Month: September 2021

by Mike Lee, Special to Big Country Preps

FEATURE: Talented Potts lifts up Sweetwater volleyball team

Portrait by Brandi Dent Photography in Sweetwater.  Action photo by Will McClure

There’s no denying the impact of versatile senior Jazzane Potts on the Sweetwater volleyball team. The Lady Mustangs opened this season 1-12 while Potts was undergoing treatment on both her knees, but Sweetwater is 6-5 since her return.

Sweetwater (7-17) had won five consecutive matches entering Tuesday’s nondistrict match at Wall.

“We were sending her to three different doctors,” third-year Sweetwater coach Mitzi Bell said Monday. “We kept asking Jazzane, ‘Are you cleared yet? Are you cleared yet?’”

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by Zach Duncan, Special to Big Country Preps

FEATURE: Father and son Price combo leading Early’s football resurgence

Daniel Price admits to getting caught up in the moment and having the occasional proud dad moment on the sidelines this season.  

Early’s head football coach has a lot to be excited about these days. The Longhorns are off to their best start in some time, having beaten Bangs, Tolar and Comanche handily.  

Leading an offense that’s averaging 46 points per game is Daniel’s oldest son, Jaxyn. The junior quarterback has looked sharp in his second season as a starter, having already thrown for 621 yards and 10 touchdowns.    

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by Evan Ren

CAPITAL FARM CREDIT/BCP PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Clyde’s Phillips takes this week’s top spot

Clyde junior Payton Phillips first hit the area radar screen last spring when she took double gold at the Region I-3A track meet in the both the long jump and 100 hurdles. 

But our Capital Farm Credit/Big Country Preps Player of the Week is also one of the area’s top volleyball setters as well, as last week’s effort in a three-set win over Graham and four-set loss to Stephenville illustrated. 

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by Mike Lee, Special to Big Country Preps

FEATURE: Cisco star Hearne doesn’t mind doing the dirty work.

There was no doubt what play Cisco football coach Kevin Stennett wanted to call when he made the decision to go for two extra points while trailing Breckenridge 27-26 in overtime last Friday night.

“I wanted my quarterback, Hunter Long, to carry the ball, and I wanted him to run behind (tight end) Dawson Hearne,” Stennett said. “We even moved Dawson from one side of the formation to the other side so Hunter could follow him. Those are two people I trust. That’s the best I can do to get in the end zone right there.”

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by Daniel Youngblood

District 8-2A Div. II Week 3 Report: Santo blasts Itasca to stay perfect at 3-0

rioSanto 46, Itasca 6 — The Wildcats got out to a fast start, scoring 21 first-quarter points, and never looked back in routing the Wampus Cats. 

Coach Devon Mann’s Santo squad (3-0) outgained Itasca 356-145, rushing for all but three of its yards while holding the Wampus Cats to minus-15 rushing yards.

Up 21-0 at halftime, the Wildcats put the game out of reach with three third-quarter touchdowns. Itasca scored late in the fourth quarter to avoid the shutout.

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by Daniel Youngblood

District 5-2A Div. II Week 3 Report: Watts, Plowboys handle Miles for second straight win

Roscoe 43, Miles 24 — The Plowboys earned their second consecutive victory, rushing out to a 28-6 halftime lead and taking care of business from there for a three-touchdown win.

Roscoe (2-1) outgained the Bulldogs 366-282 and took advantage of a 3-1 edge in the turnover margin to thwart a Miles comeback attempt in the second half and pull away in the final quarter.

Sophomore quarterback Jax Watts had an efficient day throwing the ball, hitting 14 of 23 passes for 181 yards and three touchdowns, while Seth Wilcox (3-69 rushing, 2-27 receiving), Ivan McCann (13-47 rushing, 3-56 receiving) and Antonio Aguayo (4-10 rushing, 6-67 receiving) each had one touchdown rushing and receiving.

