Thursday, November 5, 1998

Loss to Permian was key to Cougars', Eagles' season

By AL PICKETT

Sports Editor

Oddly enough, the defining moment in both Abilene High's and Cooper's football seasons may have come on the artificial turf at Odessa's Ratliff Stadium.

Both occurred in a loss to Odessa Permian, but the subsequent results sent the Eagles' and Cougars' seasons spinning in opposite directions.

To understand the momentum-swinging events, however, one must first appreciate the events leading up to the key games at Ratliff.

Cooper is only 4-4 overall, but the Cougars are 3-1 in a tie atop the District 4-5A standings going into Friday night's 38th meeting with cross-town rival Abilene High at Shotwell Stadium. The Eagles are 4-5 overall but 0-4 in the district cellar.

When the season began, Abilene High was optimistic that this would be the year that it would break a playoff drought that extended back to 1959. After going 5-4 and 6-3 in their first two seasons under head coach Steve Warren, the Eagles appeared to have turned the corner to become a legitimate playoff contender in one of the state's toughest Class 5A districts.

Cooper, on the other hand, was riding the crest of a successful wave which had resulted in six consecutive postseason berths. Trips to at least the state quarterfinals - including a berth in the state championship game in 1996 - had become commonplace.

But Cooper coach Randy Allen probably faced more questions going into the 1998 season than any year since he returned to his alma mater in 1991. The offensive and defensive lines and defensive secondary had to be rebuilt after being heavily hit by graduation.

The Cougars won their opener over Killeen High but later had to forfeit the game for use of an ineligible player. Cooper, playing perhaps the toughest non-district schedule in school history, upset state-ranked North Mesquite but was pounded on the road by Waco High and state-ranked Killeen Ellison.

Injuries wiped out the entire linebacking corps. No-pass, no-play casualties further depleted the defense. One of the two experienced quarterbacks battling for the starting job broke his collarbone on the second play of the season.

Because of the forfeit, Cooper entered district play with a 1-3 record.

While very little seemed to be going right for Cooper, Abilene High was cruising. The Eagles went 4-1 in their non-district schedule. The only loss came on the road against unbeaten and state-ranked Euless Trinity.

Abilene High opened district play at Odessa Permian and quickly grabbed a 14-0 first-quarter lead. Visions of the Eagles' first-ever win in Ratliff Stadium had to be dancing in long-suffering AHS fans' minds.

But Permian struck back quickly. Abilene High scored only three more points in a 42-17 loss and was shut out the next week, 34-0, by state-ranked Midland Lee. The Eagles never recovered.

What went wrong?

"I don't know if anything went wrong," Warren said. "We lost to a couple of outstanding teams and we lost our confidence. As a result, we lost a couple of more games.

"We're trying to preach the mental aspect of winning. We lost our edge, our confidence, and it hasn't ever stopped. At some point, you're looking for certain people to make the plays to pull you out of it instead of you stepping up and doing your job."

There is certainly hope for the future. The Eagles start 10 underclassmen on defense, including four sophomores, and six on offense. But even Warren admits this has been a frustrating season.

"I'm disappointed that we weren't able to take the next step forward," he said. "But things in life are not always going to work out. We're going to go back on Monday and start working for a playoff run in 1999."

The Eagles would love nothing better than to begin that offseason with a win over Cooper, something which hasn't happened since 1990.

What went right?

A week after Abilene High's season went sour with a loss at Odessa Permian, Cooper had to make the trek west to Ratliff Stadium.

Permian quickly grabbed a 14-0 lead. The Cougars were trailing 14-3 when they attempted a "Hail Mary" pass at the end of the first half. Wide receiver Adam Riddle caught the pass. He lateraled to Mark Rau, who lateraled to Luke Harrison. Harrison ran it into the end zone for the final 12 yards as time expired to complete the fluke touchdown.

Even though the Cougars eventually lost to Permian, 28-25, Allen called the "Hail Mary" play the turning point in his team's season.

"After the game, we didn't feel like we lost," Allen said. "I told them time ran out, but we'll beat Lee next week."

And Cooper did just that, handing the Rebels their first loss of the season, 21-14. A win over Odessa High last week clinched the Cougars' seventh consecutive playoff berth.

"I am so proud of this team," Allen said. "They've had to overcome so many things. It was a different obstacle each week. To see how they've improved, it has been a joy being with them. Our players seem to have the ability to overcome the loss of a starter with more teamwork and more effort. The player who fills in seems to play better than anyone could have imagined, and other players take more of a leadership role."

Allen said his Cougars have shown that ability for several years, pointing back to the loss of all-state receiver Miles Durham in the first playoff game in 1996. Other players stepped in, and Cooper advanced all the way to the state championship game.

Friday's showdown

So the approach to Friday night's game at Shotwell Stadium is quite different for the two teams. Cooper wants to continue building momentum for the playoffs. Abilene High, on the other hand, wants to salvage its season with a victory.

But regardless of what has transpired prior to Friday's showdown, the desire to win the game over a cross-town rival makes it the most important game of the year for both teams.

That hasn't changed in the last 38 years.

Al Pickett can be reached at 676-6772 or picketta@abinews.com.