No. 8 Cooper ends long losing streak against No. 13 Ryle in KSR Game of the Week

The Battle of the Union hadn’t felt like much of a rivalry over the last eight seasons. Separated by just five miles in Union, KY, the Ryle Raiders had owned this series as of late, winning nine straight against the Cooper Jaguars dating back to 2016. Most of the players on these two teams grew up with each other and are close friends.

But with a four-star EDGE lining up on defense and a talented quarterback leading the charge on offense, Cooper finally punched back. The No. 8 Jaguars (3-0) were able to fend off a 10th straight loss down the stretch against No. 13 Ryle (2-1) on Friday night, winning 21-14 in the KSR Game of the Week.

“There’s been a lot of times we’ve had opportunities and we could never finish the job or we could never make a play when we needed to,” Cooper head coach Randy Borchers said postgame. “It seemed like we were the ones always making that mistake.”

Granted, Cooper still made some mistakes, but they forced Ryle into more. A muffed punt inside the 20-yard line by the Raiders in the closing minute set up junior quarterback Cam O’Hara in the redzone with an opportunity to break a 14-14 tie and win the game — and he knew exactly what to do with the victory on the line.

With just 38 ticks left on the game clock, O’Hara found senior wide receiver Isaiah Johnson in the back of the end zone for the go-ahead score.

“We’re up the whole game, they’re threatening to come back. That’s a good football team,” O’Hara said afterward. “They’re gonna make plays. We kinda knew as the momentum shifted we’re gonna have to make some plays… Just having that energy, having those wide receivers around me just helps so much.”

Cooper takes advantage of the Ryle muffed punt.

Cam O’Hara hits Isaiah Johnson for the go-ahead touchdown.

Cooper 21, Ryle 14
0:38 4th Q pic.twitter.com/qRVSz7upib

— Zack Geoghegan (@ZGeogheganKSR) September 7, 2024

This Cooper squad is no stranger to big moments. The Jaguars made it all the way to the 5A state championship in 2023 before coming up short against Bowling Green at Kroger Field. They’re all one year older now and the results of a veteran squad are showing up in the win column.

“When we got that ball back, I had the confidence in our kids that someone was going to make a play to win that ballgame for us,” Borchers added.

Cooper came out of the gate looking to make this one a blowout. The Jaguars opened the night with a six-minute drive that ended with O’Hara diving into the endzone. A timely interception by Cooper near the end of the second quarter allowed O’Hara to strike again, this time scrambling away from pressure before finishing senior wide receiver Jaidan Combs, who danced all around the Ryle defense and broke a couple of tackles before finding paydirt.

Just like that, it was 14-0 in favor of the home team going into the halftime break.

A nearly broken play turns into a late touchdown for Cooper.

QB Cam O’Hara connects with WR Jaidan Combs for a wild score.

Cooper 14, Ryle 0
0:41 2nd Q pic.twitter.com/mlEnOfUIVF

— Zack Geoghegan (@ZGeogheganKSR) September 7, 2024

But Ryle found its groove in the second half while Cooper began to drag. The Raiders’ star player, junior Jacob Savage, was everywhere on both sides of the field. He punched in a short touchdown in the middle of the third quarter to make it 14-6 after a missed extra point. Ryle nearly scored again a few minutes later before a massive interception from Cooper junior Ryker Campbell (his second of the night) kept the Raiders from tacking on another quick score.

With 3:15 left on the game clock, Ryle managed to march its way down the field as junior quarterback Nathan Verax and junior wide receiver Dylan Lee linked up twice — the first on a 10-yard touchdown pass, which was immediately followed up with a converted two-point play. What once looked like a possible blowout for Cooper turned into a potential disaster.

Cooper was forced to punt on its next possession with under a minute remaining. But the aforementioned muffed punt by Ryle inside its own 20-yard line left too much time on the clock for O’Hara to go to work. A few plays later, he found his man Johnson in the back of the endzone for the game-winning touchdown.

“I had to get with my guys. We didn’t have that much energy coming out of the second half,” O’Hara said. “Building that energy back up, I think it shifted the game and on the last drive it showed.”

O’Hara finished his night with 356 total passing yards and two touchdowns while completing 26 of his 41 throws. His top targets, Combs and Johnson, both finished with over 110 receiving yards. O’Hara was later named the game’s MVP.

He also found Austin Alexander, a Top 350 senior in the country who is committed to North Carolina, six times through the air for an additional 72 yards. Alexander was even more impactful as a pass rusher — his primary role — though, recording multiple sacks and putting constant pressure on the Ryle offense from start to finish.

In the end, self-inflicted mistakes from Ryle cost them a chance at 10 straight wins over Cooper. Verax tossed four interceptions, but it was the botched punt return at the end was the nail in the coffin for the Raiders. It made for an entertaining matchup in a rowdy environment though.

“We all know each other, it’s all mutual beef,” O’Hara added. “It’s just a fun game.”