Southtown Showdown tests friendship in high stakes game between Abilene Cooper, Wylie
Chris Warren and K.J. Long have been good friends since playing on the same club basketball team while in junior high.
The two seniors – both starting quarterbacks – usually talk each week, just to see how the other is doing.
That friendship, however, will be put to the test when Cooper battles Wylie in the first meeting as district rivals Friday at Sandifer Stadium – and there’s a lot at stake.
Wylie can win its first outright district title since 2016, and it’s first since making the jump to Class 5A in 2018. The Bulldogs, who can nail down a first-round home playoff game, also can notch their first victory over Cooper since the series began only in 2018.
Cooper, meanwhile, can get a piece of the District 2-5A Division II title, most likely a three-way share with Wichita Falls Rider, and open the playoffs at home while forcing Wylie to hit the road to El Paso.
Cooper vs Wylie: What you need to know about Friday's showdown
Opponents for one game
Despite the magnitude of Friday’s Southtown Showdown, Long and Warren haven’t let it affect their friendship.
Normally even being in the same district could strain a friendship. That hasn’t been true for Long and Warren.
They’ve stayed in touch throughout the season.
“I’ll reach out to him, or he’ll reach out to me,” Warren said. “During the season, I’ll text him, ask him what his numbers are looking like. Just how he’s doing.”
Added Long: “Just to check up, and we’ll say, ‘Good job,’ or see how things are going and all that.”
They even root for each other, other than the week they play against each other.
“K.J.’s my guy,” Warren said. “I’ve got to give him props. He’s doing really well this year. I’m really proud of him as a friend.”
With their teams colliding in a big matchup this week, the two have been reluctant to message each other – at least that was true as of Monday evening.
“We haven’t texted this week,” said Long, a first-year starter at quarterback. “I haven’t talked to him yet. I’m sure I’ll text just good luck and all that sometime this week.”
Warren, Cooper’s second-year starter, said he had refrained just out of respect for the game.
“I’m just staying off social media this week,” Warren said. “I know what the game means. I know how it goes. It’s not my first rodeo.”
That being said, both expect to talk after Friday’s game – regardless of the outcome – and hope the other has continued success in the playoffs. Well, unless they run into each other again down the road in the postseason.
Surprising Bulldogs
This has been a confident Wylie team since the season started, despite the fact the Bulldogs had little success since making the jump to 5A in 2018.
They went winless in 2018 and had an 18-game losing streak dating back to 2017 when they notched their first 5A victory – 21-14 at Wichita Falls High – on Oct. 17, 2019.
Wylie, 11-28 its first four seasons in 5A, got its first winning season as a 5A program in 2020, going 5-4 if you count a forfeit from North Garland because of COVID. It was the Bulldogs’ first winning season since going 6-4 its last year in 4A.
Wylie has played one playoff game as a 5A program – losing to Grapevine 34-24 in 2020 after getting a first-round bye because of North Garland's forfeit.
The Bulldogs had tied for third in district in 2019 and 2021 – but lost a three-way tiebreaker and stayed home.
Until this season, Wylie had done no better than 2-3 in district its first four years in 5A.
So, what made this team think it could win a district title this year?
“We’ve all been playing together, known each other our whole lives,” said Wylie senior Harrison Heighten, a two-year starter at receiver. “So, we all had that confidence in each other to just go out there and play and beat everybody.”
Not that Wylie’s confidence hasn’t been tested. After a 2-0 start, the Bulldogs lost three consecutive games – two against familiar foes in Lubbock-Cooper 33-28 and Stephenville 56-49. Both at home.
San Angelo Central beat them 63-61 on the last play of the game the following week in San Angelo.
Yet Wylie got its signature win as a 5A program two weeks later – beating then-No. 8 Rider 39-38 in a thriller.
It was Wylie’s first win over the Raiders as district rivals since 2018. The only other district team that had beaten Rider in that span was Lubbock-Cooper, which is now in 5A DI.
It came a week after Rider demolished Cooper 51-21.
“It definitely gave us a lot of confidence, but we thought through the whole season that we’re good enough to win district,” Heighten said. “Now, we’ve got the chance.”
