Munday 52, Olney 0 —In perhaps the biggest surprise of the opening week, the Munday Moguls dominated Olney from start to finish.
Munday scored at least twice in each of the first three quarters and carried a 45-0 lead into the fourth.
Oddly enough, Coach Patrick Corcoran’s Moguls will now play three straight JV teams, due to low numbers.
Ballinger 26, Brady 22 — For the second year in a row, the Bulldogs gave the Bearcats all they could handle. But as was the case in last year’s 20-19 loss at home, it wasn’t quite enough to scratch out a win.
Brady outgained Ballinger 306-239, but the Bearcats made the plays they needed down the stretch to secure the victory.
Leading 19-14 late in the fourth quarter, Ballinger’s Edgar Nunez hit Weston Rollwitz with a 26-yard TD pass in what proved to be the game-winning score. Brady (0-1) struck back with 2:40 to play on a 15-yard TD by Walker Bauer, but Ballinger held on in the waning minutes.
Dublin 45, Hico 6 — The Hico Tigers were outmatched in their season opener, falling behind Dublin 31-0 in the first half of a lopsided loss.
The Tigers’ only score came in the third quarter, but the Lions took a 38-6 lead into the final quarter.
Dublin was led in the victory by quarterback Cy Wing, who passed for 150 yards and a touchdown and ran for 90 yards and two more scores. Running back Hagen Huffman added 70 yards and one score rushing on seven carries, while Colten Couch (3-90, 1 TD) was the leading receiver.
De Leon 7, Clyde 6 — The new-look De Leon Bearcats were bottled up offensively in Friday’s opener, but they made enough plays on the other side of the ball to get first-year head coach Andrew Dickson his first career victory.
De Leon was outgained 317-6, but a 60-yard pick-six with 9:26 left in the second quarter gave the Bearcats all the points they’d need to leave Clyde with a win. That was one of two big interceptions by the De Leon defense.
Clyde’s Dylan Neuman scored what would be the game’s only offensive touchdown with a 25-yard TD run with 5:04 left in the first half, but a failed extra point left the Bulldogs playing from behind the rest of the way.
Coahoma 38, Forsan 0 — Zach Schneider rushed for 119 yards, threw for 121 yards and accounted for three scores to lead CHS to a win over its archrival.
Bryson Kirby also had a big day for the Bulldogs (1-0) rushing for 146 yards and a score on just 21 carries.
The Bulldogs will travel to McCamey on Sept. 6. Forsan will take on Post at home on the same evening.
Brownwood 10, Brock 0 — The Eagles suffered a four-quarter shutout for the first time in the history of their football program Friday, falling at home to a Brownwood team they had beaten 41-10 on the road in their 2018 opener.
It was just Brock’s second shutout loss since the program’s first varsity season in 2013, with the other being last year’s 21-0 loss to Argyle Liberty Christian in a game that was called in the third quarter due to lightning.
Brock, which returned just two offensive and three defensive starters from last year’s 13-2 squad, held Brownwood to 288 yards of offense and trailed just 7-0 until fourth quarter. But a Lions field goal with about four minutes remaining in the game sealed the victory for the visitors.
Brownwood 10, Brock 0 — The Lions avenged last year’s 41-10 drubbing at the hands of Brock with a victory on the Eagles’ home field.
A 73-yard scoring run by Reece Rogers with 8:21 left in the second quarter was the big blow in a game dominated by defense.
The Lions (1-0) made it a two-score game with 4:04 left to play when Blaize Espinoza booted a 27-yard field goal.
Cisco 49, Sweetwater 27 — A young Mustangs squad played with area power Cisco for a half, trailing the Loboes just 28-21 after two quarters, but CHS outscored Sweetwater 21-6 after halftime to end the upset bid.
Cisco pounded out 552 yards rushing and 603 yards of total offense to open the season with an impressive road win. Jailyn Humphries rushed for 219 yards and two scores and Gibson Hearne rushed for 165 yards and two more touchdowns to pace the Loboes (1-0).
