Execution Falters As Cooper Football Falls To Panthers

One major difference stood out between the football team and Spring Lake Park on Friday.

“They executed—a team that makes the least amount of mistakes is going to win,” Cooper coach Willie Howard said. “They came out and ran Spring Lake Park football the way we knew they were going to run it, and they were able to execute. We weren’t able to make more plays.”

The Hawks fell 16-0 on Friday at Barbara A. Lehman Field in a North Suburban Conference showdown. The shutout loss came one week after topping Columbia Heights 52-12 on the road.

The Panthers (6-1, 5-1 North Suburban Conference) took a 14-0 lead heading into halftime thanks to two rushing touchdowns by running back Spencer Stachowski. His one-yard score on 4th and inches gave Spring Lake Park a 7-0 lead, and he followed it up with a two-yard rushing touchdown just before halftime.

That was all the Panthers needed, as Cooper struggled to move the ball all night. When they did threaten, the Hawks stalled because of aggressive play by the Spring Lake Park defense. The Hawks (3-4, 3-4) had three turnovers in the game, including a lost fumble and interceptions by Panthers senior Jordan Spahr and sophomore Eji Ejiya.

“Cooper came out flying to the ball, and our defense shut them out,” Panthers quarterback Noah Waiwaiole said.

To ice the game, the Panthers picked up a safety on a botched punt snap with 4:41 remaining.

Cooper ends the regular season against Minneapolis South on Wednesday. Kickoff is set for 3:30 p.m. at South.