Long agreed: “I think the Rider game gives us all the confidence we need. We know we can do it. I think Rider is a really good football team. I think Cooper is a really good football team. So, just having the success we’ve had in district leads up to this.”
Wylie has a chance to win an outright district title – something it hasn’t done since the 2016 state finalist team, and the Bulldogs can accomplish that goal while also beating finally beating Cooper.
“We’ve never beaten Cooper, and we finally get a chance to beat them when it counts the most for a district title and homefield advantage in the playoffs,” said Reese Borho, a senior safety.
Coogs on the upswing
At the beginning of the year, many people expected it to be a two-team race between Cooper and Rider for the district title.
Cooper, which has secured its 16th consecutive playoff appearance, has had its ups and downs this season.
The Coogs were 2-4 after the loss to Rider, its second consecutive loss at the time, and they’ve managed to beat three teams in Amarillo Palo Duro, Plainview and Lubbock High that they’ve traditionally dominated anyway to get to 5-4.
Yet the Coogs stand at the cusp of getting a share of the district title and a first-round home playoff game.
“The privilege to still come out here and have a piece of that (district title) after the loss (to Rider) is powerful,” said Carson England, a senior linebacker. “It gets us going. We felt like it was gone. Now it’s back. It gives us hope.”
The chance to play one more game at Shotwell Stadium also is enticing.
“It would be nice get another game at Shotwell, especially for the seniors,” said Cam Herron, a senior receiver.
While Cooper is 3-0 all-time against Wylie, including shutouts the first two meetings, the Bulldogs got the Coogs’ attention when they took down Rider.
“That was a good win for them,” Warren said. “I think we can compete with Wylie. That was a great win on the road against Rider. I think it’ll be a good game.”
And despite a roller-coaster season for a Cooper team used to being the favorite and not the underdog, a fourth straight win in the series and the season would be a powerful jolt of momentum heading into the postseason.
“There’s been a lot of ups and downs this season,” Warren said. “I think we’ve handled it well. I really think this is our shot.”
All eyes on Southtown
Historically speaking, no in-town rivalry has matched the Crosstown Showdown between Abilene and Cooper – a series that dates back to the Coogs’ first varsity season in 1961.
Until recently, that had always been a district game.
Now, for the first time in the young series between Wylie and Cooper, all eyes will be on the southside of town – not Shotwell Stadium. It’s not about the black and gold versus the red and blue. It’s that’s fuzzy line between Cooper and Wylie along that stretch of Buffalo Gap Road that links both schools.
“We obviously don’t have as much familiarity with those guys,” Cooper coach Aaron Roan said, comparing the two rivalries. “We’ve played them the last several years in non-district. But, yeah, coincidentally enough the way things fell, it feels the same way (as the Crosstown Showdown).”
Both coaches see it a win-win for Abilene and a great way for both teams to head into the postseason.
“This is a great game for the community,” Wylie coach Clay Martin said. “It’s a great game for everybody involved. It’s going to be a great atmosphere between two really good football teams.”
Southtown Scenario
It’s possible Wylie (6-3, 4-0), Cooper (5-4, 3-1) and Wichita Falls Rider (6-3, 3-1) could all tie for the District 2-5A Division II title.
Here’s what’s at stake Friday night, based on the likelihood Rider beats Lubbock High:
∎ Wylie wins: Bulldogs win outright District 2-5A Division II title, host first-round playoff game next week.
∎ Cooper wins by eight or more: Coogs are the No. 2 seed, host a first-round playoff game and Wylie would be the No. 3 seed and open the playoffs in El Paso.
∎ Cooper wins by seven points or less: The Coogs are the No. 3 seed and open the playoffs at El Paso; Wylie is the No. 2 seed and hosts a first-round playoff game; Wichita Falls Rider is the No. 1 seed.
Note: If Cooper wins and Rider loses to Lubbock High (2-7, 0-4), then Cooper is the No. 1 seed, Wylie No. 2 and Rider No. 3.
Southtown Series
Abilene Cooper leads series 3-0
2018: Abilene Cooper 48, Wylie 0
2019: Abilene Cooper 30, Wylie 0
2020: No game (COVID)
2021: Abilene Cooper 30, Wylie 24
This article originally appeared on Abilene Reporter-News: Southtown Showdown tests friendship in high stakes Cooper-Wylie game
