Abilene High’s offense not fancy but effective in gritty win over Cooper

Cooper led twice in the game but Antoine Rashaw’s 8-yard touchdown run on the first play of the fourth quarter put Abilene High ahead, and the Eagles defense – stout all night – made it stand up in a 14-10 Crosstown Showdown victory Friday at Shotwell Stadium.

The AHS win came in the 62nd meeting between the teams, with Cooper having won four of the past five games. It was Mike Fullen’s first victory in the series as head coach of the Eagles.

Abilene High, which scored only three points and had three first downs in a season-opening loss to Odessa Permian, got 18 first downs and evened its early season record.

Antoine Rashaw scores the game-winning touchdown for Abilene High as he drags Cooper’s Xzavian Johnson into the end zone during Friday’s Crosstown Showdown at Shotwell Stadium. AHS rallied from down 10-7 to win the 62nd matchup between the two teams.

Fullen and his junior quarterback, Dylan Slack, were on the same page. The objective Friday was simply to move the chains, which the Eagles could not do against Permian.

“That’s what Coach Fullen preaches, first downs are touchdowns,” Slack said.

His coach echoed that.

“Our whole goal was to get first downs,” Fullen said. “We were not interested in coming out here and lighting up the scoreboard. We wanted to get first downs. Be patient, and that’s what we did. That’s what is going to help us get better down the road.”

Meanwhile, the AHS defense turned in another strong effort. After Cooper strolled 74 yards downfield on eight plays to open the game, the Eagles gave up 125 yards the rest of the way, intercepting two passes. The Coogs’ only scoring chances were two long field goals.

“Our defense played lights-out again this week,” Fullen said. “Really proud of our guys and our coaches. Our team really responded this week to the challenge we gave them after last week.”

Win had to be earned

Cooper wide receiver Cameron Herron breaks Abilene High defensive back Noah Hatcher’s tackle as Herron carries the ball downfield Friday.

The game’s outcome was in doubt in the final few minutes.

Abilene High was in great shape with 2:46 to go, taking possession after forcing a Cooper punt.

The Eagles gained a first down and had another on a pass completion to Ryland Bradford, who was one of three Eagles receivers with six catches. However, Cooper defenders pounded him after 12-yard gain, and Michael Ramis recovered his fumble.

Story continues

Cooper had the ball at its 39 with just under a minute to play. But Eagles pressure and two costly penalties did in the Coogs.

Quarterback Chris Warren appeared to run for a first down across midfield but two penalties pushed Cooper back to a fourth down from its 30. Back to pass, Warren was tackled for a loss by Tristen Hall at the 19.

AHS took a knee, and the victory.

“The fans got their money’s worth tonight,” Fullen said of a game that was tight start to finish. “In games like this … that’s pretty much what you do the whole game, chase momentum.”

Added Slack, making his first Crosstown Showdown start: “That was very intense.”

Cooper coach Aaron Roan was disappointed in the outcome, as would be expected. But he was pleased that his defense rose to the chance to force a late turnover and give the offense a final chance to pull out the win.

“I thought our kids fought hard. And our defensive kids did a good of trying to get the ball back to the offense,” he said. “It’s a team game.”

Coogs started hot

Cooper scored a touchdown on its first drive but could not get back into the end zone and now is 0-2.

The Cougars took a 7-0 lead on Mikei Flye’s 3-run run less than 4 minutes into the game. CHS looked sharp, mixing runs and passes. A 23-yard pass from Warren to Cameron Herron preceded Flye’s TD run.

Cougars linebacker Jaquinton Gates gives Eagles running back Chad Lara an assist to his feet.

“I thought our opening drive was just what we wanted,” Roan said. “We went out there and drove the ball down the field and scored.”

The Cooper coach credited Abilene High for making adjustments on defense and blamed penalties for stopping scoring opportunities.

“We shot ourselves in the foot several times,” Roan said. But, AHS played hard, too, and “they played better than we did today.”

Cooper had only one big rushing play the entire game, a 20-yard run by sophomore Daniel Bray. He carried the ball only once more, losing three yards.

Only a 36-yard field goal by Kamune Mrisho late in the third quarter added more points to Cooper’s total on the new south-end scoreboard.

