Sharing the court with one of the area’s best forwards in Jaelyn Rivera and a pair of talented guards in Kam Gray and Jordan Willis, Cooper senior Maxwell Falade knows he’s a role player.
But in watching the Cougars play, you realize pretty quickly just how important that role is.
While Falade’s name may not jump off the stat sheet the way some of his teammates’ do, his energy and effort on both ends of the court are critical to his team’s success. And if you ask coach Bryan Conover what makes him such a special person and valuable player, you had better be ready for a lengthy response.
He entered last week as the leading scorer in the entire Big Country, putting up more than 37 points per game. So few will be surprised to hear that Benamin’s Grayson Ridgon has put up yet another performance worthy of our Big Country Preps Player of the Week Award. 
A limited number of minutes, if the numbers compute correctly, can figure strongly in our selection of Player of the Week. 
Big Spring 38, El Paso Riverside 35 — The Steers pulled out and absolute thriller over the District 1-4A DI champion Rangers, scoring the winning points on a wild fourth-and-10 play with less than 30 seconds remaining in the game.
Wylie 20, Cooper 10 — The Bulldogs capped a perfect run through district play with their first-ever win over Cougars, locking up their first district championship as a Class 5A program with the victory.
