Honey Grove quarterback Hudson Milford threw for 247 yards and four touchdowns, but a furious fourth-quarter rally by the Warriors in front of a standing-room-only homecoming crowd fell one point short in a 27-26 loss to the rival Cooper Bulldogs.
Cooper scored first on a three-yard run by G. Bacy, but Honey Grove tied the contest 6-6 when Milford hit wide receiver K.J. Finney with a 21-yard touchdown pass. In the closing moments of the first quarter, Bacy blasted in from nine yards out and a successful two-point conversion gave the visiting Bulldogs a 14-6 advantage heading into the second stanza.
Midway through the second quarter Milford rolled out to his left and then reversed field to avoid the rushing Cooper defense. As the Honey Grove quarterback raced back across the field to his right, Milford spotted Sam McCarty running 10 yards behind the Bulldog secondary and the pass hit him in stride for a 50-yard scoring strike. The two-point conversion failed, leaving Cooper on top 14-12.
The key drive of the game culminated with just two seconds left on the clock in the first half when Cooper scored on a 17-yard pass that gave the Bulldogs a 21-12 lead at the half.
After a scoreless third quarter, Cooper stretched their advantage to 27-12 on a one-yard plunge.
But Honey Grove wasn't finished. Milford marched his team down the field and fired two TD passes in just over six minutes. Zack Patt hauled in an 11-yard reception in the end zone, but the two-point conversion failed and Cooper still led 27-18.
Finney caught his second touchdown pass with 1:50 left on the clock. Milford passed for the two-point conversion, but Cooper held off the surging Warriors to head home with an exciting 27-26 victory.