Meanwhile, AHS answered each Cooper score. Junior Dylan Slack, who drew the starting nod after sharing time in the opener with Brelon Badon, passed 12 yards to DeMarco Upshaw to tie the game early in the second quarter.

Down 10-7, it was Rashaw’s TD that put Abilene High ahead for good.

Abilene High wide receiver Ryland Bradford fumbles the ball as he falls onto Cooper defensive back Gavin Garcia while Cougars defensive back Michael Ramis assists in the tackle Friday.

AHS game plan worked

With both teams combining for 19 points in their openers, this figured to be a low-scoring game. It was at 24 points total, though both teams at times moved the ball effectively.

Slack kept his passes short and was effective, going 26 for 35 with one interception on a tipped pass.

“I’m really close to a lot of seniors on the team, and I wanted to do it for them,” he said of taking charge of the offense. “They’ve put in so much work and taught me so much. Our coaches are frickin’ geniuses. They drew up a great game plan for us and we just went out and executed it very well.”

Slack knew the defense would do its part.

“On offense, we just wanted to step it up,” he said. “Carry our weight, too.”

Rashaw was the go-to back, gaining 86 yards on 22 carries. Only two carries went for 10 yards or more – 13 and 10.

Herron and D’Andre Ralston had five catches each for Cooper, which gained only 65 rushing.

Despite the loss, Cooper holds a 36-25-1 edge in the series.

More:They’ve got spirit, how ’bout you?

Breaking it down

∎ Turning point: After turning the ball over on downs after its first possession down 7-0, Abilene High forced a 3-and-out, then marched 78 yards in 12 plays, with Dylan Slack hitting DeMarco Upshaw on a crossing pattern. Though AHS gave up the lead when Cooper kicked a third-quarter field goal, that drive signaled to the Eagles, who had less than 100 yards in offense against Permian, that they could compete offensively.

“That’s where our offense grew up,” Fullen said of the improvement from Game 1 to Game 2.

∎ Player of the game: Dylan Slack, Abilene High, QB – Slack split time with Brelon Badon in the opener, throwing only five passes. This week, he started and threw 35 – mostly short passes that allowed his receiver to make yards. He seemed especially on target with DeMarco Upshaw, who caught six balls for 72 yards and a score. Four catches went for first downs. Slack was named the Great American Rivalry Series MPV after the game.

∎ Key stat: 18. Abilene High had three first downs against Permian, one thanks to a penalty on Mojo. AHS had five on its second drive, which resulted in a touchdown. The Eagles’ ability to control the ball kept the pressure off its defense.

∎ Coach Fullen said: “We’ve got tough kids. I’m demanding but our guys work so hard. We told our kids, ‘Let’s just be tough tonight. Be tough mentally and physically. Be better than we were last week.’ I told them at halftime, ‘We’re already a better team that we were last week.'”

∎ Coach Roan said: “We have to work on finishing,” he said. Cooper led Keller last week at halftime but was scoreless in the second in losing its opener. “We want to start fast and finish strong. We have to work on getting off the field. We have to work on finishing drives. We’ve got to get better. That’s what non-district is about. We did some good stuff. We just have to be more consistent.”

∎ Impact: Cooper, which had won four of the past five rivalry games, is off to a 0-2 start. AHS coach Mike Fullen beats Cooper for the first time.

“We wanted to be the team that did that for him,” Slack said.

∎ Up next: Cooper plays its third straight game at Shotwell, taking on San Angelo Central at 7 p.m. Friday. Abilene High hits I-20 for a trip to Midland to face former district rival Legacy.

NONDISTRICT

Abilene High 14, Cooper 10

Cooper

7

0

3

0

−

10

Abilene

0

7

0

7

−

14

FIRST QUARTER

COO – Mikei Flye 3 run (Kamune Mrisho kick), 8;22

SECOND QUARTER

AHS − DeMarco Upshaw 12 pass from Dylan Slack (Tristen Hall kick), 10:58

THIRD QUARTER

COO – Mrisho 36 FG, 2:07

FOURTH QUARTER

AHS − Antoine Rashaw 8 run (Hall kick), 11:55

TEAM STATISTICS

Categories

COO

AHS

First downs

13

18

Rushes-Yards

21-65

29-79

Passing

134

193

Comp-Att-Int

16-28-1

26-35-1

Punts

4-33.5

3-29.7

Fumbles-Lost

1-0

1-1

Penalties-Yards

10-100

3-35

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING: Cooper, Mikei Flye 4-21, Daniel Bray 2-17, Cameron Herron 3-15, Chris Warren 7-7, Damon Carrillo 5-5. Abilene, Antoine Rashaw 22-86, Chad Lara 5-1. Team 2-minus 11

