wildstangs
08-28-2004, 04:47 PM
Looks like Sweetwater almost got back in this one. I feel pretty confident in the Mustangs after the way they shut down Cooper in the second half and got things rolling.
Cooper withstands SW rally
By RON HOWELL/The Reporter Sports Editor
WOODROW -- Friday's sea-son opener between Sweetwa-ter and Lubbock Cooper was a either a tale of two halves or a case of the half and half nots, if you prefer.
The latter description pretty much sums up the first 24 min-utes of the contest.
The Mustangs trailed only 14-0 at halftime, but it seemed worse due to their offensive **-tility. Sweetwater managed no first downs to Cooper's 12, and had only five yards of offense to the Pirates' 175, and also lost a fumble which Cooper returned for its second touchdown.
Running back Bradley Madi-son was responsible for most of the Pirate offense, gaining 103 yards in the opening half inclu-ding a 1-yard TD run.
Needless to say, it was hard-ly the kind of start Sweetwater head coach Kent Jackson and his players were looking for.
"It was unbelievable," Jack-son said.
"We were flat the first half. Everyone wasn't on the same page. At halftime we talked ab-out playing more together. And we did much better in the second half."
It was almost enough -- but not quite -- to save the Mus-tangs in a 17-14 defeat.
Sweetwater finally came to life on its opening drive of the second half, a six-play series that was capped by quarterback Jeremy Thompson's sensational 64-yard run.
Good kick returns helped Cooper get into Sweetwater territory on its next two series, the second one beginning from the Mustang 19. But Sweetwater's defense dug in both times, and surrendered only a 31-yard field goal by Jakob Cunning-ham with 3:43 left in the third quarter to make it 17-7.
Despite stalling out at mid-field on their next possession, the Mustangs were able to pin Cooper deep in its territory and the defense held again, allowing Sweetwater to get the ball back near midfield.
This time, it took nine plays to find the end zone and cut the Pirates' lead to 17-14. After get-ting some early help from an offsides penalty on Cooper, the Mustangs used a pair of first-down runs by Joseph Banyard and one from Thompson to get to Cooper's 3-yard line. A cou-ple of plays later, Kendal Car-rillo scored from the 1 with 7:13 remaining, and Parker Mor-row's second extra point kick got Sweetwater within three.
Unfortunately, the Mustangs were unable to get any closer. But they put a big scare into the Pirates on their last possession, which began with only 49 sec-onds to play.
Sweetwater started from its 31, and Thompson immediately connected on a 21-yard pass to wide receiver Brittan Pittman out of the shotgun.
Carrillo picked up four yards and got out of bounds to stop the clock with 34 seconds left. After an incompletion, Thomp-son found some running room down the left sideline and got to Cooper's 21. There was still 18 seconds remaining.
Thompson then tried to hit Pittman again on a short sideline route, but Cooper's Cory Cleveland stepped in front of the pass for the interception. The Pirates took over at their 14 and quarterback Howell Finch took a knee to run out the clock.
"We didn't do anything to help our defense in the first half and it was a collective effort," Jackson said. "But in the second half we put ourselves in po-sition to win the game until the kid stepped in front of the pass. That's what I was most proud of, that we were able to step up and show the savvy we did."
Jackson said there were posi-tive things which came out of the game despite the loss."
"We knew coming in it would be a learning process on the part of the kids, of learning to handle things when the lights are on," he said. "I think in the second half it felt a lot more like it was supposed to. Good things are happening. It's hard to see that when you've lost a game, but we told the kids to remem-ber the bright spots and that's what we've got to build on."
Sweetwater's offensive turn-around in the second half was so dramatic that the Mustangs actually wound up out-gaining the Pirates, with 227 yards to Cooper's 219. Thompson, held to negative-seven yards on his first five runs, finished with 99 on 11 carries.
Banyard, only a sophomore, had 38 yards, all in the second half, on nine runs and Carrillo, who is a junior, rushed for 32 on seven carries.
Another sophomore making a big contribution was cornerback Skye Green, who intercep-ted a first-quarter Cooper pass.
