Wednesday, November 11, 1998

Cougars enter playoffs without leading wide receiver

By JEFF WALKER

Staff Writer

The Cooper football team has overcome adversity all season. If it wasn't the backup quarterback, it was a linebacker, or another linebacker, or another linebacker.

Injuries are nothing new to the Cougars, so this week should be business-as-usual as Cooper prepares to open the bi-district playoff round against Amarillo High at Jones Stadium in Lubbock.

The Cougars will be without leading wide receiver Adam Riddle, who broke his collarbone in the season finale last week against Abilene High.

"Adam's injury is like (quarterback) Jeremy Janssen's injury, but Adam's is worse because there are bone fragments," Cooper head coach Randy Allen said Tuesday. "It's sort of ironic because in the same game a few years ago Miles Durham had a similar injury and the guy that replaced him was Adam Riddle."

The injury cut short an impressive season for Riddle, but it also ended on a spectacular single-game performance.

Riddle finished the 41-14 victory over the Eagles with six catches for 159 yards and three touchdowns. For the season, Riddle nabbed 34 catches for 729 yards and eight touchdowns. He averaged 21.4 yards per catch.

Casey Fields will replace Riddle in the starting lineup but not at the same position. Luke Harrison will move over and play the X-receiver position for the Cougars and Fields will step into Harrison's spot at the Z-receiver.

"Casey Fields has been our fourth receiver and Ryan Gibbs our fifth, so we have had five guys that can play," Allen said. "Casey will go into the starting lineup and, of course, then we'll also have Luke and Mark Rau and Gibby."

Allen said the team was used to dealing with adversity this season.

"We've had so many changes in our lineup this season, I don't have to tell our guys anything," he said. "When a starter goes down it's like the front line in a battle, someone has to pick up a gun and go forward. It's like we tag someone on the shoulder and say 'you're it.' That person has to fill in the position and take up the slack."

Tailback Carl Bloom also suffered an injury in last week's game but Allen said he expected his leading rusher to be in uniform against the Sandies.

"I'm going to say he's in," Allen said. "He's in good shape. He has a bruised shoulder, but I think he's going to play."

Profitable Friday

The "Wave for Walter" fundraiser that was conducted during Friday's contest tallied $4,000 to help the Ford family pay for medical expenses.

Walter Ford, father of Cooper linebacker Coby Ford, was paralyzed in an automobile accident last year coming home from the Cougars' playoff game against Amarillo Tascosa in Lubbock.

Cooper assistant coaches Gary Griffin and Bill Beasley led the effort to raise the funds to help the Fords with medical expenses. The fundraiser, which played off the Cooper spirit theme of waving rally rags during their football games, drew outstanding support from Cooper fans, as well as Abilene High fans.

A special account has been set up at First National Bank of Abilene titled the "Walter C. Ford Medical Fund" for any future donations.

Jeff Walker can be reached at 676-6711 or sports@abinews.com.