End over end: High school football teams kick off 2022 season with high hopes

Greg Jaklewicz, Abilene Reporter-News
·2 min read
The Cooper football team runs onto the field before last season's Southtown Showdown against Wylie at Sandifer Stadium. The Cougars won 30-24. Cooper opens the season against Keller at 7 p.m. Thursday at Shotwell Stadium.
The Cooper football team runs onto the field before last season's Southtown Showdown against Wylie at Sandifer Stadium. The Cougars won 30-24. Cooper opens the season against Keller at 7 p.m. Thursday at Shotwell Stadium.

And just like that, we're ready for high school football.

After weeks of workouts in record heat, the weather abruptly changed to begin the week, leading to the first games of the 2022 season.

Locally, Cooper gets the season going with its opener Thursday night at Shotwell Stadium. Keller corralled Cooper 39-0 here to open the 2021 season. The teams did not play in 2020, but Cooper won a thriller, 21-20, in 2019 after losing 41-15 the year before.

Kickoff is 7 p.m.

More:Kickoff 2022: Abilene Cooper sets sights on district title, going deep in playoffs

Also playing Thursday games are Merkel, which plays Clifton in Cisco, and Coahoma, which also is at a neutral site, playing rival Forsan in Big Spring. This game has started the season for these two teams for years. Forsan won last year to snap a losing streak against the Bulldogs.

The Merkel Badgers mascot cheers with the cheerleaders before the Badgers' game against Early in 2020. The Badgers open this season in Cisco against Clifton on Thursday night, one of the first Abilene-area teams to hit the field.
The Merkel Badgers mascot cheers with the cheerleaders before the Badgers' game against Early in 2020. The Badgers open this season in Cisco against Clifton on Thursday night, one of the first Abilene-area teams to hit the field.

Abilene High opens at 7 p.m. Friday at Shotwell against longtime rival Odessa Permian. The teams are not in the same classification for the first time - Abilene High dropped to Class 5A Division 1 in the most recent alignment.

More:Abilene High receives special edition Texas Football magazine with team on over

AHS has won the past two meetings, both district games - 42-21 last year in Odessa and 27-25 at Shotwell in 2020.

A side note on the game - former Permian and AHS coach Gary Gaines died this week. Gaines' success at Permian inspired the book, movie and TV series "Friday Night Lights."

Abilene High and Cooper are in town again the next week, meeting in the annual Crosstown Showdown.

The Abilene ISD announced this week that AHS and Cooper games, both home and away, will be streamed live through AISD Live - go to live.abileneisd.org - and the district's Facebook page. The Live service is free of charge.

Wylie is on the road opening week, taking on the Lions in Brownwood. Kickoff is 7:30 p.m.

More:Texas Football magazine presents Abilene Wylie with special edition cover

Friday also marks the first 11-man game for Texas Leadership Charter Academy, which opens on the road at Water Valley. Both teams played six-man football last year. Water Valley went 12-1, losing only to state finalist May in the playoffs. TLCA won its first football game ever, and then two more.

TLCA will play its home games at Hawley because the Eagles do not yet have a home field.

Abilene Christian High is the last to play, taking on the Lubbock Titans at 6 p.m. Saturday.

∎ Follow high school football with the Reporter-News, with timely reporting at reporternews.com.

This article originally appeared on Abilene Reporter-News: End over end: High school football teams kick off 2022 with high hopes