Coach Ben McGeehee’s Mustangs (0-1) finished with 372 yards in total offense, including 202 rushing yards.
Midland Greenwood 42, Big Spring 6 — Greenwood piled up 247 yards rushing while holding Big Spring to 150 yards in total offense to win the season opener for both schools.
Trey Cross rushed for 170 yards on 14 carries and Weston Wilber threw for 144 yards and two scores to lead the Rangers, who led 21-6 at the break.
Orlando Sanchez was the top gainer for Big Spring, rushing for 59 yards on 17 carries.
Stamford 30, Merkel 8 — Stamford held Merkel to just 166 yards in total offense en route to a road win in its season opener.
With the score knotted at 8 at the break, Stamford used a 22-0 run through the second half to put the Badgers away.
Trace Price threw for 141 yards and one score while Shavaris Cooper, D’Marcus Barber and Trace Price all added rushing TDs to lead the Bulldogs.
Albany 18, Colorado City 3 — The Lions opened the 2019 season with a comfortable road win and helped coach Denney Faith hit a milestone in the process. The victory marked career win No. 300 for Faith, who has spent his entire coaching career at Albany.
The Lions were limited to just 232 yards of total offense (82 passing, 150 rushing), but they never trailed, holding the C-City offense to a single field goal in the second quarter. After taking a 6-3 lead into halftime, Albany put some separation between itself and the Wolves with six points in each of the final two quarters.
Quarterback Ben West hit on six of 14 passes for 82 yards and a touchdown, while sophomore Robert Bailey led the rushing attack with 97 yards and a score on just 13 attempts.
Bangs 44, Early 7 — Ethan Sanchez rushed for 136 yards and three scores to lead Bangs (1-0) to a big win in its season opener.
Leading 14-7 after the first quarter, the Dragons blew the game open with 30 straight points through the second and third periods.
Early (0-1) was limited to 215 yards in total offense. Receiver Timmy Smithson was the top producer for EHS, catching four passes for 66 yards and one score.
Wall 47 , Mason 7 — Mason’s 40-game home winning streak was ended in a resounding way by the Hawks, who dominated from start to finish in a Thursday night game televised by Fox Sports Southwest.
Wall (1-0) pounded out 353 yards rushing and Mason Fuchs threw two first-half TD passes in what was a largely unexpected rout.
The Hawks limited Mason to just 111 yards in total offense, including 84 yards rushing on 40 carries.
Photos may be purchased for $7 each by clicking on the small shopping cart emblem below the lower right corner of the gallery.
Photos may be purchased for $7 each by clicking on the small shopping cart emblem below the lower right corner of the gallery.
Despite a massive discrepancy in snaps and time of possession, the Mike Fullen-led Abilene High Eagles had their chances in Friday’s opener against Amarillo Tascosa. But a couple of late mistakes proved too much to overcome in a hard-fought 19-14 loss at Shotwell Stadium.
AHS led 7-6 at halftime and rallied to take a 14-13 lead on the first play of the fourth quarter. But a muffed punt allowed Tascosa to retake the lead with 9:17 remaining, and an interception inside the 15 on the Eagles’ ensuing possession allowed the Rebels to kill the rest of the clock with a series of clutch third-down conversions.
KELLER — Cooper football coach Aaron Roan preaches to his squad that they can only control what they can control.
After last week’s scrimmage against San Angelo Central was delayed due to issues surrounding buses for the Central football team, the Cougars experienced their own travel nightmare before the season even kicked off.
Expecting to leave campus around 12:30 for Friday’s 7 p.m. kickoff at Keller, the Cougars buses didn’t show up on campus until after 2 p.m.
Once on the road, Cooper’s football team was slowed down by both rain and rush hour traffic in the Dallas-Fort Worth area before finally arriving at Keller ISD Stadium shortly before 5:30, resulting in kickoff being pushed back approximately 15 minutes.
