarters to put away Coppell. Following Jones' score, Darius Staten scored on a 5-yard run. Senior quarterback Tanner Marsh threw his third touchdown pass of the game, an 11-yarder to junior Phillip Mitchell, for a 35-14 lead in the fourth quarter.

Coppell quarterback Dalton Williams went 23 of 32 for 201 yards and two touchdowns, one each to receivers Trevor Trudell and Chad Thedford.

But Coppell was limited to three first downs in the entire second half and couldn't keep up with Hebron.