Cooper dominated Abilene High in their 29th annual cross-town capacity of 15,000 at Shotwell Stadium. But that’s like saying the Titanic hit a cube of ice.

The Statistics tell the story of the Cougars’ 24-3 win: Cooper 19 first downs to five for Abilene High. And two of the Eagles’ first downs came on pass interference penalties in the final minute of the game.

Cooper’s defense limited AHS to only 73 yards rushing and 15 yards passing, while rolling up 235 yards rushing and 111 passing of its own.

"Larry (Peel) and his staff prepared their kids well," said Abilene High coach Larry Pullin. "They won every phase of the game. We didn’t play our kind of football, but give credit to Cooper. But we didn’t play well, and we needed to tonight."

Abilene High simply didn’t have the football in the first half. The Eagles had the ball for only 7:55 of the first 24 minutes, running just 16 plays and managing just one first down. Yet Cooper led only 10-0 at intermission.

"I think we played a solid game," said Cooper coach Larry Peel. "Our defense played extremely well. That’s what we try to do (use a ball-control offense). But if we’re going to improve as a football team, we must correct all of our penalties."

The Cougars were penalized 11 times for 109 yards.

The win in the District 4-5A opener improves Cooper’s overall record to 3-1, while Abilene High falls to 1-3.

Cooper drove from their own 21 to the Eagles’ 12-yard line late in the first quarter, but failed to score when place-kicker Jason Hart slipped as he attempted a field goal. His 29-yard try fell under crossbar.

An interception by cornerback Brandon Mills — one of four turnovers by Abilene High — set up the Cougars’ first score. Mills picked off quarterback Robbie Duran’s pass, which was intended for Jay Lowry, at the Eagles’ 44-yard line and returned it 19 yards to the AHS 25 with 7:29 to go in the first half.

It took the Cougars eight plays to punch it in, finally scoring with 4:07 left when Ken Lacy dove over right tackle and then bounced to the outside for a 4-yard TD run. Hart’s PAT gave Cooper a 7-0 lead.

The Cougars got the ball back with 2:45 remaining at their own 23. Runs of 11 yards by Lacy and 10 by Raymond Hunter helped move the ball to the 47-yard line with 18 seconds left.

Cooper then ran the flea-flicker play for a 23-yard gain. Quarterback Lanny Owens, who had a spectacular night running and passing the ball for Cooper, threw nine yards to Wilson, who caught the ball at the AHS 44 and then pitched it back to Lacy who ran for 14 more yards. Lacy went out-of-bounds at the 30-yard line to stop the clock with 12 seconds left.

Owens then passed to Hunter for a 20-yard gain to the 10-yard line, and Cooper called a timeout to stop the clock with two seconds to go. Hart booted a 27-yard field goal as time expired, giving the Coogs a 10-0 halftime lead.

Abilene High’s defense, pinching off Cooper’s inside running attack, appeared to take control early in the second half. On the Cougars’ second possession after intermission, AHS linebacker Nick Dominguez blocked John Lewis’ punt and recovered for the Eagles at the Cooper 5-yard line.

But the Eagles failed to move the ball. A second-down pass bounced off Danny Lee’s hands in the end zone, reflecting what a frustrating night it was for the north side of town. Abilene High had to settle for 22-yard field goal by Barry Reese with 3:54 left in the third quarter.

"That was a big turning point," said Peel, "when our defense gave up just a field goal. That was a morale victory for the defense."

The Eagles held Cooper on its next possession, and appeared to have momentum. But Charles Moore fumbled a handoff from tailback Doug Sims on a reverse, and Erroll Emmert recovered the loose ball at the Cooper 37-yard line with 28 seconds remaining in the third stanza.

That took the wind out of the Eagles’ comeback. Cooper drove 63 yards in 10 plays following the fumble recovery. On third-and-one from the AHS 31-yard, Owens faked a handoff to Wilson and dropped back to pass. The Eagles’ defense was fooled, and Owens hit David Cedillo all alone for a 31-yard touchdown with 7:10 left.

"The kids did a great job of executing that play," said Peel. "We were in four-down territory, so we thought we could gamble with the long pass on third down."

The Cougars finished off the scoring with a 4-yard TD run by Owens with 1:35 remaining. Owens rushed 16 times for 124 yards on the night and completed 3-of-9 passes for 74 yards.

"Lanny played extremely well," said Peel. "We told our kids before the game if we had zero turnovers, we’d win the game. We did, other than that blocked punt. That was a key."

Doug Sims rushed for 48 yards to lead Abilene High.

"We didn’t execute like we needed to," said AHS coach Pullin, "and they did. They deserved the city championship. We’ve got to regroup and see how much this team wants to win."

Cooper 0 10 0 14—24

Abilene High 0 0 3 0—3

Second Quarter

Cooper — Ken Lacy 4 run (Jason Hart kick)

Cooper — Hart 27 field goal

Third Quarter

AHS — Barry Reese 22 field goal

Fourth Quarter

Cooper — David Cedillo 31 pass from Lanny Owens (Hart kick)

Cooper — Owens 4 run (Hart kick)

Cooper Abilene High

First Downs 19 5

Rushes-yards 50-235 24-73

Passing-yards 111 15

Comp-Att-Int 4-10-0 1-13-2

Punts 4-31.8 5-36.8

Fumbles-lost 4-1 3-2

Penalties-yards 11-109 5-35

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING — Cooper: Lacy 18-66, 1 TD; C.J. Wilson 10-17; Owens 16-123, 1 TD; Raymond Hunter 11-46; Graham Reaugh 1-0; Scott Jenkins 1-6; Team 1-(-23). AHS: Doug Sims 15-48; Eric Gilmore 3-6; Robbie Duran 2-5; Kerry Sims 3-22; Charles Moore 1-(-8).

PASSING — Cooper: Owens 3-9-0, 74 yards, 1 TD; Hunter 1-1-1, 37 yards. AHS: Duran 1-8-1, 15 yards; Marcu Kaufmann 0-5-1.

RECEIVING — Cooper: Cedillo 2-68, 1 TD; Hunter 1-20; Wilson 1-9; Lacy 0-14. AHS: Danny Lee 1-15.