When walking off Cooper’s football field and to the exit up the steps, a couple of Dunkin’ Donuts were leftover at the exit gate.
Cooper added one on the scoreboard Friday night.
The Jaguars shut out Ryle in the Battle of Union 11-0, claiming their third straight matchup in the two schools separated by less than four miles.
Cooper can thank their defense for the victory, forcing five turnovers and holding the Raiders to 45 total yards on the night. Ryle had multiple possessions that even started on Cooper’s side of the field, but were never able to punch it in for momentum.
“Defense played phenomenal,” Jaguars coach Adam Begley said. “Coaching staff got them prepared this week. Our scout team gave them good looks all week.”
Carson Clark did the dirty work in the first half, registering three sacks and constantly putting Ryle behind the chains. The Jaguars had nine tackles for loss in total.
“Our defense was locked in all game,” Clark said. “It was great. Feels amazing to beat these guys three straight years. In youth football we never beat them, so it’s actually nice to beat them when it matters.”
Corey Freihofer gets the Jaguar sticker in the second half. In the lone scoring drive of the game that resulted in a touchdown, the Jaguars went Wildcat with Freihofer. The result was a 10-play, 72-yard drive in which Cooper ate up six minutes of the clock and ended with a Lincoln Maxey 17-yard scoring run. Freihofer carried the ball five times for 47 yards on the drive, including two critical fourth down conversions.
“That drive was a big deciding factor for the game and I knew I had the trust in my own line that they’d opened some holes for me to run and the other backs to run, so it worked out,” Freihofer said.
It was evident who controlled the line of scrimmage not only on that drive, but the entire game.
Cooper finished with 197 rushing yards to Ryle’s 29. Kody Meyer was the Jags leading rusher with 93 yards. Freihofer had 51, Maxey with 41.
Ryle squandered two golden opportunities to open the second half before Cooper’s long scoring drive. Their first possession started at the Cooper 33 and resulted in a Kevin Buanga interception in the end zone. The second drive at the Cooper 16 and resulting in a fumble recovered by Christian Inabnit.
That was the second and third Ryle turnovers on the night. Two more intercpetions in the fourth sealed it for the Jaguars.
“We preached for all week the more disciplined team is going to be the victory team,” Begley said. “Discipline is staying in our lanes, doing our job, staying in their gaps and not trying to do too much. The credit goes to the players, played their butts off and the coaching staff did a phenomenal job with them.”
Cooper improved to 2-1 with the victory, their first points coming from a Cole Ewing 31-yard field goal in the first quarter.
“He’s a soccer player. First year being out here, he stepped up,” Begley said. “He hasn’t missed a PAT. He hasn’t missed a field goal. A couple successful onside kicks for being a first-year player, that’s just phenomenal. For him to walk on the field in a big rivalry and do that is just great.”
Ryle dropped to 1-2 with the loss. Coach Mike Engler declined to comment after the game.
JAGUARS 11, RAIDERS 0
RYLE — 0-0-0-0 — 0
COOPER — 3-0-0-8 — 11
Scoring Plays
1st Quarter
(C) Ewing 31-yard FG (3:26)
4th Quarter
(C) Maxey 17-yard run (11:13) Freihofer run
Records: Ryle 1-2, Cooper 2-1