PASSING: Cooper, Warren 16-28-2. Abilene, Dylan Slack 26-34-1

RECEIVING: Cooper, Herron 5-58, D’Andre Ralston 5-44, Jaylen Parker 2-23, Carlos Honschke 1-5, Malik Jackson 2-3, Carrillo 1-1 . Abilene, DeMarco Upshaw 6-72, Ryland Bradford 6-57, Austin Wood 6-40, Diego Flores 3-12, Tim Outlaw 3-10, Tre Sharp 1-1, Rashaw 1-1.

RECORDS: Cooper 0-2, Abilene High 1-1

Cooper leads Crosstown series 36-25-1

Cooper has won four of the past five games in the 61-year series.

1961 — Abilene High 26, Cooper 0

1962 — Cooper 19, Abilene High 18

1963 — Abilene High 21, Cooper 20

1964 — Abilene High 13, Cooper 6

1965 — Abilene High 0, Cooper 0 (tie)

1966 — Cooper 14, Abilene High 9

1967 — Cooper 33, Abilene High 6

1968 — Cooper 35, Abilene High 7

1969 — Cooper 31, Abilene High 11

1970 — Cooper 14, Abilene High 12

1971 — Cooper 21, Abilene High 10

1972 — Cooper 21, Abilene High 0

1973 — Cooper 20, Abilene High 0

1974 — Cooper 14, Abilene High 6

1975 — Cooper 6, Abilene High 0

1976 — Cooper 14, Abilene High 0

1977 — Cooper 28, Abilene High 15

1978 — Cooper 21, Abilene High 14

1979 — Cooper 35, Abilene High 6

1980 — Cooper 21, Abilene High 10

1981 — Abilene High 17, Cooper 7

1982 — Abilene High 28, Cooper 6

1983 — Cooper 14, Abilene High 6

1984 — Abilene High 23, Cooper 0

1985 — Abilene High 27, Cooper 17

1986 — Abilene High 12, Cooper 10

1987 — Abilene High 14, Cooper 10

1988 — Cooper 20, Abilene High 6

1989 — Cooper 24, Abilene High 3

1990 — Abilene High 13, Cooper 10

1991 — Cooper 7, Abilene High 0

1992 — Cooper 31, Abilene High 21

1993 — Cooper 57, Abilene High 12

1994 — Cooper 50, Abilene High 22

1995 — Cooper 17, Abilene High 14

1996 — Cooper 31, Abilene High 3

1997 — Cooper 17, Abilene High 3

1998 — Cooper 41 Abilene High 14

1999 — Abilene High 20, Cooper 7

2000 — Cooper 17, Abilene High 14

2001 — Abilene High 30, Cooper 27 (OT)

2002 — Cooper 37, Abilene High 31 (OT)

2003 — Cooper 21, Abilene High 12

2004 — Abilene High 35, Cooper 14

2005 — Abilene High 40, Cooper 0

2006 — Abilene High 37, Cooper 27

2007 — Abilene High 34, Cooper 10

2008 — Abilene High 20, Cooper 13

2009 — Abilene High 49, Cooper 37

2010 — Cooper 45, Abilene High 28

2011 — Abilene High 62, Cooper 6

2012 — Abilene High 31, Cooper 27

2013 — Cooper 56, Abilene High 31

2014 — Abilene High 38, Cooper 7

2015 — Abilene High 56, Cooper 37

2016 — Abilene High 55, Cooper 38

2017 — Cooper 49, Abilene High 35

2018 — Abilene High 20, Cooper 13

2019 — Cooper 23, Abilene High 14

2020 — Cooper 30, Abilene High 20

2021 — Cooper 31, Abilene High 14

2022 – Abilene High 14, Cooper 10

This article originally appeared on Abilene Reporter-News: Abilene High’s offense not fancy but effective in gritty win over CHS