Cooper 26, Killeen 7

By AL PICKETT

Sports Editor

Cooper may not have gotten its season off on the right foot, but it didn't take the Cougars long to correct their course.

Cooper overcame a game-opening 100-yard kickoff return by Killeen to pin a 26-7 defeat on the Kangaroos in the season opener for both teams at steamy Shotwell Stadium.

With temperatures hovering near triple digits at kickoff, Killeen's Steven Murphy heated things up even more by returning the opening kickoff from his own goal line all the way to the other end zone for a touchdown.

But Cooper's defense dominated the rest of the game, giving up only a 30-yard second-quarter field goal by Jason Chitay.

"We threw them for a lot of negative plays," Cooper coach Randy Allen said. "We played a lot of people, and we kept putting the pressure on them. They wore down at the end more than we did. I'm proud of the way the guys responded after the opening kickoff."

In all, the Cooper defense threw Killeen for minus yardage on 10 different plays, limiting the Kangaroos' wide-open shotgun offense to just 187 net yards.

The Cougars received a solid pass from a large number of players, including Miris Ray, and outstanding play from cornerbacks Lee Haggerty and Aaron Byrd.

While the Cooper defense was doing its job, quarterback Dowell Loggains was leading the Cooper offense to 359 yards total offense.

Allen had planned to alternate Loggains with Jeremy Janssen at quarterback, but Janssen, who had starred in last week's scrimmage against Wichita Falls Rider, broke his collarbone on the second kickoff of the game.

"He'll probably be out for eight weeks," Allen said. "I'm really sad for him. I had planned to play Jeremy in the second quarter."

Because of Janssen's injury, Loggains played the entire game at quarterback except for the Cougars' final series. He responded by completing 13 of 26 passes for 207 yards and two touchdowns.

Cooper answered Killeen's opening touchdown by marching 57 yards in 10 plays, scoring on Loggains' 1-yard quarterback sneak. Ryan Gibbs' extra-point kick gave the Cougars a 7-6 lead.

Killeen took a 9-7 advantage early in the second quarter, but Cooper put together a drive just before halftime. Loggains hit wide receiver Adam Riddle on an outside screen pass. Riddle caught the ball near the line of scrimmage, got a block and turned the play into a 40-yard touchdown and a 13-9 lead with 1:20 to go before intermission.

On the first play following the second-half kickoff, Loggains went deep, connecting on a 62-yard scoring strike to Mark Rau, stretching the Cougars' lead to 20-9.

"Coach Allen called (the play) right before we went on the field," Loggains said. "We have a lot of room to improve, but we played pretty well. Our running game looked good, and the offensive line really came through in the fourth quarter."

Carl Bloom scored on a 1-yard run with 6:52 left to finish off Cooper's scoring.

"That first win is important for confidence," Allen said. "We play the No. 17 team in the state next, and we have only a couple of days to get ready for it."

Cooper plays at Waco High on Thursday.

Killeen 6 3 0 0--9

Cooper 7 6 7 6--26

SCORING SUMMARY

Killeen -- Steven Murphy 100 kickoff return (run failed)

Cooper -- Dowell Loggains 1 run (Ryan Gibbs kick)

Killeen -- Jason Chitay 30 field goal

Cooper -- Adam Riddle 40 pass from Loggains (pass incomplete)

Cooper -- Mark Rau 62 pass from Loggains (Gibbs kick)

Cooper -- Carl Bloom 1 run (kick miss)

Killeen Cooper

First downs 12 18

Rushes-yards 14-88 32-152

Passing yards 99 207

Comp-Att-Int 13-29-0 13-26-0

Punts 3-28.3 4-30.8

Fumbles-lost 3-1 1-0

Penalties-yards 5-30 5-46

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING -- Killeen: Kevin Johnson 6-58, John Yelder 17-41, Jason Chitay 1-(-11). Cooper: Carl Bloom 13-49, Sebastian Mata 6-35, Dowell Loggains 8-13, Davon Curry 3-18, Michael Medina 3-9.

PASSING -- Killeen: John Yelder 12-27-0, 91 yards; Jason Chitay 1-2-0, 8 yards. Cooper: Dowell Loggains 13-26-0, 207 yards.

RECEIVING -- Killeen: Steven Murphy 6-43, Gerard Kelly 1-15, Anthony Lane 5-26, Kevin Johnson 2-16. Cooper: Mark Rau 5-95, Ryan Gibbs 2-1, Adam Riddle 4-85, Luke Harrison 2-26.