Month: September 2018

by Evan Ren

District 6-3A Division II: Week 5 Report

Dublin 22, Breckenridge 21 — Cy Wing threw for 233 yards and three scores, including a go-ahead TD pass to Mark Ybarra with 0:19 to play to lift Dublin (5-0) which remains unbeaten with its best start since 1999. 

Breckenridge (2-3), which overcame an early 13-0 deficit and eventually took the lead in the fourth quarter, fell inches short of a dramatic comeback game-winner of its own when Justin Bell hauled in a deflected pass but only to have his momentum carry him out of bounds inside the Dublin 2 as time expired. 

 Breck was led by QB Owen Woodward, who threw for 124 yards and rushed for 61, including a 48-yard touchdown run. 

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by Daniel Youngblood

District 5-2A Division II: Week 5 Report

Miles 24, Munday 14 — The Bulldogs spoiled the Moguls’ homecoming festivities Saturday, scoring the final 10 points to break open a game that was tied 14-all at halftime.

Munday outgained Miles 256-212, but couldn’t get anything going offensively after the halftime break.

Cameron Thornton led the Moguls, rushing for 160 yards and a touchdown on 18 carries while hitting two of nine passes for 70 yards. Kameron Redder was on the receiving end of one of those passes for 57 yards.

Munday, now 0-5, will have this week off to prepare for its 5-2A DII opener Friday at Wheeler. Kickoff for that game is slated for 7 p.m.

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by Evan Ren

District 7-2A Division I: Week 5 Report

Stamford 90, De Leon 62 — In one of the most insane football games in Big Country history, Peyton Bevel was 21 of 33 for 789 yards and state records for passing yardage and touchdowns (12) to lead Stamford over the visiting Bearcats. 

The Bulldogs (5-0), who built a 43-14 halftime lead, kept De Leon at bay with 906 yards in total offense on the night. Bevel was also SHS’ leading rusher with 65 yards, but it was his passing that defined the evening, with four different Stamford receivers — Trevaul Mitchell, Zach Duran, Trace Edwards and RJ Smith — all catching three TD passes.  

Continue reading “District 7-2A Division I: Week 5 Report” →

by Evan Ren

District 2-3A Division II: Week 5 Report

Colorado City 27, Clyde 26 (OT) — Colorado City (5-0) narrowly escaped its first loss of the year but it took overtime to do it. 

A missed extra point by Clyde (1-3) opened the door for the Wolves, who first knotted the game 26-26 on a 7-yard Bubba Williams run.  Zach Thompson then booted the game winner to keep C-City unblemished. 

Markis Monroe led the Wolves with 113 yards passing and 76 yards rushing while accounting for three scores. Dylan Neumann topped the Clyde stat sheet with 120 yards passing and two touchdowns. 

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by Evan Ren

District 4-3A Division II: Week 5 Report

Anson 52, Bangs 28 — The Tigers (1-3) earned their first win of the year behind 225 yards passing and 221 yards rushing from Drew Hagler, who accounted for  four touchdowns. 

Bangs (0-4) got 77 and 74 yards rushing respectively from Ethan Sanchez and Seth Anderson. Both scored a touchdown. 

Anson will travel to Ballinger (2-2) on Friday. 

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by Daniel Youngblood

District 4-3A Division I: Week 5 Report

Brock 49, Pilot Point 18 — The Eagles passed their first district test with flying colors, beating a solid Bearcat team by 11 more points than Class 3A No. 4 Gunter did in Week 4.

Brock, which outgained Pilot Point 445-211, took control of this one early, pushing out to a 14-3 first-quarter lead and expanding that to 17 points by halftime.

Quarterback Takota Taylor went 6-of-9 passing for 153 yards and two touchdowns, while Tommy Merrill and Toby Morrison led the rushing attack, finishing with 112 and 91 yards, respectively.

With the victory, Brock improves to 4-1 overall and 1-0 in league play heading into next week’s matchup with Bowie (1-3).

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by Evan Ren

District 2-4A Division I: Week 5 Report

Wall 40, Big Spring 12 — Mason Fuchs threw for 148 yards and two scores and rushed for 121 yards and a third TD to lead the Wall Hawks to a lopsided win over the Steers (2-3). 

Ethan Cortez was a bright spot for Big Spring, hitting 15 of 24 throws for 135 yards and two scores. 

