Month: August 2021

by Daniel Youngblood

GAME STORY: Wylie volleyball takes down Midland Christian in three games

Hosting a Midland Christian squad it had just beaten over the weekend at the Wolfforth Frenship tournament, the Wylie volleyball team took care of the Lady Mustangs in three sets Tuesday, claiming a 25-15, 25-13, 25-18 victory at Bulldog Gym.

Coming off a 25-14, 25-6 tournament win over MCHS, the Lady Bulldogs showed no signs of complacency or let-up in Tuesday’s rematch, dominating play from start to finish to improve to 17-9 on the year.

Tuesday’s match marked the third time this season that Wylie had played a team twice and the first time the Lady Bulldogs have taken two matches from an opponent. In its first two rematch scenarios — against Dumas and Burleson Centennial — the Lady Bulldogs won the first match but were unable to take the second.

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by Evan Ren

CAPITAL FARM CREDIT/BCP PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Dublin’s Chris Teten snags our first award of the school year


 

Prior to the season, we listed Dublin’s Chris Teten among our Top 10 area quarterbacks to watch in 2021. And he wasted no time in demonstrating why. 

Only a junior, Teten threw for 310 yards and five scores in a 43-14 win over area rival De Leon to capture our first Capital Farm Credit/Big Country Preps Player of the Week award for the 2020-21 school year. 

Hitting 16 of 26 throws, Teten threw a 69-yard TD pass on the first play from scrimmage, setting the tone for the rest of the evening. With the game in hand, he played a little more than a half before being taken out. 

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by Daniel Youngblood

District 4-3A Div. I Week 1 Report: Brock pulls away from Bushland for comfortable win

Brock 31, Bushland 3 — It took the Eagles a quarter to get going in coach Billy Mathis’ Brock debut, but once they did they got on a roll in a blowout win over the Falcons.

Brock trailed 3-0 midway through the first quarter and found itself tied at 3-all at the end of one period. But the Eagles tacked on four touchdowns over the final three quarters to pull away.

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by Daniel Youngblood

District 8-2A Div. II Week 1 Report: Santo rallies past Rio Vista in opener

rioSanto 14, Rio Vista 12 — Trailing 12-8 heading into the final quarter, the Wildcats got a five-yard touchdown run from Sam Henderson with a little more than eight minutes remaining in the game to earn a come-from-behind win over the Eagles.

Santo (1-0) was outgained 228-177 and lost the turnover battle 2-1, but the Wildcats were able to make the plays they needed down the stretch to get the victory.

The Wildcats, who rushed for 141 yards on 35 carries, were led by Jake Bryan (8-48 rushing), Hutson Thornton (3-43, 1 TD rushing; 1-36 receiving) and Henderson (7-37, 1 TD rushing). Rio Vista (0-1) gained all but 17 of its yards through the air.

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by Daniel Youngblood

District 5-4A Div. I Week 1 Report: Brownwood outlasts No. 20 Lampasas for thrilling win

Brownwood 58, Lampasas 55 — The Lions outscored the Badgers 20-7 in the fourth quarter, getting a 21-yard field goal from Junior Martinez as time expired to break a 55-all tie and earn a thrilling win in their season opener.

In a game that went back and forth throughout, Lampasas took the first two-score lead late in the third quarter, but Brownwood (1-0) rallied from that 48-38 deficit to pull ahead 55-48 with about four minutes remaining in the game. The Badgers countered with a 25-yard touchdown pass from Dylan Sanchez to Ethan Moreno to tie things up about two minutes later, but the Lions put together the final drive for the game-winning field goal.

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by Evan Ren

District 2-3A Div. II Week 1 Report: Bulldogs crush TLCA in season-opening win.

Brady 37, San Angelo TLCA 6 — Brady had an easy time with TLCA, finishing with 454 total yards, including 367 on the ground. 

JD Ibarra was the top scorer for BHS, with 175 yards rushing on 18 carries and three touchdowns. Hayden Baronet threw for 87, rushed for 172 and accounted for two scores. 

