Cooper 35 Boone County 7

[futurecoach]

It was a forward pass. QB scrambled back about 10 yards and threw to the receiver who was closer to the line of scrimmage, yet still behind it. @futurecoach is probably correct.

 

It's the same concept as a normal screen pass. Lineman can be down field on screens as long as the back catches it behind the line.

[oldgrappler]

Good job by the Jags. Not gonna lie...I thought this one might be closer than this.

 

It actually was a close game until 9:00 remaining in the fourth quarter.

 

The first quarter ended 0-0.

 

Boone managed a couple of first downs to start the second quarter but stalled out and punted. Cooper couldn't generate an offense and punted. Boone likewise stalled out and punted from their own end zone.

 

Cooper took over at their 40 yard line and Witschey ripped off a 30 yrd run. He followed up with a 10 yard jaunt for the TD leaping a pile of players on the way.

 

Cooper up 6-0.

 

The ensuing kick-off went out of bounds and so they moved it back 5 yards and tried again. This time the kicker kicked the ball straight at an unsuspecting Boone player on the front line. It bounced off of him and Cooper got the ball at their 45 yrd. line. With just over 2 minutes remaining in the half, on second and 20, Lee takes the snap and goes to his left in an apparent option play. Boone covered the option back and was bearing down on the QB who reversed field and just before he got his and driven into the turf, he managed to spot a RB standing by himself along the sideline. He threw the ball to him and the back went 68 yards for the score. The 2-point conversion was good.

 

Cooper 14-0.

 

Boone gets the ball back with not much time remaining. They manage to march down the field with a combination of out patterns and long runs by the QB Zac Grau. They aren't called plays, he just took off running when pressured. At the ten, Grau spiked the ball to stop the clock. After taking a sack at the 15 yrd line, Boone lined up and Grau spiked the ball to stop the clock. After 2 incomplete passes, Grau again scrambled to the 4 yrd line. There were 2.6 seconds on the clock. Then 'm not sure what happened.

 

I think the refs called a referee timeout to make sure he got the first down. Boone's team was trying to scramble up to the LOS to spike the ball but the refs forced them to back off. After conferring they indicated the teams should line up. Boone got in position. When the clock was restarted, Grau spiked the ball with 0.6 seconds remaining.

 

Boone lined up and when the clock restarted hiked the ball and Jantje Wingo ran from his right all the way across the field in a Jet Sweep. Four Cooper players moved up and were in position to make the tackle. Chris Miller was left alone in the back of the end zone and Wingo lofted a pass that looped up and floated into Miller's arms. Xpt good! That was a much needed shot in the arm going into halftime for Boone.

 

Halftime Cooper 14, Boone Co 7

 

The third quarter was back and forth and no score. The second half remained scoreless until 9 minutes remaining in the fourth quarter. Boone was suffering from poor field position all quarter. They didn't field punts and got backed up to their own end zone twice. Cooper started a drive at Boone's 35 or so and couldn't get 10 yards. Boone couldn't move the ball after taking over on downs and ended up punting from their own 20. The punt hit on the Boone 40 and rolled backward. Cooper took over on Boone's 33 yard line. After a personal foul on a late hit, Cooper had the ball on Boone's 15 yrd line. On 3rd and 10 Lee threw into the right side f the end zone. The Boone DB got his hands on the ball but it was batted away by a Cooper receiver. On 4th and 10 Lee found Schlarmann over the middle for the TD.

 

Cooper 21-7.

 

Cooper did a pooch kick to the Boone 30 and recovered the ball. On the first play from scrimmage, Lee hit Armor over the middle for a TD.

 

Cooper 28-7.

 

Boone took the ball after the kick-off and could not generate a first down. Punt went to the 50 yrd line.

 

Lee took the snap and ran to his left intending to pitch to Witschey. Lee got blasted by a LB but managed to toss the ball. It looked like it was a lateral and Boone recovered. It was a close call. It was ruled an incomplete pass. Second down. On second down, Lee tossed the ball down the right sideline to an open receiver who got behind the DB by 5 yards. I didn't care for the prancing as he crossed the goal line.

 

Cooper 35 Boone Co 7 was the final.

 

Somehow, Cooper scored 21 points in the last 9 minutes of the game. Up until then, it was a close game. How Boone failed to score more than 7 points against this defense is a mystery to me. Boone had lots of dropped passes in this game. Most of them were unforced. Couple that with bad field position and the inability to cover Cooper receivers in the 4th quarter and you have a lopsided score that shouldn't have been that way and doesn't reflect the parity between these teams. Cooper gets the edge with quickness.

[John Anthony]

Not sure Boone will ever recover.

[oldgrappler]

Yes lineman can be down field as long as the pass it behind the line of scrimmage. Which is why it got overturned.

 

One thing I have never seen before was a play I believe in the 3rd quarter. Cooper threw a simple 5 yard hitch on the sideline on 4th down. The Ref on the sideline which was 2 yards from the play spotted the ball to where it would be a first down. However the ref all the way on the other sideline came running over and overruled him and moved the ball back one yard and so it ended up not being a first down. I have never seen anything like that happen before while sitting in the stands. A ref literally from the other sideline overruled the sideline ref who was 2 yards away from the play on the spot.

 

Looking at the film, they got the call right. I don't know which ref made the call, but it ended up correctly. The kid was short of the first down marker and Boone took over on downs.

[footballlife360]

This Cooper team is very young. However, we are starting to see what the future holds. Many juniors, sophomores, and yes freshman. Lee is a player and is improving every week. His competitiveness and fire are hopefully contagious. The truth is there are about 4 other freshman that have the fire as well. They will be a great addition to this squad.

 

There is work to be done. Time will fix youth, players need to bring the fire and coaching brings the plan. In two years Cooper will be a force in NKY and possibly beyond.

[oldgrappler]

@Pioneer.Pride, You asked this question in the prediction thread and it closed before I could answer:

"OG, is there any reason for optimism in the Boone youth program for the future? Is Coach Steel and staff investing for the future?"

 

I don't know enough about the new youth league that has come out of the former BCPWFL. I think it has gone to an alignment with the particular high school where the kids live. They now play other competition around NKY. This goes up through 8th grade. This may be a positive move but I don't know if the middle school-aged team tries to follow Boone's offensive and defensive system. And I don't know if Boone's head coach has any input into what is happening at that level. Neither do I know if there is any communication between the Pee Wee coaches and the high school. So I can't answer your question about Coach Steele and his involvement in the youth league.

 

Regarding hope for the future: the Boone freshman class has talent in the skill positions and on the line. They are competitive with the other freshman teams in the area winning their fair share. I don't know the record but I've watched some of the games.