Big games demand big plays, and Cooper’s stars delivered.
With 15 seconds left, running back Keagan Maher barreled in from three yards out to lift the Jaguars past Ryle, 20-13, in the Battle of Union on the Raiders’ home field.
“We call it a sweep play,” Maher said. “I told myself I have to score on this. I’ve got to help out my guys. It’s my senior year, we’ve got to win this crosstown rivalry.”
Maher’s score capped a night filled with clutch moments from Cooper playmakers. Quarterback Cam O’Hara engineered a composed final drive, Ryker Campbell jump-started the Jaguars with a 75-yard pick-six, and kicker Eyler Tibbs was perfect, drilling two field goals and both extra points.
“We’ve got the nucleus there, we’ve just had to put it all together,” Cooper head coach Randy Borchers said. “When the game got on the line tonight, Keagan came up big. And I still think we have the best quarterback in the state of Kentucky in Cam. He threw some really good passes. They put this game on their back.”
Ryle, ranked No. 3 in Class 6A after a 2-0 start, stumbled with mistakes that proved costly. The Raiders fumbled away the opening kickoff, threw the pick-six, lost another fumble, and were flagged for a crucial penalty on Cooper’s last drive that helped set up Maher’s winner. They finished with three turnovers and missed a two-point conversion.
“We didn’t play well,” Ryle head coach Mike Engler said. “We had turnovers in key situations, we threw a pick-six, we didn’t play well at all. I hope the lesson is that we got a little humbled tonight. I hope that our guys learned and make a positive out of it. Hats off to Cooper, they showed up and played well.”
Cooper had an answer every time Ryle tried to swing momentum. Tibbs opened the scoring with a first-quarter field goal, but Ryle went ahead 6-3 on a seven-yard touchdown run by Nathan Verax early in the second. Campbell quickly answered with his interception return to put the Jaguars back on top.
Campbell’s play symbolized the night for Cooper’s defense, which came through even when the offense sputtered.
“All the credit goes to our defense tonight, they played lights out,” Borchers said. “Ryle is a really good football team and to hold them to 13, our defense did a tremendous job.”
After Jacob Savage’s six-yard touchdown in the third quarter gave Ryle a 13-10 edge, Tibbs tied it with a 24-yarder before Maher eventually sealed the game in the final seconds.
The win was a needed boost for Cooper, which came in at 0-2 after losses to Anderson (OH) and Highlands.
“I don’t think people realize how good the teams we played before,” Maher said. “Anderson has a tough crowd and tough players, Highlands is always really good too. First two weeks we were trying to find our identity, but this week we started to find ourselves.”
O’Hara went 15-of-25 for 126 yards, Maher carried 21 times for 83 yards and the game-winning score, and Campbell added four catches for 41 yards in addition to his defensive touchdown.
For Ryle, the focus shifts to regrouping.
“We’ve got to take it and make it a positive,” Engler said. “If you sulk about it, it’s going to hurt down the road. You have to learn and get back.”
The Raiders, now 2-1, will stay home next week against Christian Academy-Louisville at 7:30 p.m. Cooper, now 1-2, begins a three-game homestand next week against Campbell County, also at 7:30 p.m.
More photos below, by Charles Bolton:
JAGUARS 20, RAIDERS 13
COOPER — 3-7-0-10— 20
RYLE — 0-6-7-0— 13
Scoring Plays
1st Quarter
(C) Tibbs 29-yard field goal (3:55)
2nd Quarter
(R) Verax 7-yard run (10:24) Pass failed
(C) Campbell 75-yard interception return (10:24) Tibbs kick
3rd Quarter
(R) Savage 6-yard run (5:51) Moses kick
4th Quarter
(C) Tibbs 24-yard field goal (6:30)
(C) Maher 3-yard run (0:15) Tibbs kick