Friday, November 6, 1998

Crosstown rivalry is all about pride and bragging rights

By JEFF WALKER

Staff Writer

The Abilene High and Cooper football teams know all about each other. Head coaches Steve Warren and Randy Allen could probably go into this game without looking at game tapes (though they won't).

Cooper is positioning itself in the District 4-5A playoff race, while the Eagles were eliminated two weeks ago after losing to Odessa High.

Make no mistake about it, however, there is plenty at stake for AHS and CHS in tonight's game at Shotwell Stadium. Both teams will be playing for pride, for the right to brag for the next 365 days in Abilene.

"Sure, there's no doubt about it," Warren said when asked if an AHS victory might salvage a disappointing district season. "We haven't beaten them since I've been here so I still need to do that."

Allen said that despite the four district losses by the Eagles, his team will not be looking at this game as an automatic win.

"I can think of some incidences where teams play their best game against us and overcome the odds," he said. "The team that plays best Friday night will be victorious, not the one who played better in previous weeks."

The game plans will be mostly the same as they have been all season for both teams.

The Eagles will look to ride the legs of running back Sneezy Beltran, who is third in the district in rushing yards with 1,418 on 210 carries.

Allen said the Cougars will concentrate on Beltran but not limit the focus to just one player.

"It starts there with Sneezy," he said. "He carries the ball about 30 times a game, he's explosive, he's strong, he breaks tackles. I'm sure they'll try to use him to open up the other parts of their offense. But just like they did against Midland High, we can't get beat on a play-action pass. Their quarterback is a threat to run also so we've got our work cut out for us."

Cooper will once again rely on its passing game headed by quarterback Dowell Loggains (86 of 158 for 1,197 yards). Loggains' triple-threat attack of Luke Harrison, Mark Rau and Adam Riddle have run circles around opposing defenses. But the Cougars are now getting the most out of their running game, which has steadily improved all season under the leadership of Carl Bloom (122 carries for 669 yards).

"I don't know if you can stop them, I think you just have to try and slow them down," Warren said of the Cougars' offense. "You try to contain them because they have so many weapons. It seems Rau has been here for 10 years and he's done a great job for them. Our key is to have our offense stay on the field as long as possible. That's the best way to stop their offense."

Tickets are still available for the game, though there is expected to be a large turnout as usual for this game. Both coaches said they try to downplay the pressure during practice.

"We can't let that happen because it's going to happen on its own," Warren said. "We just want to let the hype take care of itself and not left the players get too pumped before Friday night."

Allen said his team builds momentum as the week progresses.

"We get ready the same whether it's the cross-town game or any other game," he said. "We build it so hopefully it's at its peak at 7:30 on Friday night. We want it to be like a coke bottle where you work hard and build it up and then release all the stress come kickoff.

"We've got to be smart in how we gauge that and build because this year it seems we wait a little too long to let it out. It seems we've given up some big plays early in other ballgames."

Cooper leads the all-time series 26-10-1 and has won the last seven in a row.

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

Abilene High (4-5, 0-4) vs. Cooper (4-4, 3-1)

- When: 7:30 p.m.

- Where: Shotwell Stadium

- Radio: KGMM 1280 Sports and KYYD 1340 AM

- Last week's scores: Midland High 28, AHS 21; Cooper 28, Odessa High 14

- Last year's score: Cooper 17, Abilene High 3

- Injuries: AHS: DE Jason Watson (ankle) out; Cooper: LB Paul Mock (knee) and LB Somdy Vorasane (knee) out.

- Seating: Cooper is the home team and will sit on the West side. Abilene High will sit on the East side.

- Scouting Abilene High: The Eagles are hoping to keep the Cooper offense on the sidelines as long as possible. To do that, they will need Sneezy Beltran to lead a balanced rushing attack that may call upon Clay Walker (10-29) to help grind yardage and eat up the game clock. Walker should get more carries tonight because the Eagles lost backup tailback Frankie Richardson due to ineligibility. If the rushing game stalls, quarterback Frankie Munoz will look short to tight end Donnie De Leon or long to Eddie Hyer or J.P. Gonzales.

- Scouting Cooper: The Cougars welcome the return of middle linebacker Coby Ford, who missed the last two games after injuring his knee against Odessa Permian. While Ford returns, the Cougars will be without starting defensive end Roderick Spurlock due to ineligibility. Ford's return should solidify a defense that has improved every week. Cooper's defense, allowing 282 yards per contest, leapfrogged Midland High into fourth place in district this week in average yards allowed per game. Cooper's offense has been building around running back Carl Bloom (122 carries for 669 yards). His running and the improvement along the offensive line have given the Cougars much-needed balance in their offensive game plan.

What the coaches our saying

"The last two or three games have been low-scoring ones, last year was 17-3. That's pretty close to what the scoring should be. I think it will be a pretty close ballgame."

-Abilene High head coach Steve Warren

"The key in big ballgames is big plays and turnovers. You can't have foolish penalties or busted assignments, but I think always in big games, the team that turns the ball over the least wins the ballgame."

-Cooper head coach Randy Allen

Cooper's starting lineup

Defense

DE - Robert Clark

DT - Ryan Martin

DT - Michael Walker

LB - Coby Ford

LB - Danny Crumbholtz

LB - Josh Adams

LB - Vince Paluscio

CB - Aaron Byrd

CB - Lee Haggerty

S - Nivek Hatcher

S - Elijah Quesada

Offense

C - Chris Almaguera

RG - Robby Walker

LG - James Jones

RT - Kent Rhodes

LT - Bailey Lester

TE - Andy Rodgers

SE - Adam Riddle

WR - Mark Rau

WR - Luke Harrison

TB - Carl Bloom

QB - Dowell Loggains

Abilene High's starting lineup

Defense

DE - Jake Barnes

DE - Andre Moore

DT - John Gonzales

DT - Rashard Dalbert

LB - Matt Cope

LB - David Cooley

LB - Tony Espinoza

CB - Mitchell Eckert

CB - Marty Salas

S - Chris Mabry

S - Blake Knight

Offense

C - Dominic Horton

RG - Sergio Allelo

LG - Paul Munshower

RT - Rene Garcia

LT - Michael Walker

TE - Donnie De Leon

WR - Bryson Galloway

WR - Scott Bryson

FB - Clay Walker

TB - Sneezy Beltran

QB - Frankie Munoz