Jackson's first touchdown proves memorable for player, Abilene Cooper

Malik Jackson always will remember his first varsity touchdown.

The Cooper senior snagged Chris Warren’s 22-yard pass in the back of the end zone to lift the Cougars to a 41-38 victory over San Angelo Central in overtime Friday at Shotwell Stadium.

“Coach called the play,” Jackson said. “I just had to run the route, find the open space and hope my quarterback gives me the ball. He found me. I just caught it.”

It was quite a moment for Jackson, who had only six catches for 47 yards in a reserve role with the Coogs last season.

Jackson admitted he was so excited that it took a while for him to finally fall asleep Friday night.

It wasn’t an easy catch, either, since Warren had to scramble on the third-and-eight play, before finally throwing the ball to wide-open Jackson. It was a little high, but Jackson made a nice catch to give the Coogs their first win of the season.

“I thought it was on the dot, but it wasn’t,” Warren said. “It was a little high. It was a great catch.”

Jackson said he had no problem making the leaping grab.

“Just go up and get it,” Jackson said. “I know I’m capable of making big plays. I just did it.”

It was the kind of play that allowed Cooper coach Aaron Roan to sleep better this week, knowing his Coogs don’t go into this week’s game at Lubbock Coronado with an 0-3 record.

“The play at the end, it was a heck of a catch,” Roan said. “It was a good job by Chris. Protection broke down a little bit. He stepped up and kept his eyes downfield, and he was able to make Malik in the end zone.

“Malik made a great catch to win us a football game. That was one that you as a coach, you wouldn’t like for it to get to that point, but I was extremely proud of the kids’ response to adversity.”

The catch also took some pressure off Roan, who otherwise would have had to make a tough call on fourth-and-8 from the 22. That would have been at least a 39-yard field goal attempt to tie the game and keep it going in overtime.

“I told our offensive staff I was glad we scored, so they didn’t put me in situation where I have to figure out if we were going to kick it for the tie or go for it,” Roan said.

Worth the wait

Jackson waited a long time to score a varsity touchdown, but he was OK with the wait.

“I just had to stay patience,” said Jackson, who is second on the team with eight catches for 83 yards this season. “I’m not a selfish player. I had to stay patient, wait my turn, and it came.”

Don’t be surprised if Warren eyes Jackson when the Coogs need a big play further down the road, either. Warren, Cooper’s second-year quarterback, said he’s always had faith in his fellow senior.

“Last year, I never had a problem throwing the ball to Malik,” Warren said. “I heard commentary on the game, ‘Malik’s not making that catch last year.’ I don’t agree with that 100 percent. I think I’ve always been comfortable throwing the ball to Malik.”

The catch and victory might just be what the Coogs needed to get their offense rolling this season. Cooper racked up 434 total yards and scored more points than the Coogs had in their previous two games combined.

“I knew we always had it in us as a team,” Warren said. “We just had to find it, dig in there and fight.”

Bray's big play

Daniel Bray, a sophomore running back and first-year varsity player, provided a big boost with a game-high 116 yards rushing on 11 carries, including a 66-yard TD run on the final play of the first half.

The score, his second in a varsity uniform, send Cooper into the locker room with a 28-20 lead.

“I thought his touchdown run was a great effort to end the half,” Roan said. “Central had just scored with 20 something seconds left, and then he answers that, and we were able to get back up going into halftime. I thought that was a big momentum shift.”

It also gave Bray a shot of confidence as well.

“At first, I didn’t think I could do it,” Bray said. “But my receivers, offensive line were blocking. I felt way better about myself.”

It was a big moment for a youngster who hasn’t always felt comfortable playing on the varsity this year.

“I just felt like I needed to gain more weight, get bigger,” said Bray, who leads Cooper with 166 yards on 24 carries. “felt small compared to everybody else on the field. I wasn’t scared. Maybe a little nervous.”

Warren and Roan both said they saw the potential in Bray from the beginning this season.

“Bray is a great player,” Warren said. “I expected that from him in that game. He’s a really great player.”

Not that Warren doesn’t understand the situation Bray is in. Warren was a first-year varsity player last year.

“That is a lot on him,” Warren said. “He really is young, and he’s got a lot on his plate. But he got the job done.”

Kickstarting the offense

Now, perhaps, the whole Cooper has offense feels better moving forward.

“I think it gives us confidence,” Roan said. “We were finally able to illustrate that when we execute at a higher level and we’re more consistent we have the capability of moving the football and scoring points. That’s one thing where we grew up.”

As far as growing up, the Coogs (1-2) get another measuring test this week when they play Lubbock Coronado (1-2) at 4 p.m. Friday at Lowrey Field.

“That was last week, and now were getting ready for another tough non-district game with Lubbock Coronado,” Roan said. “They’re extremely talented. They’re well-coached. They play extremely hard. We have to replicate (what we did on offense last week) and do it two weeks in a row.”

This article originally appeared on Abilene Reporter-News: Jackson's catch proves memorable for Abilene Cooper football team