The high-fives and
words of congratulations lasted for only a moment following another
impressive win by the Cooper football team Friday night.
A 41-0 pasting of Odessa High was great, but the Cougars had
a different game on their minds after the final seconds ran off
the clock at Ratliff Stadium.
Cooper will play Abilene High this week, and there will be more
on the line than just city bragging rights. The District 4-5A
championship will be right there for one of the two local teams
to claim.
"It's great to win this one, but we can't get complacent,"
Cooper tight end Kurtis Lay said. "The Abilene High-Cooper
game is the biggest one of the year and we don't want to end
the regular season with a loss."
The situation Cooper and Abilene High find themselves in will
make the game even bigger than usual. The Cougars (9-0, 4-0)
come into the game ranked eighth in the Associated Press Class
5A football poll, while Abilene High enters the game with a 3-1
mark in league play.
Cooper can claim the title outright with a win. A loss would
mean sharing the title, but losing the tiebreaker on head-to-head
competition.
"It's a big one," Cooper coach Randy Quisenberry said.
"We will have to go back and get ready to play this week."
Cooper appeared ready for the challenge after posting its best
defensive performance of the season. Odessa High (3-6, 1-3) managed
161 yards of total offense, but failed to score despite having
several shots at it deep in Cooper territory.
"We are trying to play better as a unit," Cooper linebacker
Reid Overall said. "We came close to doing that tonight."
Cooper's defense started out quickly in the first half allowing
97 yards of total offense and turning back Odessa High twice
deep in Cooper territory. Defensive back Tony Cunningham blocked
a 47-yard field goal attempt by Matt Dominey and teamed with
fellow defensive back Will Galusha to make a key stop just before
halftime.
Odessa High quarterback Kale Kirkpatrick hit wide receiver Brad
Fox on fourth-down-and-10 with 45 seconds left in the half.
Galusha and Cunningham pulled Fox down 2 yards short of a first
down at Cooper's 18-yard line. Kirkpatrick led Odessa High with
121 yards passing.
That stop allowed Cooper to take a 21-0 lead into halftime, thanks
in part to the play of running back Brandon Diles, who led Cooper
with 136 yards rushing.
Diles scored touchdowns on runs of 5 and 43 yards in the second
quarter. Quarterback David Butler gave Cooper an early lead in
the first quarter when he threw an 11-yard touchdown pass to
Galusha.
"Our defense played great and gave us good field position,"
Diles said. "We were able to take advantage of that."
One of those big defensive plays came in the third quarter when
Cooper turned away Odessa High deep in Cougar territory. The
Bronchos drove to Cooper's 12-yard line, but failed to score.
Odessa High quarterback threw three straight incomplete passes
at the end of the drive, including one on fourth down.
Cooper continued to roll offensively after the stop behind the
play of Diles, who scored on runs of 1 and 5 yards in the third
quarter to push the Cougars' lead to 35-0. Diles finished with
four touchdowns, a career best.
Cooper tagged on one final score on the last play of the game
when linebacker Jeff Lampkin returned a fumble 15 yards for a
touchdown. There was little time to celebrate the score, though,
not with the Abilene High game looming next week.
"We know that we already have a share of the title, but
it would be nice to win it outright," Lay said. "It
would be great to bring the bell home."
Contact staff writer
at Brett Vito 676-6771 or vitob@abinews.com.
1st
Q
2nd
Q
3rd
Q
4th
Q
FINAL
Cooper
7
14
14
6
41
Odessa
0
0
0
0
0
Cooper - Will Galusha 11 pass from David Butler (Matt Uselton
kick)
Cooper - Brandon Diles 43 run (Uselton kick)
Cooper- Diles 5 run (Uselton kick)
Cooper- Diles 1 run (Uselton kick)
Cooper - Diles 5 run (Uselton kick)
Cooper - Jeff Lampkin 15 fumble return
