Slow start hurts Cougars

ACKLEY – With a district title at stake against Gladbrook-Reinbeck, AGWSR football head coach James Koop laid it out for his players facing a big deficit at halftime.
“If you’re going to play (like the first half), just stay in the locker room,’” Koop said. “If you’re going to play like the team I coached for the last five weeks, that got better every week, then let’s go.’ … That was the worst first half we’ve played all year.”
Koop was glad to see the Cougars respond in the second half and put some pressure on the Rebels, but the gap was too much to overcome and G-R pushed forward for a 44-19 victory in Ackley on Friday to claim the 8-Player District 5 title.
The full story appears in the Oct. 17 print and online editions of the Hampton Chronicle.