The Bowling Green football team has reached its final destination.

Now comes the hard part – repeating as Class 5A state champions.

The Purples get that chance at 7 p.m. CST on Saturday at Kroger Field in Lexington, facing Cooper in a rematch of last year’s state title game. Bowling Green will be looking to become the first team to win back-to-back 5A titles since 2015-16 when the Purples accomplished that feat.

It would also be the ninth overall title in the program’s history.

“In our minds we wanted to get back there,” Bowling Green coach Mark Spader said. “Our kids set a goal. I told them how hard that was going to be and it has been an up and down kind of year. Particularly heading into that St. X game, we’ve kind of hit a stride here with how we prepare each week and how we are focused going into games and how we handle game situations.”

The Purples return plenty of the same faces that earned a 28-14 victory over Cooper in last year’s championship game. Bowling Green forced three turnovers, two leading directly to touchdowns, helping the Purples build a 21-7 halftime advantage.

Bowling Green held Cooper to 193 total yards, -27 yards rushing.

“When we came into that game we were playing tremendous defense,” Spader said. “We’ve played really good defense this year and I am hoping that we play the best defensive game we have played this year when we face them. I think it will take that kind of effort.”

Many of the same faces return for Cooper, including quarterback Cam O’Hara. The junior has thrown for 3,355 yards with 49 touchdowns and three interceptions. Junior running back Keagan Maher has rushed 1,433 yards and 22 scores, while senior wideout Isaiah Johnson has 59 catches – 23 for touchdowns – for more than 1,200 yards.

Cooper has outscored opponents 705-238 on the season, including a 61-23 win over Highlands last week where the Jaguars exploded for 54 points in the second half after trailing 17-7 at halftime.

“(O’Hara is) the real deal and is just a junior,” Spader said. “He has one receiver that he loves and a number of guys he delivers it to, along with a running back that has almost 1,500 yards rushing. They are the same offense we faced last year, but they are another year experienced and another year better. They have improved.”

Bowling Green will rely on experience as well with senior quarterback Deuce Bailey making his third straight start in a 5A title game. Bailey threw for 199 yards and three scores in last year’s win, while adding a team-high 85 yards rushing.

The Purples ran for 112 yards in last year’s win. Spader said he is hopeful for similar balance in Saturday’s rematch with sophomores Jaxen Smith and Montravion Graham providing production in a run game that the coaching staff has really put an emphasis on during the postseason.

“Deuce has bought into it,” Spader said. “I think he enjoys having a running game. We won a title last year not being able to run the ball. It’s tough to do. I have never been a part of something like that. Now our offensive line is starting to develop a little bit of an attitude up front and we’ve got some running backs that are hitting the holes hard. I think that makes things a whole lot easier for the passing offense. I wouldn’t want to defend us right now.”

Spader said he expects another tough battle on Saturday, adding the game will likely come down to who wins the turnover battle and which team performs the best in special teams. BG ran back two kicks for touchdowns in last week’s win at South Warren.

“You have to take care of the ball,” Spader said. “They had a number of fumbled punt returns that put us in great field position, short fields. You have to take care of the ball. Special teams were important (against South Warren). I think they will continue to be. It’s cold weather. It’s tough to execute in the special teams when the weather turns like this.”