Odessa Permian 28, Cooper 25

By JEFF WALKER

Staff Writer

ODESSA -- After going back and forth for most of the second half, Odessa Permian scored the go-ahead touchdown with 3:27 to play and the Panthers handed Cooper its first district loss of the season, 28-25.

"I'm very proud and excited at the effort our kids put forth," Cooper head coach Randy Allen said. "As much as it took to get close, we just needed two more seconds or another opportunity. They made the big plays to get ahead and we ran out of time on the last drive to attempt a field goal to tie or score a touchdown to win."

Koefie Powell scored from one yard out to give the Panthers the three-point lead and the Cougars started the final drive on their 20-yard line.

The Cougars marched down to their own 44 with 1:10 to play, but a long pass play to Mark Rau was negated on an offensive pass interference penalty, setting up first-and-25 from the Cooper 29.

Kyle Wiskow took a shovel pass from Dowell Loggains 13 yards to the Cooper 42, and again on third down to the 46, but Loggains' pass on the final play to Adam Riddle was incomplete and time ran out on the Cougars.

"We played with a lot of heart," Riddle said. "We got down early but never gave up."

The Cougars, in fact, were down after the first offensive play by Permian.

Following a muffed kickoff that gave the Panthers the ball at their own 1, Leland Morris hit Roy Williams on a quick out. Williams broke one tackle and outran the rest of the Cougar defense for a 99-yard TD, which tied the longest touchdown reception in district history.

Cooper was also the victim the last time someone scored from 99 yards. Albert Cruz hit Cal Hendrick on a 99-yard play in 1982 when the Cougars faced Odessa High.

"Tonight, Lee was matched up with a good athlete," Allen said of cornerback Lee Haggerty, who played his first game since injuring his wrist. "(Williams) is a great skill player and anytime you get a player with his ability one-on-one, if you miss a tackle, he can score. He is by far the most dangerous receiver I've seen since I've been here."

The Panthers' second score came on a 5-yard run by Powell with 10:56 to play in the first half.

A 37-yard field goal by Ryan Shahan cut the deficit to 14-3, before Cooper scored on a Hail Mary pass as time expired in the second quarter. The Cougars added a 2-point conversion to trail 14-11 at halftime.

Cooper jumped on Permian first in the second half, taking its opening drive of the third quarter down the field while using up nearly seven minutes of the clock.

Mark Rau caught a 3-yard pass from Loggains to give Cooper an 18-14 lead.

Morris score with 46 seconds to play in the third to put Permian back on top, but Loggains scored from the 1 at the end of the third quarter to give Cooper a 21-18 lead.

Cooper 0 11 14 0--25

Permian 7 7 7 7--28

SCORING SUMMARY

Permian -- Roy Williams 99 pass from Leland Morris (Keith Robinson kick)

Permian -- Koefie Powell 5 run (Robinson kick)

Cooper -- Ryan Shahan 37 field goal

Cooper -- Luke Harrison 12 lateral from Mark Rau (Andy Rodgers pass from Dowell Loggains)

Cooper -- Rau 3 pass from Loggains (Shahan kick)

Permian -- Morris 19 run (Robinson kick)

Cooper -- Loggains 1 run (Shahan kick)

Permian -- Powell 1 run (Robinson kick)

Cooper Permian

First downs 17 23

Rushes-yards 38-218 41-324

Passing yards 131 156

Comp-Att-Int 12-23-0 5-14-0

Punts 5-40.3 3-29.0

Fumbles-lost 1-0 1-1

Penalties-yards 4-30 3-20

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING -- Cooper: Carl Bloom 21-142, Dowell Loggains 7-43, Kyle Wiskow 6-19, Luke Harrison 1-12, Mark Rau 1-5, Rodrick Spurlock 1-2, Adam Riddle 1-(-5). Permian: Koefie Powell 21-164, Leland Morris 11-110, Mark Gonzales 5-40, Chris Murry 3-7, Roy Williams 1-3.

PASSING -- Cooper: Loggains 12-23-0, 131 yards. Permian: Morris 5-14-0, 156 yards.

RECEIVING -- Cooper: Rau 6-16, Riddle 3-97, Wiskow 2-17, Harrison 1-1. Permian: Williams 4-150, Desmond Hill 1-6.