ABILENE – Both Abilene High School and Cooper High School begin play in the state football playoffs Friday night with the Eagles set to host their first home playoff game since 2016 and Cooper on the road at the sixth-ranked team in the state in Class 5A.
Abilene High (7-3 and the runner-up in District 2-6A with a 5-1 mark) will host El Paso Eastwood at 7 p.m. Friday at Shotwell Stadium. The Troopers finished the regular season 6-4 overall and 4-3 in District 1-6A, good for a fourth-place finish in the district.
Friday night’s Abilene High game will be streamed live on the AISD-TV Facebook page and can also be heard on www.kbcy.com, www.power103.com, www.102thebear.com and www.981thephantom.com. Each of those stations can also be found at www.iheart.com or on the iHeartRadio app.
Tickets are $6 for adults and $4 for students if purchased by noon Friday at the One AISD Center. Any tickets purchased at the stadium Friday will be $10 for everyone. Admission is free for AISD employees with badges and Gold Card holders.
The Eagles haven’t hosted a playoff game at Shotwell Stadium since November 2016 when they beat El Paso Americas, 55-0. Abram Smith – currently the starting running back at Baylor and one of the nation’s leading rushers – had a 99-yard touchdown run in that game, part of a game that saw him rush for 141 yards and three scores on 12 carries.
Cooper, meanwhile, will be on the road to take on Colleyville Heritage at Mustang-Panther Stadium in Grapevine. The game will kick off Friday at 7 p.m.
The Cooper game will not be streamed live on the AISD-TV Facebook page after the UIL turned down the AISD’s request to live-stream the game on that social media platform. Fans can still watch the game live, but it will only be on the NFHS Network website, and fans will have to pay $10.99 to watch the game. The game can be heard on www.kbcy.com, www.power103.com, www.102thebear.com and www.981thephantom.com. Each of those stations can also be found at www.iheart.com or on the iHeartRadio app.
Tickets can only be purchased online or at the gate Friday night. Tickets are $6 for adults and $4 for students. Tickets can be purchased online here. If fans purchase tickets online, they have to present their mobile or paper ticket at the visitor entrance.
The Cougars finished fourth in District 3-5A Division I with a 6-4 overall mark and 4-3 district record. Cooper is in the state football playoffs for the 15th straight season. The Panthers won District 4-5A Division with an unbeaten 7-0 mark and enter Friday night’s game with a 9-1 overall record.