KELLER – Dylon Davis led the way with two interceptions and the Cooper defense and special teams forced four turnovers total on their way to a season-opening 21-20 win over Keller at Keller ISD Stadium on Friday night.
Davis’ second interception came at the back of the end zone on the play after a holding call wiped out a touchdown pass by Hayden Anderson that would have tied the game at 14-14 at the start of the fourth quarter – something that only set the tone for a wild fourth quarter.
ANSON — A shootout may have been anticipated, but a trench war was what the spectators received Friday when the visiting Hamlin Pied Pipers opened the season with a 27-7 win over Anson at Tiger Stadium.
Jackson Sepeda rushed for 90 yards and two scores and Braydin Warner rushed for 93 and another score to lead Hamlin (1-0), which never trailed in 2019’s first Big Country Preps Game of the Week.
Anson, which was led by Drew Hagler’s 223 yards in total offense and one rushing TD, dropped to 0-1.
GEORGETOWN — A late first-half scoring flurry propelled Georgetown to a 29-0 halftime lead over Wylie, and the Eagles cruised from there to a 49-19 win over the Bulldogs in the season opener for both teams.
Georgetown, which beat Wylie 31-7 in last year’s opener, scored 19 points in the final 2:01 before halftime, putting what was just a 10-point game to that point out of reach by the break.
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 night.
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 1)”
LAST WEEK: 0-0, .000
SEASON TOTAL: 0-0, .000
Fourteen seasons of Big Country football — that’s what 2019 represents for me.
Since 2006, I’ve been cruising the back roads (putting 275,000 miles on my truck) in search of the area’s best high school football games.
And I must say, it’s been an absolute blast.
We now jump headlong into the new season, beginning with our first Big Country Preps Game of the Week for 2019 — Hamlin at Anson.
When Justin Reese was hired to lead the Abilene High boys basketball program last year, one of his first goals was to resurrect the Key City Classic — a tournament he played in as a member of the Eagles in the late 1990s.
On Wednesday, he got to realize that vision, as it was announced that AHS and Cooper would combine to host the Classic on Dec. 5-7 — and that Raising Cane’s would serve as the event’s title sponsor.
Joining the Eagles and Cougars in the tournament’s 16-team field will be Wylie, North Crowley, McKinney Boyd, Justin Northwest, El Paso Burges, Del Rio, Northwest Eaton, Burnet, Midland Lee, Fort Worth Eastern Hills, Peaster, Midland Christian, Boswell and Fort Worth O.D. Wyatt.
Anyone who follows high school football in Texas knows that the Big Country has a rich tradition of producing winners on the gridiron.
But just how rich is that history?
Of the top 100 winningest 11-man programs in Texas history (regardless of classification), 11 call the Big Country home.
Brownwood is the standard-bearer with 738 wins in program history, which ranks sixth all-time. The Lions have a winning percentage of .654, which ranks 38th of programs that have a minimum of 500 games played.
The Lions, who have been playing football since 1907, are one of just 12 programs in the state to scale the 700-win plateau. But that number could grow by as many as six teams this fall, with three of those six teams hailing from the Big Country.
Dublin football coach Bob Cervetto took on one of the biggest challenges in the Big Country when he accepted his first head coaching job at DHS eight years ago. In the time since, he’s turned a moribund athletic program into one that’s competitive year-round.
Earlier this week, Cervetto took some time to chat with Big Country Preps’ Evan Ren and Daniel Youngblood for his second appearance on the Capital Farm Credit Wednesday Night Podcast. Included in the topics discussed: his thoughts on this year’s Lions team, the state of his program and what motivates him to keep showing up to work every day with his signature positive attitude.
Also in this episode, Evan and Daniel discuss some of the top matchups of Week 1 of the high school football season.