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by Evan Ren

District 3-3A Div. I Week 1 Report: Breck stuns heavily favored Jacksboro

Breckenridge 49, Jacksboro 28 — Jerry Lawson rushed for 59 yards and two scores and Chase Lehr rushed for 28 yards and another touchdown to lead Breckenridge to a big win as an underdog. 

Leading 27-20 at the break, the Buckaroos broke the game open with a pair of third-quarter touchdowns. 

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by Daniel Youngblood

District 2-4A Div. I Week 1 Report: Baeza leads way as Steers rally past Lions

Big Spring 31, Vernon 22 — The Steers kicked off their season with a come-from-behind win, rallying from a 22-15 fourth-quarter deficit with pair of touchdowns by quarterback Gabriel Baeza.

The senior signal caller put the Steers up 23-22 with an 11-yard touchdown strike to Eli Cobos before putting the game on ice a little later with an eight-yard TD run. Baeza passed for 321 yards and three touchdowns and led Big Spring (1-0) in rushing with 59 yards and a score on 12 carries.

The Steers, who outgained the Lions 391-274 and won the turnover battle 3-2, also got a big game from receiver Kaegen Mitchell, who caught 11 passes for 138 yards and a score, while fellow receiver Quetavian Lewis added 78 yards and a score on five receptions.

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by Evan Ren

District 4-2A Div. I Week 1 Report: Loboes open with big win over Clyde

Cisco 49, Clyde 7 — Cisco pounded out 458 yards rushing and limited Clyde to 248 yards in total offense to win the season opener for both clubs. 

Hunter Long rushed for 251 yards, threw for 32 and accounted for three touchdowns to lead the Loboes (1-0). Trenton Huston added 142 yards rushing and two scores on only 10 carries. 

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by Daniel Youngblood

District 5-2A Div. II Week 1 Report: Turnovers doom Roscoe in loss to Hawley

Hawley 34, Roscoe 14 — Five Roscoe turnovers, including two pick-sixes, proved costly as Roscoe dropped its season opener to Hawley. 

The Plowboys (0-1) limited the Bearcats to just 287 yards of total offense but were unable to overcome their offensive miscues — two of which resulted in touchdowns for Hawley.

Rodey Hooper led HHS (1-0) with 126 yards passing and two touchdowns, while sophomore Jax Watts topped the Roscoe stat sheet with 233 yards passing and two scores. 

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by Evan Ren

District 3-2A Div. I Week 1 Report: Haskell, McLemore open with win over Quanah

Haskell 22, Quanah 6 — Haskell (1-0) earned a win in the debut of new coach Mitch McLemore by pounding out 300 yards rushing and forcing three turnovers. 

 Antony Martinez rushed for 156 yards, threw for 113 and accounted for two touchdowns to lead HHS, which trailed 6-0 after the first quarter. 

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by Brandon McAuliffe

GAME STORY: Goal line stands help Forsan win Howard County Bowl

BIG SPRING — Major Stockton had lost to Coahoma all three years of his high school career in the Howard County Bowl.

He was bound and determined to not let Coahoma get a clean sweep.

The senior was instrumental on offense and led a defense that had a bend but don’t break mentality as the Forsan Buffaloes opened their season with a 35-14 win over the Bulldogs at Memorial Stadium on Friday night.

Continue reading “GAME STORY: Goal line stands help Forsan win Howard County Bowl” →

by Evan Ren

BCP GAME OF THE WEEK: ‘Jackets dominate Sweetwater in opener

STEPHENVILLE — One club met its preseason expectations. The other left with something to build on. 

Bolstered by a 30-0 second-half run, the Stephenville Yellow Jackets put away Sweetwater, 51-13 in Friday’s Big Country Preps Game of the Week — spoiling the debut of new Mustang coach Russell Lucas,

Ryder Lambert threw for 214 yards and three scores and rushed for two others to lead Stephenville (1-0), which took control of the game with three unanswered touchdowns and a safety in the third quarter.

