Lubbock-Cooper football shows depth to beat Plainview in district opener

WOODROW — With standout Jackson Austin limited to one snap Thursday , it was up to the rest of the Lubbock-Cooper backfield to get the job done.

The Pirates proved up to the task.

Like the offensive line that paved the way, depth was on full display for Cooper's running backs in a 30-17 district-opening win over Plainview at Pirate Stadium. The ground game complemented Ryan Rodriguez's three touchdown passes and a solid outing by the defense.

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Trench play makes way for Lubbock-Cooper

The Pirates (4-1, 1-0 district) made a concerted effort to run the ball coming out of halftime. Up 13-3, Cooper rushed on seven of eight plays to start the third quarter. Chaymane Johnson took the lone pass 16 yards one play before his 15-yard TD run.

Johnson led the Pirates with 114 rushing yards, and 6-foot-2, 240-pound bruiser R.J. Florence accounted for 80 yards of offense.

Darden credited the O-line for allowing multiple backs to find success.

"We've got a lot of guys rotating in," Darden said. "We played a lot of kids at offensive line. We challenged them to play a little bit harder at halftime. We talked about that if you're not playing hard, we've got guys that can rotate in."

Plainview capitalizes on turnovers to stay in it

Jordan Porter set up Plainview's first score with an interception. The Bulldogs' second takeaway kept them in the game.

Zachary Soliz recovered a Rodriguez fumble, and Plainview (2-3, 0-1) scored four plays later to pull within 20-10 late in the third quarter. The Bulldogs punted on their next drive, sandwiched between a pair of Cooper scores.

Despite the loss, Plainview coach Wyatt Martinez saw positives in the performance against Class 5A Division II's ninth-ranked team.

"I think we've got to take the bright spots for what they're worth," Martinez said, "in the first district matchup against who's predicted to be the district champions. Take those bright spots and grow from those."

Lubbock-Cooper's Jackson Austin gets game ball

Austin, who ran for 502 yards and five TDs through four games, went in for one play Thursday. A holding penalty on the third-quarter run kept him out of the box score.

Darden presented the game ball to the longtime contributor, calling Austin a "program guy." Darden said the team's leadership council collaborated on the decision.

"Just more of a career-type award that we wanted to give him," Darden said. "We tried to get him in the end zone once but couldn't quite get it done. That kid is everything we want in our program. Nobody plays harder than he does. That's what we want our kids doing."

DISTRICT 2-5A DIVISION II

Lubbock-Cooper 30, Plainview 17

Plainview 0 3 7 7 — 17

Cooper 7 6 10 7 — 30

SCORING SUMMARY

First quarter

L-C — Michael Dever 60 pass from Ryan Rodriguez (Abe Brandiger kick), 2:08

Second quarter

L-C — Reed Watters 39 pass from Rodriguez (kick failed), 8:29

PLA — Aaron Fenelon 24 field goal, 0:38

Third quarter

L-C — Chaymane Johnson 15 run (Brandiger kick), 8:07

PLA — Blaze Chambers 4 run (Fenelon kick), 3:20

L-C — Brandiger 25 field goal, 0:40

Fourth quarter

L-C — Cade Gant 30 pass from Rodriguez (Brandiger kick), 5:05

PLA — Maddox Ellis 41 pass from Seth Mayberry (Fenelon kick), 2:11

TEAM STATISTICS

First downs: (P) 14; (L-C) 19

Rushes-Yards: (P) 30-60; (L-C) 29-184

Passing: (P) 202; (L-C) 282

Comp-Att-Int: (P) 18-25-0; (L-C) 14-22-1

Punts-Avg: (P) 5-36.8; (L-C) 1-36

Fumbles-Lost: (P) 0-0; (L-C) 1-1

Penalties-Yards: (P) 7-49; (L-C) 7-60

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING: Plainview, Seth Mayberry 19-34, Blaze Chambers 7-11, Davian Ramos 3-10, Maddox Ellis 1-5. Lubbock-Cooper, Chaymane Johnson 13-114, R.J. Florence 8-35, Ryan Rodriguez 3-28, Jerry DeLeon 3-16, Team 1-(-2), Michael Dever 1-(-7).

PASSING: Plainview, Mayberry 18-24-0—202, Ellis 0-1-0. Lubbock-Cooper, Rodriguez 14-22-1—282.

RECEIVING: Plainview, Ellis 5-69, Jae'Breon Wideman 5-69, Abram Garcia 3-34, Chambers 2-19, Ramos 2-11, Jordan Porter 1-0. Lubbock-Cooper, Cade Gant 5-91, Florence 3-45, Easton Barnhill 2-20, Dever 1-60, Reed Watters 1-39, Johnson 1-16, Garrett Kitten 1-11.

RECORDS: Plainview 2-3, 0-1; Lubbock-Cooper 4-1, 1-0.

This article originally appeared on Lubbock Avalanche-Journal: Lubbock-Cooper football shows depth to beat Plainview in district opener