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)”
The last time Cooper completed the regular season undefeated, the Cougars’ current seniors were in diapers. The last time it won a district championship, that same group was playing freshman ball.
The No. 8 Coogs can accomplish both feats on Friday, but it will take a road win against an Amarillo High squad that has won six consecutive games and downed coach Aaron Roan’s squad 58-27 last year in Abilene.
The outcome of Friday’s game, which will decide the outright championship in District 2-5A Division I, won’t have any impact on Cooper’s postseason goals. But it will determine whether the Coogs enter the playoffs on a 10-game winning streak or a one-game losing skid.
And for a team that has a 16-0 record and state title atop its list of 2019 aspirations, you had better believe that matters.
LAST WEEK: 40-3, .930
OVERALL: 397-76, .839
At the beginning of the season, I pointed to this game as a likely Big Country Preps Game of the Week and along with that, I said two things: On paper, Hamlin would be the favorite (which they are) and that I’d pick Albany (which i will).
I’m throwing logic completely out of the window here and basing this pick on history alone.
For better or worse, Hamlin has not beaten Albany since 2001 — a time span that includes 12 straight AHS victories, including two Lion wins last year that saw me pick the Pied Pipers twice.
During their time at their respective schools, Albany’s Denney Faith and Hamlin’s Russell Lucas have been among the most successful football coaches in all of the Big Country.
With their teams set to clash in what may be the game of the year in this area, the two mentors joined Big Country Preps’ Evan Ren and Daniel Youngblood to talk about the Albany-Hamlin rivalry and this year’s matchup in particular for this week’s Capital Farm Credit Wednesday Night Podcast.
Also in this episode, Evan and Daniel take a look at the area’s most intriguing district races heading into the final week of the regular 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!
CISCO — In one of the most successful coaching careers the Big Country has ever seen, Cisco’s Brent West has never been lacking in media attention.
On the other hand, he has never actively sought it either.
So, it may come as no surprise that when the 19-year Cisco mentor was nearing his 200th career win this season, he had to be informed of the approaching milestone.
The Robert Lee football team lost 11 lettermen and a head coach from last year’s playoff team.
Inheriting a squad that was moving up a wealth of talent from an undefeated JV squad, Karry Owens was hired to replace 11-year coach Shay Avants at the end of the school year and didn’t get to start working with his squad until late summer.
Fast forward to today and Owens’ Steers enter the final week of regular season with a clear path back to the playoffs — win Friday and they’re in.
The Steers will look to get that win against Eden. And adding to the intrigue of that matchup is the fact that the Bulldogs are led by Avants, who took defensive coordinator Manuel Gamboa with him when he left Robert Lee.
San Saba senior Sean O’Keefe wasn’t fully needed through much of an 8-0 start that saw the Armadillos rout one team after another and consistently pull their starters early.
In Friday’s district title game against Crawford, however, the Tulsa-bound signal caller had a full opportunity to shine in a 48-28 win over Crawford — the closest game the Armadillos (9-0) have had this season, by far.
Rushing 21 times, O’Keefe piled up 364 yards on the ground, finding the end zone four times in the process to earn our Big Country Preps Player of the Week honor and lock up the District 7-2A Division I championship in his final home game.
Euless Trinity 42, Abilene High 21 — The District 3-6A favorite Trojans forced three turnovers and turned all three into touchdowns Friday to end the Eagles’ season with a three-score victory.
AHS (3-7, 2-4) grabbed the momentum late in the third quarter and early in the fourth, following a kickoff return touchdown by Colton Smith with a stop. But trailing 28-14, the Eagles had a promising drive end inside the Trinity 40 with a fumble, and the Trojans scored 14 unanswered points to put the game away.
Sophomore Abel Ramirez, who was making his first career start at quarterback, passed for 152 yards and two TDs for AHS, hitting Tre Phillips for scoring strikes of 28 and 33 yards. Running back Phonzo Dotson led the Eagles in rushing with 56 yards on 13 carries.
Lubbock Monterey 62, Amarillo Caprock 27 — In a game that will likely end up deciding District 2-5A DI’s fourth playoff seed, the Plainsmen used a 28-0 run through the third quarter to turn a seven-point game at halftime into a rout.
Quarterback Coreon Bailey had a huge night for coach Wayne Hutchinson’s squad, passing for 327 yards and five touchdowns on 22-of-25 passing while rushing for a game-high 109 yards and another score. M.J. singleton led Monterey (4-5, 2-3) in receiving with 140 yards and a TD on seven catches.
The Plainsmen will close out the regular season this week against a struggling Lubbock High squad, needing a win to clinch a postseason spot in earnest. The Longhorns (2-7, 2-3), which got 207 yards and two TDs receiving from Jose Reynoso, can still make the playoffs, but it would require upsetting Lubbock Coronado in their regular-season finale.