Sweetwater will face Class 4A San Angelo Lake View, a former district rival, in its home opener this Friday. The game is set to begin at 7:30 p.m.
Cooper withstands SW rally
By RON HOWELL/The Reporter Sports Editor
WOODROW -- Friday's sea-son opener between Sweetwa-ter and Lubbock Cooper was a either a tale of two halves or a case of the half and half nots, if you prefer.
The latter description pretty much sums up the first 24 min-utes of the contest.
The Mustangs trailed only 14-0 at halftime, but it seemed worse due to their offensive **-tility. Sweetwater managed no first downs to Cooper's 12, and had only five yards of offense to the Pirates' 175, and also lost a fumble which Cooper returned for its second touchdown.
Running back Bradley Madi-son was responsible for most of the Pirate offense, gaining 103 yards in the opening half inclu-ding a 1-yard TD run.
Needless to say, it was hard-ly the kind of start Sweetwater head coach Kent Jackson and his players were looking for.
"It was unbelievable," Jack-son said.
"We were flat the first half. Everyone wasn't on the same page. At halftime we talked ab-out playing more together. And we did much better in the second half."
It was almost enough -- but not quite -- to save the Mus-tangs in a 17-14 defeat.
Sweetwater finally came to life on its opening drive of the second half, a six-play series that was capped by quarterback Jeremy Thompson's sensational 64-yard run.
Good kick returns helped Cooper get into Sweetwater territory on its next two series, the second one beginning from the Mustang 19. But Sweetwater's defense dug in both times, and surrendered only a 31-yard field goal by Jakob Cunning-ham with 3:43 left in the third quarter to make it 17-7.
Despite stalling out at mid-field on their next possession, the Mustangs were able to pin Cooper deep in its territory and the defense held again, allowing Sweetwater to get the ball back near midfield.
This time, it took nine plays to find the end zone and cut the Pirates' lead to 17-14. After get-ting some early help from an offsides penalty on Cooper, the Mustangs used a pair of first-down runs by Joseph Banyard and one from Thompson to get to Cooper's 3-yard line. A cou-ple of plays later, Kendal Car-rillo scored from the 1 with 7:13 remaining, and Parker Mor-row's second extra point kick got Sweetwater within three.
Unfortunately, the Mustangs were unable to get any closer. But they put a big scare into the Pirates on their last possession, which began with only 49 sec-onds to play.
Sweetwater started from its 31, and Thompson immediately connected on a 21-yard pass to wide receiver Brittan Pittman out of the shotgun.
Carrillo picked up four yards and got out of bounds to stop the clock with 34 seconds left. After an incompletion, Thomp-son found some running room down the left sideline and got to Cooper's 21. There was still 18 seconds remaining.
Thompson then tried to hit Pittman again on a short sideline route, but Cooper's Cory Cleveland stepped in front of the pass for the interception. The Pirates took over at their 14 and quarterback Howell Finch took a knee to run out the clock.
"We didn't do anything to help our defense in the first half and it was a collective effort," Jackson said. "But in the second half we put ourselves in po-sition to win the game until the kid stepped in front of the pass. That's what I was most proud of, that we were able to step up and show the savvy we did."
Jackson said there were posi-tive things which came out of the game despite the loss."
"We knew coming in it would be a learning process on the part of the kids, of learning to handle things when the lights are on," he said. "I think in the second half it felt a lot more like it was supposed to. Good things are happening. It's hard to see that when you've lost a game, but we told the kids to remem-ber the bright spots and that's what we've got to build on."
Sweetwater's offensive turn-around in the second half was so dramatic that the Mustangs actually wound up out-gaining the Pirates, with 227 yards to Cooper's 219. Thompson, held to negative-seven yards on his first five runs, finished with 99 on 11 carries.
Banyard, only a sophomore, had 38 yards, all in the second half, on nine runs and Carrillo, who is a junior, rushed for 32 on seven carries.
Another sophomore making a big contribution was cornerback Skye Green, who intercep-ted a first-quarter Cooper pass.
Sweetwater will face Class 4A San Angelo Lake View, a former district rival, in its home opener this Friday. The game is set to begin at 7:30 p.m.