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by Daniel Youngblood

GAME REPORT: Slow start sinks Abilene High in road loss to Tascosa

Photos by Trevor Flemman, Special to PresspassSports.com

AMARILLO — A disastrous first quarter doomed Abilene High in a 40-21 loss to Amarillo Tascosa in its season opener Friday at Dick Bivins Stadium.

The Eagles outscored the Rebels 21-14 over the final three periods, but they never pulled closer than 18 points of the lead after spotting Tascosa a 26-0 first-quarter advantage.

The Rebels, who rushed for 294 yards in the victory, got a pair of scoring runs from quarterback BT Daniel to take a 14-0 lead less than five minutes into the game, before using a 50-yard fumble return touchdown by Jayden Whiteside to build the three-score cushion they would maintain the rest of the way.

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by Daniel Youngblood

GAME STORY: Keller runs away from Cooper for 39-0 win

Keller scored on its first play from scrimmage and controlled the game from there to hand Cooper a season-opening 39-0 loss Friday at Shotwell Stadium. 

After Matthew Anderson hooked up with Amarion Henry for a 64-yard touchdown pass on the game’s first snap, the Indians found the end zone twice more in the opening quarter and were never threatened after in improving to 1-0.

KHS, which outgained Cooper 336-209, got most of its offense on three big plays, adding an 87-yard touchdown run by Austin Coleman to cap the first-quarter scoring before getting a 51-yard run from Tre Guerra to set up a Jake Roberts field goal for the final points of the game. The Indians also took advantage of three Cougar turnovers to keep the home team from  ever fighting its way back into the game.

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by Daniel Youngblood

GAME STORY: Burleson rides fast start to 42-3 win over Wylie in season opener

BURLESON — Burleson grabbed the momentum on the opening play and never relinquished it in a dominant 42-3 win over Wylie in the season opener for both teams Thursday at Burleson Stadium.

After winning the toss and deferring to the second half, the Elks tried and recovered an onside kick to open the game, and they followed that with the first of five consecutive touchdowns to put the visiting Bulldogs on the ropes from the start.

Following a failed onside kick on Burleson’s second kickoff, Wylie threatened to answer with a score of their own. But penalties turned a first-and-goal situation from the 4 into a 37-yard field goal attempt that was pulled to the left and no good. The Elks then capitalized on the following drive, pushing 80 yards in nine plays to go up 14-0 with 2:33 remaining in the first quarter, and it was off to the races from there.

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by Evan Ren

BIG COUNTRY PREPS GAME OF THE WEEK: Stephenville play host to Sweetwater (w/ Evan Ren’s Big Country Picks)

LAST WEEK: 0-0, .000
SEASON TOTAL 0-0, .000

At last, here we are. 

The 2021 football season has arrived, giving us a much-needed diversion every Friday night, in isolated spots all over Central Texas. As always, I will endeavor to pick the winner of all our area games, from Class 1A through Class 6A, with the top matchup serving as our Big Country Preps Game of the Week.

Our first spotlight game should come as no surprise, with long-time Hamlin coach Russell Lucas debuting as the head coach of the Sweetwater Mustangs — one of the most -storied programs in the Big Country.

Their opposition?

The Stephenville Yellow Jackets at Tarleton State’s Memorial Stadium. 

With that, let’s dive into the picks, shall we? 

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by Daniel Youngblood

Big Country Preps’ Pick ‘Em Panel vs. Twitter Polls (Week 1)

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.

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by Daniel Youngblood

BCP Football Preseason Position Rankings: Quarterbacks

After a week of highlighting area playmakers, we wrap up our eight-part preseason position rankings series with the Big Country’s best signal callers.

To complete our look at the area’s top players, we’ve ranked our top 10 quarterbacks with a list of others to watch in 2021.

We hope you enjoy this list and that you’ve enjoyed our position rankings as we get set to kickoff a new season.

