At 5-foot-5, 140 pounds, Cooper wideout Daelin Campos is often the smallest guy on the football field. With elite speed and agility, he’s also one of the most explosive.
In Campos‘ mind — and virtually every other realm — that second fact far outweighs the first.
And as one of few returning playmakers from last year’s record-setting offense, the diminutive junior is determined to take his game to an even higher level for the Cougars this fall.
Keller 41, Cooper 15 — Anything that could go wrong did for the Cougars in the first half of their season-opening loss to Keller on Friday. Cooper trailed 15-0 less than three minutes in and found itself down 41-6 at halftime of Coach Aaron Roan‘s head coaching debut.
The Coogs regrouped after a stoppage in play caused by a lighting issue at Shotwell Stadium, allowing only a Hail Mary on the final play of the first half from the 11:38 mark of the second quarter on and outscoring the Indians 9-0 in the second half. But the game was well decided by then.
Cooper finished with 281 total yards, getting 139 on the ground and 142 through the air. Daelin Campos led the offensive effort with 98 total yards (51 rushing; 47 receiving).
Friday night was a learning experience for new Cooper head coach Aaron Roan, who made his debut after a July promotion from being the team’s defensive coordinator.
His first game leading the Cougars didn’t exactly go as planned as Cooper was beaten 41-15 by Class 6A Keller on Friday at Shotwell Stadium.
After the game, Roan said he learned a few things as the head coach that he will be able to improve on.
“There were a lot of adverse situations that may come up and the whole experience is new,” Roan said. “I learned from all of it.”
A young Cooper football team got the measuring stick it was looking for Friday afternoon during a scrimmage at San Angelo Central.
The results were mixed, but first-year Cougar head coach Aaron Roan said he saw enough good to be encouraged and no mistakes that were unfixable.
In his more than 30 years as a part of Abilene’s sports scene, Al Pickett has done a little bit of everything. In addition to serving as the sports editor of the Abilene Reporter-News for 15 years, Pickett has been the play-by-play voice for numerous local high school and college teams, hosted his own radio show, “Let’s Talk Sports,” and authored five books about sports in Abilene and Texas.
Pickett, who is both the founder and a member of the Big Country Athletic Hall of Fame, took some time this week to talk about his career in sports journalism, seeing his book “Brother’s Keeper” being made into a feature film and what his future holds on this week’s Capital Farm Credit Wednesday Night Podcast.
Also in this episode, Big Country Preps’ Evan Ren and Daniel Youngblood discuss the situations each of the area’s seven 11-man coaches taking over new programs face in 2018.
Though he has at least 10 more games ahead of him, Cooper senior Thomas Squyres can feel his high school football career winding to a close.
And entering his third year as a starter on the Cougar offensive line, the 5-foot-9, 280-pound bruiser feels a sense of urgency to make his last season his best.
“It’s hit me,” Squyres said of entering his final high school season. “All good things have to come to an end, but I’m going out with a bang.”
Entering his first season as a head football coach, Cooper’s Aaron Roan is basing his philosophy on a tried-and-true old axiom.
“If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.”
Taking over the Cooper program in July after the unexpected resignation of Todd Moebes, Roan is seeking to keep things simple — and to keep the Cougars on a path that has yielded eight third-round playoff appearances in the past 10 seasons.
For 13 years, former Stamford and Cooper assistant Webb Murphy viewed coaching as his calling in life. A couple of years after leaving that profession, he’s discovered a new calling as the Big Country West area rep for the Big Country Fellowship of Christian Athletes.
Murphy, who still holds a deep respect for the coaching profession and those who pursue it, took some time this week to talk to Big Country Preps’ Evan Ren and Daniel Youngblood about his role with the FCA and how the organization has changed his life and the life of many others.
Also in this episode of the BCP Podcast, Evan and Daniel discuss the geographical boundaries of the Big Country and share their philosophy on expanding the area’s traditional borders to include a number of “new” programs.
Those interested in learning more about the FCA or how to get involved with the organization can reach out to Murphy through the following social media platforms:
Facebook: Big Country Fellowship of Christian Athletes
Twitter: @BigCountryFCA
Instagram: @bcfcainsta