Ryle downs Cooper 17 - 10

 

Written by

Marc Hardin  

Enquirer contributor

Ryle avenged its only loss to Cooper by rallying for a 17-10 home victory on Friday at Borland Stadium in a tense season-opener for both teams.
Ryle, a 28-point loser to Cooper in last season's opener, scored a pair of fourth-quarter touchdowns to pull it out.

The Raiders tied it at 10 on running back Kyle Bailey's 11-yard run and A.J. Boudin's extra-point kick with 2:45 to play in the game.

Running back Zac Lamore, one of 11 ball-carriers for Ryle, put the Raiders ahead on a 1-yard run with 24 seconds left. The winning drive was set up by a muffed Cooper punt attempt which resulted in the punt hitting a blocker.

Ryle took over at the 21 with 2:00 left. Bailey ripped off a 6-yard run on first down and running back Ryan Woolf added a 12-yard run to the 1, setting up Lamore's winning scamper.

FIRST-HALF HIGHLIGHTS: The Jaguars and Raiders were tied at halftime, each converting field goals. Ryle's Boudin was good from 27 yards with 6:22 left in the first quarter following Bailey's interception at the Cooper 29 yard line.

The Jaguars' Logan Turner tied it with 33.4 seconds left in the half with a 35-yard conversion five plays after Ty Keller recovered a fumbled punt return by the Raiders.

Neither team was able to move the ball consistently. Ryle totaled 62 first-half yards and Cooper had 60 with just three first downs. The Raiders had six first downs before the break and averaged 2.2 yards per play. They combined for 15 first-half rushing yards.

PLAYERS OF THE GAME: The Raiders started moving the ball when they put Ryan Hill, their third quarterback of the game, under center. Hill rushed 10 times for 36 yards and caught a team-high three passes for 57. He threw one pass, an incompletion.

Ryle's Bailey led all rushers with 42 yards on seven carries, with a long run of 14 and the touchdown.

Cooper linebacker Kyle Henderson led all players with 16 tackles and fellow Jaguar Avery Bricking had 14 stops.

PLAY OF THE GAME: Cooper senior receiver Aaron Morgan took a short screen pass from first-year starting quarterback Will Ludwig and turned it into a 64-yard go-ahead touchdown with 6:33 left in the third quarter. Turner's extra-pont kick put Cooper ahead, 10-3.

VIEW FROM THE SIDELINES: "Ryan Hill gave us that spark and our line started moving people around," said Ryle coach Bryson Warner. "We have a lot of depth this year and I think that's the big difference from last year."

EXTRA POINTS: Ryle lost its starting tailback, David Aulick, and starting receiver and team captain Kevin Walker to season-ending knee injuries during the preseason.

Coaches for Cooper and Ryle wore their traditional opening-game shirt-and-tie ensemble in honor of Cooper's namesake, Randall K. Cooper, the former Ryle principal who passed away in 2006.