CHS vs. Frenship~Cooper Wins!

21 to 7! Go COOGS!!

WOLFFORTH — The Cooper Cougars went into the Tigers’ den Friday night and knocked off the 13-time defending district champions on their own turf — and clinched at least a share of the District 4-4A title in the process.

Davon Riddick ran for a pair of touchdowns and Kendrick Powdrill added another as the Coogs fought off the Frenship Tigers 21-7 at Tiger Stadium to move within one victory of an outright district title.

“It’s real sweet, and it’s something our kids have had a goal to do for a long time,” Cooper coach Mike Spradlin said. “It’s something we set our in our sights when these kids were freshmen. This was our first group, this bunch of seniors, and I’m so proud of these guys. I can’t stand it. It’s a great, great victory on hostile turf.”

The victory also avenged a 16-10 loss to Frenship last season at Shotwell Stadium — the Coogs’ lone district loss since joining the district.

“Last year, we felt like we should have won the game,” Cooper quarterback Ryan Heslep said. “We just didn’t play very good. And tonight, we were motivated by that, especially coming to their place, because they came into (Shotwell) and took it from us.”

Now, Cooper (6-3 overall, 4-0 district) — which has a share of its first title since 2003 — can nab the title for its own with a victory over last-place Plainview at Shotwell Stadium.

“It feels good, but we don’t want to share it, Heslep said. “We don’t want to have the same record as anyone in our district.

We want to win it outright. It feels good for the moment, but we still have to go back to work and beat Plainview next week.”

Cooper’s defense had another great effort. The Coogs held Frenship (5-4, 1-3) to 120 total yards on offense, including 47 on the ground, and recorded six sacks for a loss of 47 yards.

“Wow, probably our best game of the season,” Cooper defensive end Quincy Moore said. “I can’t say enough about the job everybody did. It wasn’t just pressure or coverage. It was a group effort, and then the offense kept giving us motivation, putting points on the board.”

Cooper hasn’t allowed more than two touchdowns a game in district.
“It just keeps getting better and better,” Spradlin said. “I can’t say enough great things about the defense. Offensively, I’m a little frustrated. I thought we had a chance to really break it open, and we made some mistakes, didn’t execute in some areas. But those are fixable are fixable things.”

All but one touchdown came in the first half, as Cooper led 14-7 at the break.

Riddick — who ran for 106 yards on 15 carries — capped a six-play, 51-yard drive with a three-yard touchdown run on the first play of the second quarter.

Bobby Huey answered with a 25-yard touchdown run for Frenship, coming at the end of a quick three-play, 39-yard drive. The score was set up by a 36-yard kickoff return by Aaron Pool.

Cooper’s T.C. Robinson responded with a 53-yard kickoff return to the Tiger 43. Six plays later, Riddick scored from three yards out, and Ryan Lucas booted his second PAT to give the Coogs a 14-7 lead with 8:38 left in the half.

Cooper recovered an onside kick to start the second half, even though Spradlin said the Coogs weren’t trying for the onside kick — just pooching the kick. But Dalton Wilcox came up with ball just before it went out of bounds at the Frenship 37.

Five plays later and just one play after the Tigers had an interception negated by an offsides call, Powdrill ran 19 yards for the game’s final touchdown.

“It feels great,” Moore said. “Part of it is coming in here and beating this team, because we didn’t beat them last year. Part of it is just really winning that district championship. It’s really not about a one-on-one battle. Whoever’s in your way, you have to run them over to get the next game.”

Cooper 0 14 7 0—21
Frenship 0 7 0 0—7

Cooper Cougars vs Frenship Tigers - It's Friday Night Lights in Lubbock!

Beware of the sleeping Tiger!

OCTOBER 30th Abilene Cooper vs. Frenship Tigers @ Frenship 7:30 Lubbock Texas

Cooper grabs hold of 4-4A lead! CHS wins 21 -18

The Cooper Cougars are all alone at the top.

Ryan Heslep threw a pair of touchdown passes and ran for another as the Cougars took down unbeaten and No. 7-ranked Big Spring 21-18 in a District 4-4A showdown Friday night at Shotwell Stadium.

