Killeen Ellison 35, Cooper 9
By JEFF WALKER
Sports Writer
KILLEEN -- Killeen Ellison running back Reggie Duncan took a hand off on the first play of the game and raced 82 yards for a touchdown.
Duncan didn't look back and neither did the Eagles the rest of the game as Cooper committed four turnovers in the first half and fell to the sixth-ranked team in the state, 35-9.
"When you play a good football team and you give up big plays and commit turnovers, you give them momentum in the first half," Cooper head coach Randy Allen said. "We regrouped and played for pride in the second half and I think we won the second half because they didn't score, so hopefully that will give us some momentum heading into district next week."
The Cougars played almost the entire first half without starting quarterback Dowell Loggains. Allen said he wanted to reward Elliot Strader.
"Elliot had done well in the off week and in practice this week with the team," Allen said. "We wanted to give him an opportunity to lead the team."
Allen added that Loggains will probably start next week when the Cougars open district play.
If Ellison was down after last week's 14-10 loss to Marshall, the Eagles showed Cooper they were far from out.
Duncan, who played in just two of the Eagles' four games because of an injured hamstring, rushed for 190 yards on 20 carries.
"Reggie is getting back," Ellison head coach Robert Walker said. "He still needs to get more carries and he was having a hard time seeing some of his cuts, but he did a good job and stayed with his blockers."
After Duncan's TD put the Eagles in fron 7-0, the Cooper offense struggled.
Cooper went three-and-out on its first possession and fumbled three plays into its second possession, which started at midfield.
"We gave them 21 or 28 points of their 35 points off turnovers," Allen said. "That is uncharacteristic of our football team. Normally we turn the ball over once or twice in a game, but not three in one half."
The Cougars fumbled again on their next possession deep in their own territory and Ellison didn't waste time increasing its lead.
Kendrick Pope capped off a 13-yard drive with a 3-yard sweep to give the Eagles a 14-0 advantage after the first quarter.
For the third straight possession, Cooper fumbled the ball back to Ellison. This time, however, the Eagles fumbled it right back to Cooper, and after Nivek Hatcher recovered the football, Strader led Cooper on its only scoring drive of the first half.
Cooper held the ball for nine minutes and marched down to the Ellison 5-yard line before Ryan Shahan booted a 22-yard field goal to trim the deficit to 14-3.
The Eagles added three long scores in the second quarter to put the game away.
Duncan scored on a 67-yard run; Carl Ivey picked off a pass from Strader and raced 39 yards for a score; and Dann Williams caught a 57-yard pass from Jeff Overstreet to seal the first-half scoring with just over a minute to play.
The Cougars' only touchdown of the game came late in the fourth when Loggains dove in from a yard out after Kyle Wiskow just missed a TD after a 19-yard scamper.
Jeff Walker can be reached at 676-6711 or at sports@abinews.com.
Cooper 0 3 0 6--9
Killeen Ellison 14 21 0 0--35
SCORING SUMMARY
E -- Reggie Duncan 82 run, (Rocky Danners kick)
E -- Kendrick Pope 3 run (Danners kick)
C -- Ryan Shahan 22 field goal
E -- Duncan 67 run (Danners kick)
E -- Carl Ivey 39 interception return (Danners kick)
E -- Danny Williams 57 pass from Jeff Overstreet (Danners kick)
C -- Dowell Loggains 1 run (kick failed)
Cooper Killeen
First downs 17 13
Rushes-yards 37-162 34-272
Passing yards 134 84
Comp-Att-Int 14-28-1 5-10-0
Punts 4-43.5 3-30.6
Fumbles-lost 4-3 1-1
Penalties-yards 5-50 8-80
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING -- Cooper: Carl Bloom 14-52, Kyle Wiskow 7-46, Sabastian Mata 5-27, Adam Riddle 1-15, Elliot Strader 5-13, Dowell Loggins 5-12 Ellison: Reggie Duncan 20-190, Javaris Pitts 8-41, Michael Bouie-Hattix 3-22, Daniel Wood 3-19, Kendirck Pope 1-3, Jeff Overstreet 4-(minus 3)
PASSING -- Cooper: Strader 5-13-55-0, Loggins 9-15-79-0; Ellison: Overstreet 5-10-84-1
RECEIVING -- Cooper: Riddle 5-56, Bloom 3-30, Mark Rau 3-19, Casey Fields 1-17, Luke Harrison 1-9, Andy Rodgers 1-3; Ellison: Danny Williams 3-68, KJ Hendricks 1-9, Rocky Danners 1-7