Continue to check back at BigCountryPreps.com each Wednesday night at 7 p.m. when Evan and Dan discuss the current happenings in Big Country High School sports — often with an interesting sports figure from around the area.
You can also peruse our BCP Podcast archive, which features dozens of our previous shows with prominent coaches and Big Country media fixtures.
Inquiries regarding these podcasts may be directed to Evan Ren at Evan.Ren@BigCountryPreps.com.
If you have a suggested topic of conversation or a recommended guest, don’t hesitate to contact us!
After a week of highlighting area standouts, we close our eight-part preseason position rankings series with the Big Country’s top gunslingers.
To complete our look at the area’s best players, we’ve ranked our top-10 quarterbacks with a list of others to watch in 2019.
We hope you enjoy this list and that you have enjoyed our position rankings as we get set to kickoff a new season.
As we wind down our eight-part preseason position rankings series, we’ve finally arrived at the Big Country’s top ball-carriers.
After breaking down this year’s crop of receivers and tight ends Monday, we move now to the area’s top running backs, ranking our top 10 with a list of others to watch in 2019. Don’t forget to check in Wednesday night when we unveil our top 10 area quarterbacks to conclude this series.
We hope you enjoy tonight’s list and encourage you to check out the other position groups, which are linked below.
We’re now approaching the home stretch of our eight-part preseason position rankings series, and it’s time to look at the Big Country’s top pass-catchers.
After starting the offensive portion of our series Sunday with the big boys up front, we now shift our attention to the playmakers on the edges, ranking our top 10 wide receivers/tight ends with a list of others to watch in 2019.
We hope you enjoy our list and encourage you to check out the other position groups, which are linked below.
With the defensive and special teams rankings behind us, it’s time to look at the area’s offensive standouts. And we’ll start where any productive offense begins: on the line.
For the fifth installment of our eight-part preseason position rankings series, we turn our attention to the big boys, ranking the Big Country’s top-10 offensive linemen with a list of others to watch in 2019.
We hope you enjoy reading through our rankings.
After recognizing the top defensive players throughout the Big Country over the past three days, it’s time to honor the specialists.
We continue our eight-part preseason position rankings series by naming our top five kickers and punters to watch this fall.
We hope you enjoy this list and that you have enjoyed our position rankings as we get set to kickoff the 2019 season.
The Cooper football team hit the field Friday for a scrimmage against San Angelo Central, but a late start and an early finish limited the amount of work the Cougars could get in at Shotwell Stadium.
The varsity scrimmage, which started about 45 minutes late due to bus delays out of San Angelo, consisted of special teams work and a controlled portion but was stopped before the teams could play their two live 10-minute quarters due to lightning in the area. The teams tried to wait out the storm but decided to call it a day after several more strikes reset the 30-minute clock on the mandatory lightning delay.
Big plays marked the portion of the scrimmage that was completed Friday. Cooper opened the day with a one-play scoring drive on a pass from quarterback Aidan Thompson to receiver Daelin Campos, while Central had a couple of long touchdown runs.
While his team had its day cut short, coach Aaron Roan was pleased overall with what the Coogs got accomplished.
“We had been looking forward to going against somebody else. We’d been beating on each other for a while,” he said. “Central’s a good test, and it’s going to be good to watch film and see where we’re at.”
Abilene High and Wylie also had their scrimmages on Friday. The Eagles scrimmaged at Copperas Cove in the late morning and early afternoon, while the Bulldogs had their evening scrimmage at Odessa High delayed by weather.
After starting with the linemen and linebackers, we turn to the secondary to complete our look at the top defenders in the Big Country.
For the third installment in our eight-part preseason position rankings series, we key on the defensive backs, giving our list of the area’s top-10 players and others to look out for in 2019.
We hope you enjoy our list.
After taking a look at the area’s top defensive linemen on Wednesday, it’s now time to examine those who will backing them in 2019.