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by Evan Ren

District 3-2A Div. I Week 3 Report: Buffs remain unbeaten with rout of Stanton

Forsan 45, Stanton 7 — The Buffaloes had an easy time with Stanton, building a 24-0 first-half lead and never looking back. 

Major Stockton threw for 107 yards and a TD and rushed for 21 yards and two more scores to keep the Buffs (3-0) unbeaten. Four different Forsan players had rushing touchdowns, including Chris Mendez, who rushed for a team-high 150 yards and one score. 

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by Daniel Youngblood

District 1-4A Div. II Week 3 Report: Mustangs rout Lake View for 700th win in program history

Sweetwater 47, San Angelo Lake View 20 — The Mustangs claimed their 700th win in program history, piling up 493 yards of total offense in a dominating effort.

Senior quarterback Leo Holsey led the winning effort, passing for two touchdowns and rushing for another to help SHS improve to 1-2 on the season.

Lake View, which was limited to 347 yards and had a pair of turnovers, was paced by quarterback Cade Henry, who passed for 173 yards with a touchdown and an interception. 

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by Daniel Youngblood

District 5-4A Div. I Week 3 Report: Lambert fuels Stephenville past Salado, to 3-0 start

Stephenville 48, Salado 21 — The eighth-ranked Yellow Jackets outscored the Eagles 24-7 in the second quarter to turn a tie game after one period into a 31-14 lead by halftime.

Quarterback Ryder Lambert led the way, throwing five touchdown passes to help Stephenville (3-0) build a 48-14 lead in the fourth quarter.

Kicker Corbin Poston also had a nice game, hitting field goals of 23 and 46 yards while going 6 of 6 on extra-point attempts.

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by Daniel Youngblood

District 2-4A Div. I Week 3 Report: Monahans hands Big Spring its first loss

Monahans 28, Big Spring 13 — The Loboes answered a first-quarter touchdown by the Steers with 20 unanswered points over the middle two periods and held off Big Spring from there for the victory.

The win kept Monahans (3-0) unbeaten, while coach Cannon McWilliams’ Steers (2-1) suffered their first loss of the season.

Big Spring, which was outgained 398-304, was led once again by quarterback Gabriel Baeza, who passed for 200 yards and rushed for 101 yards and two touchdowns. The senior signal caller did throw two interceptions, though, for just his second and third picks of the year.

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by Evan Ren

District 3-3A Div. I Week 3 Report: Breck nearly pulls off upset at Cisco in OT

Cisco 28, Breckenridge 27 — The Loboes (3-0) needed overtime to put away Breckenridge in a thriller at Chesley Field. 

Hunter Long scored on an 8-yard TD run in OT and followed it with a two-point conversion run to put the Loboes over the top. 

Breckenridge played a turnover-free game while picking off two Cisco passes to nearly pull off one of the biggest upsets of the young season. 

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by Daniel Youngblood

District 4-3A Div. I Week 3 Report: Peaster stays unbeaten with win over Trinity Valley

Peaster 40, Fort Worth Trinity Valley 28 — The Greyhounds stayed perfect with a win over the Trojans, taking control early with 21 first-quarter points.

Peaster (3-0) led 34-15 by halftime and kept Trinity Valley at arm’s length over the final two periods.

Quarterback Gunner McElroy paced the PHS offense, passing for 316 yards and three touchdowns, while Tramar Gilbert (17-92, 1 TD) led the team in rushing and Caden Duer (7-151, 1 TD) was the Greyhounds’ top receiver.

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by Daniel Youngblood

GAME STORY: Cooper rides big third quarter to thrilling 30-24 win over Wylie

Unlike the first two meetings in the Southtown Showdown series, Friday’s matchup between Cooper and Wylie was a tight one.

But the outcome was the same as the Cougars rallied from a 17-10 halftime deficit to knock off the Bulldogs 30-24 in a thrilling affair at Hugh Sandifer Stadium.

Cooper, which improved to 3-0 all-time against its southside rival, scored 17 unanswered points in the third quarter to take a two-score lead into the final period, before holding off a furious Wylie rally in the final five minutes to secure the win.

