Go Friday Night

Mustangs run by the Pirates

By Lew
August 28, 2005

Cooper ran out of water in the first half and gas in the second.

On a hot opening night to the football season, the Pirates went through their water allotment by the second quarter. Although they were able to quickly refill their buckets, they couldn't find enough juice to match the high-octane Sweetwater offense.

The seventh-ranked Mustangs used an interception return on the first play of the game and two quick-strike plays to forge a halftime lead, then sealed it with a 12-play touchdown drive to open the third quarter on their way to a 40-6 victory over the Pirates at the Mustang Bowl.

"You can't have turnovers against Sweetwater, and when you do that, it's going to come back to bite you," Cooper coach John Windham said. "The first half, I wasn't too upset because our offense moved the ball well, we just fumbled down there near the end zone. In the second half, I was not very pleased either way, offense or defense. It went downhill from there."

Joseph Banyard rushed for 100 yards and two first-half touchdowns on just seven carries, and when the Mustangs regulars began having problems with cramps at the start of the second half, the Sweetwater reserves took up the slack.

Joe Limones capped the first drive of the second half with a 1-yard plunge, then Skye Green added a 4-yard TD run on the next drive as the Mustangs (1-0) took a 33-6 lead into the fourth quarter.

Freshman Rufus McCann then capped the scoring with a 4-yard run that saw Duone Cunnings, the third Sweetwater quarterback of the night, get loose for 68 yards to the Cooper 14.

Cooper (0-1), which racked up 183 yards of offense in the first half, didn't get its first first down of the second half until less than eight minutes remained in the game, and even that came with the reserves in the contest. In all, the Pirates finished with 199 yards of offense, compared to 430 for Sweetwater - 246 of which came after halftime.

"We came out with the momentum of having the lead," Sweetwater coach Kent Jackson said. "We were working from the standpoint of, as far as making changes, there wasn't much of that. Using some youngsters in the second half to spell some others allowed us to stay fresher."

Speedy Sweetwater quarterback Kendal Carrillo added 70 rushing yards on just three carries, spending most of the second half concentrating on defense and fighting off cramps. He eventually came out of the game for good in the fourth.

Cooper's only highlight came late in the first half when quarterback Trey Wood broke loose for a 70-yard touchdown run that, at the time, cut the Sweetwater lead to 14-7. But two plays into the ensuing drive, Banyard broke loose for a 47-yard scoring scamper to give Sweetwater a 21-6 halftime lead.

The Mustangs wasted no time getting on the scoreboard, but it was their defense that forged the early advantage, taking advantage of a Cooper mistake on the first play of the game.

Pirates quarterback Trey Wood dropped back looking for the quick slant to the left. He had to hold the ball, then found only Sweetwater safety Brittan Pittman, who stepped in front of the intended receiver, eluded two tacklers and barreled into the end zone for a touchdown 10 seconds into the contest.

"We had a real rough start, and you can't make mistakes against a team like this," said Wood, who finished with 133 rushing yards on 13 carries. "I take the loss on myself because if we don't make that mistake ... you never know what could happen because we could move the ball on these guys."

Cooper's next two offensive drives both ended in punts, but the Pirates defense was holding the potent Mustang offense in check. But following Sweetwater's second time out of the game with 3:32 left in the first quarter, Carrillo broke loose for a 60-yard gain to the Cooper 20-yard line.

Four plays later, Banyard punched it into the end zone from 4 yards out, and Parker Morrow's second PAT kick pushed the Mustangs lead to 14-0.

On the ensuing drive, Wood broke loose for 41 yards for Cooper's deepest penetration into Sweetwater territory. But the drive stalled at the Mustangs 18 after Wood was tackled 8 yards short of the first down on fourth-and-10.

The Pirates defense forced a Sweetwater punt and were put in prime position to cut into the Mustang lead when Carrillo shanked the kick out of bounds at his own 27. A 17-yard screen pass to Cooks on fourth-and-15 from the Mustang 32 put the Pirates at the 15, but two plays later Cooks fumbled the handoff and Cunnings recovered for Sweetwater at his own 7.

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