SAN ANGELO — The Cooper football team rallied past San Angelo Central for a thrilling 28-21 win Friday at San Angelo Stadium, earning Scott Stewart his first win as a head coach in the process.

The Cougars overcame first-half deficits of 7-0, 14-7 and 21-14 in the victory, outscoring the Bobcats 14-0 over the final two quarters to improve to 1-2.

Cooper, which had outgained each of its first two opponents handily in one-score losses, was outpaced 402 yards to 347 on Friday. But the Coogs defense buckled down when it needed to most, helping facilitate the win with a second-half shutout.