Photos may be purchased for $7 each by pushing the small shopping cart emblem below the lower right corner of the gallery.
Month: November 2018
Fast start not enough as Cooper drops Senior Day game to Sandies
Up 20-0 just over two minutes into Friday’s regular-season finale against Amarillo High, it appeared the Cooper Cougars were headed for a blowout win over the Sandies and the No. 2 playoff seed out of District 2-5A Division I.
But AHS rallied to take a 21-20 lead by the end of the first quarter and outscored Cooper 37-7 the rest of the way to hand the Coogs a 58-27 loss on Senior Night and bump coach Aaron Roan’s team to fourth in the district pecking order.
Six turnovers, including four second-half interceptions, proved deadly for Cooper, which could never regain the momentum after Amarillo’s first counter punch.
BCP Game of the Week: Jim Ned tops Eastland 28-19 (box score and photo gallery included)
EASTLAND — In a district that some say is the best at the 3A level in Texas, the No. 2 seed carried enough weight for Jim Ned and Eastland to go to war over on Friday.
Cooper Castro rushed for 156 yards and two scores and Dylan Martin threw for 144 and another score to lead Jim Ned (8-2, 4-1 District 3-3A), to a 28-19 win.
Jumping out to a 28-7 halftime lead, Jim Ned used a bend-but-don’t break strategy to hold off a second-half Eastland rally and secure the higher seed. The Indians will square off with Whitesboro in the 3A DI bi-district round in Joshua on Friday.
Wylie ends winless season with three-point loss
A disappointing campaign came to an end Friday night at Bulldog Stadium, where Wylie saw Plainview rally for a 22-19 win in the season finale for both teams.
Wylie finished its first season in Class 5A at 0-10 — missing the playoffs for the first time since 1993 and finishing winless for the first time since 1982.
Wylie’s 24-year streak of making the playoffs included a state championship in 2004 and three other appearances in the state championship game. The streak started with a state semifinal run in 1994.
Evan Ren’s 2018-19 Big Country Boys Hoops Preview
While several of the area’s best athletes are still tied up playing football, the boys basketball season technically gets underway Friday night.
Of course, as the football playoffs get rolling and more and more teams are eliminated, the basketball talent pool will grow on a weekly basis, and by mid December, we’ll be in full hoops mode.
Regardless, boys basketball season is officially here, so it’s time to take a peek at what this season will offer with our area teams, Class 1A through 4A.
Who has the best shot at getting to state? Who are the legitimate contenders and what are the teams that we should be careful not to ignore?
Let’s find out.
Local boys basketball teams young but talented in 2018-19
Graduation did a number on Abilene’s three boys basketball teams, which return just four starters and 15 lettermen among them for the 2018-19 season. But if you think that’s changed the expectations on the Abilene High, Cooper and Wylie campuses, you would be wrong.
With AHS grad Justin Reese taking over the Eagle program from Don Heseman, who left after five seasons to become assistant principal at AISD’s Woodson Center for Excellence, a playoff return is the goal on Abilene’s north side. And with their program’s established on the other side of the tracks, Cooper’s Bryan Conover and Wylie’s Gregg Ruffin are shooting for the Class 5A postseason.
While all three coaches are expecting some growing pains early as their young teams jell, each feels good about his roster and the ability of the players on it to compete.
Officiating is more than just a job — it’s a family affair
At the start of the season, I wrote a column on how football is family, and last week’s 47-0 Hamlin win over Cross Plains provided yet another example of that.
The officiating crew for the game featured not one, but two father-son combinations wearing the black-and-white stripes.
Darrin Cox, the head of the Abilene chapter of the Texas Association of Sports Officials, was the referee and joined on the crew by his son Garrett, who served as the linesman along the Cross Plains sideline.
Jeff Posey was the umpire for the game and his son, Joe, worked the Hamlin sideline as the line judge.
Cooper looks to finish district play strong against Sandies
AMARILLO HIGH (6-3, 3-2) AT COOPER (5-4, 4-1)
7:30 p.m. Friday at Shotwell Stadium, Abilene
What it means: This is a big game for playoff seeding in District 2-5A Division I as Cooper can still finish anywhere from first to fourth in the league’s postseason pecking order. And given that a No. 3 or 4 seed comes with a road trip to El Paso for the first round, you can bet the the Cougars will be motivated to take care of business in this one. The simplest scenario for the Coogs would be to win Friday and have league leader Lubbock Coronado defeat Amarillo Caprock, which would leave Cooper alone in second. But a couple of upsets could throw this district race into chaos.
