In the second half, however, fullback Adrian Reaves-Brown and the visiting Wildcats’ Wing-T offense seized the spotlight, cutting their 21-6 halftime deficit to 21-19 with five minutes remaining.
But when Temple had one final opportunity to shine and pull out a victory, Cooper’s defense and a couple of close calls turned out the lights on the game Wildcats’ comeback attempt.
Cooper’s Will Casey passed for three long touchdowns in the first half, A’mon Pimpton rushed for 152 yards and the Cougars overcame their scoreless second half and Reaves-Brown’s 138-yard performance to edge the Wildcats 21-19 and drop their record to 1-2.
“It was a great effort in the second half, and in the second half we played Wildcat football,” said Temple coach Bryce Monsen, whose team’s final possession in the last two minutes went nowhere because two receivers were ruled out of bounds while catching Chase Moore passes.
“Anyone could have folded their tent, but these kids don’t do that,” he added. “We gave ourselves a chance to win. We just need to learn how to finish.”
While Temple created five turnovers but absorbed its second consecutive loss since a season-opening win, Cooper prevailed in its home opener to move to 2-0.
“I told my team that it was a win over a very quality opponent, because Temple is much-improved since last year,” said Cooper coach Mike Spradlin, whose Cougars’ 26-14 road loss a year ago broke the Wildcats’ 17-game losing streak. “We just grinded and stayed in it, particularly defensively.”
Cooper produced only 82 yards total offense after it shredded Temple for 263 passing yards and 341 overall in the first half.
However, the Cougars’ quick, aggressive defense made up for senior Reaves-Brown’s 100-yard second half by limiting sophomore speedster Lache Seastrunk to 43 yards on 12 carries, though he did score a 10-yard touchdown in the third quarter.
Seastrunk ran for an area-leading 337 yards and four touchdowns - three of 56 yards or longer - in the Wildcats’ first two games.
“We had a simple plan against him and it was to hit him and to be physical,” Spradlin said.
Cooper displayed its talent throughout the first half, as Casey took advantage of the absence of two injured Wildcat starters - safety Harry Sheppard and defensive end David Johnson - to exploit Temple’s defense.
Casey threw a perfect deep ball to Tommy Bowman for a 56-yard touchdown less than two minutes into the game to give the Cougars a 7-0 lead.
Cooper popped up the ensuing kickoff and recovered the ball at Temple’s 40-yard line, but after the Cougars marched to the 11 the Wildcats pounced on a Casey fumble for the first of their five takeaways.
Temple’s offense broke through late in the first quarter, using strong runs by Quentin Tuck and Reaves-Brown to reach the Cooper 3 before Moore pushed his way across the goal line on a keeper on the final snap of the first quarter.
Micah Haile blocked Chris Winkler’s extra-point kick, scooped up the ball and almost ran it all the way back for two points, but Winkler tracked him down and tackled him inside the Temple 10 to keep it 7-6.
Cooper had an immediate answer, though. Junior Pimpton ripped up the middle for a 40-yard run, then Casey had plenty of time and threw to a wide-open Andrew Squyres in the left side of the end zone for a 23-yard touchdown and a 14-6 lead.
Moore then pinned Cooper at its 4 with a 59-yard punt, but Casey hooked up with Ricky Stevenson for a 48-yard pass and then threw down the middle to running back DeShaun Scott for a 28-yard touchdown and a 21-6 advantage 7:38 before halftime.
“It’s hard to tell what happened without looking at the film,” Monsen said of Temple’s defensive problems, “but there were some busted coverages and a combination of things.”
Wildcat Adrian Blunt ran for 49 yards to the Cooper 16 and reached the left sideline with 2 seconds left before halftime, but time was allowed to run out and the officials didn’t put any back on the clock.
Temple proceeded to play a stellar second half, getting a Cody Monsen fumble recovery at his 45 and then scoring a touchdown on Seastrunk’s 10-yard option run to the right for a 21-12 game late in the third. The Wildcats went for a two-point conversion, but this time Seastrunk’s option run was stopped inside the 1.
Temple’s Gerald Norvell recovered a fumble at Cooper’s 36 midway through the fourth, and Reaves-Brown’s hard runs set up Tuck to run in untouched on the left side for an 11-yard TD. Winkler’s extra point cut the deficit to 21-19 with 4:46 remaining.
Pimpton’s tough running helped the Cougars take more than three minutes off the clock before a punt, and Temple took over at its 20 with 1:21 left and no timeouts.
Moore’s deep pass sailed incomplete, then Reaves-Brown was ruled out on a would-be 20-yard catch. After Moore scrambled for 2 yards, Derek Marshall caught a fourth-down pass along the left side for first-down yardage but also was ruled to have stepped out (“His first foot was in,” Monsen said), ending the Wildcats’ admirable rally.
Said senior rover Robert Black of Temple’s defensive improvement after halftime: “We talked about some stuff and adjusted some personnel, and in the second half we got it together. I’m proud of our defense. (The second half) was a great confidence-builder for next week.
