Abilene Cooper, Odessa High feast on big plays in football scrimmage
It was feast or famine for both Cooper and Odessa High on Thursday at Shotwell Stadium. Both football teams turned in some big plays, including a 70-yard interception return for a touchdown by the Bronchos during the game-like portion of the scrimmage.
“I thought we did some good stuff,” Cooper coach Aaron Roan said. “The good thing about a scrimmage, you get to see some things you need to work on. The transition and stuff between the quarters, we’ve got to do a better job of that.
“I thought our effort was good. We made some mistakes, as expected. Looking forward to the growth we’re going to make in a week’s time as prepare for Game 1 next week against Keller.”
After working on special teams to start the scrimmage, the teams traded punches in a controlled series where each time got the ball for 10 minutes at time.
Each team scored three times during that portion. OHS threw two long bombs for TDs, while Chris Warren threw two TD passes for Cooper – one to Jaylen Parker and another to Cameron Herron. Austin Cummins also threw a 60-yarder to Amante McGowan for another score.
More:Kickoff 2022: Abilene Cooper sets sights on district title, going deep in playoffs
It appeared Cooper had a fourth score when Daniel Bray ran 50 yards for a TD – only to see the TD called back because of a hold.
OHS, a Class 6A team, outscored Cooper 20-7 in the final segment, a timed controlled scrimmage much like an actual game.
The Bronchos returned a pick 70 yards for the first score, and Cooper answered with a 5-yard TD pass from Warren to Malik Jackson. It was set up by a nice catch by D’Andre Ralston to the OHS 11-yard line.
But Odessa got a 40-yard TD pass and 60-plus TD pass on a short throw to close out the scrimmage.
“We gave up a couple of big plays,” Roan said about his defense. “The dude made a really good catch (on one). He made a heck of a play. He’s a good receiver. We were in decent position. On another long run, I think our pursuit angles were not what they needed to be. Those are things we’ve got to fix.”
Yet other than the big plays, Cooper didn’t let the Bronchos sustain any long drives for the most part.
“Other than the big plays defensively, I thought we did some good stuff,” Roan said. “We really did.”
Of course, Cooper turned in its own big plays, and the Coogs were impressive in spreading the ball around to different receivers.
“We had some explosive plays. We pitched and caught the ball well,” Roan said.
The focus early on the season will be the play on the Coogs’ offensive and defensive lines. Roan was encouraged by what he saw on both sides, especially the offensive line.
“We’ve got to continue to work up front, but they did some good stuff (up front) at times,” Roan said. “They made some holes, and we moved the football. We’ve got to put all those things together and finish drives.”
Bray also was impressive running the ball and could compliment Mikei Flye, a returnee from last year, in the backfield.
“We’ve got to get experience in some spots, and we’ve got to do that in a hurry,” Roan said. “I thought our overall effort was good. I was really pleased with that. We got a chance to evaluate where we’re at going against another team in Odessa. I think they’ve got a good football team. I think we both got some good out of it.”
Cooper opens the season against Class 6A Keller at 7 p.m. Thursday at Shotwell Stadium.
Images:Abilene Cooper battles Odessa High in football scrimmage
This article originally appeared on Abilene Reporter-News: Abilene Cooper, Odessa High thrive on big plays in football scrimmage
