Joey D. Richards

Wow, the Abilene Christian defense was impressive in the opener Thursday night against Northwest Missouri -- taking down the Bearcats 19-14.

The offense still looks like a work in progress, but I think all three running backs -- Justin Johnson, Reggie Brown and Daryl Richardson -- showed some promise. It might be a while before the Wildcats play a defense as good as the Bearcats.

It's hard to tell who'll emerge as the ACU's starting quarterback. Both Zach Stewart and Clark Harrell both played Thursday night, and neither one stood out. It'll take time for the quarterbacks to get some chemistry with the receivers.

Northwest inexperience on the offensive line really showed. The Bearcats had a lot of costly penalties on offense, and the defense also cost the team with some roughing the passer and unsportsmanlike conduct calls.

Of course, the turnovers ended up being the big story of the night. ACU did a good job in cashing its opportunities in.

It'll be interesting to see how the two teams progress. ACU found out last year that winning that first game doesn't mean that much, but it was a good start for a team with a lot of new faces.

ACU football fans should be excited about today's opener against Northwest Missouri State. Not only is it a big game between two top-ranked teams, but it's sort of like Christmas for ACU fans - you really don't know what's in the box. And by that, I mean this team has a lot of new faces on offense. Running backs Justin Johnson, Reggie Brown and Daryl Richardson (Bernard Scott's younger brother) -- all transfers -- have done well at lower levels, but how are they going to perform on a bigger stage in Division II? Even Johnson, who played at Oklahoma last season as a freshman, didn't get that many carries with the Sooners.

The same is true for the receivers. Edmund Gates is the team's only returning starting receiver, and the Wildcats will rely on several tranfers to help him out, including Kendrick Johnson, Dennis Campbell and Chris Fowler. It's going to be interesting to see how the receiving corps mesh with starting quarterback Zach Stewart, who'll be making his third career start.

This team has a lot of individual talent, but it takes chemistry to win. Just look at the Dallas Cowboys the last few years. Getting that chemistry might take time.

But it should be fun watching this offensive unit grow together.

Cooper volleyball coach Nora Oglesby was thrilled with the way her team played in its six scrimmages during the weekend. The Lady Coogs split with Aledo, Wylie and Stephenville on Friday in Stephenville, and then swept Miles, Wylie and Sweetwater on Saturday at Cooper.

Teams played only two games in each scrimmage match.

The Lady Coogs had to scramble on Friday when one player missed the bus and another, starting hitter Samantha Koss, couldn't play because of a nagging injury.

So two players -- Kierstan Riggs and LaKendra Matthews -- had to play in positions they've never played before. Riggs played outside hitter and Matthews played in the middle. Despite the changes, Cooper held its own, and that's a good sign considering Aledo and Stephenville are traditonally strong teams.

Oglesby said both Riggs and Matthews played well, but she said Matthews did well enough to earn a starting spot in the middle.

'"We have totally changed our game plan going into the season in just one day," Oglesby said. "The kids adjusted. They really like it. We look good. For the first time since I've been here, we looked good all the way around, instead of just having that strong wave of rotation, then a weaker (rotation)."

Cooper opens the season Monday with two matches at San Angelo Central. The Lady Coogs play Central at 2 p.m. and Odessa at 4 p.m.

"I'm so pleased with where we're starting at," Oglesby said. "I think as long as we continue to play competitive teams, we're going to get better."

Cooper fans might circle Sept. 4 on the calendar. That's the day Cooper plays Canyon Randall at Cooper. Randall reached the region finals last year, falling to District 3-4A rival Hereford. Hereford went on to win the state title. Randall is expected to be good again this year. That match should give Cooper an idea just how good it is going into District 4-4A play.

Billy Malone, the Lone Star Conference's all-time leading passer, is back with the Abilene Christian University football team. Malone, the team's starting quarterback for four seasons, won't be playing. He'll be assisting offensive coordinator Ken Collums with the quarterbacks while he finishes his degree. Malone still needs six hours to graduate.

Sam Collins, named the best lineman in Division II football last season, also will help out as an assistant coach this season. Collins was the team's starting center last year.

It'll be interesting to see how the offense pans out this year. The Wildcats lost a lot of firepower on offense. It should be a big battle at quarterback, as Cooper graduate Zach Stewart, Clark Harrell and Mitchell Gale fight it out for the starting job. Then there's the running back spot. Transfers Reggie Brown and Justin Johnson should keep the chains moving. But what about the passing game? Edmund Gates, the team's leading receiver and rusher, gives the team some experience, but the rest of the receiving corps is relatively untested. Expect some transfers to play a big role in the receiving department.

ACU begins practice at 4 p.m. Thursday at the school's practice field. The Wildcats have three weeks to get their act together before opening the season against Northwest Missouri State University on Aug. 27 in a nationally televised game from Shotwell Stadium. 

The theme for our tab this year is rivalries. I'm still learning quite a bit about the rivalries in the Big Country, since I've only lived in Abilene for 11 months.

Before coming to Abilene, I worked at the Galveston County Daily News for 14 years. We had some pretty big rivalries in Galveston County, and a few had some interesting names. Take the annual Clash of the Causeway for example. The game pits Galveston Ball against La Marque. Much like Abilene High and Cooper, players from both teams know each other quite well, and many have relatives on both teams.

There's also Clash of the Causeway II, which involves Galveston Ball and Texas City. It doesn't have the same intensity of the Ball-La Marque games, but it's another fun game.

Then there's the Battle of the Bay, the annual showdown between Texas City and La Marque. These two towns -- just miles apart -- are sort of sister cities. They even share the same chamber of commerce. So it's sort of a crosstown rivalry, and the fact that it's a district game makes even more heated. Both teams have had a great deal of success in the past, none more than La Marque. In 1997, both teams won state titles playing out of the same district. Here's something you won't see very often either -- the two towns shared a victory celebration in Texas City after the season.

Clash of the Causeway. Battle for the Bay. We even had the Battle for Highway 6 (Santa Fe and Hitchock).

Makes you wonder if we should come up with a name for the annual Abilene High-Cooper game. How about Crosstown Clash? Or Big Country Bash? Maybe the Showdown at Shotwell, or the Shootout at Shotwell? Perhaps the Key City Clash.

I don't know. What do you think?