Coogs let it slip away!

Malcolm Robinson scored from a yard out with 1:11 left in the game to lift Garland over Cooper 34-30 in a nondistrict football game Friday night at Shotwell Stadium.

The Owls (2-1) scored 21 unanswered points in the final 7:12 of the game to spoil the Coogs’ homecoming and hand Cooper (2-2) its second straight loss to a 5A team.

“It’s a tough loss. Any loss is tough,” Cooper coach Mike Spradlin said. “I’m going to try to spin it off. It is what it is. We fought our tail off against a real good football team.”

After Garland got a 26-yard touchdown run from Robinson to go up 13-10 with 7:05 left in the third quarter, Cooper answered with 20 unanswered points to lead 30-13 with 8:38 to play in the game.

But Garland answered with a nine-yard touchdown catch from Jared Barnett to Ayron Morgan a little more than a minute later.

The Owls recovered an onside kick at the Coogs’ 48 and one play later, Adrian Phillips caught his second touchdown catch of the night to pull Garland within three, 30-27, with 7:00 left.

Garland stopped the Coogs on downs and marched 54 yards on seven plays for Robinson’s one-yard plunge on a third-and-goal play.

Cooper drove to the Owl 42 but the Coogs’ final two passes fell incomplete.

The onside kick — the third given up by Cooper in an as many games — proved costly.

“We had them where we wanted them,” Spradlin said. “Once again, our kicking game let us down. We’ve got to execute that. Got to make that play. It’s about making plays and executions. Those are the things we have to do.”

Cooper quarterback Ryan Heslep threw a 10-yard touchdown pass to John Harvey, and Ryan Lucas booted a 32-yard field goal as the Coogs took a 10-6 lead at the half.

Garland went back on top with a 26-yard touchdown run by Robinson with 7:05 to play in the third quarter. Vince Villanueva’s PAT gave the Owls a 13-10 lead.

But Sammy Beall returned the ensuing kickoff 46 yards to the Owl 46, and five plays later, on a fourth-and-1 play,

Kendrick Powdrill scored from six yards out.

Lucas’ PAT put the Coogs up 17-13 with 5:04 left in the third.

Cooper tacked on a 11-yard touchdown catch by Jamail Lowry from Heslep with 10:59 left in the game, after T.C. Robinson recovered a muff punt at the Owls’ 28.

The Coogs appeared to be in control when Alford Cooper, who rushed for a game-high 124 yards on 14 carries, ripped off a 52-yard touchdown run with 8:38 remaining

But then Garland — which scored 22 unanswered points in the fourth quarter in last year’s 28-14 win in Garland — rallied for the victory.

“I’m going to say it again: I think we’ve got us a darned good football team,” Spradlin said. “I really do. With a win tonight, it’s shaping up just the way I want it. Unfortunately, that didn’t happen.

“I love these guys. I love their maturity level. I think they’ll bounce back. I have no doubt about it. We’ll have to travel our tail off to Hebron next week. We’re going to try to get in there and get us a win.”

Garland 6 0 7 21—34

Cooper 3 7 7 13—30