Roosevelt Eagles and Lubbock-Cooper Pirates Advance to State Semi-Finals in UIL Football Playoffs

Friday night, two Lubbock County high schools won their respective classification's regional final in the UIL football playoffs.

In Lubbock, at Cody Campbell Field at Jones AT&T Stadium, the Roosevelt Eagles played against the Abernathy Antelopes in the Region I Final for Class 3A, Division II. Roosevelt came out on top 36-14, to keep their undefeated season alive.

The Eagles started the scoring halfway through the first quarter with a J.J. Diaz 9-yard touchdown run. A two-point conversion attempt failed, and the Eagles kept a 6-0 lead at the end of he first quarter.

By halftime, Roosevelt extended their lead to 14-0 and cruised the rest of the game to the 22-point win.

On the other side of the state bracket on Friday night, Gunter beat Holliday 35-14 to  win the 3A, Division II Region II Final. Next Friday, December 10, Roosevelt (14-0) will play Gunter (14-0) in a Class 3A, Division II state semi-final game at Abilene Christian University.

In the other game of note on Friday, the Lubbock-Cooper Pirates played against the Wichita Falls Rider Raiders at Anthony Field on the campus of Abilene Christian University. Their game was the Region I Final for Class 5A, Division II.

Lubbock-Cooper beat Wichita Falls Rider 22-0 in a game that saw both teams miss field goal attempts and force turnovers on defense.

Lubbock-Cooper took advantage of a first quarter turnover to jump out to a 3-0 lead. Then, in the second quarter Holt Gibson connected on a 53 yard touchdown pass to Cooper Morris. The extra point was no good and Lubbock-Cooper took a 9-0 lead into halftime.

Coming out of the break, the Pirates dominated the third quarter. Pirates defensive lineman Kyler Jordan intercepted a screen pass and returned it for a touchdown. The extra point was no good and the Pirates had a 15-0 lead over the Raiders.

Six minutes later, Judge Thompson got into the end zone on a 4 yard rushing touchdown and Lubbock-Cooper extended their lead to 22-0 with 1:25 left in the third quarter. Thompson's touchdown would end up being the final points of the game as the Pirates beat the Raiders.

Next week, Lubbock-Cooper will play the winner of South Oak Cliff (11-1) vs Lovejoy (12-1), in a Class 5A, Division II state semi-final game.