Another difficult challenge awaits the Steers on Friday when Canyon (5-0) visits Memorial Stadium in Big Spring.

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by Evan Ren

District 3-3A Division I: Week 5 Report

Eastland 41, Jacksboro 27 — Third-string QB Cooper Wright stepped in to guide the Mavericks to a solid road win with 194 yards passing and two TDs. 

With the score knotted at 13, the Mavs took control the game with four second-half TDs. This included a 61-yard TD pass from Wright to Anthony Bonilla.

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by Evan Ren

District 5-4A Division I: Week 5 Report

Stephenville 48, Georgetown 8 — Kade Renfro hit 17 of 21 throws for 229 yards and three scores to lead the Yellow Jackets to a stunning win over a previously unbeaten Class 5A team. 

Three different SHS receivers — Gavin Rountree, Krece Nowak and Zane Walker all caught TD passes to help the ‘Jackets move to 3-2 against a merciless schedule. 

Stephenville will now enjoy a bye week, prior to heading into district play against China Spring (3-2) on Oct. 12.

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by Daniel Youngblood

District 13-3A Division II: Week 5 Report

Jim Ned 49, Brady 0 — The Bulldogs’ final nondistrict game was a forgettable one as their trip to Tuscola resulted in being shutout for the first time since last year’s season finale against Clyde.

The Indians, who outgained Brady 376-222, scored two touchdowns in each of the first three quarters, taking a 29-0 lead into halftime and a 41-0 advantage into the fourth quarter.

Riley Perry rushed for 143 yards and four touchdowns to lead Jim Ned, while the Bulldogs (1-4) got 71 yards rushing from Ryan Decker and 70 from Walker Bauer. 

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by Evan Ren

District 1-4A Division II: Week 5 Report

Midland Greenwood 65, Sweetwater 20 — The Rangers rushed for 472 yards, including 282 from Trey Cross in a win over the Mustangs. 

Sweetwater (0-5) was led by Alex Gallegos, who rushed 19 times for 116 yards and a score.  The Mustangs made a game of it prior to the half with 20 second-quarter points. But Greenwood, which led 23-20 at the break, blew the game open with a 21-0 third quarter

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by Evan Ren

District 3-2A Division I: Week 5 Report

Stamford 90, De Leon 62 — In one of the most insane football games in Big Country history, Peyton Bevel was 21 of 33 for 789 yards and state records for passing yardage (789) and touchdowns (12) to lead Stamford over the visiting Bearcats. 

The Bulldogs (5-0), who built a 43-14 halftime lead, kept De Leon at bay with 906 yards in total offense on the night. Bevel was also SHS’ leading rusher with 65 yards, but it was his passing that defined the evening, with four different Stamford receivers — Trevaul Mitchell, Zach Duran, Trace Edwards and RJ Smith — all catching three TD passes.  

De Leon (2-3) was led by QB Kevin Yeager, who threw for 355 yards and five TDs and rushed for 162 yards and three more scores. 

To illustrate the insanity of this contest, consider that De Leon had 722 yards in total offense, yet lost by 28 points. 

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by Evan Ren

Dublin wrecks Buckaroo homecoming 22-21

BRECKENRIDGE — For the second straight year the Dublin Lions were the guests for the Breckenridge homecoming. 

And, for the second straight year, they were completely indifferent to the occasion — edging the Buckaroos 22-21 in a thrilling Big Country Preps Game of the Week. 

Cy Wing threw for 233 yards and three scores, including a go-ahead TD pass to Mark Ybarra with 0:19 to play to lift Dublin (5-0) which remains unbeaten with its best start since 1999. 

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by Brandon McAuliffe

Eagles rally for thrilling win over Richland (w/ photo gallery)

After watching the defense shut down Cooper and Midland High the past two weeks, the Abilene High offense knew it needed to pick up the slack Friday night in the Eagles’ District 3-6A opener at Shotwell Stadium against North Richland Hills Richland.

Boy, did the offense do its job.

Abilene High put up 565 total yards in a back-and-forth affair before putting together a fourth-quarter rally for a 48-41 win.

Kallin Sipe threw for 207 yards and four touchdowns, but it was the Eagles’ ground game that dominated. Abilene High ran 51 times for 358 yards in the win.

