COOPER cruises to easy win over Wyatt, 56-7

It was a perfect night for the Cooper season opener against Ft. Worth O. D. Wyatt. The Cougars have worked hard and prepared well. The stands were full. Excitement filled the air as the Cougars took the field for their first time in 2009!

Darron Rosenquist took some great pictures throughout the night!


By Joey Richards Friday, August 28, 2009

O.D. Wyatt running back Johnny Perry (3) is brought down for a loss by Cooper defenders Regal Sanchez (35), Joe Dillard (96) and Joshua'e Robinson during the first quarter of the Cougars' win on Friday, Aug. 28, 2009, at Shotwell Stadium.



Cooper's Tommy Bowman (8) slips between O.D. Wyatt defenders en route to a 54-yard punt return for a touchdown during the second quarter of the Cougars' win on Friday, Aug. 28, 2009, at Shotwell Stadium.

O.D. Wyatt quarterback Dante Gentry (5) is hit as he throws the ball by Copper linebacker Jamar Renfro (44) during the second quarter of the Cougars' win on Friday, Aug. 28, 2009, at Shotwell Stadium.

Cooper wide receiver Sammy Beall (2) celebrates with teammate Tommy Bowman (8) after Beall'd touchdown in the second quarter of the Cougars' win on Friday, Aug. 28, 2009, at Shotwell Stadium.

Cooper defensive back Lawrence Brownfield (16) intercepts a pass over O.D. Wyatt wide receiver Roosevelt Hooker (81) during the third quarter of the Cougars' 56-7 win on Friday,

The Cooper Cougars put on quite a show in the season opener.
Ryan Heslep threw two touchdown passes and ran for another as the Coogs drubbed the O.D. Wyatt Chaparrals 56-7 on Friday at Shotwell Stadium.



Cooper, 33-17 all-time in season openers, led 42-0 at the half and cruised to the victory.
“We threw the ball well. We ran the ball well. The guys up front did a great job,” Cooper coach Mike Spradlin said. “We created opportunities defensively. We had great field position in the first half and took advantage of it. I’m just real pleased with this win.”

Heslep completed 12-of-16 passes for 180 yards — all in the first half. He played only the first series of the second half, before giving way to backup Clayton Nicholas.

“I thought we came out and executed well on both sides of the ball,” Heslep said. “We had some jitters on the first series, but we battled back and put a lot of points on the board.”
Three Cooper running backs ran for touchdowns, including two by Kendrick Powdrill, who finished with 86 yards on nine carries.



Alford Cooper, who ran for a game-high 106 yards on nine carries, and Davon Riddick each also ran for a TD.
Tommy Bowman caught a 29-yard touchdown pass and returned a punt 66 yards for another. Sammy Beall had a 28-yard touchdown catch for Cooper’s first score of the night.
The Coogs rolled up 466 yards on offense, while allowing only 136 on defense — all but 27 yards of that in the second half, and 63 of those yards came on Johnny Perry’s touchdown run late in the third quarter.
“It was very crisp, good offensive football,” Spradlin said. “Our defense flew around and held them.

Our special teams played well. In all the phases, we played well for 2 ½ quarters. I was really pleased.”

Cooper scored on four straight possessions, after coming up empty on its opening drive — and the Coogs’ had a 14-yard touchdown pass from Heslep to Khole Jackson called back on that drive.
Cooper opened the scoring with a 28-yard touchdown pass from Heslep to Beall with 2:12 left in the first quarter.
Less than a minute later, after recovering a fumble at the Wyatt 14, Powdrill scampered 14 yards for the touchdown.

The Coogs exploded for 28 points in the second quarter.
On the their first possession of the second quarter, Jamail Lowry caught a 50-yard pass from Heslep, down to the Chap 1-yard line, to set up a 1-yard TD run by Heslep to help the Coogs take a 21-0 lead.
The next time the Coogs touched the ball, Heslep threw a 29-yard touchdown pass to Bowman for a 28-0 lead.