The teams came into the game as the last two unbeatens in District 4. Now, Cooper (5-3 overall, 3-0 district) takes over sole possession of the district lead with two games left in the regular season.

“It’s huge, a huge win,” Cooper coach Mike Spradlin said. “A lot of belief, a lot of passion, a lot of hope. But it sets us up now where we want to be. We feel like it’s going to help catapult us to where we want to go.”

Big Spring (7-1, 2-1) drove to the Cooper 47-yard line on its final drive, but turned the ball over on downs as Tyler Tannehill’s pass fell incomplete on a 4th-and-4 play.
Cooper ran the game’s final 2:23.

“It’s exactly what I thought it was going to be,” Big Spring coach Phillip Ritchey said. “We knew Cooper was very, very talented, big, physical and strong. Very balanced on offense. Tough defensively.

“Our kids fought their guts out. I’m very proud of the way we played tonight. It really came down to who had the ball last. We had it and we didn’t capitalize. We had our chances, just didn’t get it done.”

Both teams were averaging a little more than 450 yards and 40 points a game. But Cooper held the Steers to 289 yards. Steer running back Monte Anderson, averaging 200 yards per game, was held to 98 on 31 carries and no touchdowns.

“I can’t say enough about how good our defense played tonight,” Spradlin said. “When two good offensive teams get together, everybody expects this big shootout. So many times, it turns into a defensive thing.”

Cooper had 333 yards on offense, including 217 passing by Heslep.
Heslep threw touchdown passes of 60 and 46 yards in the first quarter to Tommy Bowman and Jamail Lowry, respectively.

Tannehill sandwiched a 15-yard TD pass to Thaddeus Straughter in between the scores, all in the first quarter.

Tannehill kicked a 23-yard field goal just two seconds before halftime to make it 14-10.
Heslep capped a nine-play, 67-yard drive on the opening possession of the second half with a 1-yard TD run.

The Steers answered. Facing fourth-and-3, Tannehill hit Matt Ritchey for a 41-yard touchdown pass. Anderson ran for the two-point play, cutting the Coogs’ lead to 21-18 with 5:09 left in the third quarter.

It appeared Cooper might put the game away in the fourth quarter, but Davon Riddick fumbled the ball away on a nine-yard run down to the Big Spring 5.

Cooper got the ball back nine plays later, as T.C. Robinson picked off a Tannehill pass at the

Cooper 48 and returned it 20 yards to the Big Spring 32.

However, on a 4th-and-8 play from the 30, Tevian Parnell picked off Heslep to end the threat.

That gave Big Spring the ball at the 9 with 8:07 left in the game. The Steers got to the Cooper 47. Then, facing a fourth-and-7, Tannehill’s pass fell incomplete, and Cooper was able to run out the clock.

“I’m proud that we overcame the fumble,” Spradlin said. “We had a chance to ice the game at that point. But doggone it, if our kids didn’t rise up and go to work.”

