Winona junior Blake Cooper plays football and baseball for the Tigers, but the current school year did not go as he had hoped.
“It was a very unexpected year for me because I did not get to finish my season in football and I didn't get to play many games in baseball,” he said. A football injury and the closing of schools resulted in a premature end to both seasons for him.
What happened in football was most painful, pun intended. He injured his left ankle twice.
The first injury came in a preseason scrimmage against Senatobia. “When I was tackled, my foot was under me awkwardly. A Senatobia boy was getting up and he pushed off of me. He pushed me back onto the ground and that forced it (the left ankle) to bend and it tightened up all of a sudden.”
It was a sprain that bothered him the rest of the season, especially in the first regular season game against Eupora. “It was good running straight, but if I was making sharp cuts, it would give me trouble. It would give me a little pain.”
He ran sparingly the first couple of games, totaling 13 carries in victories over Eupora and Choctaw County. As the season progressed, he had more carries and had some excellent games – 98 yards against J.Z. George, 98 against defending state champion Water Valley and a career high 181 with two touchdowns in a 56-40 victory over Coahoma Early College.
Then he reinjured the ankle, this time more seriously, against Humphreys County. It happened on a bubble screen when he attempted to leap over a defender and landed on the bad ankle. “I came down wrong. It rolled and I felt a snap. A guy hit me from behind, but that wasn't the reason. It was all on me. I landed wrong.”
And thus ended his season. He needed surgery and was told that the injury was worse than a broken ankle. “I had everything torn. My main bone in my leg connected to my ankle was dislocated. It was just barely hanging by a thread.”
He missed the last two games of the regular season and a 30-20 loss to Houston in the opening round of the 3A playoffs. He stood on the sidelines watching the loss.
“I was very broken hearted. But I was still there and I was wishing the best for my team.”
Cooper finished the season with 81 carries for 481 yards and seven touchdowns. That was about half of his breakout sophomore year when he had 112 carries for 909 yards, an 8.1 average.
“It hurt him stats wise, but he did a lot of things for us, blocking and things like that, that go unnoticed,” said Coach Joey Tompkins. “Although he can run the ball well, he is more of an H-back or fullback because he is big and strong.”
Cooper played shortstop and pitched for the baseball team and was one of the Tigers' leading hitters in the abbreviated season, with two hit games against French Camp and Calhoun Academy. “I have been playing (baseball) ever since I could walk.”
Baseball started with T-ball and football a little later in pee wee ball. “Baseball was my favorite sport to begin with. But after I started watching football more and more, that became my go to sport. I do love baseball, but football grew on me.”
Some colleges have shown interest in him for football. “My plan at first was to go to a four-year college. But later I thought about it. I want to start at a JUCO, and if it goes well I would want to transfer.”
Cooper wore a brace on the ankle during baseball, but said it is now 100 percent. He is hoping that the 2020 football season is not delayed. “College scouts want to see what I can do after the surgery.”
