This one might sting a little more than Cooper’s prior two trips to the state championship game.
Coming in at 14-0 and the undisputed No. 1 team in Class 5A, the Jaguars took one on the chin in a 37-20 defeat to Bowling Green on Saturday at Kroger Field in Lexington for the 5A championship.
In a title game rematch from a season ago, it was the Purples once again getting the upper hand as they won their ninth state title in program history. They had also defeated Cooper in 2012
“This year we were expecting to be here and these kids expected to win. This one burns a little bit,” Jaguars coach Randy Borchers said.
Bowling Green can point to the battle up front for why they prevailed. They outrushed the Jaguars 238-38 in the contest and consistently put pressure on Jaguars quarterback Cam O’Hara, who was sacked seven times. The Purples mixed things up defensively and didn’t allow much time for the Jaguars potent vertical threat to take shape.
“We got after them last year and watched that film a lot,” Purples coach Mark Spader said. “I don’t know if we called back-to-back the same defenses the entire game. Their offensive line was seeing different movement, different pressure people. We have some really athletic, quick guys up front.”
O’Hara would finish with 262 yards passing and three touchdowns, but the Purples countered with quarterback Deuce Bailey.
Bailey, later named MVP, rushed for 74 yards and three touchdowns, threw for 133 more yards and made things tough on the Jaguars defense by extending plays with his feet.
Cooper’s season finishes at 14-1, the Jaguars near perfect season coming up a game short. It ends a two-year run where Cooper went 26-4 with the two state runner-up finishes. The toughest part to swallow is 17 seniors graduates with it.
“They’ve done everything right throughout the year,” Borchers said. “They’ve done everything right for the last four years. Tough to end this way, but these guys have a lot of memories now. It’s going to be tough tonight and tough the next couple days, but hopefully they can wake up on Monday morning and realize what a special year this was, and what special group of guys they got to play with.”
Bowling Green led 13-12 at half thanks to the kicking game. Braden Widener hit field goals of 41 and 31 yards while the Jaguars missed two extra points. Cooper’s two scores came from O’Hara passes to Isaiah Johnson for 13 yards and then a one-handed, 32-yard grab from Jaidan Combs. Johnson’s score was set up by a Ryker Campbell interception, his fourth straight game with one. Bailey’s first score was a three-yard rush to give the Purples a 7-6 lead, Combs’ one-handed grab made it 12-10. Widener’s second field goal came at the 3:42 mark before the half.
The second half was a different story. Bowling Green dominated the third and built their lead to 27-12 thanks to a Bailey 14-yard run and then a Jaxen Smith 3-yard run.
Bailey made it 34-12 in the early stages of the fourth on a 6-yard run before O’Hara hit Austin Alexander for a 12-yard touchdown with 7:29 remaining to make it 34-20.
Widener finished the scoring with a 26-yard field goal to push the lead back to three possessions.
Outrushed 238-38 was too much to overcome.
“We were outsized today a little bit, the athleticism was there for them,” Borchers said. “We knew it was a good challenge coming in. They were able to bring pressure and get to Cam and rattle us offensively. Hats off to them, it’s more of what they did than we didn’t do.”
Cooper’s 14-1 season was the best showing in program history. They defeated semifinalist Highlands twice, 6A runner-up Ryle and 6A semifinalist Great Crossing along the way.
Combs was O’Hara’s top target, connecting seven times for 72 yards and a score. Johnson added five catches for 89 and a score, Campbell with three catches for 72 yards. Alexander snagged three catches for 29 yards and a score, adding a sack on defense. Running back Keagan Maher was limited to just two carries due to his injury suffered in the quarterfinals against Southwestern.
The defense was led by Max Wethington’s 13 tackles, Dax Bolen and Mike Mulvihill with 10 each. Alexander’s sack was the lone one on Bailey on the evening as the Jaguars finished with two tackles for loss compared to the Purples eight.
PURPLES 37, JAGUARS 20
BOWLING GREEN — 7-6-14-10 — 37
COOPER — 6-6-0-8 — 20
Scoring Plays
1st Quarter
(C) O’Hara 13-yard pass to Johnson (8:28) Kick failed
(BG) Bailey 2-yard run (4:14) Widener kick
2nd Quarter
(BG) Widener 41-yard FG (9:27)
(C) O’Hara 32-yard pass to Combs (8:44) Kick failed
(BG) Widener 31-yard FG (3:42)
3rd Quarter
(BG) Bailey 14-yard run (9:51) Widener kick
(BG) Smith 3-yard run (5:01) Widener kick
4th Quarter
(BG) Bailey 6-yard run (8:40) Widener kick
(C) O’Hara 12-yard pass to Alexander (7:29) O’Hara pass to Alexander
(BG) Widener 26-yard FG (3:34)
Game Stats
Passing Yards: Bowling Green 133 (Bailey 13/18, INT), Cooper 262 (O’Hara 18/27, 3 TD)
Rushing Yards: Bowling Green 238 (Graham 12-88, Smith 18-79, Bailey 11-74), Cooper 38 (Johnson 4-19, Campbell 2-15, Stanton 2-10, Maher 2-1)
Receiving: Bowling Green (Barber 7-99, Sween 2-16, Nottmeier 2-9, Smith 2-9), Cooper (Combs 7-72, Johnson 5-89, Campbell 3-72, Alexander 3-29)
Turnovers: Bowling Green 1, Cooper 2
Penalties: Bowling Green 7-63, Cooper 4-22
First Downs: Bowling Green 19, Cooper 20
Records: Bowling Green 13-2, Cooper 14-1