Cooper leads Chaminade past True North and into state semifinals
The Chaminade-Madonna drive for yet another state football championship move one-step closer to reality on Friday.
Led by senior running back Derrek Cooper’s 245 rushing yards on 32 carries and a touchdown, the Lions secured a convincing 35-14 victory over True North in the Region 4-1A final.
Chaminade (10-2) advances a step closer to their eighth title since 2017, but first they’ll need to defeat their next opponent in a state semifinal game on Dec. 5.
Since the 2017 championship season, the Lions have recorded 104 victories and only 14 losses.
Collectively, the Lions’ running game was dominant with 365 yards on 60 carries and four touchdowns.
It was the 10th consecutive game over 200 yards and fourth time this season over 300 yards.
“I know I have a staple of running backs,” Chaminade-Madonna coach Damien Jones said. “We want to use the running game to open the pass game and that’s what we’ve been doing in the playoffs. The offensive line does a heck of a job and that’s what makes our run game go.”
Trailing 7-0 after the Titans opening possession of the first half on a 7-yard run by Kemari Morrison, the Lions reeled off 35 consecutive points to end any possibility of being upset.
Cooper scored on an 11-yard run that completed a 9-play, 65-yard drive to tie the score at 7-7. Cooper impressive numbers on the season improved to 1,379 yards on 140 carries and 17 touchdowns.
“All the credit goes to the offense line,” said Cooper, a University of Texas commit. “They always set the up the holes for me to hit it. I feel we have the best running back group in the country .The running game is very important because without it, can’t move the ball.”
Senior back Arwin Jackson added a 28-yard scoring run later in the quarter.
Following an interception by Elijah Hardy, freshman quarterback Malik Leonard threw a 26-yard scoring pass to Jasen Lopez for 21-7 lead. It was the 11th scoring reception of the year for Lopez.
Junior back Lee Prince Jr. scored the first of his two touchdowns in the fourth quarter to seal game for the Lions.
He first came on the first play of the fourth quarter on an eight-yard run for a 28-7 lead. His second came on a sweep off the right side for seven yards.
The Titans (10-3) added a late score on a 10-yard run by Cecil Smith.
“We knew coming in the Cooper gets a lot of love,” True North coach Greg Laffere said. “He’s a great player, but they have a whole bunch of guys that are pretty good. They do a nice job in putting it together in terms of the running game. We knew that was a challenge and we put our defense in a lot of hard spots.”
True North junior quarterback Zachary Katz passed for 250 yards on 20 completions.