The most anticipated game in Lubbock this week was Lubbock-Cooper Pirates vs. Frenship Tigers. It did not disappoint, coming down to the final play in overtime.
The game got off to a slow start, but it started to pick up in the second quarter, and both offenses caught fire in the second half.
Frenship took the early lead, 7-0, on a Hudson Hutcheson 38-yard pass to Chase Campbell early in the second Quarter. The Pirates responded two minutes later with a Ryan Rodriguez 41-yard touchdown pass to Jackson Austin. Then, to end the first half, the Pirates scored again on a Jake Qualia 1-yard touchdown run. Lubbock-Copper took the 14-7 lead into halftime.
Second Half
Hutcheson and the Tigers offense were rolling in the third Quarter. They scored early in the second half on a 12-yard touchdown pass from Hutcheson to Leyton Stone and then again on a Hutcheson 1-yard touchdown run. Frenship was back up 21-14 late in the third Quarter. However, the Pirates responded once again, this time scoring on a 10-yard run from Ayden Hibbler to tie the game at 21 heading into the fourth Quarter.
4th Quarter
Frenship wasted no time getting the lead back, driving down the field on their first drive of the 4th and cashing in on a 26-yard touchdown run from Jaden Tackett to take a 28-21 lead. But, as they did all game, Lubbock-Cooper responded on their next drive with an 8-yard touchdown pass from Rodrigues to Michael Dever with just under 6 minutes to go. Neither team was able to put points on the board in their final drives, and the game headed to overtime tied at 28.
Overtime
Frenship took the lead back in overtime, scoring on a 1-yard run from Jaden Tackett. Lubbock-Cooper Head Coach Chip Darden told his Pirates team that if they scored, they would go for 2 points. The Pirates wasted no time, quickly scoring on a 25-yard run from Hibbler. The game would now come down to the 2-point conversion. Lubbock-Copper put the ball back in Hibbler’s hands for the final player of the game, but the Tiger’s defense left no gaps for Hibbler to run through, and as Hibbler ran towards the sideline to try and get around the edge, Holden Phillips and Caydin Blakley forced him out of bounds.
Fina: Lubbock-Cooper Pirates 34 / Frenship Tigers 35.
Lubbock-Cooper, now 1-1, will host Abilene Wylie next. Frenship, now 2-0, will travel to face Lubbock Monterey next week. The Lubbock Monterey Plainsmen are also 2-0, coming off of a 34-21 win over the Wylie team that Lubbock-Cooper will face this week.
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