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by Evan Ren

BIG COUNTRY PREPS GAME OF THE WEEK: Cross Plains tops Haskell 28-7 in spotlight game

CROSS PLAINS — They were coming off a lopsided loss at Goldthwaite. They were starting a freshman at quarterback. They had four turnovers to overcome and they had no momentum to speak of heading into Friday’s game with Haskell. 

Yet at the end of the night, the Cross Plains Buffaloes had overcome every hurdle to hand Haskell a 28-7 loss in the Big Country Preps Game of the Week. 

Freshman Kade Purvis threw for 287 yards and three scores to lead the Buffaloes (2-1), who put the game away with a pair of fourth quarter touchdowns.  

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by Brandon McAuliffe

GAME STORY: Fourth-quarter rally lifts Abilene High past Vista Ridge

For three quarters on Friday night at Shotwell Stadium, the Abilene High football team had the look of a squad that was headed for an 0-3 start.

Enter Abel Ramirez.

The senior quarterback threw for 70 yards and ran for 59 more in the final 12 minutes, picking up a pair of rushing touchdowns to help the Eagles rally for a 23-19 win over Cedar Park Vista Ridge in the first-ever meeting between the two schools.

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by Daniel Youngblood

FEATURE: Running backs Gomez, Carpenter providing strong 1-2 punch for Wylie

With a big, strong offensive line and a pair of experienced backs, the Wylie football team expected its running game to be a strength in 2021.

Last week, in a 30-22 win over Lubbock Monterey, the Bulldogs saw it in all its glory.

Led by senior backs Trey Gomez and Josh Carpenter, who both topped the 100-yard mark in that victory, WHS rushed for 265 yards as a team against the Plainsmen. And after catching a glimpse of just how dominant the Bulldog ground attack can be, that duo is ready to make a habit out of pounding opposing defenses into submission.

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by Daniel Youngblood

FEATURE: Cooper’s Villarreal continuing Coogs’ tradition of standout defensive back play

As a sophomore reserve on varsity, Jett Villarreal watched then-senior Dylon Davis lead the state in interceptions and dreamed of being that type of player himself one day for the Cooper Cougars.

With two picks in the first two games of his senior season, Villarreal is well on his way.

An athletic safety with a head for the game, Villarreal has made a habit this season of being in the right place at the right time. And if you ask coach Aaron Roan, he’ll tell you that hasn’t happened by accident.

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by Daniel Youngblood

Big Country Preps’ Pick ‘Em Panel vs. Twitter Polls (Week 3)

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 Evan Ren

BIG COUNTRY PREPS GAME OF THE WEEK: Brady cancels, Ren goes scrambling (w/ Evan Ren’s Big Country Picks)

LAST WEEK: 42-9, .823
SEASON TOTAL: 85-21, .801

I was very much looking forward to our Big Country Preps Game of the Week – Coleman (2-0) at Brady (2-0). Unfortunately, COVID intervened by midweek, forcing a cancellation of the contest.

On a positive note, there are several other quality games throughout the area for us to focus on, and (taking a bow) the column is already hitting over 80 percent on picks and we’re only in Week 3.

Numbers of that sort are generally reserved for Weeks 7-10, so I’m feeling pressure to keep the early momentum going.

In the absence of our Game of the Week, I’ll be heading to Cross Plains on Friday, where Haskell will be paying a visit to the Buffaloes (COVID allowing, of course).

Let’s dive in to this week’s picks:

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by Evan Ren

FEATURE: Coleman, Elder working through frustration as COVID sneaks into the picture again

COLEMAN — After seeing their football team robbed of a would-be playoff berth by COVID-19 a year ago, the Coleman Bluecats entered 2021 determined to make up for lost time. And they were off to a pretty good start with a 2-0 record and convincing wins over Miles (24-0 in one quarter) and Anson (33-6). 

Unfortunately, an old nemesis has crept back into the picture. 

