Friday, November 28, 1997

Cooper turns out to be pretty good on the road

By Lance Fleming / Abilene Reporter-News

The fourth-ranked Cooper Cougars hit Grand Prairie tonight with their mammoth band, siren squad, Cougarettes, smokin' and growlin' Cougar head and, oh yeah, a pretty good football team that has become a great road team.

This year's team is 6-1 on the road with the only blemish coming in a 20-3 loss at Amarillo High. Since that game, however, the Cougars have won five straight games away from Abilene, including two playoff games.

That record continues a trend that has seen the Cougars become real road warriors over the last six seasons -- which, not coincidentally -- have all been playoff seasons at Cooper.

Since the Cougars began their recent playoff run in 1992, they are a gaudy 27-13-1 on the road. They've won 10 District 4-5A road games in that span, as well as 10 playoff road games.

But, head coach Randy Allen said, it is not something he has really thought about.

"Maybe it's just the routine that we keep that helps the players adjust," he said. "Other than that, I haven't really thought about it. But sometimes when you get on a bus or a plane, it takes you away from all the distractions and allows you to concentrate on football."

Over the last six playoff seasons, the Cougars have played at the opponents home field six times and are an amazing 5-1 in those games. The only loss was a 42-39 thriller against Arlington High in 1994.

Other than that there have been wins over El Paso Riverside and El Paso Irvin (Sun Bowl), Lubbock Monterey and Lubbock Coronado (Lowrey Field) and El Paso Socorro.

"Our attitude is that we just have to win wherever we wind up playing," Allen said. "In the playoffs, you're not going to get all your games at home. You win the flips about half the time ... unless you're Cooper and you win them about one-third or one-quarter of the time.

"If you have your heart set on playing at home, more than likely you're going to be disappointed," he said. "Wherever the game is played, you have to play your best."

And with that in mind, here are the five best wins and five toughest losses for the Cougars on the road since 1992:

Best Wins

-- Cooper 24, Lake Highlands 21 (OT); 1996, state semifinals -- Cooper wins on Courtney Martin field goal to reach state title game.

-- Cooper 24, Odessa High 14; 1997, regular season finale -- Cougars knock off OHS to go 6-0 in 4-5A and win first title since 1979.

-- Cooper 17, Odessa Permian 14; 1997 regular season -- Peter Abrigg's field goal with seven seconds left gives Cooper first-ever win over Panthers at Ratliff Stadium.

-- Cooper 20, Amarillo High 14; 1996 bi-district -- "The Run" by Dominic Rhodes. Enough said.

-- Cooper 41, Haltom City 6; 1993 regional semifinals -- Randy Allen's first game coaching at Texas Stadium is a dominating performance.

Worst Losses

-- Austin Westlake 55, Cooper 15; 1996 state championship -- Eight turnovers doom Cooper.

-- Odessa Permian 31, Cooper 30; 1992 regular season -- Mike Rose stopped on 2-point conversion on last play of the game.

-- Arlington 42, Cooper 39; 1994 regional semifinals -- Eighteen-point hole too much for disappointed Cougars to overcome.

-- Odessa Permian 31, Cooper 16; 1994 regular season finale -- No. 1-ranked Cougars blow 16-10 halftime lead and lost 4-5A title in process.

-- Amarillo High 20, Cooper 17; 1992 bi-district playoffs -- Cooper dominates early, but big plays give Sandies the win.

This week's picks

Odessa High escaped against El Paso Franklin last week, while the Cougars rolled past El Paso Socorro.

Things get a little tougher for each this week as they head to the Metroplex.

Anyway, on to this week's picks:

-- Odessa High vs. Duncanville (Saturday): The Panthers have a lot more offense than the Bronchos, and that will be the difference. But it's been a nice playoff run for OHS. ... Duncanville 29, Odessa High 13.

-- Cooper at South Grand Prairie: The Warriors have loads of speed on offense and use it to make big play after big play. But the Cougars have done a pretty good job of limiting big plays on defense this year, and that will be a big key in this ballgame. SGP's defensive numbers aren't great, and right now Cooper's offense is clicking on all cylinders. This one could be high-scoring, but Cooper's been here before. ... Cooper 36, South Grand Prairie 26.

-- Last week: 2 right, 0 wrong (1.000 percentage). Season: 36 right, 14 wrong (.720 percentage).