Lubbock Cooper 49, Wylie 14 — With the game tied at 7 early in the second quarter Friday, the No. 6 Pirates got an 85-yard kickoff return touchdown to start a run of 42 unanswered points over the middle two quarters of a blowout win.
Cooper (8-1, 4-0) outgained the Bulldogs 340-158, pounding out 239 yards rushing on just 29 carries. Isaiah Johnson led the Pirates with 77 yards and three touchdowns on six rush attempts, while Tyler Hairston added 69 yards on four carries.
Wylie (1-8, 1-3), which got a 32-yard touchdown reception from Creed Cooper and a 1-yard scoring run from quarterback Balin Valentine, will likely wrap up its season Friday at Plainview. Cooper, which has already clinched the No. 1 playoff seed in this district, will host Canyon Randall in its regular-season finale.
Photos by Denise Roland of San Saba
Andreas Aguirre stayed with the “dark side” of high school football after he was promoted to his first head coaching position earlier this year at San Saba.
Gary Roland is officially the Armadillos’ defensive coordinator. Aguirre manages game decisions, but the former seven-year defensive coordinator kept his coaching hand on the defensive side of the football. He left the offense to coordinators Austin Eudy and Corbyn Gilbert.
San Saba, undefeated and ranked No. 3 in Class 2A Division I, has allowed 37 points in nine games — an average of four points per start.
Comfort 49, Brady 34 — The Bobcats outscored the Bulldogs 39-21 in the second half Friday to pull away for the win and claim their first district title since 2006.
Comfort (7-2 overall, 4-0 in district) outgained Brady 394-293, taking the lead for good in the third quarter before creating some separation in the fourth. It was the first district loss for the Bulldogs, who had won three straight games after going 1-4 through nondistrict.
Brady (4-5, 3-1) will try to clinch District 13-3A DII’s No. 2 playoff seed next week when it hosts Sonora, while Comfort will wrap up its regular season at Ingram Moore.
Brock 13, Boyd 6 — The Yellowjackets held the Eagles to just 262 yards of total offense Friday, but that was all Brock needed to earn a big win and clinch the No. 2 playoff seed out of District 4-3A DI.
BHS, which limited Boyd to 105 total yards, broke a 6-all tie in the final minute of the game on Cash Jones’ second of two rushing touchdowns. Jones finished with 121 of the Eagles’ 196 rushing yards while also completing a pair of passes for 31 yards and adding two catches for eight yards.
Brock, now 7-2 overall and 4-1 in league play, will wrap up the regular season next week at home against Paradise. Boyd (6-3, 3-2), meanwhile, will travel to Whitesboro for a game that will decide the No. 3 playoff seed.
Coahoma 60, Colorado City 6 — Coahoma amassed 401 rushing yards on 37 carries in a win over its area rival.
Brysen Kerby rushed for 179 yards and four scores and Zack Schneider charted 109 yards and two more TDs to lead the Bulldogs (7-2, 3-1).
Dublin 20, Comanche 16 — Cy Wing worked his late-game magic once again, leading the Lions to a
come-from-behind win over Comanche.
Trailing 13-7 at the break, Dublin used two second-half TDs to give the Lions their first win over Comanche since 1999. A 56-yard TD pass from Wing to Colten Couch with about four minutes to play proved to be the game winner.
San Saba 48, Crawford 28 — The Armadillos faced their stiffest test to date and passed it Friday, outscoring the Pirates 34-14 in the second half to break open a tie game at halftime.
Crawford (6-3 overall, 3-1 in district) scored the game’s first touchdown to hand San Saba its first deficit of the season and regained the lead at 14-7, but the Armadillos answered both times to go to halftime tied at 14. After being outscored 20-7 in the third quarter, the Pirates pulled within six points (34-28) at the six-minute mark of the fourth, but SSHS responded with a long rushing touchdown by Eli Salinas and a pick-six by Logan Glover to secure the three-score win.
The No. 3 Armadillos (9-0, 4-0), who got rushing touchdowns of 37, 18, 80 and 33 yards from quarterback Sean O’Keefe, will close out the regular season next week at De Leon. Crawford, meanwhile, will host winless Hico.
Hamlin 41, Cross Plains 0 — The sixth-ranked Pied Pipers did their part to set up a massive Week 11 clash with No. 2 Albany, returning from their bye week with their second shutout win in three district games.
Hamlin (6-2 overall, 3-0 district) outgained the Buffaloes 395-197, getting 182 yards and three touchdowns passing from Braydin Warner, 83 yards and two TDs rushing from Jackson Sepeda and 85 yards and two scores receiving from Jevon Williams.
The Pied Pipers will now prepare to take on Albany for the outright district title next week, while Cross Plains (6-3, 1-2) will travel to Roscoe with a chance to clinch the No. 3 playoff seed out of District 7-2A DII.
Cisco 34, Anson 7 — Cisco overcame an early 7-0 deficit with 34 unanswered points as coach Brent West chalked up his 200th career win.