Big Spring running back Monte Anderson, who sat out last year’s meeting against Cooper because of an injury, wanted to know what all the talk was about concerning the Cougars. Now he knows.
The Big Spring senior was averaging 200 yards a game going into Friday’s District 4-4A showdown with Cooper. The Coogs held him to 98 yards on 31 carries — an average of 3.1 yards a carry. Anderson had just two runs of more than six yards — one for 12 and another for 23. He didn’t score a touchdown in Cooper’s 21-18 victory over the Steers, who came into the game unbeaten and ranked No. 7 in Class 4A.
“There was all this big talk about him and how good he is and the 200-yards-a-game thing,” said Cooper junior Joshua’e Robinson, an inside linebacker. “We just came in and did what we had to do to win.”
Not only did Cooper slow Anderson, it held an explosive Big Spring offense to only 289 yards, including 161 passing.
Cooper coach Mike Spradlin couldn’t have been happier with his defense.
“It was a great effort by our guys,” he said. “We’ve played some great running backs, and he’s one of them. You’re talking about an offense that was averaging 450 yards a game coming in, and rightfully so. Those guys have a good football team, and we think they’re going to make a huge run in the playoffs.”
Both Cooper and Big Spring went into the game tied for the district lead at 2-0. Now, Cooper is all alone at the top with two district games remaining — Friday at defending district champion Wolfforth Frenship and Nov. 6 at home against Plainview. The Cougars, who clinched a playoff berth with Friday’s win, are seeking their first district title since 2003.
“It was a big win for us,” Spradlin said. “We certainly got after Anderson a little bit, and we got after (quarterback Tyler) Tannehill, got a nice pass rush on him and forced him into some bad throws. They got us a couple of times. But all in all, we were real pleased.”
Much of the success on defense Friday night could be traced back to Cooper’s defensive front of nose guard Joe Dillard, defensive ends Jamar Renfro and Quincy Moore, and the two inside linebackers — Britton Hale and Robinson. The unit did a good job of containing Anderson and putting pressure on Tannehill.
Spradlin said he expected big things out of the defensive front this season, especially with the return of first-team all-district pick Moore, a 6-foot, 205-pound senior, and Robinson, a 5-11, 235-pound junior who was a second-team all-district selection last season. But Spradlin said the new guys — Dillard, Renfro and Hale — have been solid additions.
“Joe Dillard played great as a sophomore on the JV (last year) and had a great offseason, good powerlifting season — all that,” Spradlin said. “Of course, he’s done a great job at nose. Joe’s a big body guy. The biggest guy we’ve had since I’ve been here, and then Jamar Renfro’s a special guy, too. A hard, hard worker, a big powerlifter for us playing defensive end.
Dillard, a 5-foot-10, 245-pound junior, and Renfro, a 5-10, 230-pound junior, were expected to do well. But Hale, a 5-10, 180-pound sophomore, has been a pleasant surprise. He filled in when starter Greg Nicholas went down with an injury — and played well enough to keep the job. Once healthy, Nicholas moved to outside linebacker.
“Britton went in there and just made plays, did a great job,” Spradlin said. “We think all five of those guys are playing extremely well.”
Hale even returned a fumble 19 yards for a touchdown in a 62-14 win over San Angelo Lake View in the second week of district play.
Cooper’s defense was suspect during the Coogs’ final three non-district games — all losses to Class 5A teams. During that stretch, Cooper was giving up an average of 42.6 points.
Robinson admitted the Coogs weren’t playing well on defense during that stretch.
“That’s the God-honest truth,” Robinson said. “We were doing things the wrong way.”
Dillard agreed.
“It was just mental mistakes,” he said. ”We weren’t executing things the way we were supposed to.”
But since the Coogs have hit district, they’ve allowed no more than two touchdowns a game.
“We weren’t quite as worried as everyone else was, because we saw flashes of what we could do,” Spradlin said. “We knew we were young, and when you come through a stretch like we came through, it’s going to expose you a little bit. That’s not a bad thing, sometimes. Your kids learn from it.”
Then the Coogs have a defensive effort like Friday night.
“It really just boosted our confidence a lot,” Dillard said.
Added Spradlin: “There’s no doubt about it. We’re starting to come together defensively at a time when we really need to. We’re going to get tested again this week, and it’s going to happen in the playoffs. It’s great to know we’re in, but we’ve got some unfinished business.”

100% PURE BEEF!

