Isaiah Johnson wasn’t worried Thursday.
Cooper’s senior receiver was unconcerned about when Jaguars quarterback Cam O’Hara would throw a pass his way. When they finally connected late in the first quarter of Thursday’s game against Conner, it became a 43-yard touchdown, one of O’Hara’s four in a 42-17 win.
“I knew Cam was going to get me the ball at some point in the game,” Johnson said.
Johnson also set a school record – his 13-yard score from O’Hara early in the second stanza gave him 41 receiving touchdowns for his career, one better than the 40 Dante Hendrix amassed from 2014-16. What is more, he’s now 11th in state history.
“Eleventh?” Johnson said. “I just work hard every day, just come in, do what I’m supposed to do. It all shows on the field.”
Cooper coach Randy Borchers has been telling college coaches for years about what Johnson can do.
“The kid just finds a way to get open,” Borchers said, “He’s got a long stride, he runs really good routes. He goes up and gets the ball like no one I’ve ever coached before.”
O’Hara was 18-for-21 for 261 yards. He also found Malachi Ewell for a 21-yard touchdown and Austin Alexander for another 13-yarder for a score.
“I’ve been blessed with a fairly good set of hands,” Alexander said. “So it’s just been a blessing to get out here and run routes knowing I have an absolutely incredible, amazing quarterback in Cam O’Hara. He was able to find me, no matter where I’m at, no matter what route I run.”
By halftime, O’Hara was nearly perfect – he was 12-of-13 for 155 yards and three touchdowns.
Cooper (7-0, 2-0 in Class 5A, District 6) did a lot more than throw – the Jaguars ran for 179 yards, and Keagan Maher running for 123 and two touchdowns. Defensively, Ryker Campbell had nine tackles and an interception.
Conner coach David Trosper, meanwhile, couldn’t praise his Cougars enough.
“I’m proud of how you fought,” Trosper said in the postgame huddle. “That’s what I love about you guys.”
Indeed, there was much for Conner (5-2, 1-1) to like. The Cougars gained 315 yards, with 241 on the ground, and quarterback Wyatt Hatfield ran for 189 and two touchdowns.
“We did some great things,” Trosper said. “We get some bumps in the road. Every time we’d get a little movement, we’d get some form of a penalty or something.”
Campbell started Cooper’s opening drive with a 26-yard run on a reverse, Maher ran twice for 17, and O’Hara was 3-for-3 for 32 through the air.
Thursday also featured what could one day be an ACC duel – Conner tackle Dylan Stewart, who’s headed for Louisville, battled Alexander, who’s going to North Carolina to play defensive end or linebacker.
“I think Stewart’s a really good ballplayer,” Borchers said. “I think it was a good battle between those two.”
Alexander finished with three tackles, but his most significant contribution might have been hurrying Hatfield into an incompletion on third-and-14 on the Cooper 21. Conner settled for Andrew Herron’s 38-yard field goal.
After the ensuing kickoff, Cooper’s offense resembled a 60-yard dash – as many as five Cougars sprinted downfield. O’Hara was 4-for-4 for 70 yards on passes to Jaidan Combs, Ewell, Alexander and Johnson for the touchdown.
Campbell’s interception late in the first quarter became 21-3 Cooper with 9:53 left before halftime. Maher’s 26-yard run and O’Hara’s two passes to Alexander for another 20 set up Johnson’s 13-yarder.
O’Hara finally threw an incompletion late in the second. It didn’t hurt because O’Hara carried twice for 15 yards and Maher anded three for 41, including the 19-yarder for the score.
Hatfield scored from a yard out midway through the third quarter and found Chase Bailey for a 27-yard touchdown with 58 seconds to go.
Some more photos from Thursday night’s district matchup in Union below, slideshow provided by Charles Bolton:
JAGUARS 42, COUGARS 17
CONNER— 3-0-7-7— 17
COOPER — 14-14-7-7 — 42
Scoring Plays
First quarter
Cooper-Malachi Ewell 21 pass from Cam O’Hara (Eyler Tibbs kick), 8:53
Conner-Andrew Herron 38 field goal, 3:22
Cooper-Isaiah Johnson 43 pass from O’Hara (Tibbs kick), 1:42
Second quarter
Cooper-Johnson 13 pass from O’Hara (Tibbs kick), 9:53
Cooper-Keagan Maher 19 run (Tibbs kick), 1:55
Third quarter
Conner-Wyatt Hatfield 1 run (Herron kick), 7:48
Cooper-Austin Alexander 13 pass from O’Hara (Tibbs kick), 5:57
Fourth quarter
Cooper-Maher 1 run (Tibbs kick), 2:25
Conner-Chase Bailey 27 pass from Hatfield (Herron kick), 0:58
Game Stats
Passing Yards: Conner 74 (Hatfield 5-14-74-0 TD-1 INT); Cooper 261 (O’Hara 18-21-261-4 TD-0 INT).
Rushing yards: Conner 241 (Hatfield 26-189, Abernathy 11-36, Caplinger 1-9, Dozier 2-5); Cooper 179 (Maher 13-123, O’Hara 7-28, Campbell 1-26, Ritchie 1-2, Ewell 1-0)
Receiving yards: Conner 74 (Caplinger 3-41, Bailey 1-27, Abernathy 1-6); Cooper 261 (Combs 5-74, Johnson 3-68, Alexander 5-48, Ewell 3-37, Campbell 1-23, Maher 1-11).
First downs: Conner 18, Cooper 26.
Turnovers: Conner 1, Cooper 0.
Penalties: Conner 5-41, Cooper 2-10
Records: Conner 5-2 (1-1 in Class 5A, District 6), Cooper 7-0 (2-0).