Wylie seeks to close tough season on high note against Plainview
PLAINVIEW (1-8, 0-4) AT WYLIE (0-9, 0-4)
7 p.m. Friday at Bulldog Stadium, Abilene
What it means: This battle of Bulldogs is the last chance for either team to suit up this season, and in Wylie’s case, the final opportunity to avoid a winless campaign. Both teams have already been eliminated from playoff contention, so they’ll be playing to send their seniors out on a high note and take some positive momentum into the offseason. Wylie is coming off two of its better efforts of the season, falling 24-20 at Canyon Randall on Oct. 26 and 31-12 to state-ranked Lubbock Cooper last week. If it can perform at a similar level this week, coach Hugh Sandifer’s squad could snap an 11-game losing streak dating back to last season.
Continue reading “Wylie seeks to close tough season on high note against Plainview”
Big Country Preps’ Pick ‘Em Panel (Week 11)
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 11)”
Cooper QB Thompson making strides, mark as sophomore
Like most players who are forced into action as sophomores, Cooper quarterback Aidan Thompson has had his ups and downs this season.
But as is often the case with talented young players, the ratio of ups to downs has risen with his experience level.
Thompson, who won the right to replace 3,500-yard passer Ender Freeman behind center with his work during the spring and fall, has led Cooper to a 5-4 record this year, including a 4-1 start to District 2-5A Division I play. And as with his team, which has won five of its last six games, the 6-foot-4, 170-pound sophomore has done his best work of late, packing the two best performances of his career into the Cougars’ last three contests.
BCP GAME OF THE WEEK: Jim Ned clashes with Eastland (w/ Evan Ren’s Big Country Picks, Thursday Night Drive-Time Podcast)
LAST WEEK: 28-3, .903
SEASON TOTAL: 351-79, .816
Our possible choices for Big Country Preps Game of the Week made our final selection difficult this time around, with two high-profile winner-take-all district title games on the menu.
Our final pick: Jim Ned (7-2, 3-1) at Eastland (7-2, 3-1) — a matchup with a bit less at stake (the No. 2 seed in District 3-3A Division I), but one we feel will be the area’s most competitive of our top six games.
BCP Podcast No. 21: Evan, Daniel talk Hamlin football with Russell Lucas
Hamlin football coach Russell Lucas has built a consistent winner in his 11 years at the school. And sitting at 9-0 heading into a winner-take-all district championship game against Albany, this year’s team may be the best he’s ever had.
Lucas recently took some time to talk to Big Country Preps’ Evan Ren and Daniel Youngblood about this year’s team, the qualities that make it special and the importance he places on character and community involvement for this week’s Capital Farm Credit Wednesday Night Podcast.
Also in this episode, Evan and Daniel discuss the biggest football games of Week 10 and what they mean for the Big Country’s various district championship and playoff races.
Eula girls roll Hamlin in season opener
In an early-season girls basketball matchup featuring a pair of top-25 teams on Tuesday, the Eula Lady Pirates proved why they are considered one of the best Class 1A teams in the Big Country.
Behind and 18-point, seven-rebound effort by post Abbey Matties and an 11-point night by Anna Masonheimer, the eighth-ranked Lady Pirates (1-0) shut down the 22nd-ranked Hamlin Lady Pipers in a 63-23 victory.
PHOTO GALLERY: Wichita Falls Hirschi-Cooper girls basketball (37 images)
Photos may be purchased for $7 each by pushing the small shopping cart emblem below the lower right corner of the gallery.
LOCAL HOOPS ROUNDUP: Cooper girls drop opener to Hirschi
A 9-2 run over the final five minutes of the third quarter and a 6-1 run to start the fourth allowed the Wichita Falls Hirschi girls basketball team to pull away from Cooper on Tuesday for a 51-37 win at Cougar Gym.
