By JONATHAN HULL
Sports Editor
Playing in meaningful games is a habit Big Spring Head Coach Phillip Ritchey hopes can continue for the Steers.

Big Spring (7-0, 2-0) travels to Abilene to meet the Cooper Cougars (4-3, 2-0) at 7:30 p.m. Friday in Shotwell Stadium for a pivotal District 4-4A matchup that will decide which team will sit alone atop the standings after three games of league play.

"This is the type of game we want to be a part of here at Big Spring," said Ritchey. "Any time a game gets this much attention on a statewide level, it's good news for this program. It's just like being ranked. The biggest deal in all of it is the honor the team receives for its accomplishments."

The Steers enter Friday night ranked No. 7 in the state and are attempting to go 8-0 for the first time in the program's 102-year history.

While Cooper has three losses on its record, Ritchey warns the Cougars' season mark is quite misleading.

"All of Cooper's losses came to very good 5A squads and they didn't get blown out in any of those games," said Ritchey. "They're a very good team and we're not going to see a team as talented as they are until we get to the postseason. Honestly, if Cooper plays our schedule, there's a pretty good chance they'd be undefeated and in the Top 10, too. They'd have a tough time with Denison and Frenship just like we did, but I do think they'd be undefeated."

Much like Big Spring, the Cougars are using a balanced offense to post gaudy numbers. Cooper is averaging more than 40 points a game with 3,199 total yards on the season. The Cougars have racked up 1,477 yards on the ground and 1,722 through the air.

Cooper has three running backs — Kendrick Powdrill (482), Alford Cooper (450) and Davon Riddick (398) — with close to or more than 400 yards rushing and averaging better than six yards a carry.

Quarterback Ryan Heslep has completed 131-of-207 passes for 1,662 yards and 15 touchdowns and is yet to throw an interception this season. Also like the Steers, Heslep spreads the ball around with four receivers recording at least 20 receptions.

"They started the season throwing the ball a lot, but have really started to pound it with the ground game in their last couple games," noted Ritchey. "They're capable of having success either way. It's going to be a major challenge for our defense. They can spread us out and throw the ball in a scheme much like Pampa's, which gave us trouble earlier this season. They're also capable of getting in the I-formation and running between the tackles. I'd rather face a team that's good at only running or passing than one that can do both any day.

"The fact Heslep has thrown only one interception this season is amazing, too," he added. "To have thrown the ball as many times as he has and not make any mistakes just speaks volumes about his ability. This is the most talented offense we're going to see so far this season."

The Steers have been just as balanced this season and last week's 49-12 win over Plainview emulated that fact.

Quarterback Tyler Tannehill threw for 318 yards and four touchdowns, while tailback Monte Anderson rushed for 199 yards and three scores. Tannehill's four touchdown passes went to four different receivers.

"We're capable of attacking defenses any way we want to," said Ritchey. "We're probably going to be seeing the most athletic secondary we have all season. They've got some good, quick players up front as well."

Cooper's secondary is led by cornerback T.C. Robinson, who has made a verbal commitment to Baylor and had received interest from other Division I colleges such as SMU, TCU and Texas Tech.

Ritchey said Robinson's presence in the secondary is not going to change the way Big Spring attacks with the passing game.

"He's a good player, but we can't allow him to take away one side of the field," explained Ritchey. "I'm going to be interested to see which one of our receivers he lines up on because we've got so many who have been contributing this season. We're going to throw the ball to every part of the field. We won't limit ourselves at all.

"Their secondary plays a lot of man coverage and we haven't seen that too much this season," he added. "We've seen some very good zone schemes, but Cooper has the athletes to match up with most teams man-to-man."

Ritchey adds a large target remains firmly on the backs of the Steers, but also says Big Spring has reasons to be gunning for Cooper as well.

"They don't like the fact we're ranked ahead of them. They see our schedule and know the quality of teams they've faced this season. I'm sure they believe they're a better team than we are," said Ritchey. "We've got a target on us because of that, but we're putting a target on them, too. They're a big 4A school with 5A numbers. We're playing with more like 3A numbers right now, but we know we can hang with the big boys. We're wanting that district title and we've got to beat Cooper to get to it."