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by Daniel Youngblood

BCP Football Preseason Position Rankings: Running Backs

As we wind down our eight-part preseason position rankings series, we arrive finally 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 backs, ranking our top 10 with a list of others to watch in 2021. Don’t forget to check in Wednesday night when we conclude our series with the top 10 area quarterbacks.

We hope you enjoy tonight’s list and encourage you to check out the other position groups, which are linked below.

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by Daniel Youngblood

BCP Football Preseason Position Rankings: Wide Receivers/Tight Ends

We’re approaching the final 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 linemen, we now shift our attention to the playmakers on the perimeter, ranking our top 10 wide receivers/tight ends with a list of others to watch in 2021.

We hope you enjoy our list and encourage you to check out the other position groups, which are linked below.   

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by Daniel Youngblood

BCP Football Preseason Position Rankings: Offensive Linemen

With the defensive and special teams rankings behind us, it’s time to look at the area’s top offensive players. And we’ll start with the foundation of any productive offense: the offensive line.

For the fifth installment of our eight-part preseason position rankings series, we turn our attention to the trenches, ranking the Big Country’s top 10 offensive linemen with a list of others to watch in 2021.

We hope you enjoy reading through our rankings.

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by Daniel Youngblood

BCP Football Preseason Position Rankings: Kickers/Punters

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 10 kickers and top three 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 2021 season.

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by Daniel Youngblood

BCP Football Preseason Position Rankings: Defensive Backs

After starting with the linemen and linebackers, we turn to the defensive backfield 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 shift our focus to the secondary, giving our list of the area’s top-10 defensive backs and others to look out for in 2021.

We hope you enjoy our list.

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by Daniel Youngblood

BCP Football Preseason Position Rankings: Linebackers

After taking a look at the Big Country’s top defensive linemen on Wednesday, it’s now time to examine those who will backing them in 2021.

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.

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by Daniel Youngblood

BCP Football Preseason Position Rankings: Defensive Linemen

With the start of football season around the corner, it’s time to take a look at the players who will be making the biggest impact in 2021.

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.

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by Evan Ren

2021 DISTRICT PREDICTIONS: Evan and Daniel make their picks

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. 

So dive in and study our take on the upcoming season, along with the more than 80 preseason stories we posted earlier today. Enjoy! We’ll see you on the road. 
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by Evan Ren

EVAN REN: The top area games worth traveling to in 2021

Every year, one of the things I look forward to most, is mapping out the upcoming football season — charting the games I believe will have the greatest impact. 

First and foremost, it’s a preseason menu for area fans who enjoy driving to some of the Big Country’s best football games on a weekly basis. Call it a football roadmap of sorts.

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by Daniel Youngblood

ABILENE HIGH FEATURE: Da’King Thomas ready to take throne as Eagles’ featured back

Sharing time in the Abilene High backfield with senior Phonzo Dotson, Abilene High running back Da’King Thomas proved last year as a junior that he be can explosive weapon for coach Mike Fullen and the Eagles.

This year, he wants to prove he can be a consistent one, too.

Poised to take on a more featured role in the AHS offense after rushing for 474 yards, receiving for 103 and scoring six total touchdowns a year ago, Thomas is hoping to put his name in the same conversation as AHS greats such as Abram Smith, Arturo “Sneezy” Beltran, Herschel Sims, Marcell Porter, Paxton Greyer and Keithy Flye. And he hopes to do so by being a guy his teammates and coaches can consistently count on for production and leadership.

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by Daniel Youngblood

2021 ABILENE HIGH FOOTBALL PREVIEW: Confident Eagles riding wave of momentum into 2021

A strong finish to a tumultuous season put the Abilene High football team back on the map last fall. The goal for the Eagles now is to stay there. 

With 33 lettermen back from last year’s 6-5 team, including seven starters on both sides of the ball, coach Mike Fullen and Co. are hoping to build on what was accomplished during last year’s run to the third round of the Class 6A Division II playoffs. 

And though they’ll have some key players to replace from that group, the Eagles are confident that both the success enjoyed and momentum gained during a late five-game winning streak is sustainable. 

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