The second half and
the Cooper football team just seem to fit together like a hand
in a glove.
For the third straight game the Cougars found themselves down
at halftime. And once again they rallied for the victory, this
time a 27-9 triumph over Midland High in a District 4-5A game
at Shotwell Stadium.
The victory left Cooper, the ninth-ranked team in Texas Class
5A football, unbeaten with just two weeks left in the regular
season.
"Every week is a dogfight in this district," Cooper
coach Randy Quisenberry said.
"We started out kind of slow, but our assistant coaches
made some great adjustments at halftime and the kids carried
them out."
Those adjustments allowed Cooper (8-0, 3-0) to rally from a 9-7
halftime deficit and turn the game into a blowout.
No one had more to do with the Cougars' second-half surge than
quarterback David Butler. Cooper's senior quarterback completed
20 of 22 passes for a remarkable 299 yards and three touchdowns.
Butler fell just short of becoming the 19th player in District
4-5A history to throw for 300 yards in a game.
"David relaxed and threw the ball," said wide receiver
Will Galusha, who caught seven passes for 143 yards. "We
knew that he would play well tonight."
Wide receiver Tony Cunningham added six catches for 97 yards
and became just the seventh player in District 4-5A history to
catch 100 career passes.
A 15-yard reception from Butler in the fourth quarter gave Cunningham
an even 100, tying him with former Odessa Permian and current
University of Texas receiver Roy Williams for sixth place in
district history.
"There is no question Cooper clicked in the second half
offensively," Midland High coach David Browning said. "He
is as good a quarterback as we have seen."
Even with Butler clicking, Cooper found itself down 9-7 at halftime
after Midland High kicker James Gripp kicked field goals from
43, 32 and 25 yards out.
Gripp's first two field goals gave Midland High (4-4, 1-2) a
6-0 lead.
Cooper responded with its lone touchdown of the first half late
in the second quarter. Galusha caught a pass from Butler along
the sidelines and cut through the middle of Midland High's defense
and ran 50 yards for a touchdown.
Only 1:53 remained in the first half when Galusha gave Cooper
a 7-6 lead.
Midland High used the time that was left to its advantage, driving
52 yards to set up a 25-yard chip shot by Gripp with eight seconds
left in the half. Cooper's deficit would have been larger if
not for its defense, which kept Midland High from getting the
ball in the end zone.
"We had to bow up and make a couple of stops in the first
half," Cooper defensive lineman Troydale Gatson said. "Those
stops took some wind out of them."
Those stops allowed Cooper to blow by Midland High in the second
half thanks to a pair of quick touchdowns in the third quarter.
Tight end Kurtis Lay scored the first touchdown on a 24-yard
pass from Butler on Cooper's third offensive play of the second
half.
Midland High running back Michael Smith opened the door for Cooper
to extend its lead on the Bulldogs' next possession when he fumbled
the ball. The Cougars recovered the ball and extended their lead
to 20-9 two plays later on a 9-yard run by Diles. Smith rushed
for 32 yards, while quarterback Ryan Rowland led Midland High
with 167 yards passing.
"Those quick scores changed the whole game," Galusha
said. "We relaxed, and that made the rest of the game a
whole lot easier."
Butler made the game look easy in the fourth quarter when he
hit Cunningham on a 35-yard touchdown pass to extend Cooper's
lead to 27-9.
That touchdown made a first half deficit nothing but a distant
memory for Cooper.
"We had to pick it up in the second half," Butler said.
"Coach told us we had to think of the second half as a whole
new game."
Butler made it a whole new game, one he dominated.
Contact staff writer
at Brett Vito 676-6771 or vitob@abinews.com.
1st
Q
2nd
Q
3rd
Q
4th
Q
FINAL
Midland
0
9
0
0
9
Cooper
0
7
13
7
27
MHS - James Gripp 43 field goal
MHS - Gripp 32 field goal
CHS - Will Galusha 50 pass from David Butler (Matt Uselton kick)
MHS - Gripp 25 field goal
CHS - Kurtis Lay 24 pass from Butler (pass failed)
CHS - Brandon Diles 9 run (Uselton kick)
CHS - Tony Cunningham 35 pass from Butler (Uselton kick)
RUSHING - Cooper: Brandon Diles 18-51, Marcevie Ralston 2-7,
David Butler 2-(-10); Midland High: Michael Smith 14-32, Wade
Koehl 7-27, Phillip Mancha 1-11, Ryan Rowland 8-4.
PASSING - Cooper: David Butler 20-22-1, 299 yards Marcevie Ralston
0-1-0 0 yards; Midland High: Ryan Rowland 16-23-2 167 yards,
Michael Smith 0-1-0 0 yards
RECEIVING - Cooper: Will Galusha 7-143, Tony Cunningham 6-97,
Marcevie Ralston 3-10, Kurtis Lay 2-34, Brandon Diles 1-8, Jeff
Button 1-7; Midland High: Zack Sledge 7-71, Eric Lara 3-34, Wade
Koehl 2-37, Herb City 1-26, Tres Watson 1-16, Ryan Rowland 1-0.
