Saturday, October 11, 1997
Cooper 24, Midland Lee 0By AL PICKETT
Sports Editor
Midland Lee's two-year reign as District 4-5A football champion is over.
Cooper blanked the Rebels, 24-0, Friday night at Shotwell Stadium, handing Midland Lee its second district loss in three outings this season.
It was a solid performance on both sides of the football for the eighth-ranked Cougars, who improved their record to 5-1 overall and 2-0 in district. Midland Lee drops to 2-4 and 1-2.
Cooper's defense pitched its first shutout in 33 games, not allowing Lee to penetrate inside the Cougars' 28-yard line. Meanwhile, the Cooper offense piled up 342 yards of total offense. The Cougars scored on their first possession of each half and effectively dominated play the remainder of the game.
"It was a great performance, " Cooper coach Randy Allen said. "Nothing is as much fun as a victorious locker room after a hard week of work. We had to play an outstanding game against a fine Lee football team. "
Lee put together its best drive of the night on the game's opening possession, marching from its own 14 to the Cooper 30. But on fourth down, after the Rebels lined up for a 47-yard field goal attempt by Chris Ulmo, they quickly shifted into a normal formation and handed off to running back Jason Hernandez. But Hernandez was stopped for no gain by the right side of the Cooper defensive line, turning the ball over to the Cougars at the 30-yard line.
Cooper needed only eight plays to go 70 yards for its first touchdown. A 38-yard run on first down by Robbie Johnson got the Cougars' drive cranked up. Richard Rodriguez, playing for the first time in two weeks because of a sprained ankle, finished the drive with a 9-yard touchdown run. Rodriguez was stopped in the middle of the line, but then bounced to the outside and scooted around right end for the touchdown.
Quarterback Brandon Stover, who passed for 139 yards and a touchdown, scored on a 12-yard run for Cooper's second TD with 6:55 to go in the second quarter. On third-and-six from the 12-yard line, Stover kept on the option around left end to complete a six-play, 66-yard scoring drive.
Peter Abrigg added a 30-yard field goal with 16 seconds remaining before intermission to increase Cooper's halftime lead to 17-0.
Midland Lee tried to surprise Cooper with an onside kick to open the second half, but the ball was recovered by a Rebel player just a foot or so short of going the necessary 10 yards.
Cooper was given possession at the Lee 49-yard line. On first down, the Cougars were flagged for an illegal block. With the ball pushed back to their own 38-yard line, Stover passed 24 yards to tight end Andy Rodgers for a first down.
On the next play, Stover rolled right and threw back to his left on a screen pass to Johnson, who raced 38 yards for the touchdown, with less than a minute elapsed in the second half.
With a steady rain falling the entire second half, Cooper played it conservatively the rest of the way as the defense easily made the lead stand up.
The Rebels were playing without Josh Norman, the district's leading rusher going into the game. Norman didn't play because of a bruised thigh.
"Josh puts a whole different deal on the game since he couldn't play, " Allen said. "Our firt drive was all on the ground, but after that we mixed the run and the pass well. Brandon (Stover) had an excellent game. Our offensive line did a good job, and it was good to see Richard Rodriguez back there. He's almost 100 percent. "
Midland Lee coach John Parchman knew after the game that his Rebels' hopes of a third consecutive District 4-5A title were gone.
"They're hurting right now, " he said of his team. "We have to be realistic. We still have a chance to make the playoffs. We need to get some people well. Cooper was just better than us tonight. "
Midland Lee 0 0 0 0--0
Cooper 7 10 7 0--24
SCORING SUMMARY
Cooper -- Richard Rodriguez 9 run (Peter Abrigg kick)
Cooper -- Brandon Stover 12 run (Abrigg kick)
Cooper -- Abrigg 30 field goal
Cooper -- Robbie Johnson 38 pass from Stover (Abrigg kick)
Lee Cooper
First downs 11 14
Rushes-yards 38-156 33-203
Passing yards 63 139
Comp-Att-Int 8-21-0 6-13-0
Punts 7-42.1 4-41.0
Fumbles-lost 1-0 4-2
Penalties-yards 4-25 5-55
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING -- Lee: Stacy Jones 3-6, Jeremy Deramus 7-28, Jason Hernandez 17-99, Autry Pryor 9-19, Shane Fisher 3-4. Cooper: Robbie Johnson 18-123, Richard Rodriguez 7-39, Brandon Stover 3-26, Lawrence Riley 7-17, Mark Rau 1-(-2).
PASSING -- Lee: Jeremy Deramus 8-21-0, 63 yards. Cooper: Brandon Stover 6-13-0, 139 yards.
RECEIVING -- Lee: Matt Winston 3-35, Scott Worley 1-4, Stacy Jones 2-18, Shane Fisher 2-6. Cooper: Mark Rau 1-6, Jesse Sharp 1-21, Andy Rodgers 1-24, Robbie Johnson 2-38, Adam Riddle 1-50