Leading the Lady Cougars by just four points (28-24) at the five-minute mark of the third period, the Lady Huskies scored 15 of the next 18 points over a nine-minute stretch and were never threatened again in spoiling Cooper’s season opener.
EVAN REN: A quick look at the area playoff picture
With the final Friday night of high school football’s regular season upon us, it’s time to take a quick look at the playoff picture, before the proverbial second season begins.
We’ll go through them, district by district, in rapid succession.
Why waste time? Let’s jump into it.
Week 10 BCP Six-Man Roundup
Where has the season gone?
It seems like just yesterday teams were lacing up the cleats for the first time since last December, yet here we are at the end of the regular season.
With six area Class 1A districts of just three or four teams, there’s not much drama in the works this week. For most of the teams in our area, this week is about solidifying playoff positioning and ending the season on a high note.
District 3-6A: Week 10 Report
Euless Trinity 34, Abilene High 16 — The Trojans’ defense and running game proved too much for the Eagles to handle Friday at Pennington Field, where Trinity outgained AHS 406-153, including a 281-65 advantage on the ground.
Running back Brandon Theus was especially potent, rushing for 184 yards and three touchdowns on just 12 carries for the Trojans (7-1, 4-1). Despite this, the Eagles (5-5, 2-4) only trailed 21-9 at halftime and 27-16 heading into the final quarter.
While AHS missed a chance to clinch a playoff spot with an upset, the Eagles remain in the playoff picture thanks to North Richland Hills Richland’s 36-33 win over Weatherford on Friday. If Hurst Bell can knock off Weatherford this week and Trinity can take care of Richland, the Eagles, who are idle in Week 11, will make the playoffs as the district’s fourth seed.
District 2-5A Division I: Week 10 Report
Cooper (idle) — The Cougars, who have won four of five games to start district play, got an extra week to prepare for their regular-season finale against Amarillo High.
Cooper, which improved to 5-4 overall with a 49-7 win over Lubbock High on Oct. 26, can lock up second place in 2-5A DI with a win Friday at Shotwell Stadium.
District 3-5A Division II: Week 10 Report
Lubbock Cooper 31, Wylie 12 — The Bulldogs (0-9, 0-4) trailed the unbeaten Pirates by just eight points (14-6) late in the first half, but Cooper kicked a field goal in the final minute of the second quarter and outscored Wylie 14-0 in the third to pull away.
The Pirates (9-0, 4-0) outgained Wylie 443-124, limiting the Bulldogs to just eight rushing yards on 27 carries. Bailey Hicks led Wylie with 77 total yards and a touchdown, while Jaxon Hansen hit five of seven passes for 89 yards and a score.
Cooper was led by Jacob Dennis, who rushed for 100 yards and a TD on 16 carries, and Brenden Mehl, who rushed for 57 yards, passed for 173 and accounted for two total TDs.
Big Country Preps Player of the Week: Yeager snags the award in limited minutes
On the verge of their biggest game of the regular season, the De Leon Bearcats have produced the Big Country Preps Player of the Week for the week ending Nov. 3.
Senior quarterback Kevin Yeager posted eye-popping numbers in a little more than two quarters of play, guiding DHS to a 77-7 win over Goldthwaite on Friday.
District 6-3A Division II: Week 10 Report
Comanche 54, Dublin 30
COMANCHE — Kade Mercer rushed for 200 yards and three scores to spearhead a rushing attack that piled up nearly 600 yards in a come-from-behind win for the Indians (6-3, 4-0).
Dublin (7-2, 2-2), which amassed 537 yards of its own, was led by receiver Jacob Stanley, who hauled in eight Cy Wing passes for 332 yards and four scores.
District 2-3A Division II: Week 10 Report
Colorado City 33, Coahoma 13 — Locked in a tough game with a 19-13 lead after three quarters, C-City ended Coahoma’s upset bid with two fourth-quarter touchdowns.
Reid Harris scored on an 8-yard run and Markis Monroe found the end zone from 14 yards to put the game away, improving C-City to 8-1 and 3-1.
Continue reading “District 2-3A Division II: Week 10 Report”
District 5-2A Division II: Week 10 Report
Shamrock 42, Munday 6 — The Moguls (0-9, 0-4) had their playoff hopes officially dashed Friday with a lopsided to the Irish.