Bowman would later return a punt 66 yards for a touchdown, and Powdrill capped a six-play, 80-yard drive with an 8-yard TD run just before the half.
Riddick ran 16 yards for a TD early in the third quarter, and Alford Cooper ripped off a 43-yard TD run — set up by a Lawrence Brownfield interception — to cap the scoring for the night for the Coogs.
Wyatt avoided the shutout when Johnny Perry ran 63 yards for a touchdown late in the third quarter.
Note — It’s the second straight year the Coogs have beaten Wyatt to open the season. Cooper won last year’s game 33-0 at Shotwell.

Wyatt 0 0 7 0—7
Cooper 14 28 14 0—56

First quarter
CHS — Sammy Beall 28 pass from Ryan Heslep (Ryan Lucas kick), 2:12
CHS — Kendrick Powdrill 14 run (Lucas kick), 1:47

Second quarter
CHS — Heslep 1 run (Lucas kick), 11:35
CHS — Tommy Bowman 29 pass from Heslep (Lucas kick), 10:17
CHS — Bowman 66 punt return (Lucas kick), 4:54
CHS — Powdrill 8 run (Lucas kick), :31

Third quarter
CHS — Davon Riddick 16 run (Justin Lehr kick), 10:35
CHS — Alford Cooper 43 run (Lehr kick), 8:33
WHS — Johnny Perry 63 run (Carlos Armaza), 6:26

WHS CHS
First downs 5 22
Rushes-yards 34-125 33-244
Passing 11 222
Total yards 136 466
Comp-Att-Int 3-15-1 14-19-0
Punts 7-31.8 0-0
Fumbles-lost 6-1 3-3
Penalties-yards 6-42 3-25
Individual statistics

Rushing — Wyatt, Johnny Perry 8-72, Nicholas Hunt 5-27, Nicholas Johnson 3-15, Dante Gentry 11-14. Cooper, Alford Cooper 9-106, Kendrick Powdrill 9-86, Alex Morrison 5-44, Davon Riddick 3-29.

Passing — Wyatt, Dante Gentry 3-15-1-11, Okayae Stewart 0-2-0-0. Cooper, Ryan Heslep 12-16-0-180, Clayton Nicholas 2-3-0-42.

Receiving — Wyatt, Roosevelt Hooker 1-7. Nicholas Johnson 1-5, Perry 1-(minus 1). Cooper, Khole Jackson 3-29, Jamail Lowry 2-57, Caston Gillit 2-42, Tommy Bowman 2-40, Sammy Beall 2-35, Alford Cooper 1-7, Reese Williams 2-0.

Next week CHS will travel to the

Metroplex to play the Saginaw Boswell Pioneers!

Cooper vs. Boswell @ Boswell, 9-4 Friday at 7:30.

CHS vs F.W. Wyatt - First game of the Season!

The Cooper Cougars season opener is upon us! Tomorrow night at 7:30, CHS will line-up against Ft. Worth Wyatt, at Shotwell Stadium. After a strong appearence in the Odessa High scrimmage last Friday night, the Coogs are ready to take the field! So wear your Red and Blue and join the Cougar Nation for a new chapter of "Friday Night Lights"!

An article about Ryan Heslep, from the Abilene Reporter News. http://www.reporternews.com/news/2009/aug/26/cooper-qb-heslip-confident-about-his-role-with/

An interview with Coach Mike Spradlin, concerning the upcoming F.W. Wyatt game. http://reporternews.com/videos/detail/spradlin-wyatt and another interview with David Robinett, of KTAB. http://bigcountryhomepage.com/content/video/?watch=1&cid=168452&shr=addthis

Photo day!

READY...SET...HUT,HUT!!! COOPER DOTY, SET THINGS IN MOTION THURSDAY EVENING AT SHOTWELL STADIUM.

EVERYONE LOOKED PICTURE PERFECT IN THEIR RED AND BLUE! (ex. HUDSON & MINDI WOMACK)


THE TEAM WAS 'DRESSED OUT' IN THEIR GAME DAY BEST. SPORTING CONTAGIOUS LAUGHS AND SMILES, MUCH TO EVERYONE'S DELIGHT!



STAN, THE MAN OF THE HOUR...OR TWO, WAS IN RARE FORM! ARMED WITH EXPERIENCE AND GREAT EQUIPMENT, HE SEIZED THE MOMENT.


WARMED UP AND FEELING GOOD, STAN TAKES HIS ACT TO A HIGHER LEVEL. BE CAREFUL, STAN! CHILDREN ARE WATCHING...



