Go Friday Night

Cougars Losers No More!

By Andrew Silva
September 23, 2006

Congratulations to the Cooper Cougars who won their first game of the season and snapped their 7 game losing streak with a big win over San Angelo Central Thursday! Go Cougars! I cannot express how proud I am of these young men, not only for getting a “W” in the win column but for the way the Coogs got the job done. Before I explain what I mean I have to go back a week ago to the Cougars game versus Temple. You may recall that for my Temple preview, (which you can read here) I said that coming off the bye week, I was worried that the Cougars would be flat and that playing an 0-17 team, it would be very easy for the Coogs to underestimate the Wildcats and get beat. If you saw the game against Temple, then you know that is exactly what happened. The Cougars played an extremely sloppy game and they allowed a less-talented Temple team to make them look foolish. The most heart-breaking aspect of the Temple loss for me was the way the Cougars never seemed to get fired up, they played flat, and they simply did not play Cooper Cougar football for a lack of better words. I personally was so dissatisfied with the Cooper effort last Friday night that I did not even write a posting for that game because as the saying goes, “if you do not have anything nice to say, don’t say anything at all.” The one positive that I hoped to come out of the Temple game was that I knew how bitter a taste the loss left I my mouth, how much more so for the players and coaches. I fully believed that this short week to San Angelo Central would be a turning point in the Cougars season. The way I saw it the Coogs had two choices, they could roll over and lose their confidence and simply go through the motions for the rest of the season OR they could realize what happens when you don’t prepare 100%, don’t give your very best effort for 48 minutes, and you expect your opponent to roll over for you. The Coogs then had to make up their minds that they were going to do everything in their power to restore the roar to a proud football program and that is exactly what they did Thursday night!
The Cougars played their brand of ball Thursday night. What is Cougar football you might ask? Well is means doing the little things right, like no foolish penalties. It means knowing your assignment and fulfilling it, even if it may not bring a player personal glory. Cougar football is tackling and blocking they way you were taught, being fundamentally sound. Cougar football is executing the plays the way you have practiced all week. Cougar football is going all out until the whistle blows. It is not getting down if everything isn’t going perfect, but rather overcoming adversity. Cougar football is playing the game with intensity and class. Were the Cougars perfect against the Bobcats? Certainly not, but the Cougars did an excellent job of making the leap of turning this proud program around and letting the state of Texas know that the Abilene Cooper Cougars are a force to be reckoned with. Cooper fans across that state are proud of them for that! Even the intensity dog would be proud! Go Cougars!

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