Friday, September 20, 1996

Cooper tries to build momentum against Monterey
By AL PICKETT
Sports Editor

LUBBOCK - Cooper coach Randy Allen and Lubbock Monterey coach Buster Leaf find their teams in identical situations as they enter Week 3 of the 1996 football season.

Both lost games they felt they should have won in the season opener. And both posted easy lopsided wins against overmatched opponents last week.

"We've had two games to look at personnel and correct mistakes," Allen said. "This is important for momentum."

"I've told our kids we're going to play one of the teams picked to go to the playoffs and has been in the playoffs," Monterey coach Buster Leaf said. "It was a great way to evaluate where we are as a team."

Monterey losts its opener, 17-14, to Abilene High on a last-second field goal, while Cooper fell 15-5 to Garland when the Cougars failed to score a touchdown despite having the ball three times inside the Garland 6-yard line.

But neither team was challenged last week. Cooper blasted Wichita Falls Rider, 55-14, while Monterey routed El Paso Bel Air, 38-14.

Then there's this little thing of unusual non-district rivalry between the two teams.
"We've got a rivalry going with Monterey," Allen admitted.

Tonight's game marks the fifth time in the last four years that the Cougars and Plainsmen have met. They've played twice in the playoffs and twice during the regular season in the past three years. Cooper has won three of the four, losing for the first time to Monterey last year during the regular season.

In fact, Monterey was 28-5 over the past three years, but three of those five losses were to Cooper.
"They've dominated us," Leaf said of the recent games with Cooper. "We've had very little success against them. It's a real test for our kids."

While Cooper is young on defense, Monterey has a completely new team from the one that knocked off the Cougars, 21-7, last season. The Plainsmen graduated 44 seniors from last season's 10-1 team, several of whom are now playing college ball. Monterey has only one returning offensive starter.

"Monterey has some very good talent," Allen said. "They have a better team than I'd thought they'd have after graduating all those seniors. All three of their skill players (quarterback Dorian Pitts and running backs Anthony Hamilton and Derrick Lilly) are good breakaway threats. They have so many people playing both ways, I think they'll be in better shape the third week than they were the first week. When you're playing both ways, you have to play yourself into shape."

Monterey has two more weeks before opening District 3-5A play. But Cooper starts District 4-5A play next week, a fact that is even more interesting since it's against unbeaten Abilene High which has already played Monterey.