If you knew nothing about the Abilene – Abilene Cooper rivalry, the scene seems like another Friday night in West Texas. The Abilene Eagles look menacing in warmups, decked out in their traditional all black uniforms with gold helmets. On the opposing side, the Abilene Cooper Cougars look fresh in blue helmets, white jerseys, and red pants with piping and stripes adorning the legs and shoulders. Underneath all the fanfare, underneath all the sparkle and sheen, lies a rivalry with the most Texan of roots.
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Abilene, Texas was founded in 1881 by cattlemen as a stock shipping point on the Texas & Pacific Railway. The city takes its name from Abilene, Kansas, the original end of the infamous Chisholm Trail. As the railroad industry grew, so did Abilene, and that attracted universities to the small community. In 1891, Simmons University was founded, and that later became Hardin-Simmons. Childers Classical Institute, founded in 1906, grew to Abilene Christian, and in 1926 McMurry College was founded. A growing community needed a high school, and before all the universities came to Abilene, Abilene High School was founded in 1888.
To say that Abilene was a force in football in the early years of its inception is an understatement. P.E. Shotwell took the Eagles to a state title in 1923, Dewey Mayhew won two in 1928 and 1931, and Chuck Moser fielded a team that won three straight titles from 1954-1956. The Moser teams were the basis for Abilene’s reputation as a tough, hard-nosed program, one that was later named the “Team Of The Century” by the Dallas Morning-News.
After WWII came the baby boomers, and after the baby boomers came a need to open a new high school. Abilene Cooper was born in 1960, and the town became divided. The divide was jagged, but one thing remained constant: it always roughly followed the train tracks. Abilene High was the North Side, and Cooper was the South Side.
The Cooper Cougars quickly became the football power in Abilene, making it to two state finals in 1967 and 1996. They were particularly good during the early 90’s, winning a whole mess of games in a row against the Eagles. Abilene High has recently come roaring back, winning a state title in 2009. Despite the recent success of the Eagles, the Cougars still hold the all-time record in the rivalry with a score of 32-21-1.
Abilene is a football town, a classic football town, a stereotypical football town, a historic football town, and a powerful football town. The two schools typically hold some of the smallest student populations in their classifications, but routinely make the playoffs and win district titles. For years, Abilene High and Abilene Cooper played in the same district. That changed in the 2007-2008 bouts of UIL realignment. The “Crosstown Showdown” is still played every year, but instead of being played in chilly November, it’s played in sweltering September.
The two schools have some hate in them, hate that’s distilled by family connections, work relationships, and church attendance. However, the classic rivalry still retains the same stakes: bragging rights for your side of town. It’s the Capulets and the Montagues, the Jets and the Sharks, it’s a fight to see who will hold the title of City Champions for one more year; your side of the tracks or the other.
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Both teams entered this game with embarrassing losses. Abilene High was taken behind the woodshed and beat mercilessly by San Angelo Central. The week before, Cooper was pummeled by Grapevine. This year’s version of the Crosstown Showdown is about more than bragging rights, it’s about trying to right the ship before the games start counting in district. For Cooper, the loss is more immediate. For Abilene High, they’ve already had a shot at redemption with a crushing win over Midland Lee, but a win over Cooper would still go a long way to help confidence.
The points flew around early and often. Abilene jumped out to a 7-0 lead that stretched to a 14-0 lead off a muffed Cooper kickoff return. Cooper marched right back down the field and scored. All this happened in around 3 minutes of game time.
The hero of the night was Abilene’s Abram Smith. The Tulsa commit scored 5 touchdowns in the first half alone, leading the Eagles to a 42-24 halftime lead. He would end up scoring a ridiculous 7 touchdowns before his night was over.
Abram Smith wasn’t the only one putting out fireworks. The tall, lanky Cooper receivers were all over the field, catching passes almost at will. At one point, Myller Royals didn’t even have to jump to catch a pass over the Abilene DB. Even though Abilene had doubled Cooper’s touchdowns in the first half, it truly felt like anyone could come out the victor in the second half.
Unfortunately for the Cougars, the second half held more of the same. The Eagles stopped them on fourth down, then proceeded to march all the way down the field and cap off another drive with an Abram Smith touchdown. After Cooper threw an interception on their second drive of the second half, Abilene would drive the field and find themselves turning it over on 4th.
The Cooper offense didn’t give up, though. They scored early in the fourth quarter to make it 48-31, and all of a sudden they were within striking distance. The Cougars never stopped fighting, and the Eagle defense didn’t truly have an answer for Myller Royals, Cooper WR.
Abram Smith and Raekwon Millsap didn’t let that last very long. Millsap caught several acrobatic balls on the next drive, Smith punched it in for his 7th rushing touchdown of the night (a new school record), and the Abilene Cooper fans began exiting the stadium. The final was Abilene 55, Abilene Cooper 38. Despite the 17 point disparity, this game seemed a lot closer than the scoreboard said.
Every year, this rivalry gets a little bit crazier. The legends of arguably the best rivalry in Texas will continue to grow with every single action packed game.