Continuing with Big Country Preps’ eight-part preseason position rankings series, here’s our top 10 linebackers to watch this fall as well as a list of the others we’re expecting big things from.
We hope you enjoy our list.
With the 2019 high school football season now less than two weeks away, Big Country Preps’ Evan Ren and Daniel Youngblood have decided to utilize this week’s Capital Farm Credit Wednesday Night Podcast to break down every 11-man district race and dive deeper into their predictions for the upcoming season.
In this episode, Evan and Daniel share who they think will win each district and why, and go into deeper detail why they picked they teams they did to advance to the playoffs.
Continue to check back at BigCountryPreps.com each Wednesday night at 7 p.m. when Evan and Dan discuss the current happenings in Big Country High School sports — often with an interesting sports figure from around the area.
You can also peruse our BCP Podcast archive, which features dozens of our previous shows with prominent coaches and Big Country media fixtures.
Inquiries regarding these podcasts may be directed to Evan Ren at Evan.Ren@BigCountryPreps.com.
If you have a suggested topic of conversation or a recommended guest, don’t hesitate to contact us!
With football season fast approaching, it’s time to take a look at the players who will be making the biggest waves in 2019.
For the first installment in an eight-part series that will cover all position groups, we’ll be taking a look at the area’s top defensive linemen, ranking our top 10 with a list of others to watch this fall.
As with any such list, these rankings are subjective. We hope you enjoy reading through them.
Without further ado it is time for us to make our Big Country predictions, district-by-district.
This is the culmination of several weeks of research and two solid months of summertime labor, so we’re more than ready to post it.
Got the truck started yet?
Ready to jump on one of those farm-to-market roads to watch high school football into the late hours on a Friday night?
You’re not alone.
And, as tradition would have it, I tip my cap to those of you who will be hitting the trails each week in search of pigskin. My salute: a preseason menu of sorts.
Each week for the next 11 weeks, Big Country Preps will be searching for its Game of the Week, and we’re already looking ahead. We now present our preliminary list of Big Country Games worth traveling for, but keep in mind: the following list is subject to change as surprises and disappointments emerge.
And as we all know … surprises and disappointments always emerge.
So, without further delay, here is our list of Big Country games worth traveling for in 2019.
I’ll see you on the road.
When Eric Abbe beat out then-senior Kallin Sipe for Abilene High’s starting quarterback job last fall, it was with the expectation that he’d be holding onto that post for a while.
So when he was lost for the season less than two quarters into the Eagles’ opener against Amarillo Tascosa, you can imagine the disappointment he felt.
A torn ACL and meniscus in his left knee on AHS’ first drive of the second quarter rendered him a spectator the rest of his junior season. And in doing so, it forced him to pack the entirety of his varsity career into his senior year, which kicks off Aug. 30 against that same Tascosa squad.
While it would be easy to look back and ask, ‘What if?’ or ‘Why me?’ Abbe’s chosen to avoid that pitfall. And while he won’t try to convince you the injury was a good thing, he acknowledges there were lessons through that experience he might never have learned otherwise.
After missing the playoffs each of the past two seasons, Abilene High has adopted a straightforward motto in Mike Fullen’s first season as head coach.
Very simply, the Eagles want to get “Back to the Top.”
That may sound like a lofty goal for a team that’s posted a combined 8-12 record over the past two years. But the Eagles are just three years removed from an 11-win campaign. And with 28 lettermen back from last year’s squad, which started 5-1 before dropping its final four games, AHS has good reason to expect better.
After starting every game for Cooper as a sophomore in 2017, LaDainian Diaz had every reason to be excited entering his junior year.
But that excitement turned to disbelief and then grief when a torn ACL in his right knee ended his campaign in the opening week of the season.
Now fully healed from that setback, Diaz is set to return to his free safety position when the Cougars kick off the 2019 season Aug. 30 in Keller. And though that’s now just two weeks away, the wait hasn’t gotten any easier.
