Cooper turns fumble recoveries into points and a high school football victory over Park Center

Cooper took advantage of two very short fields Friday to defeat host Park Center 27-21 in the first game of the season for both teams.

The Hawks turned two fumble recoveries deep in Pirates territory into a pair of touchdowns.

Dalon Gurley started the second half with a fumble recovery at the Pirates’ 4-yard line. He converted the turnover into a touchdown with a run on the first play.

“I was thinking, ‘Go get the ball, go grab the ball and score,’ ” Gurley said. “I think I was too in my head because I was bobbling the ball, but after that, we ran it in for a touchdown and it felt better.”

The Hawks scored in the first quarter three plays after recovering a fumble at the Pirates 20-yard line. Beckham Van Voorst threw a 5-yard touchdown pass to Tavorian Thompson with 2 minutes, 38 seconds remaining.

The Hawks defense finished the game with two fumble recoveries and four three-and-out series, including two of the last three Pirates drives.

“We have a lot of good players [on defense],” Gurley said. “I feel like we have the chemistry to the point where we can connect without having to say words. We can look at each other and be like, ‘OK, this is what we need to do.’ Our defense is very compatible.”

Emmanuel Karmo, committed to the Gophers, put the Hawks ahead 27-14 with under 10 minutes left on a 10-yard touchdown catch from Van Voorst. Karmo, the state’s top-ranked recruit, also serves as the team’s punter. Karmo sensed one of his punts in his end zone was going to be blocked and ran it up the sideline for 26 yards and a first down.

“Emmanuel is a special guy,” Cooper coach Tony Patterson said. “He is the leader of our team. He just made the right decision right there, broke a couple tackles and got a first down.

“I was like, ‘Kick it. Kick it.’ But then I saw he had an open sideline. He was able to make a big play. That’s what we stress — big players make big plays in big-time games.”

The Hawks started Thompson at quarterback but switched to Van Voorst early in the game. Van Voorst finished with 96 passing yards and three touchdown passes. The Hawks planned to alternate the quarterbacks because Thompson also plays tight end and on the defensive line.

Denero Fellows threw two touchdown passes for the Pirates, connecting with Roosevelt Klee and Ronnie Brown. His 12-yard touchdown pass to Brown got the Pirates within six points in the fourth quarter. Josh Diggs had a rushing touchdown for the Pirates.