Mike Spradlin doesn’t mind admitting that tonight’s game against No. 7 Big Spring is a big game. After all, both are the last two undefeated teams in the District 4-4A standings — and the winner will be in the driver’s seat for the district title with only two games remaining.
“It’s a big ballgame,” said Spradlin, whose Coogs haven’t a district title since 2003. “We don’t try to dance around that. We don’t call it just another game. But we try to treat each game as a big ballgame, so our kids don’t ever feel like you’ve got to step it up a level. I think we’ve played at this level, and I think we’ve played good football teams. But (Big Spring) certainly one of them. There’s no question about it. They’re doing things extremely well, executing real well and getting the job done.”
The folks in Big Spring are buzzing about their Steers, who are 7-0 for the first time since 1931 and ranked No. 7 in the Associated Press’ Class 4A state poll.
“They are excited,” Big Spring coach Phillip Ritchey said. “They’ve really got on board, supporting this team. They’re a good group of kids, and they’ve worked extremely hard. I’m just happy to see them have the success their having. Really, just having Big Spring mentioned in big games like this is exciting.”
Big Spring, which hasn’t won a district title since 2001, took down Denison — ranked No. 4 in Class 4A at the time — earlier this year and then snapped defending district champion Frenship’s 16-game league winning streak in the 4-4A opener in Wolfforth. Denison has reeled off five straight wins since the loss.
Ritchey, though, said the Steers have their hands full tonight at Shotwell Stadium.
“I’m very impressed with (Cooper),” he said. “Obviously, they’re very well coached, very disciplined in what they do. To me, they’re excellent in all three phases of the game. I don’t see any weak spots.”
Both teams can eat up the yards and score a lot of points. Big Spring is averaging 450 yards and 42.3 points per game. Cooper is averaging 454 yards and 40.7 points a game.
The Coogs, 4-3 overall, have been a prolific passing team this year, with QB Ryan Heslep throwing for 1,642 yards and 15 TDs this season with no interceptions. He has six different receivers with more than 10 catches and more than 100 yards receiving. RBs Alford Cooper (75-452, TDs), Kendrick Powdrill (57-483, 7 TDs) and Davon Riddick (61-431, 8 TDs) have combined for a formidable rushing attack. The defense has struggled at times this year but has been playing its best ball the past two weeks — allowing only 227.5 yards and 14 points per game.
Big Spring is led by quarterback Tyler Tannehill, who has thrown for 1,592 yards and 22 touchdowns. He’s been picked off four times. He has weapons in receivers Tevian Parnell (22-431, 5 TDs) and Thaddeus Straughter (29-422, 6 TDs), and tight end Matt Ritchey (20-411, 4 TDs) also has good hands. The Steers also have one of the best running backs in the Big Country in Monte Anderson (174-1,465, 15 TDs), who’s averaging 209 yards per game.
Big Spring also can play some defense, leading the district with only 89 points allowed all season — that’s only 12.7 points per game.
“They’re just a good football team period,” Spradlin said. “They’re playing good defense. Their guys up front are getting the job done, both the O-line and D-line. They’re certainly dangerous with the Tannehill kid at quarterback and the receivers — the Straughter kid and Ritchey and all those guys. Of course, the Anderson kid is one of the great running backs we’ve seen. ... They’re certainly a good football team. We think it’s going to be a heck of a matchup, and we think it’s going to be a lot of fun at Shotwell.”
Both coaches believe turnovers could decide which teams wins the game.
“The one thing I’m real tickled with is that we’ve won the turnover battle week in and week out. ... I think that’s something we’ve got to keep doing,” Spradlin said.
Cooper hasn’t turned the ball over in five consecutive games.
“We’re going to have to play a perfect game,” Ritchey said. “We can’t make mistakes. We certainly can’t afford to turn the ball over. We can’t have a lot of penalties, and we have to be sound in the kicking game and really be able to handle their offense with our defense.”
The winner clinches a playoff berth, but both teams are likely headed to the playoffs, with Cooper going Division I as the biggest school in the district and Big Spring going Division II as the smallest. Both coaches believe this game will prepare their team for the playoffs.
“I’m really excited that we’re playing in Shotwell Stadium against a really, really good football team,” Ritchey said. “I really believe in our future, thinking about the third or fourth round.”
Said Spradlin: “It’s going to be a lot of fun. I hope everybody comes out. It’s going to be a big night at Shotwell. I think they’ll travel well. They’re real excited in Big Spring right now. They have every right to be. They’ve got a darned good football team. We think we’ve got us a good football team, too. It’s kind of what it’s all about. I think it’s a great West Texas matchup this week.”
Notes — Cooper seniors Tommy Bowman and David Damian both committed to Stephen F. Austin State University this week. Bowman, a 6-foot-2, 190-pound receiver, has 11 catches for 239 yards and three touchdowns this season. Damian is a 6-5, 290-pound offensive lineman.
“They offered them this summer, and they’ve really shown a lot of interest in them,” Spradlin said. “So I think they’re both excited in making that commitment.”

