Warren, Bray spark Abilene Cooper past El Paso Andress in 5A playoff battle out west

EL PASO – Chris Warren threw for 272 yards and three TDs, and Daniel Bray ran for two more as Cooper blasted El Paso Andress 49-20 in a Region I-5A Division II bi-district playoff game Thursday at Allan Sepkowitz Stadium.

Cooper (6-5) rolled up 525 yards, including 253 rushing, while the defense picked off three passes. Andress (5-6) had 300 total yards – but just 52 rushing – and turned the ball over three times.

“I thought we were able to come out and get a fast start on the game, worked together and played a complete football game,” Cooper coach Aaron Roan said. “We came out fired up, and, offensively, I thought we executed really well. Defense got some turnovers, got three picks, and the offense was able to turn that into points. A really good team win.”

Bray, a sophomore running back, had a monster night for the Cougars. He ran for 74 yards and two TDs on 11 carries. He also had three catches for 203 yards, including a 99-yarder for a TD to break open a 7-6 game as the Coogs rambled to a 35-13 halftime lead.

“He played well,” Roan said of Bray. “I thought offensively we were really efficient and executed at a high level.”

Cooper advances to play No. 4 Grapevine (10-1) at 7 p.m. Friday, Nov. 18 in a second-round game at Crowley ISD Stadium. It’s Cooper’s first playoff win since 2019, after consecutive first-round losses the previous two years.

A pick and 20-yard return by Michael Ramis set up the Coogs’ first score – a 3-yard TD run by D’Andre Ralston.

The Eagles answered with a 64-yard TD pass from Elias Duncan to Isaiah Owens with 8:05 to play in the first quarter. The missed the PAT kick and trailed 7-6.

But Warren came back to throw the 99-yard TD pass to Bray less than two minutes later, and he added an 8-yard TD pass to Cam Herron in the final seconds of the opening quarter for a 21-6 advantage.

“First play of the game, we get a pick right off the bat,” Roan said. “Offense goes down and gets a score. We gave up a big play pretty quick after that, and the offense answered it really fast. I thought us answering that long TD was big. They got a little momentum off of it, but we answered it.”

Story continues

Bray ran 29 yards for a TD, and Warren threw a 23-yard TD pass to Malik Jackson as Cooper sandwiched two scores around a 2-yard TD run by Andress’ Duncan.

Bray had a 2-yard TD run late in the third quarter, and Christian Rico got the game’s final TD – a 36-yard run – in the fourth quarter.

Duncan threw a 73-yard TD pass to Malcolm Anderson early in the fourth quarter for the Eagles’ final score.

Duncan threw for 248 yards and two TDs, but the three picks doomed the Eagles. Cedric Brooks and Junior Casarez each had an interception for the Coogs.

REGION I-5A DIVISION II BI-DISTRICT PLAYOFF

Cooper

21

14

7

7

−

49

Andress

6

7

0

7

−

20

FIRST QUARTER

COO− D’Andre Ralston 3 run (Kamune Mrisho kick), 9:33

AND− Isaiah Owens 64 pass Elias Duncan (block blocked), 8:05

COO− Daniel Bray 99 pass from Chris Warren (Mrisho kick), 6:28

COO− Cam Herron 8 pass from Warren (Mrisho kick), 00:14

SECOND QUARTER

COO− Bray 29 run (Mrisho kick), 10:10

AND− Duncan 2 run (Owens kick), 7:34

COO− Malik Jackson 23 pass from Warren (Mrisho kick), 4:15

THIRD QUARTER

COO− Bray 2 run (Mrisho kick), 00:29

FOURTH QUARTER

AND− Malcolm Anderson 73 pass from Duncan (Owens kick), 11:41

COO−Christian Rico 36 run (Mrisho kick), 7:21

TEAM STATISTICS

Categories

COO

AND

First downs

23

13

Rushes-Yards

34-253

25-52

Passing

272

248

Comp-Att-Int

15-24-0

14-32-3

Punts

4-30.5

4-44.5

Fumbles-Lost

1-1

0-0

Penalties-Yards

11-93

6-43

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING: Cooper, Daniel Bray 11-74, Christian Rico 2-42, Tavaris Whitfield 4-42, D’Andre Ralston 6-42, Austin Cummins 3-29, Chris Warren 4-27, Cam Herron 2-5, TEAM 2-(minus 8). Andress, Malcolm Anderson 10-34, Shawn Owens 14-39.

PASSING: Cooper, Warren 15-23-0−272, Cummins 0-1-0−0. Andress, Duncan 14-32-3−248

RECEIVING: Cooper, Bray 3-130, Malik Jackson 3-46, Ralston 3-34, Herron 3-17, Jaylen Parker 2-26, Amante McGowan 1-19. Andress, Isaiah Owens 4-101, Anderson 3-89, Andrew Carbajal 3-30, S. Owens 3-24, Isaiah Colmenero 1-4.

RECORDS: Cooper 6-5; El Paso Andress 5-6.

This article originally appeared on Abilene Reporter-News: Abilene Cooper beat El Paso Andress in a Region I-5A DII football game