Kris Cooper

Barry Faulkner

His personality has a lot to do with it, but there is more than

one reason why Kris Cooper prefers defense to offense. For one thing,

the Corona del Mar High senior outside linebacker and tight end is

more likely to touch the ball when the other team has possession.

In eight varsity starts at tight end, including all six games this

fall, Cooper has fielded a grand total of one pass, for a 13-yard

pickup last year against Saddleback.

The 6-foot-2, 210-pounder has three career interceptions, one of

which produced his only varsity touchdown, with a 64-yard return

against Saddleback last season.

Cooper picked up another “touch” in the Sea Kings’ crucial 14-13

Pacific Coast League-opening victory last week over University. His

fumble recovery late the third quarter, in fact, was the turning

point in a game filled with sudden and dramatic shifts in momentum.

“I was coming toward the ball carrier when he was being tackled

and I saw the ball come out,” Cooper recalled. “I just jumped on it,

stood up and got excited.”

The recovery, at the CdM 44-yard line, came one play after a

two-play sequence that appeared to significantly diminish the Sea

Kings’ chances for victory.

A personal-foul penalty 30 yards away from the ball on a Uni punt

allowed the Trojans to retain possession. Though the penalty did not

create a first down, it did set a fourth-and-one situation, which the

Trojans converted when the quarterback somehow dodged a collection of

tacklers in the backfield and lunged for the first down.

The fumble, however, led to a seven-play TD drive that put the Sea

Kings ahead for good, ended their three-game losing streak, put them

a game ahead of a Uni team expected to contend for the league title,

and bolstered CdM’s sagging confidence.

“It was very satisfying,” Cooper said of his opportunistic

turnover, which typified a sterling defensive performance. “We needed

something at that point in the game and I was the lucky one who fell

on the ball.”

CdM’s fortunes are always boosted by the Daily Pilot Player of the

Week’s almost perpetual presence on the field.

“He probably plays more than anybody we have,” CdM Coach Dick

Freeman said. “You know he’s exhausted and you know his knee is

hurting him. But you ask him ‘How’s the knee?’ and he says ‘Fine.’

You ask him if he’s tired and he says ‘No.’ And he sure doesn’t play

like he’s tired.”

Cooper’s knee, in which he tore cartilage, and partially tore his

medial collateral and anterior cruciate ligaments in a game last

season, has forced coaches to limit his practice repetitions. It also

requires him to do daily physical therapy to limit the build up of

scar tissue. He had offseason surgery to repair the cartilage tear.

“It basically just aches and it aches all the time,” said Freeman.

“He really can’t take a whole practice, but we have to pull him out,

because he never wants out of anything.”

Freeman has removed Cooper from some special teams, but his

blocking contributions are crucial to the team’s favorite off-tackle

running play and his defense has been a constant on a linebacking

crew continually shuffled, this season, due to injuries.

Cooper’s versatility is also a plus when it comes to assembling a

defensive game plan. This was particularly true against University’s

multifaceted wing-T offense.

“We used him as a linebacker, a strong safety and even asked him

to move up on the line as a defensive end,” Freeman said. “Because we

never knew how (Uni) was going to line up, we needed one guy to do

all three. We couldn’t have substituted a guy in time.”

Cooper’s twin brother Matt is another two-way standout at fullback

and linebacker, though an ankle injury has cut into his time on

defense the last month. Two older Cooper brothers, Ryan and Adam,

also had prominent prep football careers at CdM and Kris, the

youngest of the four, says he is both proud and motivated to be a

part of the family legacy.

“I think it makes me play better, because, as a Cooper, I know

what people expect from me,” Kris Cooper said.