By Terry Boehmker
NKyTribune sports reporter
Running the football was a problem in both of Cooper’s losses this season. The Jaguars knew they couldn’t let that happen again on Friday when they visited Conner for a Class 5A district seeding game.
“We just wanted to be able to come out and pound the ball and obviously we did that,” Cooper sophomore tailback Keegan Maher said of the solid rushing attack that carried his team to a 41-7 victory.
The Jaguars rushed for 269 of their 419 total yards. Maher led the way with 154 yards on 20 carries and scored three of his team’s four rushing touchdowns in the first half.
Cooper’s second leading rusher was sophomore quarterback Cam O’Hara, who picked up 96 yards on nine carries to go along with his 150 passing yards.
“My line up front just made it so much easier for me,” said Maher, who averaged just 46 rushing yards in his team’s first six games. “They were just giving me big holes and allowed me to do my thing.”
Limiting Conner to one touchdown and less than 200 total yards gave Cooper’s defensive players something to smile about after they allowed 58 points and 659 yards in last week’s loss at home to district rival Highlands.
During the first half, Conner’s offense wasn’t able to get a first down on four consecutive possessions. That’s when Cooper ran off 28 straight points to take control of the game.
“Defensively, we pride ourselves on stopping people and this week we were able to do that,” said Cooper senior linebacker Jack Lonaker. “So this was a really big win for us. It really made us happy.”
Conner’s defensive unit had a major setback in the first quarter when senior linebacker Ben Fay injured his left knee and was taken off the field on a golf cart. He spent the rest of the game on crutches watching from the sideline.
Cooper scored its first three touchdowns on drives of 63, 48 and 55 yards. O’Hara kept the first two drives alive by running for first downs on passing plays when he couldn’t find an open receiver.
“We’ve been on him for two years now saying, ‘You’ve got to be able to run the ball, you’ve got to keep teams honest,'” Cooper coach Randy Borchers said of O’Hara.
“He had a couple of big runs for us tonight and a couple of scrambles. If we can get that from him, it’s going to take our offense to a different level,” Borchers added.
Cooper’s fourth touchdown came on a 40-yard run by Maher and Carson Taylor kicked the extra point to make it 28-0 at halftime. The Jaguars opened the third quarter with a 76-yard scoring drive that ended with their first passing touchdown of the game.
On a third-down play from the 50-yard line, O’Hara threw a pass to junior Austin Alexander along the sideline. Alexander tipped the ball in the air, pulled it down and had an open field to the end zone.
Conner scored another unusual touchdown on its next possession. On a first-down play from the 4-yard line, sophomore running back Cordion Abernathy fumbled the ball, but junior quarterback Wyatt Hatfield scooped it up and took it into the end zone.
Cooper responded with a 77-yard scoring drive that ended with a 12-yard pass from O’Hara to Alexander and an extra point by Taylor that gave the visitors a 41-7 victory margin.
“We preach all the time that we’ve got to continue to get better and play our best ball by the end of the season,” said coach Borchers. “I think this was our best team win we’ve had so far this year.”
After Friday’s second round of Class 5A district seeding games, Highlands is 2-0 and Boone County is 0-2. The other four teams — Cooper, Conner, Dixie Heights and Scott — are all 1-1. The top four teams in the final district standings will advance to the playoffs.
COOPER 7 21 6 7 — 41
CONNER 0 0 7 0 — 7
COO — Campbell 4 run (Taylor kick)
COO — Maher 2 run (Taylor kick)
COO — Maher 17 run (Taylor kick)
COO — Maher 40 run (Taylor kick)
COO — Alexander 50 pass from O’Hara (run failed)
CON — Hatfield 3 fumble return (Herron kick)
COO — Alexander 12 pass from O’Hara (Taylor kick)
RECORDS — Cooper 5-2, 1-1; Conner 4-3, 1-1.
High school football scoreboard
FRIDAY
District seeding games
Beechwood 53, Walton-Verona 3
Highlands 51, Dixie Heights 21
Scott 40, Boone County 34
Cooper 41, Conner 7
Covington Catholic 56, Grant County 6
Mason County 52, Holmes 0
Non-district games
Ludlow 56, Bellevue 12
Holy Cross 14, Morgan County 8
Paris 41, Brossart 3
Louisville St. Xavier 56, Ryle 35