Cooper quarterback Zack Kostopoulos threw three touchdown passes and Corey Freihofer rushed for 121 yards as the Jaguars beat Dixie Heights 25-13 on Friday, Oct. 2, in their homecoming game in Union.

The win moved Cooper to 5-2 overall and 2-0 in Class 5A, District 5, giving the Jaguars sole possession of first place. Dixie Heights dropped to 2-5 and 1-1 in district play. Game details were first reported by LINK nky's Ray Schaefer.

Kostopoulos, a sophomore in his first year as the starter, completed 20 of 29 passes for 205 yards with no interceptions. He connected with Carson Clark for six yards, Kaiden Savage for 33 and Lincoln Maxey for 12. All three scores came in the second quarter.

Savage's 33-yard catch came on a tipped ball. The receiver redirected it to himself while parallel to the ground and hauled it in late in the half. He finished with five catches for 80 yards.

"I saw it in the air. I've just gotta go make a play on the ball," Savage said. "That's my job as a receiver – just go get it done."

Cooper coach Adam Begley said the approach was to take what the Dixie Heights defense gave them. Cooper totaled 205 passing yards and 135 rushing yards, according to LINK nky’s box score.

Freihofer, a senior, carried 23 times and added three catches for 21 yards. His 2-yard touchdown run with 1:59 left in the fourth quarter sealed the result. A fake handoff to Freihofer had set up Cooper's first score earlier, a Kostopoulos-to-Clark connection in the second quarter.

Maxey's role expanded in the passing game. The receiver finished with six catches for 50 yards, including grabs of 14, 12 and 14 yards on top of his touchdown.

Dixie Heights leaned heavily on senior running back Levi Gilliland, who carried 30 times for 146 yards and scored both Colonels touchdowns on 1-yard runs in the first and third quarters. Without Gilliland, Dixie Heights gained just 58 yards on its remaining 16 plays. Quarterback Brycen Schatzman completed 4 of 12 passes for 44 yards and threw one interception.

Dixie Heights coach Pat Burke said the Colonels tried to get Schatzman out of the pocket for higher-percentage throws but "came up short."

Cooper enters a bye week before returning to district play. Dixie Heights travels to Conner on Thursday, Oct. 8, in Hebron. According to the Week 7 roundup from LINK nky, that game will likely determine the No. 2 seed and a home playoff game in the district.

Begley, a first-year head coach who also serves as a battalion chief for Florence Fire/EMS, has guided Cooper to a 5-2 start heading into the bye.