CLASS 5A DIV II QUARTERFINAL

Cooper opened the game with a 10-play, 80-yard drive to take a 7-0 lead. Jordan Neal completed five of his seven passes on the drive for 51 yards and then scored on a 1-yard run to give the Cougars a 7-0 lead.  The Cougars put together a second 80-yard drive in the second quarter to extend its advantage to 14-0. The key play on the drive was a 31-yard pass from Neal to wide receiver Coby Mavroulis on third down when the Coogs needed nine yards for a first down.  CHS went on to score on a 5-yard pass from Neal to wide receiver Tony Cunningham to take a 14-0 lead.

Arlington Lamar got the ball at its own 29-yard line with 2:38 left in the first half.  The Vikings changed their approach and used an eight-play drive that covered 71 yards to score their first TD of the game.   Lamar’s first play on the drive was a 9-yard pass from David Sansalone to Sean Shields.  The Vikings went on to drive the ball all the way to Cooper’s 9-yard line. With eight seconds left in the half, Lamar faced 4th down and and two, so decided to go for it.  Willie Montgomery broke through the right side of the defense and carried the ball into the end zone to cut Cougars' lead to 14-7 at the half.

Lamar scored the first touchdown of the second half on a pass play. The Vikings completed just three passes in the first half before coming up with a big play after intermission.  Jeremy Wariner found an opening in the secondary, caught a pass from Sansalone and raced 43 yards for a touchdown that gave Lamar a 21-14 lead.  Cooper responded with an 8-yard touchdown pass from Neal to wide receiver Coby Mavroulis that tied the game at 21.

Lamar gave the ball to Montgomery three straight times in the first extra period. The last of those carries went 6 yards for a touchdown that
gave Lamar a 28-21 lead.  Cooper responded on its possession in overtime by giving the ball to Brandon Diles three straight times. Diles scored on a 7-yard  run to tie the game and force a second overtime.  CHS had the ball first, but stumbled on its first two plays of the period.  The Cougars were flagged for holding on the first play.  Lance Brotherton sacked Cougar quarterback Neal for a 7-yard loss on the next play.  Cooper needed 22 yards for a first down, but came up short when Neal threw a pair of incomplete passes to end the game.

Neal threw for 225 yards to lead the Cougars. Coby Mavroulis caught nine passes for 97 yards.

Abilene Cooper   7  7    0  7  7  0 — 28
Arlington Lamar  0  7  14  0  7  6 — 34

CHS — Jordan Neal 1 run (Brown kick)
CHS — Tony Cunningham 5 pass from Neal (Brown kick)
LHS — Montgomery 9 run (Kalvaites kick)
LHS — Sansalone 1 run (Kalvaites kick)
LHS — Wariner 43 pass from Sansalone (Kalvaites kick)
CHS — Coby Mavroulis 8 pass from Neal (Brown kick)
LHS — Montgomery 6 run (Kalvaites kick)
CHS — Brandon Diles 7 run (Brown kick)
LHS — Montgomery 19 run