Shamrock (3-6, 1-3) got off to a fast start, building a 27-6 lead by halftime, and shut Munday out in the second half to keep its playoff hopes alive entering this week’s game against Quanah.
The Moguls will try to avoid a winless season Friday when they wrap up the 2018 campaign with a home game against Memphis.
District 1-4A Division I: Week 10 Report
Snyder 53, Lamesa 13 — The Tigers piled up 512 yards in total offense, including 235 yards passing for two scores by Logan Greene to improve to 7-2, 4-1.
Leading 21-6 at the break, Snyder put the game out of reach with an 18-0 third quarter.
District 13-3A Division II: Week 10 Report
Brady 35, Comfort 20 — The Bulldogs (2-7, 1-3) snapped a six-game losing streak and got right back into the 13-3A DII playoff picture with a strong effort against the Bobcats (3-6, 1-3).
Brady, which closes the regular season next week at Sonora, outgained Comfort 454-322, pounding out 399 yards on the ground. Marshall Schmitz led the way with 135 yards and a touchdown on 10 carries, while Jack Marshall (8-91, 1 TD rushing; 1-16 receiving) and Ryan Decker (3-5-1—55, 1 TD passing; 13-69, 1 TD rushing) also had productive games.
District 2-4A Division I: Week 10 Report
Seminole 34, Big Spring 20 — Seminole (5-3, 2-0) pounded out 325 yards rushing, largely via committee to clinch one of the top two seeds in the district race. They will move on to face Andrews next week for the league title.
Ethan Cortez led Big Spring, hitting 18 of 34 throws for 167 yards and two scores. The Steers will face Lake View in their regular season finale to determine the No. 3 and 4 seeds heading into the playoffs.
District 4-3A Division I: Week 10 Report
Brock 43, Boyd 15 — Leading 22-15 at halftime, the Eagles (8-1, 5-0) outscored the Yellowjackets 21-0 in the second half to clinch the No. 1 playoff seed in 4-3A DI.
Boyd, now 6-3 overall, came into Friday’s game with a matching 4-0 district record, but after scoring to the tie the game at 15 with 2:43 left in the first half, the Yellowjackets allowed 28 unanswered points the rest of the way.
Brock outgained Boyd 533-327, rushing for 304 while passing for 229. Takota Taylor (5-6-0—124, 1 TD) and Tripp Jones (3-5-0—105) both topped 100 yards passing, while Toby Morrison led the running game with 139 yards and two touchdowns on 15 carries.
District 7-2A Division I: Week 10 Report
De Leon 77, Goldthwaite 7 — De Leon had an easy time of it on Friday, piling up 639 total yards, including 322 yards passing and four scores from Kevin Yeager.
Toby Garrison was the top ground-gainer for the Bearcats (6-3, 4-0), with 109 yards and two scores on only six carries.
District 3-2A Division I: Week 10 Report
Hawley 45, Forsan 0 — An efficient, balanced night offensively helped Hawley to a lopsided win over Forsan.
The Bearcats got 190 yards passing and three TDs from Dylan Frazier. They also rushed for 223 yards, with Colton Marshall and Tanner Schnoor accounting for 91 yards each and a combined three scores.
District 4-3A Division II: Week 10 Report
Merkel 50, Grape Creek 6 — Jonah White rushed for 211 yards and two scores and threw for 66 yards and another TD as Merkel improved to 4-5 overall and 4-2 in league play.
Merkel took control early with a 45-yard TD run by White and a 20-yard interception return for a touchdown by David Hadley in the first quarter. By the halftime break, the Badgers led 28-6 and were never threatened beyond that point.
The MHS defense, in the meantime, limited Grape Creek (3-6, 2-4) to 248 total yards with one of its best efforts of the year.
District 3-3A Division I: Week 10 Report
Wall 28, Breckenridge 22 — Mason Fuchs hit Mason Kindle with a 53-yard scoring pass with just 2:16 to play to lift the Hawks to a come-from-behind win over the visiting Buckaroos.
Chase Rios led Wall with 128 yards rushing and one touchdown. Breck (3-6, 1-3) got 137 yards rushing and a score from Angel Ruiz.
Wall (6-2, 4-0) locked up the district title with the win. Breck can still take the No. 4 seed with a win over Clyde next week.
