This wasn’t the typical No. 1 vs No. 4 seed bludgeoning of a KHSAA first round playoff football matchup where the visiting team spends more time on the bus traveling than they do the actual game.
When South Oldham was upset by Collins in their final district game of the season, it meant the 7-3 Dragons, finishing ranked No. 7 in the final Kentucky High School Media Football Poll, had to come to Cooper as a No. 4 seed. The Jaguars the No. 1 ranked team in the state in 5A, certainly got a test from the Dragons on Friday night in Union.
Cooper eventually pulled away for a 56-28 victory and advanced to the second round of the Class 5A playoffs and a date with Scott County back at home next week.
“We told the kids all week this was going to be the best 4-1 matchup in the state,” Borchers said. “We had a lot of respect for this South Oldham team. We knew we’d have a ballgame. Got out of our groove a little bit and we played a little sloppy tonight, but it was good to play a four quarter game.”
The last time Cooper’s starters played into the fourth quarter was over a month ago.
The Dragons gave Cooper a look that’s tough to prepare for, running a triple option at times with all kinds of variance.
“First time we had seen this all year,” Borchers said. “Triple option this week, Wing-T next week. It’s a challenge for us these next couple of weeks and we have a pretty tough draw.”
Things were interesting for a while, a one-score game for the majority as the two went into halftime at Cooper up 21-14 and 35-28 with 9:07 to play.
Cooper’s firepower was too much to keep up with, however, as the Jaguars finished with 21 unanswered in the game’s final nine minutes to keep their undefeated season intact at 11-0.
Pick your poison with Cooper’s offense. Whether it’s Cam O’Hara and his arsenal of weapons on the outside or Keagan Maher ripping off long runs, the Jaguars tallied 485 yards of offense in the victory.
O’Hara threw for 316 yards and four touchdowns, hitting Isaiah Johnson for two and Jaidan Combs and Maher for one apiece.
“Offensively we just kind of do what we do and we’ve been doing this every single week now for 11 weeks,” O’Hara said. “Our defense kind of struggled, but we let them know we’ve got their back and that’s how it goes sometimes.”
Johnson’s two touchdowns put him atop the record books in northern Kentucky as he’s now the all-time receptions leader in the region with 49. He passed up Highlands’ Brett Hamblen (1998-2000) with 47.
“It kind of just shows how hard I’ve been working these last couple years,” Johnson said. “I had a quick switch to wide receiver my sophomore year and just shows me how much it took to get here.”
PHOTOS: Slideshow provided by Charles Bolton
Combs’ touchdown reception came at a pivotal moment. Backed up on their own six-yard-line and facing a 3rd and 12, O’Hara hit Combs down the sideline for a 94-yard touchdown strike to give Cooper a two-score lead at 35-21.
“Ran a little wheel route, Cam found me wide open and I almost got caught,” Combs said. “Just a big gamechanger and get us some energy.”
Then there’s Maher, the unsung hero of the offense. He puts his hard hat on and goes to work, evidenced by his 149 yards and three rushing touchdowns. Similar to last season, as the season goes on, Maher gets stronger.
“Coach Borchers always preaches being able to establish the run, especially in the playoffs,” Maher said. “You run it down a team’s throat and it demoralizes them. We had that same mindset last year in the playoffs and we’re hoping to do that again this year.”
Maher also added a receiving touchdown in the first quarter for good measure.
While the Dragons offense gave the Jaguars fits, the Cooper defense did just enough. Austin Alexander returned from a two-game absence due to an injury/illness and collected two sacks to go with his nine tackles. Dax Bolen (12 tackles), Alex Vogelpohl (10 tackles) and Ryker Campbell (8 tackles) all contributed as Isaac Brown added an interception return for a touchdown in the game’s closing minute.
Maybe not quite survive and advance as a description, but Cooper certainly got a test Friday night. They’ll get another one next week when the Cardinals roll into town.
“The Scott County win last year catapuled us into a lot of confidence and into this year,” Borchers said. “Now that we’ve been here, the kids know what to expect. We have to be more disciplined going into next week though.”
JAGUARS 56, DRAGONS 28
SOUTH OLDHAM — 0-14-0-14 — 28
COOPER — 14-7-7-28 — 56
Scoring Plays
1st Quarter
(C) O’Hara 13-yard pass to Maher (11:03) Tibbs Kick
(C) O’Hara 26-yard pass to Johnson (2:21) Tibbs kick
2nd Quarter
(SO) Arnold 22-yard pass to Miles (11:40) Oerther kick
(C) Maher 21-yard run (6:27) Tibbs kick
(SO) Arnold 1-yard run (2:38) Oerther kick
3rd Quarter
(C) Maher 53-yard run (3:14) Tibbs kick
4th Quarter
(SO) Arnold 10-yard pass to Miles (11:04) Oerther kick
(C) O’Hara 94-yard pass to Combs (9:20) Tibbs kick
(SO) Miles 82-yard kickoff return (9:07) Oerther kick
(C) O’Hara 55-yard pass to Johnson (9:00) Tibbs kick
(C) Maher 1-yard run (4:54) Tibbs kick
(C) Brown 60-yard INT return (1:07) Tibbs kick
Game Stats
Passing Yards: South Oldham 118 (Arnold 10/21, 2 TD, INT), Cooper 316 (O’Hara 12/18, 4 TD)
Rushing Yards: South Oldham 190 (Miles 12-69, Arnold 13-59, Hatcher 10-50, Hickerson 3-6, Dixon 1-4, Davila 1-2), Cooper 169 (Maher 15-149, O’Hara 3-15, Combs 1-5)
Receiving: South Oldham (Miles 4-48, Madsen 2-43, Hickerson 2-18, Dixon 2-9), Cooper (Combs 3-149, Johnson 4-127, Alexander 2-15, Maher 1-13, Ewell 2-12)
Turnovers: South Oldham 1, Cooper 0
Penalties: South Oldham 7-75, Cooper 6-65
Records: South Oldham 7-4, Cooper 11-0