Football: Flanagan Falcons Fly Away With A Win

Photo Credit: DAVID ROSENFIELD

BY JONATHAN PARES

The Cooper City Cowboys Varsity Football Team faced off against the Flanagan Falcons in an away game on Friday, October 11. Due to a series of errors, the Cowboys fell short and the Falcons won the game 28-7.

In the First Quarter, the Cowboys started off with the ball.  Because junior Tyler Sabine was injured during the previous game, Quest Hopler started at quarterback. On the first play of the game Hopler completed a 2-yard pass to Senior Wide Receiver Lukas Volpe. Trying to get the run game started, Senior Running Back Zach Tasse picked up 5-yards on a rushing play. The Cowboys could not get anything going after those plays and were forced to punt. The Falcons were called for a penalty flag on the punt and this gave the Cowboys a first and ten. An encroachment penalty on the next play by the Falcons gave the Cowboys a first and five. But the Cowboys couldn’t capitalize off of all the mistakes the Falcons were making, forcing them to have to punt the ball again.

Senior Quarterback #7 for the Falcons came up big on his first play with a great pass to #81. After that play, the Cowboys defense was on lockdown. Junior Defensive End Joe Turk picked up a tackle in the backfield for a loss of 2-yards followed by Senior Safety Tyson Burch breaking up a touchdown pass on fourth down.

With the Cowboys in possession of the ball, Senior Running Back Jarrett Morgan and Tasse ran an impressive double end with Morgan picking up a gain of twenty yards on the next play.  Nevertheless, the Cowboys quickly lost their momentum. Hopler threw an interception to #9 for the Falcons giving them the ball and great field position.  By the end of the first quarter the Falcons led 15-0.

In the Second Quarter, the Falcons continued their dominance. #7 picked up two 20-yard receptions that kept The Cowboys chasing them. The Cowboys were not able to bring anything together on offense and were forced to punt. The rest of this quarter was quiet with the Cowboys defense stopping the Falcons from scoring again in the quarter. Toward the end of the quarter, Burch injured his shoulder. This was yet another crucial loss for the Cowboys.

In the Third Quarter, Burch was back for the Cowboys. Still, his determination was not enough to put a dent in the scoreboard. On the first drive, #7 threw an 80-yard pass to #81 for a touchdown. With the Falcons up 21-0, the Cowboys offense continued to struggle. Hopler threw an interception to #3 of the Falcons and they scored another touchdown.

With the fourth quarter approaching, the Cowboys chances of a comeback looked very slim. Although there was a spark of hope when Hopler threw a 25-yard touchdown to Sophomore Wide Receiver Chace Hill, it was not enough. The Cowboys lost the game 28-7.

Join us Friday, October 18, for this year’s Homecoming Game against the Western Wildcats at Cooper City High School.