Preview: Cooper at Franklin County

Cooper has made believers out of many people with their defense this fall. Now the Jaguars get the ultimate test squaring off against an unbeaten Franklin County team that has scored 709 points, that's 59.1 per game.

The aptly named Flyers have scored 62 points or more seven times. In contrast, Cooper has held 10 foes to 16 points or fewer, six of those to a touchdown or less. They say "if you want to be the best, you have to beat the best" and clearly the winner of this affair will be able to boast of that in Class 5A.

COOPER JAGUARS (11-1) @FRANKLIN COUNTY FLYERS (12-0)

Site: Welcome Stadium -University of Dayton

Kickoff: Friday, November 26th at 7:00 P.M.

PLAYERS TO WATCH: Ryan Timmons is a leading candidate for Mr. Football in Kentucky. The Franklin County star has 1,260 yards rushing, 25 touchdowns on the ground. The senior is a spectacular receiver as well racking 970 more yards on 29 receptions, 17 of which have gone for touchdowns. Timmons has 80 total touchdowns in the last two seasons. He isn't the only big play threat for the Flyers. Quarterback Logan Woodside has thrown for 2,760 yards and 39 scoring tosses. Woodside's other top targets are Greg Maupin and Lorenzo McCaskell who have combined for another 53 receptions for 1,279 yards and 18 touchdowns receiving. On defense, Landon Hurst, Jared Marshall, Maupin and McCaskell can cause a whole other kind of chaos for opponents.

Cooper is getting great balance from their offense which has seen tailback AJ Collins, explode as of late. Collins has run for 391 yards and seven touchdowns the past two weeks. Quarterback Tyler Morris has accounted for 2,162 yards of total offense and 29 touchdowns (17 passing). Speedy receiver Aaron Morgan can stretch a field, averaging 21.4 with six scores on 28 receptions. Taylor Centers and Dustin Mitchell will have to get a push up front so that the Jags linebackers can fill the gaps and stop forward progress by Timmons and crew.

TEAM TRENDS: The two teams have three common opponents - Anderson County, Scott and Conner. Franklin County beat Scott twice, Conner's only loss of the season was to Conner. Franklin County is 23-1 since the beginning of 2011. They avenged their only loss in that span by beating Conner last Friday. The Flyers have scored 1,311 total points during that time. The Jaguars are averaging 43.8 points over their last four outings. The best and most consistent scoring run in the history of their program.

COOPER'S KEYS TO VICTORY: Morris, Collins and Morgan will have to be sure tacklers in the secondary, especially as the game wears on. Timmons will test their stamina and with Morris also running the Jaguars offense, he will have no time for mental or physical lulls late in the contest versus the fleet-footed Flyer. Keeping Franklin County off the field with ball control on offense is only going to shorten the tilt in Cooper's favor.

FRANKLIN COUNTY'S KEYS TO VICTORY: The Flyers are so balanced on offense that they can pick their poison - the run or the pass to infest on their opponent. Franklin County wants to turn this into a track meet. If they can build a lead they know that Cooper will have a difficult time playing catch up. Staying away from the turnover bug will also a be a big plus. The Jaguar have been very good forcing takeaways with 33 on the year.

PREDICTION: FRANKLIN COUNTY 34, COOPER 28,