KingOfClutch33

Cooper JV struggled a little bit to get anything going in this game. Started a freshman QB in his first game and e was nervous you could tell. I bet Highlands scored 21 off turnovers from Cooper if not more. Highlands looked pretty good, Cooper will get better each game which is what you want from the young JV guys!!

Ha ha this is one of my favorite things to read every year. Cooper watering down the field is absolutely hilarious to me!

I think this will be a good game but I think the Jags have a few more weapons and NewCath plays a lot of kids both ways also. Too much Hendrix, Jackson, and Schlarman.

What is your reasoning behind thinking NCC will pour it on Cooper? Just curious. Do you think NCC is better than Highlands?

Like someone mentioned, everyone on here that is complaining about how many kids Cooper is playing both ways should really think before they post. In the past 5 years Cooper has had as much success as most schools in this area, and Borchers is easily one of the best coaches in the area. No one see's what he and his coaches see at practice. None of them know anything about the effort, attitude, talent, that every player on the team has. Same story every year and Borchers and staff always seem to figure it out! And I would say that quite a few players played in this game. Cooper had 3 players go out that didn't return who were starters and at least 4 or 5 more that missed a few plays where younger kids had to come in. With all of that Cooper still had an opportunity to win the game! Parents will always find something to gripe about no matter what is happening with a program. But then again, none of those parents are willing to get out there and put the time in to coach. Whenever you lose a class the year before of about 22 kids and most of them played, then obviously you are counting on quite a few players with little varsity experience. Cooper has sophomores playing this year as well. So I would say they are doing just fine developing kids. It was humid Friday and Highlands was smart to go no huddle, especially after Cooper's little bit of depth started to get injured. Smart game plan on their part. We need to remember that turnovers were what won/lost this game. Cooper face Highlands a TD while up 15 in the 2nd. If they take care of the ball it could have been a Cooper W. We will never know. At the end of the day it is one game and I am sure both teams have moved on already! Congrats to Highlands on the win, and good luck the rest of the way! For Cooper, get back to work and get ready for Friday night!

I disagree. I honestly think if he kept his head up he would have gotten ejected from the game for helmet to helmet contact! The WR was at least 4 inches smaller and he lowered his head and led with his shoulder so it wasn't helmet to helmet. Not to mention that picture is a tad misleading with the WR helmet because it was a hit he wasn't expecting so even if there was no contact to his helmet his head would still whip lash like it is in the picture! Anyone that knows Dante knows it wasn't him trying to make a excessive play.

Any updates?

Should be a good crowd if all of the folks from the art fair mosey over to the stadium for a beautiful night of high school football. According to the weather it is supposed to be anywhere from 78-82 at kickoff with only a 10% chance of rain. Sounds like a beautiful night for week 0!!! Good luck to both teams tonight and hope they both stay injury free and both teams play amazing! Just hope the JAGS play a slight bit more amazing!

This site is definitely one of the best that I have seen, but for the NKY area @NKYSports does a pretty decent job as well

I actually completely disagree and know of many D1 coaches who have "recommended" that student's do not another sport to risk injury. Same as the All-Star game in the summer. That is why most D1 players skip the All-Star game. The coach definitely does not demand they don't play but highly encourage not to. Then it is up to the athlete and family. Dante currently has an offer from Indiana State and is actively being recruited by Western Kentucky, Eastern Kentucky, Ohio, Purdue, and one of the Michigans (Either Eastern or Central I think) can't remember which one

I think that the Independence area is much like the Union area. Those two places seem to be blossoming and building houses and businesses left and right. I have heard that Cooper should be above 2,000 students by 2019 school year. I know they are building three new subdivisions that they have broken ground on around the Cooper area, and so numbers should continue to increase and it seems like the same can be said for Independence. Every time I go to SK it seems like they are building something new! Ha ha.

Cooper Freshman have a lot of young men out. I believe at last glance I counted 43 on their roster which is pretty good size for a Freshman team. This is also Cooper's biggest Freshman class ever, I think, and so the numbers do not totally surprise me. They have quite a bit of skill players that are really talented and a few lineman with pretty good size. Sorry I don't know names yet but I do know they have a talented QB, two good RB's, and a good WR off the top of my head.

I sort of feel bad for the young man. I know there were other schools that he was looking at to potentially go to where he would see a lot more action at WR. From someone in the know, but I have not confirmed nor will I try to confirm, so take it for what it is worth, it was mom's decision for him to go to Highlands. Even though he may not get a ton of playing time at Highlands, he will get a quality education this year and that is also important. Good luck to him and the Bluebirds, except for tonight!! Lol

For Cooper, I think they are definitely in the Top 10, and should be a little higher. The problem is that I am not sure who I would place them ahead of. On paper, I think Cooper is more talented this year than CovCath but they are really well coached and always are at the top of the 9th so I can see why they don't get ranked ahead of the Colonels. The big question mark for this season will be Dante Hendrix. The best on ball defender in the region and always one of the top athletes on the floor no matter who they are playing. If he signs D1 football, I feel like he may not play basketball this year as those coaches will not want to risk injury. With him, I think Cooper is top 8, with the only issue on the team this year looking like it will be a solid, big post player. They have 5 kids, with Hendrix that can really space the floor and get after you with Kunkel, both McNeils, and Runion.

