John Cooper Sports: Dragon Volleyball Digs Pink To Support Breast Cancer Research

THE WOODLANDS, TX -- Results from the week of October 2

Dragon Volleyball Digs Pink To Support Breast Cancer Research

VARSITY VOLLEYBALL

10/3 vs. Houston Christian* • 3-2 W

Coach Courtney Hunnicutt: The Dragons completed a sensational reverse sweep to get the W over Houston Christian! Down 0-2 after the first two sets, the Dragons rallied together to win the next three sets to take the match. Junior Julianne Hon led the way for the Dragon offense with 14 kills and 17 digs. Junior Ana Del Angel Aguilar tallied 12 kills, 11 digs, and 21 assists! Finley Wheeler led the Dragon defense with 26 digs on the night. The Dragons move to 3-1 in SPC South Zone play!

10/5 vs. Kinkaid* • 3-1 L
DIG PINK GAME

Coach Courtney Hunnicutt: The Dragons came out ready to play taking the first set 25-15! Early in the second set, the Dragons faced some adversity and couldn't quite get back into a rhythm, falling in the next three sets. The Dig Pink fundraiser was a huge success - thank you to all who came out to support and for the tremendous efforts of our parents and players (specifically our Dig Pink sponsor Stephanie Schoenherr, and our Dig Pink Student Reps Alexandra Schoenherr and Kennedy Caraway).

Next up for Dragon Volleyball:

October 12 at St. John’s*, 5:30 p.m.

October 19 vs. Episcopal High School*, 6 p.m.

October 26 vs. Awty*, 6 p.m.

VARSITY FOOTBALL

10/6 at Fort Worth Country Day* • 28-21 W

Enthusiasm is common, endurance is rare.

It was an enthusiastic environment Friday night as Cooper took on the Falcons of Fort Worth Country Day at Howard Family Field. The Falcon spirits were up, but it was the Dragons who endured coming away with a 28-21 win. Down 21-7 late in the 3^rd quarter the Dragons scored 21 unanswered points to clip the Falcons and get the win for the third year in a row.

The Dragon offense couldn’t find a rhythm in the first half, scoring just once on their first five possessions, that score coming on a 10-play drive finishing with a 30-yard run by junior RB Dean Calhoun. Calhoun was wonderful all night, running the ball 28 times for a school record 246 yards and two touchdowns. Freshman WR Julio Fernandez Villarreal reeled in five catches for close to 50 yards, all in important situations for the Dragons. In his first varsity start, sophomore WR Eric Sipko completed and made the most of it with five catches for almost 40 yards, one on a crucial fourth down the Dragons had to get. The bend-don’t-break style of the Dragon defense was on display again as the Dragons gave up just under 250 yards of total offense to the Falcons. Senior LB Cole Sheppard led the charge again, playing out of his mind in the second half, not to mention running in a touchdown when pulling double duty as a running back for the Dragon offense. Sophomore LB Colton Rhoden also played well with eight tackles, while he pulled double duty spelling Dragon running backs with strong runs in needed times.

The Dragons are now at 4-3 overall and 4-0 in district play heading into the year's final two games. This week the Dragons are back at the lair for Senior Night as the Mustangs of Houston Christian travel up I-45 for a Friday night clash with championship aspirations on the line. –Coach Daniel Lewis

Next up for Dragon Football:

October 13 vs. Houston Christian*, 7 p.m. Senior Night

October 20 at Trinity Valley School*, 7 p.m.

VARSITY CROSS COUNTRY

10/7 at St. John’s Maverick Ramble

Coach George Dohner: The Cooper cross country teams competed at the Maverick Ramble. Aditya Pakal led the boys, finishing in eighth place running a lifetime best 16:18 for the 5k. Freshman Isaac Ortega was next on our team in 42^nd place with a time of 17:36. Chris Trenholme finished 50th in 17:47, Zach Jefferson 52^nd in 17:50, and Ryan Benes 64^th in 18:27. The boys ran great today with our Top Five finishers setting personal best times for the 5k.

The girls only ran three runners in the varsity race. Anderson Wagner led the team, finishing in 36^th place with a new personal best time of 22:56. We look forward to getting in some nice training as we prepare for the South Zone Championship in Austin on October 21st.

Next up for Dragon Cross Country

October 21 at SPC South Zone Championships, St. Andrew’s Episcopal, 8 a.m.

*conference

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