Wednesday, October 22, 1997

Eagles have to beat one of 'Big 3' to gain playoffs

By LANCE FLEMING / Staff Writer

One reason it is so hard for one of District 4-5A's non-"Big Three" teams to make the playoffs is because those hopes usually rest on beating either Odessa Permian, Midland Lee or Cooper.

But that is exactly the predicament the Abilene Eagles face in the last three weeks. More than likely they have to beat both Lee and Permian in their final two games to reach the postseason for the first time since 1959.

They will definitely have to beat one of the two, but there are two scenarios in which a 3-3 finish could give the Eagles a playoff berth (see 4-5A roundup on Page 3B for those scenarios). They will get their first chance Friday night when they play Midland Lee at Memorial Stadium in Midland.

Cooper, meanwhile, is worried only about continuing on its path toward its first outright district title since 1979. The sixth-ranked Cougars took a giant step toward that goal Friday night when they knocked off Permian, 17-14, at Ratliff Stadium on Peter Abrigg's 39-yard field goal with four seconds left in the game.

The Cougars (6-1) will play host to Midland High this week at Shotwell Stadium before going to San Angelo Central next week and then closing out the regular-season schedule with a big game at Odessa High.

Abilene High (5-2) put itself in a bind with last Friday night's 21-14 loss to Odessa High. The Eagles lost five fumbles -- including once inside the 5-yard line and once in the end zone -- leading directly to 14 of Odessa's 21 points. They also had a pair of touchdowns called back because of penalties.

"Turnovers, turnovers, turnovers," AHS head coach Steve Warren said. "It was really frustrating when you go from not turning it over at all the week before to turning it over six times Friday night. The most frustrating thing is that two of them gave them 14 points. And then we had 14 points taken off our board."

Now the Eagles face the daunting task of beating either Lee or Permian to reach the playoffs. And beating those two in the same season is something the Eagles haven't done since 1962 when they beat Lee 27-6 and Permian 28-6.

They haven't beaten Midland Lee since 1986 (6-3) and haven't beaten Permian since 1964 (18-6).

"We've backed ourselves into a corner, but we think we're up to the challenge," Warren said of the Eagles. "If we take care of our business, we'll be fine. We're lucky to still be alive and kicking."

It was kicking that gave the Cougars their victory last week over Permian.

Abrigg's field goal -- his third of the game -- gave the Cougars back-to-back wins over the Panthers for the first time since 1966-67. And it also gave the Cougars their first-ever win over Permian in Ratliff Stadium, and their first win over Permian in Odessa since a 21-7 win at Barrett Stadium in 1969.

"I didn't tell our players before the game, but it had been a long time since we beat Permian in Odessa," Cooper head coach Randy Allen said. "If you haven't done something in a long time, there's going to be a mental block. But to go out there, take their best shot and still beat them is a big confidence builder."

Last year the Cougars reeled off eight straight wins after beating Permian and reached the state championship game. Allen said he thinks Friday's win can give his team the same shot of confidence.

"As far as momentum and confidence go, that win will really help us and could have the same effect," he said. "When you beat Lee and Permian back-to-back, it gives you confidence that you can beat anybody."