Photos by Riley Smith, HubCityPreps.com
LUBBOCK — Entering Friday’s game at Lubbock Cooper in control of its own playoff fate, the Wylie football team could all but clinch a playoff spot with a win over the Pirates on Friday.
But Lubbock Cooper went into that game with similar stakes and managed to come out of it with a hard-fought 42-35 win.
Needing a victory to avoid missing the playoffs for the first time since 2012, the Pirates overcame second-half deficits of 19-14 and 25-20 to rally past the Bulldogs and punch their ticket to the postseason. In the meantime, they put the Bulldogs in the precarious situation of needing a win over Plainview and a Wichita Falls Memorial loss to Wichita Falls Legacy to earn an 11th game.