The Abilene High and Cooper football teams are back in action this weekend in the Class 5A state playoffs with Abilene High playing in Crowley and Cooper in Mansfield.
The Eagles, who set a school playoff scoring record with an 84-14 win over El Paso Hanks in the Class 5A Division I bi-district round. will take on Denton Ryan tonight (Friday) at 7 p.m. in the area round at the Crowley ISD Multi-Purpose Stadium. The Eagles are 9-2 and the champion from District 2-5A Division I, while the Raiders are 8-2 and finished second in District 3-5A Division I. They opened the playoffs last week with a 38-13 bi-district win over Lake Belton.
Cooper bounced back in a big way from a 10-7 halftime deficit last week against El Paso Chapin and pulled away in the second half for a 42-27 win over the Huskies. The Cougars will take on Colleyville Heritage tonight (Friday) at 7 p.m. at Vernon Newsom Stadium in Mansfield in the Class 5A Division II area round. The Cougars are 5-6 overall and the third-place team from District 2-5A Division II, while the Panthers are 9-2 and the champion from District 4-5A Division II. The Panthers opened the playoffs last week with a 71-13 bi-district win over Denton.
The Abilene High-Denton Ryan game will be carried live on Bally Sports Southwest, the Bally Sports app, or BallySports.com. Any Pay TV subscription or other fees not charged by the Abilene ISD may be required. The Cooper-Heritage game will be carried live on the NFHS Network. Subscription fees not charged by Abilene ISD may be required.
Audio of both games can be heard here with Chuck Statler and Cody Coil on the call of the Abilene High game and Jimmy Pogue and Rick Cason calling the Cooper game.
Last week, Eagles dominated the Knights from the start as they jumped out to a 28-0 lead at the end of the first quarter and led 70-0 at halftime before putting the game on cruise control. Ryland Bradford scored four touchdowns: two rushing (45 and 51 yards), one receiving (11 yards), and one kickoff return (77 yards to open the second half). Brayden Henry scored three rushing touchdowns (47 yards, 2 yards, and 28 yards) as he finished with five carries for 103 yards.
Abilene High and Denton Ryan have met twice before with the Eagles winning in 2006 (30-21) and 2007 (49-41) in the regular season. The Eagles are 23-8 all-time in the second round of the playoffs, including 13 straight wins in the area round dating back to the 2003 season.
Junior running back Daniel Bray led the way for the Cougars last week in El Paso as he carried 20 times for 253 yards and he scored three times on runs of 77, 23, and 65 yards. Quarterback Austin Cummins completed 8 of 13 passes for 130 yards and two touchdowns, and he ran nine times for 46 yards and one touchdown.
Cooper and Colleyville Heritage have only met once before, a 63-21 Panthers win in the 2021 bi-district round. Cooper, however, is 18-3 all-time in the bi-district round of the playoffs dating back to 1967.
The winner of the Abilene High-Denton Ryan game will play the winner of Friday night’s game between Amarillo Tascosa and Justin Northwest in the third round of the playoffs. Tascosa and Northwest are playing Friday at 7 p.m. at Anthony Field at Wildcat Stadium on the ACU campus. The winner of the Cooper-Heritage game will play the winner of Friday night’s Wylie-Argyle game, which is being played Friday at 7 p.m. at Memorial Stadium in Stephenville.
Please note that AISD employee badges and Gold Cards will not be accepted for entry to these games or non-AISD playoff games hosted at Shotwell Stadium!
Abilene High: Area Playoff Game Info
Opponent: Denton Ryan Raiders
Kickoff: 7:00 PM on Friday, November 17
Location: Crowley ISD Multi-Purpose Stadium (9900 Hemphill St., Fort Worth TX 76036; clear bag policy in effect)
Tickets: Click here to purchase online! $6.00 for all tickets at the gate, no cash.
Parking: $5.00 per vehicle. Online purchase with tickets, no cash.
Passes Accepted: District 2 and 4 Athletics, THSCA, or THSADA
Audio Stream: Free on AISD Live at live.abileneisd.org
Video Stream: Live on the Bally Sports Southwest channel, the Bally Sports app, or BallySports.com. Pay TV subscription or other fees not charged by Abilene ISD may be required.
Cooper High: Area Playoff Game Info
Opponent: Colleyville Heritage Panthers
Kickoff: 7:00 PM on Friday, November 17
Location: Vernon Newsom Stadium (3700 East Broad St., Mansfield TX 76063; clear bag policy in effect)
Tickets: Click here to purchase online! Online presale ends at 3:00 PM on Friday. $8.00 for all tickets at the gate, no cash.
Parking: $5.00 per vehicle, cash only.
Passes Accepted: District 2 Athletics, THSCA, THSADA, or TGCA
Audio Stream: Free on AISD Live at live.abileneisd.org
Video Stream: Live on the NFHS Network. Subscription fees not charged by Abilene ISD may be required.