Showdown at Shotwell!

Word is from Big Spring, that they are closing down the town and everyone is coming to Abilene to watch the Cougars and the Steers, battle it out Friday night at Shotwell! Both teams are undefeated in district play and Big Spring is 7-0 for the first time since 1931. Winner of the game will have the inside track toward a District Championship. So get the word out to everyone in the COUGAR NATION to show up for the Showdown at Shotwell. Wear your red & blue or PINK, bring your noise makers and let's get rowdy!!!!!

Final score A. Cooper 62 - S.A.Lakeview 14...the details!

Nights like these don’t come around very often — not this deep in the season.

But Davon Riddick, Ryan Heslep and the rest of the Cooper starters had a fairly short night Friday, making quick work of the Lake View Chiefs.
Riddick rolled up 164 total yards and scored four touchdowns, and Heslep threw for 182 yards and three touchdowns as the Cougars mauled Lake View 62-14 in a District 4-4A football game at Shotwell Stadium.

Cooper (4-3 overall, 2-0 district) scored on eight of its nine possessions in the game — coming up empty on its last drive when the game was well over and the starters were on the bench.
It was a big win for a Cooper team facing Big Spring and defending district champion Wolfforth Frenship in the upcoming weeks. Big Spring trounced Plainview 49-12 to — the Steers and Cougars hook up next week at Shotwell.

Frenship fell to 0-2 in 4-4A play after a 20-17 loss to Hereford.
“I think we needed momentum going into these next two weeks with Big Spring and Frenship,” Cooper coach Mike Spradlin said. “It was a big game for us. I don’t think there’s any doubt about

it. I was real tickled with the way we played.”

Riddick ran for 126 yards and three touchdowns. His last carry of the night was a five-yard touchdown run to give the Coogs a 47-14 lead with 7:57 left in the third quarter. He also had TD runs of 41 and 22 yards.

“I give it up to the O-line,” Riddick said. “They did a great job. They opened up a lot of holes for me. They made real easy.”
Riddick also had three catches for 38 yards, including a 19-yard pass from Heslep.

Heslep, who completed 12-of-15 passes for 182 yards and no interceptions, also threw a 22-yard touchdown pass to Tommy Bowman and a 10-yard touchdown pass to Sammy Beall.
Kendrick Powdrill added 131 yards rushing, including touchdown runs of seven and 39 yards, and Britton Hale returned a fumble 15 yards for a Cooper score.

Cooper amassed 438 yards on offense, including 256 on the ground.
“It all starts up front with those guys,” Spradlin said. “They didn’t feel like they played as well last week as they can. I think they put that one on their back tonight.”
The Cooper defense held the Chiefs to 182 total yards, including minus-53 rushing.
Lake View (2-5, 1-1) got a pair of touchdown passes from quarterback Paxton Martin — a 73-yarder to Roy Garcia and a 41-yarder to J.D. Smith — the latter to pull within 14, 28-14, with 5:20 left in the half.

But Riddick got his third rushing TD just before the half, a 22-yarder, and Cooper exploded for 28 points in the third quarter to put the game away.
Martin completed 22-of-30 passes for 235 yards and no interceptions, but he was sacked four times for a loss of 34 yards.

“It was a great win for our kids,” Spradlin said. “I was real proud of how hard we played. I was real proud of the passion that we played with tonight and the fact that we didn’t make a lot of errors and mistakes.”

Joey Richards Abilene Reporter Telegram

Lake View 0 14 0 0—14

Cooper 14 20 28 0—62

Final score CHS 62 - SAL 14...more details tomorrow!