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by Daniel Youngblood

Brownwood runs away from Wylie in second half (w/ photo gallery)

BROWNWOOD — The Brownwood Lions weren’t perfect in the second half of their 53-21 win over Wylie on Friday night, but they were pretty darn close.

Trailing 14-13 at halftime, coach Sammy Burnett’s squad outscored the Bulldogs 40-7 over the final two quarters — including a 26-0 fourth period — to defeat Wylie for the first time since 2010.

The Lions intercepted Harrison Atwood four times in the second half and finished with 594 total yards in winning their third straight game to improve to 3-2 on the season.

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by Evan Ren

Every day a miracle for Stamford assistant football coach

STAMFORD — Three months ago, Stamford assistant football coach John Ward was a prisoner inside his own body. 

Struck down by a rare autoimmune disorder known as Guillain-Barre Syndrome, Ward was almost completely paralyzed, with slight movement in his fingers and toes only.

It nearly cost him his life.

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by Daniel Youngblood

Abilene High hosts Richland for 3-6A opener

N.R.H. RICHLAND (2-2, 0-0) AT ABILENE HIGH (3-1, 0-0)

7:30 p.m. Friday at Shotwell Stadium, Abilene

What it means: It’s the first district game for both teams and could be an important one in the District 3-6A playoff race. This league is five deep with quality teams this year, and only four can advance to the postseason. That puts added importance on every district game and adds pressure with every loss. AHS enters this matchup on a three-game winning streak and is 2-0 on its home field. Richland, meanwhile, enters this game off a 38-8 drubbing by Arlington Lamar. These teams have only met three times previously, the last in 2009. The Eagles, who hold a narrow 2-1 lead in the series, downed the Rebels 48-28 in 2008 and 45-14 in 2009, both of which were district matchups.

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by Daniel Youngblood

Wylie seeks to get on track against 4A rival Brownwood

WYLIE (0-4) AT BROWNWOOD (2-2)

7:30 p.m. Friday at Gordon Wood Stadium, Brownwood

What it means: This is Wylie’s final game before its District 3-5A Division II opener against Wichita Falls Rider (Oct. 12) and the Bulldogs’ last chance to take some positive momentum into league play. A win would not only snap a season-opening four-game losing streak for coach Hugh Sandifer’s team, it would also help erase the memory of last week’s 48-0 loss to Cooper in the first Southtown Showdown. This is the 15th meeting between Wylie and Brownwood, which shared a district eight of the past 10 years. The Bulldogs hold a 10-4 advantage in the all-time series with wins in the last eight meetings.

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by Daniel Youngblood

Cooper runs wild in win over Lubbock Monterey

After snapping a three-game losing streak with a 48-0 rout of crosstown foe Wylie last week, the Cooper Cougars started their first winning streak Thursday at Lubbock’s Lowrey Field.

Coach Aaron Roan’s squad overcame a sluggish start and 151 yards in penalties to blow out Lubbock Monterey 58-20 in the District 2-5A Division I opener for both teams.

The Cougars, who trailed 7-0 after the first quarter, finished with a season-high 507 yards — 433 of those on the ground — while limiting an explosive Plainsmen offense to just 155 yards and seven points after halftime.

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by Daniel Youngblood

Experienced linebacking corps a strength for AHS defense

Last year, a young group of Abilene High linebackers were forced into action, and their inexperience, at times, was evident.

So too, though, was their potential.

With some needed seasoning gained through a tough 3-7 campaign, that same group of wide-eyed sophomores and juniors now spearhead what has, through four games, been an elite defensive unit.

And though AHS coach Del Van Cox has been impressed by their play, he hasn’t been at all surprised.

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by Daniel Youngblood

Big Country Preps’ Pick ‘Em Panel (Week 5)

Each week here at Big Country Preps, we’ll post our picks for all of that week’s 11-man games, in addition to the results of Evan Ren’s Twitter polls for each matchup.

For those interested in voting, polls go up on Monday night each week and close Thursday morning.

Disagree with our picks or the Twitter consensus? Let us know in the comments section below.

Continue reading “Big Country Preps’ Pick ‘Em Panel (Week 5)” →

by Evan Ren

BCP Game of the Week: Dublin heads to Breckenridge

LAST WEEK: 37-7, .841

SEASON TOTAL: 146-46, .761

Prior to this season, I had chosen the Dublin Lions for a Game of the Week only once in 12 years. 

