Running back Eli White’s 10-yard touchdown run put Cooper ahead by 21 points to begin the second quarter but the Jaguars would barely escape a young Dixie Heights team, 41-36, Friday night at Rice Mountjoy Stadium in Edgewood in a game that came down to the final seconds.
Early on, Cooper seemed primed to take its frustration out on the Colonels to avenge its previous week’s shutout loss to George Rogers Clark. Cam O’Hara’s touchdown pass to Austin Alexander gave the Jaguars a 14-point advantage as the opening quarter wound down and following a Dixie punt, O’Hara’s quick 43-yard strike downfield on first down to receiver Isaiah Johnson across midfield placed Cooper with great field position.
With a new set of downs, O’Hara again looked Johnson’s direction and found him at the 10, where he was tackled. The Jaguars let the clock run out and prepared for its next play when White stretched the Jaguars lead to 21.
But the Colonels bounced back on their ensuing drive. With Armani Gregg on the sideline, Brach Rice took the snap and hit receiver Trey Barnette for a 47-yard score to pull the Colonels closer, 21-8, after Rice also converted the two-point try.
Then, Cooper stretched its lead back to 20, relying on the strength of White on the following drive, giving him the ball on five of six plays. On third-and-three from their own 27, White ran up the middle but was tripped up in the open field, stopping a potential touchdown run.
However, two plays later, the senior took a screen, knifing through the Dixie defense for a 69-yard touchdown, giving the Jaguars a 28-8 advantage with 8:08 remaining in the half. But, the Colonels’ defense held the Jaguars to a single yard on its next possession, kickstarting its comeback coming out of halftime.
After forcing Cooper to punt, Dixie was aided by a personal foul illegal helmet contact penalty on the Jaguars defense after Gregg scrambled to his right out of the pocket and was hit up high as he was brought down near the Colonels’ sideline, prompting the official’s flag.
Several plays later, Rice took advantage of another opportunity behind center and ran around the left side for a three-yard score and a 28-15 game, following a successful extra point.
Receiving the second half kickoff, the Colonels went to work.
On their opening drive of the third quarter, Gregg spotted Grimm Rosenberg open near midfield on first down, but overthrew him and his second down attempt also fell incomplete. But scanning the field on third-and-10, he could not find an open receiver, so he took off, gaining 71 yards.
Out of a Cooper timeout, Gregg found Grant Johnson over the middle for a 13-yard touchdown reception, and a 28-22 margin.
The Jaguars’ countered on their ensuing possession on the strength of White’s legs. “He gave us quality reps and he had the hot hand tonight and we stuck with him. They told us he had 219 yards tonight, so he got some important yards for us. He’s going to be sore tomorrow,” Cooper Head Coach Randy Borchers said.
Beginning with good field position on its own 40, White took off through the middle for 20 yards. His number was then called on five consecutive plays, getting the Jags down inside the 10-yard line. Alexander’s second touchdown reception of the evening put the Jaguars up, 34-22, with 7:45 remaining in the third.
Dixie fumbled on its next drive but was bailed out by cornerback Miguel Rodriguez on Cooper’s possession, as the junior tipped and intercepted an O’Hara pass. Compounded by a personal foul penalty on the Jaguars, Dixie took advantage, as a Hinkle touchdown would close the scoring for the quarter and the Colonels narrowed the gap, 34-29.
But as he had shown the entire game, White and the Jaguars countered Dixie’s best efforts. The workhorse’s forth and final TD of the game gave Cooper a little breathing room which it would need later.
Much like White had done for the Jags, Hinkle did his best to keep the Colonels’ hopes alive with several key runs during the final quarter, dragging Cooper tacklers with him. He capped the scoring for Dixie with a short yardage scamper through the line midway through the fourth, inching Dixie to within five, 41-36.
When the Colonels received the ball for the final time, it was the Jaguars defense that came through with its biggest play of the night, knocking down a desperation heave from Gregg from the outstretched hands of Rice.
Borchers said his team bounced back from last week’s game. “We really struggled on special teams and on the offensive side of the ball and we did a pretty good job on both of those tonight,” he said. “Special teams were pretty solid all the way through and to be quite honest with you, we got tired defensively and we had a couple injuries. And give them credit, they had a good game plan.” Borchers added that his defense “made a play when it needed to…I told our kids here, we had multiple guys out of position that last quarter because guys were getting banged up and some guys were playing positions they haven’t played all year and made plays for us down the stretch.”
Next week, Cooper (1-1) stays on the road to face Ryle, while Dixie Heights (1-1) travels to Hebron to take on 0-2 Conner.
