Eleven padded up Yellow Jackets get into place and prepare for the start of the play. The ball is snapped, and the team springs into action. Receivers are running down the field, linemen are blocking the opposing team, and the quarterback scans the field, looking for an open man. The quarterback launches the ball down the field to senior receiver Coy Eakin, but the defender gets in his way and picks it off. Even after losing the ball, Coy doesn’t give up. He runs up behind the defender and knocks the ball out of his hands into the air. Another Yellow Jacket receiver catches the ball and runs to the end zone. Touchdown, Yellow Jackets!

   This play headed by Eakin went viral all across the country. Across sports social media accounts such as MaxPreps and ESPN, the video of the jaw dropping series of events that took place in the 3rd quarter of the 4A Division 1 State Finals racked up tens of thousands of likes on Instagram and Tik Tok. But as impressive as the play was, this was just ONE of many incredible plays that Coy pulled off throughout the 2021 football season.

   “There were many explosive plays our team made this season,” Coy said. “Every play we executed was important to our team’s wins and the road to the state title.”

   The senior wide receiver, recognizable by the number 2 posted on his back, didn’t even want to play as a receiver when the season started. Although his original goal was to play the quarterback position, he was placed elsewhere. Coy didn’t let the wrench in his plans change his work ethic, instead he proved to the whole state that the coaches made a very good decision.

   “I had played quarterback my whole life, so I had to learn how to see the field from a receiver’s point of view and play off of that,” Coy said.

   From the beginning of the season, Coy has shown incredible athleticism in each and every play of the game. Averaging 23 yards per catch, he was a playmaker that no team in Stephenville’s schedule could stop.

   “A lot of credit for my success goes back to the quarterback and his lineman,” Coy said. “If they hadn’t done their job, I couldn’t have done mine.”

   Eakin played a huge role in the team’s success in contending for their sixth state title. In the state finals, he scored 4 of the team’s 5 touchdowns. But the one touchdown that didn’t involve him stepping foot in the end zone ended up being his most well known play. The turn of events after he hit the ball out of the hands of the interceptor and to his teammate for a touchdown got him noticed by college coaches from all around.

   “[The play] was just a freak deal that turned out in our favor,” Coy said. “I had an idea what I was doing when I pulled that play off, but it worked even better than I planned.”

   Coy finished the season with a nation leading 2,140 receiving yards. Not only did that mark give him a 232 yard lead over the second most in the nation, but it also ranks as the #22 all time national mark for single season receiving yards.

   “Our whole team just kept a mentality where we focused on winning one game at a time,” Coy said. “The way that our team stayed unified on one goal every single game really helped me manage the statistics that I got this season.”

   The senior wide receiver received first team All American honors for his historic season. He also was awarded the Mr. Texas Football Player of the Week, as well as named the Offensive MVP in the state finals.

   “ I am so very grateful for the honors I’ve received this year,” Coy said. “All the credit goes to God.”