This season, the Lions (4-0), who are off to their best start of this century, have landed the marquee game twice. This week, they’re off to Breckenridge (2-2) to face what I believe is the best team they have met to date. 

The Buckaroos, who are coming off back-to-back losses to monster teams from Cisco (34-13) and Brock (20-9), are far better than that .500 mark would indicate. 

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by Daniel Youngblood

Wylie looking to turn page after Cooper loss, 0-4 start

Wylie’s performance in last week’s Southtown Showdown against Cooper was forgettable in many ways.

So perhaps it’s fitting that the Bulldog coaches and players view the best course of action at this point to simply forget about all the things that went wrong during the 48-0 defeat.

That loss, Wylie’s worst since the 1980s, extended the team’s season-opening losing streak to four games. But the Bulldogs aren’t dwelling on the negatives of what’s been a difficult season thus far.

With one more nondistrict game to play before its District 3-5A Division II opener Oct. 12 at Wichita Falls Rider, Wylie is determined to turn the page and regroup for what it hopes will be a much more successful second half. 

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by Daniel Youngblood

Cooper opens district at Lubbock Monterey

COOPER (1-3, 0-0) AT LUBBOCK MONTEREY (2-2, 0-0)

7 p.m. Friday at Lowrey Field, Lubbock

What it means: This is the District 2-5A Division I opener for both teams, and both will be looking to get a leg up on their league mates with a win. Cooper enters this game off its first win of the year, a 48-0 drubbing of Wylie in the first Southtown Showdown, while Monterey is coming off a 35-25 loss at Lubbock Cooper. This is the 15th meeting between these schools dating back to 1961 and the fifth as district rivals. The Cougars lead the all-time series 10-4, but the teams have split the previous four district games. Monterey won the most recent matchup, defeating Cooper 55-41 at Lowrey Field a year ago.

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by Daniel Youngblood

Cooper offense coming together at right time

Going into the first Southtown Showdown with Wylie last week, the Cooper offense had scored just 41 points through three games. The Cougars had shown flashes in each of those outings, all losses to Class 6A schools, but the consistency needed to sustain and finish drives had often eluded them.

That changed in a major way Friday, when the Coogs (1-3) scored early and often and in a 48-0 win at Shotwell Stadium.

Cooper piled up 472 total yards and 24 first downs, averaging nearly six yards per play in what was a dominating effort from start to finish. 

With District 2-5A Division I play up next, starting with Thursday’s game at Lubbock Monterey, first-year head coach Aaron Roan is hoping the level of execution he saw in the Coogs’ first win will become the norm going forward.

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by Daniel Youngblood

BCP Podcast No. 15: Evan, Daniel chat with Winters football coach Matt McCarty

Coach Matt McCarty has led a nice turnaround at Winters, following back-to-back two-win seasons with a playoff berth last season, before leading the Blizzards to a 4-0 start to the 2018 campaign.

McCarty took some time to chat with Big Country Preps’ Evan Ren and Daniel Youngblood about that turnaound process, his coaching background and this year’s winters squad in this week’s Capital Farm Credit Wednesday Night Podcast.

Also in this episode, Evan and Daniel discuss the first Southtown Showdown and all of last week’s Big Country football action.

by Evan Ren

Hamlin Pied Pipers showing serious potential

HAMLIN — Four games into the 2018 season, it’s already the subject of a lighthearted debate among those who follow the Hamlin football program. 

Are the 2018 Pied Pipers as good or better than the 2014 model? Considered by many to be the best team ever produced by long-time coach Russell Lucas, the ’14 Pipers closed their season with a 49-35 loss to eventual state runner-up Albany in the Region II-2A Division II title game and a 12-1 record.

This year’s club, however, is off to a 4-0 start with dominating wins of over Anson ( 42-12), Munday (58-20), Hawley (32-6) and New Home (41-0). The Hawley win, in particular, was significant in an early schedule filled with three teams that are still winless. 

The Bearcats (3-1) are generally viewed as a potential district title threat in 3-2A DI, and Hamlin’s victory over them gave the Big Country a glimpse potentially at how good this Pied Piper club really is. 

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by Brandon McAuliffe

BCP Week 4 Six-Man Roundup

Last week, which had a number of matchups featuring a pair of Big Country teams, saw the area finish with a record of just one game over .500.

