WOLFFORTH — All through the District 4-4A season, Frenship has been one or two plays short of turning defeats into victory.

It was the same story again Friday night against district-leader Abilene Cooper, except this time it wasn’t turnovers that made the difference. This time, it was Cooper making the plays that the Tigers couldn’t, and the result was a 21-7 win for the Cougars that secured at least a share of the district crown, which had belonged to the Tigers the past three years.

Abilene Cooper's Quincy Moore sacks Frenship quarterback Brandon Hanslik Friday night at Tiger Stadium in Wolfforth. Frenship lost to Ablilene Cooper 21-7. (John A. Bowersmith/Lubbock Avalanche-Journal)

Frenship (5-4, 1-3 in 4-4A) had three drives stall inside the Abilene Cooper 36-yard line, two of those in the second half and one inside the 10. Each time, the Cougars (6-3, 4-0) turned back the Tigers, mostly with a big sack, of which they had seven, or a Frenship penalty.

And when Cooper turned a pooch kick into a touchdown drive to start the second half, Frenship spent the entire second half playing from too far behind. Frenship managed just 118 yards total offense, 38 in the first half.

“Abilene Cooper is a great football team and their defense is outstanding,” head coach Brad Davis said. “They’ve got outstanding athletes at every position. We did a great job of moving it some on them, but a holding penalty down here and the second-half kickoff, that was the difference in the game. Those two plays go differently and we have a chance to come back, and maybe win it.”

Frenship's Bobby Huey makes his way toward the endzone for Fresnhip's only touchdown of the night Friday against Abilene Cooper at Tiger Stadium in Wolfforth. Abilene Cooper beat Frenship 21-7. (John A. Bowersmith/Lubbock Avalanche-Journal)

Instead, Frenship will make the three-hour trip to San Angelo next week to take on Lake View with the playoffs on the line. A win and the Tigers are in, but a loss and they’re sitting at home in the postseason for the first time since 1995.

“The playoffs are starting earlier this year,” senior cornerback Phillip James said. “We have to win next week to keep playing. We just have to go out there and play our game. We can beat them if we put together four quarters of fundamental football, not turn the ball over and come up with key stops on (defense).”

The Tigers did a good job of the former against Cooper, committing just one turnover, and it was immediately followed by a Cooper fumble.
But the Cougars were able to dictate the tone of the game up front on both sides of the ball. In recording the six sacks, the Cougars also limited Frenship to just 54 rushing yards, and the Tigers lost starting quarterback Brandon Hanslik to a neck injury midway through the second quarter.

Abilene Cooper's Lawrence Brownfield nearly intercepts a Frenship pass intended for Jon Phariss Friday night against Abiene Cooper at Tiger Stadium in Wolfforth the interception was overruled because of a defensive pass-interference penalty on Brownfield . Abilene Cooper beat Fresnhip 21-7. (John A. Bowersmith/Lubbock Avalanche-Journal)

Backup John Curtis sparked Frenship in the passing game, though, completing 6 of 11 attempts for 77 yards with the one interception. The Tigers, though, could sustain only one drive into the end zone.

Cooper’s offense, meanwhile, took advantage of two short fields in the first half set up by the kicking game to score its first two touchdowns, then recovered the short pooch to begin the second half, keeping the Frenship defense on its heels all night with a power running game (183 yards) and effective passing by quarterback Ryan Heslep, who was 7 of 15 for 126 yards.

“I’m certainly proud of our defense,” Cooper coach Mike Spradlin said. “They kept the pressure on them all night long and I thought did a good job with their offense. Our guys up front are playing well and it was just a great overall team win.

“We had a chance to score right before half and we didn’t, so we tried to make something happen there to start the second half and it was one of those things that if we didn’t get it we’d still be in good shape. It was a momentum thing at that point.”

Frenship’s defense did its part early in the game, forcing punts on the Cougars’ first two drives. But the Tiger offense did nothing to help aside from one short touchdown drive.

The Tigers’ lone scoring drive of the half covered 39 yards, but their other four possessions netted minus 1-yard. Cooper, meanwhile scored on drives of 36 and 43 yards, both capped by touchdown runs from Davon Riddick of 2 and 7 yards in the second quarter.

Abilene Cooper's Quincy Moore tackles Frenship's Dallas Croyle Friday night at Tiger Stadium in Wolfforth. Frenship Lost to Abilene Cooper 21-7. (John A. Bowersmith/Lubbock Avalanche-Journal)

Frenship answered the first one, getting a 35-yard kickoff return from Aaron Pool to the Cooper 39. Three plays into the drive, sophomore tailback Bobby Huey got loose around right end, broke a couple tackles and reached the end zone for a 25-yard touchdown run with 10:37 left in the half, tying the game at 7.

Special teams, though, set Cooper up at the Frenship 43 on the ensuing kickoff. A 14-yard pass from Heslep to Sammy Beal and a late hit out of bounds took the ball to the Frenship 9, and Riddick swept around left end three plays later for the 7-yard touchdown to make it 14-7 with 8:38 remaining.

Hanslik was injured on the first play of the ensuing drive, which ended when Cooper cornerback Lawrence Brownfield picked off Curtis at the Cooper 37. The Cougars gave it right back when Riddick fumbled at midfield, but the Tigers stalled out and were forced to punt.

Cooper took over at its 35 with 59 seconds left, and passes of 22 and 16 yards by Heslep took the Cougars to the Frenship 27. But a sack on second down and two incompletions halted the drive to end the half.

The Cougars then iced the game by converting the pooch kick into a 19-yard Kendrick Powdrill touchdown with 9:53 left in the third quarter, and it proved to be all the scoring the Cougars would need.
“We watched them on film and knew what they were going to do,” James said. “They just executed well. They were able to run the ball a little bit and gain some extra yards after contact. They were able to pass for first downs on third down when they needed to. We just didn’t execute as well as we could have, and you’re not going to win many games against good teams when you don’t.”

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ABILENE COOPER 21, FRENSHIP 7
Abilene Cooper 0 14 7 0 — 21
Frenship 0 7 0 0 — 7
Second Quarter
AC—Davon Riddick 2 run (Ryan Lucus kick); 11:55
FRE – Bobby Huey 25 run (Marshall Elliott kick); 10:37
AC – Riddick 7 run (Lucus kick); 8:38
Third Quarter
AC—Kendrick Powdrill 19 run (Justin Lehr kick); 9:53
TEAM STATISTICS
AC FRE
First downs 13 10
Rushes-yards 36-183 34-44
Passing yards 126 74
Comp.-att.-int. 7-15-0 7-13-1
Punts-avg. 4-34.5 5-33.6
Fumbles-lost 2-1 0-0
Penalties-yards 3-30 6-37
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING: Abilene Cooper, Davon Riddick 15-108, Kendrick Powdrill 5-46, Alfred Cooper 6-31, Reese Williams 1-6, Ryan Heslep 9-(-54); Frenship, Bobby Huey 22-94, Aaron Pool 1-3, Dallas Croyle 2-2, Xavier Salas 1-0, Brandon Hanslik 2-(-8), John Curtis 6-(-47).
PASSING: Abilene Cooper, Heslep 7-15-0—126; Frenship, Curtis 6-11-1—73, Hanslik 1-2-0—1.
RECEIVING: Abilene Cooper, Williams 1-22, Tommy Bowman 1-22, Powdrill 1-16, Sammy Beal 1-14, Cooper 1-4, Riddick 1-11, Jamail Lowry 1-7; Frenship, Jon Phariss 3-29, Zach Kittley 2-29, Salas 1-15, Croyle 1-1.