WOW! THAT'S IMPRESSIVE!




COACH MOEBES, CHILLIN' ..."HI, TY!"



WHILE SOME LOVE THE SPOTLIGHT. OTHERS, SHALL WE SAY, ARE A LITTLE CAMERA SHY?


EVERYONE ENJOYED THE BEAUTIFUL EVENING.


THE O-LINE. THEY'RE A NICE BUNCH OF GUYS.
OK GUYS!. . . ONE MORE PICTURE.



TEAM COUNCIL - WORKING HARD AND MAKING GOOD DECISIONS, ON AND OFF THE FIELD. . . ALL DAY LONG!


.......WE'RE READY COACH!


NEXT FRIDAY, O.D. WYATT, SHOTWELL STADIUM @ 7:30. BE THERE!

Two-a-days!

It's official! Summer is over and football days are here again. Two-a-days began this morning at 8:00.



The weather was perfect. A cool 85 degrees.



After a mid day break the Cougars hit the field again this afternoon at 4:00. Then it's off to the weight room to pump some iron!



Encouraging words from Kelvin Kelly, Team Advocate.

Good catch!

...watching with interest!

Local media coverage is excellent in Abilene, Texas. One of the many perks of West Texas Football.

Saturday, all players will scatter throughout Abilene for the annual Cooper Football Card blitz! The cards feature the Cougars '09 schedule as well as generous discounts from many local merchants such as, Sonic's Route 44 drinks are .99, anytime of the day!

Last year's team started a new tradition. A sledge hammer called "The Finisher", now hangs in the hall in memory of a great bunch of guys and their sucessful season!

In '09 the tradition continues with a new team, a new hammer with a new name...All Day! It will accompany the team throughout their journey and at the end of the season, hand on the wall next to "The Finisher" with a plaque honoring their accomplishments! Hey, Coach Bloesh! (new to the Cooper staff. Played at the U of Houston with Coach Doty....welcome!)

The Band of Brothers quote:

One of three shelves of displaying Cooper football's winning tradition...

The following is a excerpt from the Abilene Reporter Telegram.

Cooper coach Mike Spradlin welcomed about 140 Cougar players for the first day of two-a-day practices. “It never ceases to amaze me,” Spradlin said. “I keep thinking that the older I get that it will change, but it never loses its magic for me. There’s still an air. I couldn’t sleep (Sunday) night. I never get comfortable. I woke up about 10 times and couldn’t wait for the alarm to go off.

“We had a great first day, probably the best we’ve had since I’ve been here. The kids are enthusiastic and we’re ready to rock.”While continuity has become a hallmark for the Eagles in Warrens 13 previous seasons as head coach, the Cougars are beginning to reap the same kind of benefits as Spradlin enters his fourth season with the program.
“I think we’re where we want to be,” Spradlin said. “We’re right where we thought we’d be. We feel like we’ve done what we do and there’s some repetition and carryover. If you want to compare it to the last couple of years, we’re ahead just for the simple reason we’ve all been here. I didn’t lose a coach last year. Our staff’s intact and those are the things that get you continuity.” Cooper, which went 8-5 and advanced to the third round of the playoffs in its first season of Class 4A competition last year, kicks off the 2009 season on Aug. 28 against Fort Worth Wyatt as part of the Action Sports Medicine Champions Classic at Shotwell Stadium.

Band of Brothers!

Each year the Cooper Football team has a motivational theme. A motto of sort. This year the Cougars have chosen, a Band of Brothers, based on a Shakespearean quote:

“We few, we happy few, we band of brothers. For he today that sheds his blood with me shall be my brother.”

William Shakespeare

The new billboard at the field house just went up. How cool is that! A big thanks to everyone involved. Great job!

Two-a-days begin tomorrow! Signaling the official start of the fall football season. However, the coaches and players will tell you that actually, the '09 season started way back in January 2008. For it was then, that they began to formulate a plan, make goals and decide what it would take to make their dreams come true. Realizing that every day between then and now, if used properly, could move them closer to attaining their goals.

So as a team, they made a commitment to work harder and think smarter than ever before. Even throughout the summer, on strictly a voluntary basis, they spent a lot of time in the weight room.

In short, the Cougars a ready! They are tough and intense. They are a team. All day!