The most exciting game was Zephyr-Gorman, which saw a combined 151 points scored.

Zephyr came out on top 81-70 in a game that put two explosive offenses on display.

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by Daniel Youngblood

District 3-6A: Week 4 Report

Abilene High 13, Midland High 0 — The Eagle defense was at it again Friday, shutting out an explosive Bulldogs squad to lower its points-against average to 12.5 for the season.

The AHS offense did all its damage in the first half, getting two field goals from Ray Mouloungui and a 3-yard touchdown pass from Kallin Sipe to Xavier Carrillo to build a two-score lead by halftime.

Playing in heavy wind and steady rain, the Eagles rushed for 289 yards, getting 110 from Sipe, 87 from Carrillo and 74 from Esai Jacques in the homecoming victory.

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by Daniel Youngblood

District 2-5A Division I: Week 4 Report

Cooper 48, Wylie 0 — The Cougars finally put everything together Thursday, dominating the Bulldogs to win the inaugural Southtown Showdown and give Aaron Roan his first victory as a head coach.

Cooper, which outgained Wylie 472-112, scored on all but three of its possessions, taking a 20-0 lead into halftime before adding two touchdowns in each of the final two quarters.

Sophomore running back Noah Garcia had a big game on the ground, rushing 17 times for 164 yards and a touchdown, while Aeneas Favors had two rushing touchdowns and quarterback Aidan Thompson went 20-of-29 passing for 190 yards and a touchdown.

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by Daniel Youngblood

District 3-5A Division II: Week 4 Report

Cooper 48, Wylie 0 — Little went right for the Bulldogs in the inaugural Southtown Showdown, resulting in Wylie’s worst loss in decades.

The Cougars held the Bulldogs to just 112 yards (72 rushing) while piling up 472 in securing the shutout victory. Cooper scored on all but three of its possessions, taking a 20-0 lead into halftime before adding two touchdowns in each of the final two quarters.

Bailey Hicks had the best day for the Wylie offense, rushing 10 times for 47 yards while catching three passes for 11 yards.

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by Evan Ren

Big Country Preps Player of the Week: Baird senior Bellar takes award

The surprising Baird Bears (3-1) don’t have a secret weapon. 

Senior running back/linebacker Jax Bellar has been on the Big Country radar for the better part of two years now and opposing teams are doing whatever they can to limit his impact. 

Through four games this season, however, Bellar has pretty much had his way, regardless of what the enemy camp prepares.

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by Evan Ren

District 7-2A Division II: Week 4 Report

Stamford 42, Haskell 8 —The Bulldogs built a 27-0 first-half lead before coasting to the finish line with 452 yards in total offense in a Saturday afternoon win at Shotwell Stadium in Abilene.

Big Country leading passer Peyton Bevel finished with 303 passing yards and five scores to lead the Bulldogs. 

Stamford improved to 4-0; Haskell dropped to 1-3.

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by Evan Ren

District 7-2A Division I: Week 4 Report

Hico 9, Thrall 7 — Heavy rain forced this one to an early conclusion, but not before coach Randy Thornton’s Tigers (1-2) notched their first win of the year. 

Trailing 7-3, Hico took the lead before the break with a 34-yard TD run from Luc Hyles, who finished with 102 yards on the night.

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by Evan Ren

District 6-3A Division II Week 4 Report

Comanche 36, De Leon 0 — Kade Mercer rushed for 175 yards and two scores to lead Comanche to a stunning win over highly regarded De Leon. 

The Indians ran for 388 yards as a team, with Ricardo Sanchez, Zach Rodriguez and Trendon Morin also contributing rushing TDs.

Both clubs enter this week at 2-2.

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by Daniel Youngblood

District 4-3A Division I: Week 4 Report

Brock 20, Breckenridge 9 — The Eagles got touchdown runs from Toby Morrison and Zakk Young, and a TD pass from Takota Taylor to outlast a scrappy Buckaroo squad on a wet night.

Breckenridge scored first, and the game was tied at 7 after three quarters, but Taylor gave Brock its first lead early in the fourth with a nine-yard scoring strike to Jesse Hallmark.

After the Buckaroos pulled within 13-9 with a safety, the Eagles put the game away with Young’s TD run — a 59-yarder with 3:49 to play. Morrison led all rushers with 85 yards on 15 carries, followed by Young with 71 yards on five attempts.

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