Mr. Sixer

It may take a while to get them back in the groove, but Cooper will now get there 7-8 football players back on the basketball team now that the Jags football team finished runner-up in their state championship game. The 9th Region will be incredibly strong with Newport, Cooper, CCH, Lloyd along with a few others trying to navigate the NKY gauntlet. Going to be fun to watch!

Well said! It’s tough to make the finals to begin with and all of them should be extremely proud whether they are champions or runner-ups. Some teams, like Cooper for instance arrived a year early and, like several others, return most or significant portions their teams and could, like MANY OTHERS, could be in the hunt next year. Kentucky is blessed with some talented players and excellent coaching staffs and while many can pound their chests and “scream” that “this team or that team” is winning it next year, remember this: The games will be played on the field and they will be won or lost there. I sure there were the same “predictions” at the end of last season too that flat out didn’t materialize this year! I’m happy to sit back and enjoy the great football in the state of Kentucky as it “plays” itself out on the field ?

Well said! The best post of the thread.

Congrats to the Purples. Clearly had the advantage of playing multiple times in the state finals and that experience mattered. Cooper knew going in that BG had some great playmakers and they had a huge challenge trying to contain them. Cooper had several chances in the 2nd half but just couldn’t capitalize on the turnovers they forced as the BG defensive pressure caused huge problems. Congratulations to Cooper as well. What they achieved after their shootout loss with Highlands earlier in the year then beating them in the rematch was truly incredible. The Jags should hold their heads high as everyone knew this team was very young only playing 3 seniors all year, well 4 if you count the kicker, and they would be much better next season. Yet the young Jags clearly overachieved and arrived a year ahead of schedule. The future is bright on Longbranch Great seasons for both these teams and I look forward to them both challenging for the crown next season.

Spot on! The 2012 experience was not the best for Cooper having to sit in a WKU campus rec center for what seemed like nearly 2 hours before having to walk over to the stadium, rushed into a locker room to hurry up and change to get on to the field. Being at UK is a huge plus and the timing will be better planned. Good luck to the Jags as well as CCH tomorrow!

If that was point that was being made I missed it. I took it to mean that said D1 players were not better than anyone else on the field and that's not correct. You are correct, there are excellent and D1 players on BOTH teams which to me means that the post wasn't necessary at all. Benke, Alexander and many others are flat out studs. Again, no big deal. I am just pleased that college coaches are finally understanding that NKY has exceptional talent just like Cincinnati, Lexington and Louisville! Hoping that trend continues.

Uh ok? As a point a reference, #3 was not the smallest player on the field, #21 in white was and had a real good game as well. As for your “I didn’t see anyone on the field that looked that much better than anyone else” comment, well you must have been getting popcorn when those D1 players were making plays. Doesn’t matter I guess, there are about 25 FBS Schools, including several P5’s, that beg to differ with your assessment. HHS will always have top talent as great progams always do. Cooper has arrived a year early as nearly everyone thought they might be a year away from potentially reaching this level. The one clear cut reason for their performance in this game is that the Jags were “battle tested” having to go in the road to beat Scott Co., Southwestern and now #1 HHS in 5A. There were no running clock games, no games to rest the starters, just pure grinding it out to come out on top. NKY is blessed with great football and I am hoping both Cooper and CCH bring home Championship Trophies!

I was thinking the exact same thing ?? The Jags will just line up and do what they do regardless of all the “Experts” predictions. Sounds like some didn’t learn from the previous 3 weeks.

This will look good in the Cooper Trophy case! Huge win and quite possibly the biggest in school history! Hopefully they’ll top it with a win next week!

And they are young!! Cooper only plays 4 seniors and one of them is the kicker!! But that’s for next year’s thread! Right now the players and coaches will celebrate for a few hours and get right back to work tomorrow morning for the trip to Lexington!! Congrats Jags! Been doubted every game of the playoffs! It’s not about proving others wrong, it’s about proving yourselves RIGHT!! BRING IT BACK TO NKY!!

No 2nd! 2012! This will be a rematch with BG.

Oh yes someone please check on them!!! All the great predictions of steak, cake and crème brule ???????? Somehow the Jags missed the memo ?‍?

A funny thing happened in FT tonight ????Looks like Cooper didn’t get the memo they were supposed to lose ??❤️

Elizabethtown

All knee pads were clearly in but the refs clearly didn’t like them riding up above the knees. Normally, most refs will warn the coaches BEFORE the game even starts. This crew was clearly out to make a statement that’s for sure. As someone stated earlier, the Cooper players were taping their pants down so they didn’t ride up and they didn’t seem to have a problem after that. It was a wild scene to start the first drive for both teams. Players being told to leave the field left and right.

I wonder if @Brown @barrel @Red Heat still have their same opinions of Cooper? Wouldn’t score 40, Backend was better than the Cooper receiving core and Cooper didn’t have a signature win and they’d get blown out. Sometimes you just have to play the game.

Top 3-4 but not the best. The year they went to the state finals, which I think was 2012, every playoff game was on the road so there were some big wins that year. The 2014 Regional final team had some big wins as well. All in all this was a HUGE win against a powerhouse team who doesn’t lose often. Excellent game plan by the Jags on offense and defense and heard from one of the coaches that their scout team did a tremendous job trying to simulate the SC offense. Sure it wasn’t to perfection but looks like they gave a decent look to help prepare. Good luck and continue to be Road Warriors next week Jags!!

Soooooo many thought the Jags would get blown out!! Silenced a ton of folks who did nothing but look at the score from LAST YEAR which meant absolutely NOTHING!!. This is a totally different team who has done nothing but continued to work and get better! You don’t anyone to believe in you but yourselves! This is a dangerous team and my hope is everyone outside of Union keep doubting them! Let’s go Jags!

Bout the same as your LexCath result.

Point taken, but the 555 yards passing looking pretty good though ?

Huh? Not sure what point you are making here but I would love to understand your analysis because Cooper's passing yard avg/game is significantly more that Boyle's and there's is really good as well. Maybe you can elaborate?

All I know is this, two very good teams will line up and play hard but only one of them will be playing with ZERO pressure and that is Cooper. Nearly every prognosticator won’t give the Jags much of a chance and many are using last year’s game as a litmus test. However, in watching the Jags over the last several weeks after the Highlands shootout, this team is playing different in that they’ve continued to get better. Cooper is going to show up, play loose on offense and fly around on defense and let the chips fall where they may because as I stated earlier, they have zero pressure and not very many outside of Union are giving them much of a chance and I’m sure they wouldn’t have it any other way.

There are some young and inspiring coordinators in the area that I hope get some strong consideration to fill this job. The way they are structuring the program by not starting out with varsity provides an opportunity to choose someone who hasn’t been a HC in the past. Good luck to whomever gets it.

EXCELLENT CHOICE!!! What that program has done in one single year is impressive!!

Could not be more happier for Isaiah receiving his first offer! He’s worked extremely hard at a position that he didn’t grow up playing! He’s been virtually unguardable unless he’s double teamed! Blessed with being 6’3” and 11” hands makes it’s easy to see why he’s the #1 Wr in the State. He’ll play a huge role in helping the Jags advance in the playoffs. He’ll only get better over the next year and wishing him continued success as more colleges begin to understand how much of an asset he will bring to any program!