That is good news. Hopefully both teams remain this way through Friday. Looking forward to a good matchup and my first visit to watch Cooper at the Fort!!!

That is good news. Hopefully both teams remain this way through Friday. Looking forward to a good matchup and my first visit to watch Cooper at the Fort!!!

I noticed on Friday at the scrimmage with St. X that #3 and #24 I believe both left the game early. Not sure on #3 but #24 looked to hurt an ankle or knee. Are they both going to be healthy and good to go Friday? Was it more precautionary or were they legit injuries? From the stands it looked like #3 could have been concussion related. He was sitting with his helmet off staring into space while the trainer spoke to him. I do agree that the Birds will have to do a better job establishing the run game than they did last year. I think last year a lot of teams struggled to run on Cooper's D-Line so I would expect them to try this year with a few new faces up front. On the flip side I think Cooper has to establish their ground game as well. Jackson and Schlarman have to get involved early and often to take some of the pressure off of the new QB and Hendrix. I think Cooper could get into some trouble if they are relying on Hendrix to bail them out often!

I noticed on Friday at the scrimmage with St. X that #3 and #24 I believe both left the game early. Not sure on #3 but #24 looked to hurt an ankle or knee. Are they both going to be healthy and good to go Friday? Was it more precautionary or were they legit injuries? From the stands it looked like #3 could have been concussion related. He was sitting with his helmet off staring into space while the trainer spoke to him. I do agree that the Birds will have to do a better job establishing the run game than they did last year. I think last year a lot of teams struggled to run on Cooper's D-Line so I would expect them to try this year with a few new faces up front. On the flip side I think Cooper has to establish their ground game as well. Jackson and Schlarman have to get involved early and often to take some of the pressure off of the new QB and Hendrix. I think Cooper could get into some trouble if they are relying on Hendrix to bail them out often!

Jackson did not play in the scrimmage but I would assume he will be playing in the game Friday. Have not heard otherwise and I do believe that they are related. Justin Schlarman is a beast for Cooper. He is only the second freshman to over start a varsity game at Cooper. So this is his third year as a varsity starter and he is a junior! I expect a break out year for him

I am curious as well. I know it is just a scrimmage but I heard, read, and saw that they struggled with a Campbell County team that many people thought was going to be down again. Campbell looked pretty decent, and 14 of Cov Cath's 21 came off messed up plays by CC. Is that something to worry about or does the Park Hills Folks feel pretty good about the scrimmage?

Don't take anything away from the 7 on 7 against Cov Cath. It was not a good day for Cooper by any means, but that also has to do with them not playing Hendrix after about 2 series, Schlarman having a broken thumb and not playing much offensively, and a few kids out of position. Was it the showing Cooper had hoped for? No. But was it more of a day to see if kids that had been moved to different spots would be able to play those positions? Yes. Every team has one of those days where they just forget about what happened. Some have them at practice, unfortunately Cooper's came on a 7 on 7 day. They will be just fine. They fly around defensively, Jackson and Schlarman will run the crap out of the ball, and no one on the field can cover Dante Hendrix. Does that mean a Cooper win? Who knows. Maybe or maybe not. But I can tell you that basing this game off of a 7 on 7 is not a very wise decision.

I do not think that Cooper has ever not focused on SK, Ryle, Highlands, or whoever is on their schedule that week. I think you can tell that by the last two years they have beat Ryle and the last 3 times out of 4. Last year Cooper played SK to their closest game of the year in the 3rd round of the playoffs and were one play away from leading that game with 50 seconds left. I don't think Hellbird is saying that Cooper believes they are going to win state, but judging how good Highlands will be this year shouldn't be solely on the game this Friday. Cooper did lose a lot but they still have numerous threats on both sides of the ball and I expect this to be a good game for both teams! Good luck to both teams this Friday and for the rest of the season and I hope they make enough improvements throughout the years that both of these teams are playing in December!

I would assume most of the Boone County Schools will be acquiring this for sure.

Cooper Highlands - Away NCC - Home Bryan Station - Home Campbell County - Away SK - Home LexCath - Away Dixie - Away Ryle - Away Boone - Home Conner - Home

It is an All-Star game, so I don't think that onside kicking is a lack of respect or not having class. Regular season, yes. All star game is about fun and doing things you wouldn't normally do. I had no problem with it. Didn't the East recover it anyway??