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By Terry Boehmker
NKyTribune sports reporter
Cooper senior quarterback Nathan Brown provided the offensive spark in the second half that his team needed to defeat Ryle, 27-21, in a Class 6A district game on Friday, but his younger brother actually made the biggest play of the night.
After Ryle scored a touchdown to tie the score at 14-14 with less than eight minutes left in the fourth quarter, sophomore Byron Brown returned the ensuing kickoff 80 yards for a touchdown to put the Jaguars back in control.
“That was huge,” Cooper coach Randy Borchers said. “They scored to tie it and really kind of got the momentum. But that (return) gave us back the lead and we feel pretty confident in our defense once we get a lead like that.”
Nathan Brown threw a 17-yard touchdown pass to junior wide receiver Dante Hendrix to extend Cooper’s lead to 27-14 with 5:34 remaining. Ryle managed to score a touchdown with eight seconds left, but Cooper handled the onside kick to seal the victory.
It was Ryle’s first loss of the season after a 6-0 start. Cooper’s record is now 6-2. If the Jaguars win next week’s district game against Conner they’ll be at home for the first round of the playoffs.
Neither team scored a touchdown in the first half of Friday’s game so offensive adjustments were being made in both locker rooms during the halftime break. The changes Cooper’s coaches made worked so well that the Jaguars put the ball in the end zone on their first two possessions in the third quarter behind the passing and running of Nathan Brown.
“We walked in at halftime and decided we needed to make some changes and just got it together and picked it up,” Brown said. “They were little changes, but they made a big difference. We just figured out what they were doing on defense and the way we needed to block them.”
On the first possession of the third quarter, Brown threw a 34-yard pass to junior Dante Hendrix that moved the ball on the 4-yard line. Junior running back Jaden Jackson crossed the goal line on the next play to give Cooper a 7-3 lead.
After Ryle freshman place kicker Mason Molique’s 36-yard field goal made it a one-point game, Cooper put together a 75-yard touchdown drive. The key play in that series was a diving catch by Hendrix on a 47-yard pass from Brown. The quarterback capped it off with a 1-yard dive into the end zone.
On the next play from scrimmage, Ryle wide receiver Bryce Ashley caught a pass from Tanner Morgan and broke free for a big gain. But he fumbled the ball as he was tackled and Cooper recovered it.
The Raiders did manage to tie the score with a 52-yard drive on their next possession. After sophomore running back Jacob Chisholm’s 3-yard touchdown run, tight end Jake Long caught a pass from Tanner Morgan for a two-point conversion that made it 14-14.
But the 80-yard kickoff return by Byron Brown put the home team back on top. He caught the ball on the run and zipped down the sideline without being touched.
“I caught it and I didn’t know where I was going until I saw a seam on the outside and I just hit it,” he said. “I was afraid somebody behind me was going to jump on me, but they didn’t. It was just exciting.”
After Cooper scored again to take a 27-15 lead, Ryle fumbled the ball at the end of a long kickoff return to commit another costly turnover.
“We fumbled the ball on two big plays,” said Ryle coach Mike Engler. “You can’t make mistakes like that and beat a good football team, especially on big plays. I thought our guys played hard, but we just made some mistakes at key times.”
Ryle finished with 314 total yards and Ryle had 190. The two quarterbacks were the offensive leaders. Nathan Brown completed 13 of 21 passes for 220 yards. Morgan was 19-of-27 for 132 yards.
Hendrix had eight catches for 153 yards. The Jaguars’ leading rushers were Brown with 58 yards on 11 carries and Jackson with 48 yards on 22 carries. Jackson replaced senior tailback Torrey Cordell-Armstrong, who injured his leg in the first quarter and did not return.
RYLE 3 0 3 15 – 21
COOPER 0 0 14 13 – 27
R – Molique 25 FG
C – Jackson 4 run (Hollifield kick)
R – Molique 36 FG
C – N. Brown 1 run (Hollifield kick)
R – Chisholm 3 run (Long pass from Morgan)
C – B. Brown 80 kickoff return (Hollifield kick)
C – Hendrix 17 pass from N. Brown (kick blocked)
R – Pagliano 17 pass from Morgan (Molique kick)
RECORDS: Cooper 6-2, Ryle 6-1
Correction on Ryle score breakdown. Fourth Qtr. Ryle score by Pogliano, and the conversion was GOOD by Molique. Did not fail the conversion attempt. 15 Pts would not add up otherwise. TD by Chisolm, then 2 pt conversion by Long. TD by Pogliano, Molique conversion (15 Pts) 4th Qtr scoring.