District 7-2A Division II: Week 10 Report
Albany 20, Haskell 19 — Albany (4-5, 4-0) jumped out to a 20-6 lead and held off a fourth-quarter Haskell rally remain in a first-place tie with Hamlin.
Cutter Edgar rushed 26 times for 243 yards and two touchdowns to lead the Lions, who finished with 381 yards in total offense.
District 5-4A Division I: Week 10 Report
Stephenville 31, Gatesville 3 — The Yellow Jackets (6-3, 3-1) solidified their hold on the No. 2 seed with a workmanlike win over Gatesville (3-6, 1-2).
Krece Nowak rushed for 126 yards and two touchdowns and Kade Renfro hit 15 of 17 passes for 163 yards and a score to lead Stephenville.
SHS tallied a modest 335 yards in total offense, but in limiting Gatesville to a first-quarter field goal, didn’t require anything more.
PHOTO GALLERY: Dublin at Comanche (84 images)
Photos may be purchased for $7 each by pushing the small shopping cart emblem below the lower right corner of the gallery.
PHOTO GALLERY: Abilene High at Euless Trinity (50 images)
Photos may be purchased for $7 each by pushing the small shopping cart emblem below the lower right corner of the gallery.
Hamlin shuts out Cross Plains behind six interceptions
HAMLIN — Knowing that a district championship game loomed next week against Albany, the Hamlin Pied Pipers could have gotten caught in a District 7-2A Division II trap game Friday against Cross Plains.
Instead, the Pied Pipers forced six interceptions —three by sophomore Cutter Martin — and shut out the Buffaloes 47-0 at Piper Stadium.
Unbeaten Lubbock Cooper pulls away from Wylie for 31-12 win
The Wylie football team hung with unbeaten Lubbock Cooper for the better part of two quarters Friday, but the Pirates hit a field goal just before halftime to go up 17-6 and scored the first two touchdowns of the second half on their way to a 31-12 win.
Cooper (9-0 overall, 4-0 District 3-5A Division II) outgained Wylie 443-124, but two fumbles and a couple of turnovers on downs allowed Wylie to hang around early.
The Pirates eventually found their footing, though, using a touchdown run from Jacob Dennis and a scoring pass from Brenden Mehl to Cole Carter to pull away in the third quarter.
Trinity drops Abilene High 34-16, leaves Eagles in playoff limbo
BEDFORD — Abilene High lost its district finale to Trinity to close out the regular season at 5-5, but the news wasn’t all bad for the Eagles on Friday.
Waiting on the field after their 34-16 loss to the Trojans, the AHS coaches and players learned that North Richland Hills Richland had held off Weatherford 36-33, keeping the Eagles’ narrow playoff hopes alive entering their Week 11 bye week.
AHS, which wrapped up District 3-6A play at 2-4, now needs Weatherford to lose to Hurst Bell and Richland to lose to Trinity next week lock up the district’s fourth playoff spot.
BCP Game of the Week: Comanche outslugs Dublin 54-30 (Video/box score & photo gallery included)
COMANCHE — It took three hours and more than 1,100 yards of combined total offense to decide the issue, but the Comanche Indians locked down the District 6-3A DII title on Friday with a wild 54-30 win over Dublin.
Kade Mercer rushed for 200 yards and three scores to spearhead a rushing attack that piled up nearly 600 yards in a come-from-behind win for the Indians (6-3, 4-0).
Dublin (7-2, 2-2), which amassed 537 yards of its own, was led by receiver Jacob Stanley, who hauled in eight Cy Wing passes for 332 yards and four scores.
Eagles head east for regular-season finale at Trinity
ABILENE HIGH (5-4, 2-3) AT EULESS TRINITY (6-1, 3-1)
7 p.m. Friday at Pennington Field, Bedford
What it means: The Eagles can’t clinch a playoff berth with a win and they’re not technically eliminated with a loss, but their path to the postseason gets much easier if they can find a way to pull off the upset. AHS, which is idle in Week 11, would only need Weatherford to lose one of its remaining games against Hurst Bell and North Richland Hills Richland to get in with a victory. With a loss, the Eagles would need Weatherford to lose both of its remaining games and for Richland to drop its regular-season finale to Trinity.