Cooper 24, Midland High 13

By JEFF WALKER

Staff Writer

The Cooper defense did something Friday night five other teams failed to do -- stop Midland High running back Shemond Davis.

The Cougars limited the district's top rusher to just 89 yards on 21 carries -- his lowest total of the season -- and Cooper won its district opener over the Bulldogs, 24-13, in front of around 13,000 fans at Shotwell Stadium.

"They did a super job," Cooper head coach Randy Allen said. "They looked like they did in the North Mesquite game. They tackled sharp, they gang-tackled, they blocked passes, the defense played exceptionally well."

Middle linebacker Coby Ford led the charge with 1-1/2 sacks, while four other players (Michael Walker, Rodrick Spurlock, Robert Clark and Michael Foster) recorded a sack and Vincent Paluscio added a half a sack.

"Coby Ford is out middle linebacker and he's our leader," Allen said. "He has to be for us to be successful, but I think tonight it was a team effort. Everybody flew to the ball and made the plays."

While the defense shut the Midland High offense throughout the game, the Cooper offense struck early and often, building a 17-0 lead after one quarter.

"I'm going to be honest with you," Midland head coach David Browning said. "The first part of the game, we just flat out got whipped and they set the tone early."

Carl Bloom had his biggest game of the season (12 carries, 93 yards) and his 45-yard run on the Cougars' first series set up a 33-yard field goal by Ryan Shahan.

After the Bulldogs were forced to punt on their first possession, Cooper needed just three plays to score again.

Quarterback Dowell Loggains hit Adam Riddle down the right sidelines for a 79-yard scoring strike to give the Cougars a 10-0 lead with just over five minutes remaining in the first quarter.

"That was as good a first quarter as we've played," Allen said. "We took advantage of every opportunity they gave us, we looked real sharp in the first quarter."

Three plays and a penalty forced Midland to punt again, and Cooper tacked on its second touchdown of the quarter, almost by mistake.

After Loggains drove the Cougars to the Midland 9, the senior signal-caller scrambled right on a second-and-goal situation. Loggains lofted a pass across his body to Mark Rau, who tipped the ball and watched as Riddle caught it in the back of the end zone.

"I knew this team before we even played them had an awful lot of talent," Browning said. "They're a physically imposing team. I'm surprised they've lost any games this season."

The Bulldogs had their only sustained drive in the second quarter and quarterback Laynce Nix dove in from two yards out to cut the MHS deficit to 17-7.

But Bloom scored a 16-yard TD in the third quarter to give the Cougars a cushion that the defense would not relinquish.

Midland High 0 7 6 0--13

Cooper 17 0 7 0--24

SCORING SUMMARY

C -- Ryan Shahan 33 field goal

C -- Adam Riddle 79 pass from Dowell Loggains (Shahan kick)

C -- Riddle 9 pass from Loggains (Shahan kick)

M -- Laynce Nix 2 run (James Gripp kick)

C -- Carl Bloom 16 run (Shahan kick)

M -- Raji Hickey 84 pass from Nix (kick blocked)

Midland Cooper

First downs 11 11

Rushes-yards 37-58 38-149

Passing yards 177 128

Comp-Att-Int 11-23-0 8-12-1

Punts 6-50.3 5-39.6

Fumbles-lost 4-2 2-2

Penalties-yards 11-72 8-65

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING -- Midland: Shemond Davis, 21-89; Jimmy Smith, 5-13; Laynce Nix, 11-(-44). Cooper: Carl Bloom, 12-93; Kyle Wiskow, 10-22; Mark Rau, 2-20; Adam Riddle, 1-9; Sebastian Mata, 3-4; Dowell Loggains, 10-1.

PASSING -- Midland: Nix, 11-23, 177, 0. Cooper: Loggains, 8-12, 128, 2.

RECEIVING -- Midland: Raji Hickey, 5-145; Lance King, 4-23; Davis, 2-9. Cooper: Riddle, 5-111; Luke Harrison, 1-19; Andy Rodgers, 2-(-2).