TONIGHT>>>>>>arrows will fly at Shotwell Stadium, 7:30, as the Abilene Cooper Cougars battle the San Angelo Lakeview Chiefs! Both teams are 1-0 in district play, so hitch up the horses, circle the wagons and come watch the Coogs attack ////!!!

Kyle Williams, a precious wife and mother, passed away yesterday after bravely battling cancer for four and a half years. Please keep husband George, and sons Hunter (CHS alumni and valedictorian) and Reese a CHS senior and varsity receiver (#11) in your prayers. Also her large circle of family and friends. Kyle will be greatly missed.

This week the Cougars will take on the Chiefs, when San Angelo Lakeview (1-0) travels to Abilene. Game time, 7:30 @ Shotwell Stadium. The Coogs are healthy and (1-0) in district play after defeating the "Herd" in Hereford (0-1) last Friday.

So wear your red and blue, fill up the stadium and let's show them "How!".... we play 'West Texas' football!!!

The scoop on the Hereford game!

HEREFORD — After making a six-hour, 280-mile drive for the District 4-4A opener, the Cooper Cougars needed just one minute, 18 seconds and 25 yards to score two touchdowns and beat the Hereford Whitefaces 20-14 on Friday night at Whiteface Stadium.
Cooper recovered two Hereford fumbles — one at the Herd 6 and another at the Herd 14 — and cashed them both in for touchdowns to take a 20-7 lead in a span of 1:18 in the third quarter.
The Coogs (3-3, 1-0) then held on to snap a three-game losing streak and beat the Whitefaces in the district opener for the second consecutive year.
“That was huge,” Cooper coach Mike Spradlin said. “I was real pleased with the way our defense played. It was unbelievable. And to capitalize on (the turnovers) was huge, too.
“To come up here in a hostile environment — and it’s a long ride — just getting a win against a team that’s much, much improved makes me extremely proud of our kids.”
What was expected to be an offensive shootout, turned out to be a defensive grudge match.
In fact, Hereford (5-1, 0-1) led just 7-6 at halftime — both touchdowns coming in the second quarter. Parker Bridwell threw a 4-yard touchdown pass to Christian Garza to cap a 10-play 79-yard drive with 9:36 left in the first half.
Cooper answered with a six-play, 64-yard drive. Davon Riddick ran the ball on all six plays for 72 yards, including a 5-yard touchdown run. (A holding call turned a 34-yard run down to the 1 into a 21-yard run to the Herd 26.)
Ryan Lucas missed the PAT kick, leaving the Herd up 7-6 with 6:56 to go before the break.
The game turned on consecutive Hereford turnovers in the third quarter.
Cooper recovered a fumbled snap at the Herd 6. Two plays later, Jamail Lowry ran four yards for the TD, giving the Coogs a 12-7 lead after another missed PAT with 3:49 left in the third quarter.
On the Herd’s next possession, Bridwell fumbled the ball as he was being sacked. Cooper got the ball at the Herd 14. After a holding penalty brought back a 9-yard gain by Kendrick Powdrill, Khole Jackson caught a 19-yard touchdown pass from Ryan Heslep. Cooper, which had missed its three previous PATs, then went for two, and Heslep tossed a pass to Reese Williams to give the Coogs a 20-7 lead with 2:31 remaining in the quarter.
Cooper held Hereford on its next two possessions — getting a pair of stops on fourth-down plays from the Cooper 27 and 21.
Hereford got a 1-yard touchdown run from Bridwell with 1:11 left in the game, but the Coogs recovered the onside kick attempt to preserve the victory.
Hereford lost three of five fumbles in the game, while the Coogs didn’t lose a single turnover — for the fourth straight week.
“That was huge,” Spradlin said. “Playing mistake-free football is the key to this thing, and they did (turn the ball over) and we didn’t.”
All after a very long day for the Coogs.
“We left at 11 o’clock this morning and rolled in her at 5 this afternoon,” Spradlin said. “It’s a six-hour trip, 280 miles, and I’m not sure many people are traveling that far for a district football game. I’m just tickled to death and excited to get a win.”

