Wednesday, November 11, 1998

Allen era at Cooper has meant a lot more Ws than Ls

By Al Pickett / Sports Editor

Since the Randy Allen era began at Cooper, very few teams can claim a winning record against the Cougars.

Allen owns a 66-30-2 mark in his eight seasons as head football coach at his alma mater.

Amarillo High, the Cougars' bi-district playoff opponent Friday night at Jones Stadium in Lubbock, is one of the few teams to actually own a winning record against Cooper in the 1990s, however.

Friday's game will mark the fifth time the Sandies and Cougars have met on the gridiron since Allen came to Cooper in 1991. Amarillo High owns a 3-1 advantage over the Cougars in the previous four meetings.

But, oh my, was Cooper's lone win over Amarillo High one to remember. Not only will it live on in infamy but it will probably also be embellished over the years as it is re-told. Not that one can add much to the incredible finish of that game, however.

It was the bi-district playoff game in 1996 at Lowery Field in Lubbock. Amarillo High had rallied to tie the game, 14-14.

Cooper had the ball near midfield, with the clock running down and the game seemingly headed toward overtime. There wasn't time for a huddle.

Quarterback Michael Anderson called out the play to his teammates and then took the snap with just three seconds remaining on the clock. He dropped back to pass and then handed the ball to all-state tailback Dominic Rhodes on a draw play. Rhodes left piles of would-be Amarillo High tacklers strewn across the field on his way to a dramatic 57-yard touchdown run and an improbable Cooper victory.

The win not only lifted Cooper into the next round of the playoffs but it also propelled the Cougars all the way to the state championship game.

A month after the remarkable win over Amarillo High, Cooper knocked off Lake Highlands, 24-21, in the state semifinals at Texas Stadium when Courtney Martin kicked the game-winning field goal in overtime.

On Tuesday, Allen called those two wins the most exciting finishes he has been involved in at Cooper.

"Those two were the most amazing finishes," he said.

But the win over Amarillo High was probably the most improbable.

The Sandies, under veteran coach Larry Dippel, have owned Cooper's number in the other three meetings, beginning with a 20-17 victory in a 1992 bi-district playoff game at Jones Stadium. That was the first of Cooper's seven consecutive postseason treks.

Amarillo High also beat Cooper in regular-season games in both 1996 and '97.

Allen has plenty of respect for Dippel's Sandies.

"They are so tough defensively," Allen said. "They are hard to run the ball against. Offensively, they execute so well. They are methodical. Every time we've played them, they get better as the game goes on.

"We'll have to change some things if we'll surprise them because they know us so well. The big thing against Amarillo is you have to be balanced. You better be able to play field position football against them and you better be ready to play 48 minutes."

One of the key blocks during Rhodes' dramatic 1996 run against the Sandies was thrown by sophomore wide receiver Adam Riddle, who was in the game only because Miles Durham, Cooper's all-time leading receiver, had separated his shoulder late in the first half of that game.

Allen said Durham, now a starting outfielder for the Texas Tech baseball team, has asked for a sideline pass to join the Cougars Friday night at Jones Stadium. There he will join Riddle, this year's leading receiver who has been sidelined with a broken collarbone, suffered in the fourth quarter of last week's win over Abilene High.

"Adam was running the same route as Miles," Allen said. "They played the same position."

Now the Cooper coach can only hope his team can overcome a similar adversity to have a similar stretch run in the playoffs this year.

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