Gibson Hearne rushed for only 22 yards on 11 carries, but found the end zone four times to lead the Loboes (8-1, 6-0), who clinched their ninth straight district title with the win.
Sweetwater 35, Fort Stockton 21 — The Mustangs gave their dimming playoff hopes a big shot in the arm Friday, upsetting Fort Stockton at home to give themselves a chance to reach the postseason with a win in their District 1-4A DII finale against Monahans.
Quarterback Leo Holsey passed for 232 yards and three touchdowns while adding 115 yards and an additional score on the ground to lead Sweetwater (3-6, 2-3), which used a 21-point third quarter to erase a 14-7 halftime deficit. Darian Carr added seven catches for 125 yards and two TDs as the Mustangs outgained the Panthers 429-371.
With five teams sitting at either two or three district wins heading into Week 11, the battle for 1-4A DII’s final three playoff spots could be a mess, but Sweetwater could clinch a postseason berth with a win at Monahans and a Snyder loss to Pecos. Fort Stockton (6-3, 2-3), which closes with winless Lamesa, needs a Snyder win or a Sweetwater loss next week to extend its season to an 11th game.
Seminole 52, Big Spring 7 — The Indians rolled up 270 yards rushing with 10 different players contributing to that tally.
Jason Mejia topped the list with 83 yards and three scores on just seven carries to help Seminole improve to 7-2 and 2-0.
Hawley 50, Forsan 7 — Coach Mitch Ables’ Bearcats improved to 9-0 overall and 3-0 in league play behind 165 yards rushing and two scores from Colton Marshall.
Xavier Rodela rushed for 47 yards and one TD and threw for 87 yards and three scores to help keep the Bearcats unbeaten. Rodela (9 of 14) hit five different receivers on the night.
Stephenville 49, Gatesville 24 — Coach Sterling doty’s Yellow Jackets (5-4, 2-2) piled up 503 yards in total offense, including 386 rushing yards to lock up a playoff berth.
Stephenville will now enjoy a bye week in preparation for the playoffs.
Gatesville (0-9, 0-4) was mathematically eliminated from the playoff hunt with the loss.
Shamrock 59, Munday 38 — Shamrock (3-6, 2-2) locked up a playoff with a win on the road.
The Fighting Irish can still earn a No. 3 seed if they defeat Quanah at home in their regular season finale next Friday.
Eastland 42, Clyde 27 — Behren Morton was 22 of 36 for 288 yards and four scores as Eastland recovered from its first loss of the year (at Wall on Oct.
25) with a big win over Clyde.
Anthony Bonilla was Morton’s favorite target, hauling in seven catches for 142 yards and a score. He also rushed eight times for 69 yards and two more touchdowns as the Mavericks improved to 8-1 overall and 3-1 in district play.
Dylan Neuman led Clyde (6-3, 2-2) with 231 yards passing, including a 37-yard TD pass to Jax Roam in the fourth quarter.
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.
The Wylie football team went into Friday night’s District 3-5A Division II game against Lubbock Cooper needing to pull off an upset of the district leaders to bolster their playoff hopes.
Instead, the Bulldogs saw a strong first quarter evaporate before halftime before dropping a 49-14 decision to the Pirates at Bulldog Stadium.
Three Abilene High turnovers led to three Euless Trinity touchdowns Friday at Shotwell Stadium, accounting for the Trojans’ margin of victory in a 42-21 win that ended the Eagles’ season at 3-7.
Abilene High battled the District 3-6A-leading Trojans throughout the game, rallying from a 21-0 halftime deficit to steal the momentum early in the fourth quarter. But a fumble inside the Trinity 40 allowed the Trojans to build their lead back to 21 points and pull away for the comfortable win.
The loss was the Eagles’ first at home in district play and ended any hopes AHS had of reaching the postseason heading into its Week 11 open date.
BROWNWOOD — No. 3 Waco La Vega may have been as fast and as athletic as advertised. But once the Brownwood Lions examine the videotape of Friday’s Big Country Preps Game of the Week, they may very well find that their 31-14 loss was winnable.
Elisha Cummings rushed for 76 yards and two scores to lift La Vega (8-1, 3-0 District 5-4A DI), which clinched the district title with only 285 yards in total offense.
Brownwood, which hurt itself with a pair turnovers, fell to 8-1 and 2-1 with its first loss of the year.
At 5-foot-11½ and 275 pounds, Abilene High defensive lineman Xavier Cortez will never be the biggest guy on a Class 6A football field. But he’s put in years of work to ensure that he’s among the strongest and most physical.
With just one more game guaranteed in his high school football career, Cortez could put both of those qualities to the test for the final time Friday at Shotwell Stadium. And if that is the case, he’s excited to do it against a Euless Trinity team and program known for its strength and physicality.
“I’m excited,” said Cortez, who had been nursing a calf bruise leading up to the Eagles’ regular-season finale. “I’m really excited about it, just to get out there and play.”
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 10)”