Saturday, October 4, 1997
Amarillo High 20, Cooper 3By TED DUNNAM / Abilene Reporter-News
AMARILLO -- Dominic Rhodes wasn't available to save the Cooper football team here Friday night, and much to the dismay of the Cougar coaching staff, neither was anyone else.
Looking listless on both sides of the ball, the Cougars were totally shut down by an emotionally charged Amarillo High team that handed Cooper a 20-3 non-district loss at Dick Bivins Stadium.
The Cougars entered the game unbeaten and sporting a lofty No. 4 state ranking, but on this night they were no better than a distant second on the Bivins playing field.
"Amarillo High played an excellent football game," Cooper head coach Randy Allen said. "They executed the passing game extremely well and converted a lot of big third-down plays.
"We were flat emotionally -- I just didn't have us ready to play. We simply didn't execute tonight in any phase of the game."
When Amarillo High wasn't dealing the Cougars misery, Cooper was its worst enemy.
Critical penalties (9 for 95 yards), dropped passes and blown assignments all led to Cooper's downfall.
Amarillo High led 13-0 at intermission, by which time Cooper had only two first downs and 69 yards -- all on rushing from Robbie Johnson.
The Cougars managed to get a 36-yard field goal from Peter Abrigg on their first posession of the second half, but that in itself was disappointing. CHS used 15 plays and six minutes in marching just 51 yards to get the field goal.
Then, on the Cougars' next possession, Cooper wide receiver Luke Harrison couldn't hang on to what most likely would have been a 30-yard touchdown pass. Abrigg then came up short and wide on a 47-yard field goal with 10 seconds left in the third quarter.
That missed opportunity effectively ended Cooper's chance to get back in the game.
Two possessions later, Amarillo High's Jonny Johnson rambled into the end zone from 38 yards out with 6:45 showing to give the Sandies a 20-3 lead.
Cooper had three more possessions, but as the case was all night, each came up empty.
"Obviously, in all phases of the game we did what we needed to do," Amarillo High head coach Larry Dippel said. "Field position was really in our favor the whole night.
"Our offense controlled the ball, and our defense contained their offense. It was just a total game for us. I can't say enough about the way the kids played tonight. They really stepped up and played tough."
The Sandies totally dominated the first half, amassing 10 first downs and 150 yards of offense in rolling up a 13-0 cushion.
While those weren't imposing numbers by any means, Cooper's offensive output paled by comparison.
Cooper quarterback Brandon Stover misfired on all five of his first-half passing attempts while receiver Fred Rau saw his only aerial try fall incomplete.
Amarillo High, meanwhile, broke a scoreless tie with 3:24 left in the opening quarter when Gabe Lotman kicked a 34-yard field goal to cap a six-play, 33-yard drive.
Cooper had a chance to tie the game on its next possession, but Abrigg's 46-yard field goal attempt at the 1:58 mark just missed wide left.
The Sandies then took over at their 28-yard line and marched 72 yards in eight plays to open a 10-0 lead.
Johnson and Ricky Hill did all the work on the ground while quarterback Brent Bullard hit a key 18-yard pass to wide receiver Chris McGruder.
Hill capped the drive with a 15-yard run off tackle that gave the Sandies the 10-point cushion 10:44 before halftime.
The Sandies widened the margin to 13-0 on their final possession of the opening half. They started a drive at their 44-yard line, and moved deep into Cougar territory courtesy of two 15-yard interference penalties.
Lotman eventually booted a 25-yard field goal as time expired in the second quarter.
"We knew this was a tough game on our schedule, coming between Abilene High and Midland Lee," Allen said. "But that's no excuse for the way we played tonight.
"The only good thing about a loss is if you learn from it. We've got to show up ready to play next week."
Johnson finished the night as the game's leading rusher with 114 yards on 23 carries while Stover completed 10 of 29 passes for 102 yards.
Amarillo committed only three penalites on the night, and its only turnover was a bobbled snap with 1:43 left in the game.
"We just put ourselves in a hole too many times tonight," Allen said.
Cooper 0 0 3 0--3
Amarillo 3 10 0 7--20
SCORING SUMMARY
A -- Gabe Lotman 34 field goal
A -- Ricky Hill 15 run (Lotman kick)
A -- Lotman 25 field goal
C -- Peter Abrigg 36 field goal
A -- Jonny Johnson 38 run (Lotman kick)
Cooper Amarillo
First downs 9 14
Rushes-yards 28-114 34-130
Passing yards 102 118
Comp-Att-Int 10-30-0 7-23-0
Punts 6-42.5 6-35.8
Fumbles-lost 2-1 1-1
Penalties-yards 9-95 3-32
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING -- Cooper: Robbie Johnson 23-114, Mark Rau 1-1, Brandon Stover 4-(-1); Amarillo: Ricky Hill 14-62, Jonny Johnson 11-62, Brent Bullard 1-5, Austin Price 8-1
PASSING -- Cooper: Brandon Stover 10-29-0, Mark Rau 0-1-0. Amarillo: Brent Bullard 7-23-0, 118 yards.
RECEIVING -- Cooper: Rau 6-75, Robbie Johnson 3-21, Jesse Sharp 1-6. Amarillo: Chris McGruder 4-67, Jonathon Dindinger 2-33, Eric Rumph 1-18.