Slated to play at Brady (2-0) in what was to be Big Country Preps’ Game of the Week on Friday, the Bluecats received word on Wednesday that Brady had to cancel the varsity game due to COVID-19. Coleman scrambled to find a replacement game, but was unable to find an available team on short notice. They are, therefore, taking an unscheduled bye week, just as the program was seeing its momentum on a real upswing.

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by Brandon McAuliffe

GAME STORY: Wylie volleyball starts fast, sweeps Abilene High

The Wylie volleyball team never trailed in three games as the Lady Bulldogs swept Abilene High 25-17, 25-13, 25-13 on Tuesday night at Bulldog Gym.

Getting a quick sweep of a crosstown opponent was big for Wylie, said coach Shay Cox, noting that it would have been easy for her squad to get too hyped up for Tuesday’s match or to be caught looking ahead to Friday night’s showdown with former district foe Aledo.

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by Evan Ren

Big Country Volleyball Statistical Leaders (through Sept. 7)

Big Country Preps is publishing area volleyball statistical leaders each Tuesday at 7 p.m.

This database will be continually updated for our subscribers throughout the remainder of the season, using only those statistics submitted by area coaches.

We will continually update the database throughout the regular season.

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by Evan Ren

CAPITAL FARM CREDIT/BCP PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Big Spring QB Baeza takes top spot

Much of the Big Country remains unaware of him. But Big Spring senior Gabriel Baeza has begun to post numbers that demand attention, and he’s starting to get it. 

His latest effort: 374 yards passing for three touchdowns in a 49-10 win over Lubbock High School to push Big Spring to a 2-0 start.

This week’s Capital Farm Credit/Big Country Preps Player of the Week also rushed 12 times for 56 yards and three additional scores, giving him a direct hand in six TDs. 

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by Evan Ren

District 2-3A Div. II Report: Week 2: Brady improves to 2-0 with road win over Comanche

Brady 46, Comanche 19 — JD Ibarra rushed for 239 yards and three scores on just 21 carries to help Brady to a win on the road.

Zeke Jones added 142 yards rushing and an additional score and quarterback Hayden Baronet found the end zone three times (despite finishing with one yard on 12 carries) to lift Brady (2-0). 

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by Daniel Youngblood

District 3-4A Div. I Week 2 Report: Wilson, Brock run past Nevada Community

Brock 47, Nevada Community 13 — The Eagles had little trouble with Community, outscoring the Braves 35-0 over the middle two quarters to turn a tight game after one quarter into a rout.

Brock (2-0) outgained Community 501-267, rushing for 355 yards on just 30 carries in the win. Kutter Wilson led that effort, amassing 263 yards and two touchdowns on 18 rush attempts. 

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by Evan Ren

District 3-2A Div. I Week 2 Report: Buffs improve to 2-0 with win at Post

Forsan 22, Post 6 — Forsan improved to 2-0 behind a solid defensive effort and and a patient offensive approach.

The Buffaloes rushed for 133 yards and two scores by committee to go with Major Stockton’s 76 yards passing to put away Post (0-2) on the road. 

Forsan forced three turnovers, committed none and shut Post out after the break.

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by Daniel Youngblood

District 8-2A Div. II Week 2 Report: Albany finds stride in lopsided win over Dublin

Albany 48, Dublin 21 — After having their opener against Colorado City canceled, coach Denney Faith’s Lions pushed through a sluggish start to blow out Dublin in their first game of the year.

AHS didn’t get on the board until the 4:48 mark of the second quarter and led just 14-7 at halftime. But Faith’s squad got going after halftime, outscoring DHS 21-0 in the third quarter to turn a one-score game into a runaway.

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by Evan Ren

District 4-3A Div. II Week 2 Report: Coahoma dominates Miles for first win of the year

Coahoma 54, Miles 0 — Coahoma (1-1) had an easy time picking up its first win of the season, routing Miles (0-2) behind 447 yards of total offense. 

Billy Baily threw for 148 yards and four scores and Isaiah Eleda rushed for 105 yards and two scores to lead CHS, which rebounded from a season-opening loss to archrival Forsan.

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