While their 6-6 record was hardly a head-turner, the Cooper Cougars made significant strides last year in coach Aaron Roan’s first season as head coach.
The Coogs rebounded from a rocky 0-3 start to come within a game of sharing a district title and picked up a playoff win over a scrappy El Paso Eastwood squad before bowing out in the area round to North Richland Hills Birdville.
Now, with 28 lettermen back from that team, including eight offensive and seven defensive starters, the Coogs are determined to take the next step in their progression. And the call for improvement goes all the way to the top.
Jaxon McAden was truly a jack of all trades for the Wylie Bulldogs in 2018. Seeing action at safety, receiver, kicker and punter, his fingerprints could be found in all three phases of the game.
But as little trouble as McAden had getting on the field in his first year as a varsity player, it was staying on it that proved problematic. A knee contusion cost him time early in the season, before an elbow injury brought his campaign a premature close.
And just like that, with a couple of ill-fated sequences, McAden’s multi-dimensional skill set was neutralized.
Now healthy, the senior enters his final high school season with big goals and lofty expectations. And nearing the top of both lists is an injury-free season that allows him to maximize his many talents.
The Wylie Bulldogs’ first season as a Class 5A program didn’t go at all as planned. Coach Hugh Sandifer’s squad struggled out of the gate and never found its footing in a tough 0-10 campaign.
But if you think Wylie’s first winless season since 1982 shook the confidence of this tradition-rich program or broke the Bulldogs’ will, think again.
WHS may have had its 24-year playoff streak snapped in painful fashion, but the ‘Dogs have no intention of letting that setback grow into a prolonged slump.
STEPHENVILLE — For many Stephenville football players, waiting your turn to be a key contributor is a rite of passage.
A high level of talent and depth nearly dictate it.
But for some, like senior offensive lineman Caleb Smith, that waiting period can be shortened a bit if one finds a way to become as useful as possible.
STEPHENVILLE — Rebuild or reload?
When it comes to perennial power Stephenville, the latter is generally true. But in a season that features a coaching change and 30 lettermen to replace while playing in one of Texas’ toughest 4A districts, the Yellow Jackets may need time to regroup.
Not to say Stephenville won’t be good. The ‘Jackets have two capable quarterbacks in Kade Renfro (100-186, 1,808, 16 TDs) and Cole Stanley (38-96, 720 yards, five TDs). They have an All-Big Country Preps caliber linebacker in Quinton Walker (100 tackles, 6.5 sacks) with a solid defensive line in front of him.
They do, however, have considerable talent to replace as first-year coach Sterling Doty takes over the program.
With a scholarship offer secured and his college commitment behind him, Brownwood standout Adonis McCarty Jr. doesn’t need a big senior season to continue his football career past high school.
But good luck convincing the two-way star that he doesn’t have anything left to prove.
After receiving for a combined 1,549 yards and 14 touchdowns over the past two seasons, McCarty has already established himself as one of the Big Country’s best athletes and most accomplished players at his position. But it’s the things he hasn’t yet done — such as leading the Lions to a playoff victory — that are driving him this fall.
BROWNWOOD — Sammy Burnett’s first year back in Brownwood was a mixed bag. The Lions finished 4-6 and closed the year with four lopsided losses, but the season ended in the Class 4A Division I playoffs and included a stretch of four consecutive wins that showed the potential the BHS program still has.
During that streak, the Lions routed an 8-4 Graham team 47-26, defeated Class 5A teams from Wichita Falls Rider (20-16) and Wylie (53-21) and opened District 7-4A play with a key 34-14 win over Gatesville that would earn them a spot in the postseason despite a rocky 0-3 finish to the regular season.
With that experience now in the rear view, Burnett’s goal for Year 2 is to see his team find the consistency it lacked in 2018. And though he returns just 16 of the 38 lettermen on last year’s squad, he’s confident the players on his roster can get that job done.