Cooper 0 6 14 0—20

Hereford 0 7 0 7—14

District 4 AAAA Opener

Last night the Cooper Cougars arrived in Hereford, Texas to play the "Herd" (5-0) for the 4-AAAA District Opener. The Coogs took a long, 6 hour drive through the Texas panhandle which apparently put the team to sleep for when the game began the Cougars we're a bit, shall we say sluggish? However, they we're not alone for the officials we're struggling to stay awake themselves. Their tired eyes kept them dozing on & off throught the game, effecting their ability to see only 4 Hereford penalties but alert to see 17 against Cooper! Poor officiating is so frustrating! Especially when it's not going both ways......but it did serve a purpose because it stirred up the sleeping Giant and made him mad....okay, real mad!

Abilene Cooper 20 - Herford 14

FYI - The cougar (Puma concolor), also known as puma, mountain lion, mountain cat, catamount, or panther, depending on the region, is a mammal of the Felidae family, native to the Americas. This large, solitary cat has the greatest range of any large wild terrestrial mammal in the Western Hemisphere, extending from Yukon in Canada to the southern Andes of South America. An adaptable, generalist species, the cougar is found in every major American habitat type. It is the second heaviest cat in the American continents after the jaguar, and the fourth heaviest in the world, along with the leopard, after the tiger, lion, and jaguar, although it is most closely related to smaller felines.A capable stalk-and-ambush predator, the cougar pursues a wide variety of prey. Primary food sources include ungulates such as deer, elk, and bighorn sheep, as well as domestic cattle, horses, and sheep, particularly in the northern part of its range, but it also hunts species as small as insects and rodents. Moreover, it prefers habitats with dense underbrush and rocky areas for stalking, but it can live in open areas. The cougar is territorial and persists at low population densities. Individual territory sizes depend on terrain, vegetation, and abundance of prey. While it is a large predator, it is not always the dominant species in its range, as when it competes for prey with other predators such as the jaguar, gray wolf, American Black Bear, and the grizzly bear. It is a reclusive cat and usually avoids people. Attacks on humans remain rare, despite a recent increase in frequency.

HEREFORD STINKS! NOTHING PERSONAL....IT'S THE PLAIN TRUTH! SO ENJOY THE THE FRESH AIR OF THE MESQUITE PLAINS, BOYS AND GIRLS, AND IF YOU FIND YOURSELF CONCERNED ABOUT THE COUGARS AND THE EFFECT THIS AROMA MIGHT HAVE ON THEM, WORRY NO MORE! THESE YOUNG MEN ARE TOUGHER THAN NAILS AND HAVE NO APPARENT SENSITIVITIES TO SMELL. CASE IN POINT...THE BOYS LOCKER ROOM!

SO TAKE A DEEP BREATH AND LET'S GO WIN OUR FIRST DISTRICT GAME!

SURPRISE!!!

It's OPEN WEEK for the Cooper Cougars, so Coach took me on a little out of town date to Plainveiw Texas. After a quick lunch at Chick-fil-a, we hit the road and enjoyed a relaxing drive through the Texas Panhandle.....where the terrain is flat and the sky is big & blue. When we got to Lubbock, 2 hours later, we piddled around and then had dinner at Furr's (a football team favorite) all-you-can-eat cafeteria! Then it was back in the car for a 45 minute drive to Plainveiw. Where we 'scouted' the Plainview Bulldogs and the Pampa Harvesters. I couldn't tell you much about the game but I did make some interesting observations such as:
* The Pampa Harvester's Mascot looked like Mr. Peanut with shaggy blond hair, dressed like a plow boy!
* There's something special about Friday night football in a small town.
*Sitting next to the band gives one a new appreciation for the band director and band members.
* And though it was windy and chilly and the game was a bit long, I enjoyed sitting on the top row, under the west Texas stars, with the man I respect most!

We spent the night, slept in and got back to Abilene around noon. As we drove past our house, upon return, I heard Coach slowly say, "someone......has....painted....our...yard...like...a..football.....field?"

A special 'thanks' to John McDonough & Co. for painting our front yard and doing a fabulous job!
It was a perfect surprise!