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Continue reading “PHOTO GALLERY: Santo-Albany football (110 images)”
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Continue reading “PHOTO GALLERY: Lubbock Cooper-Wylie football (60 images)”
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Continue reading “PHOTO GALLERY: Fort Stockton-Big Spring football (25 images)”
Brock 80, Peaster 7 — The No. 2 Eagles blasted the Greyhounds, following a 35-point first quarter with 33 points in the second to take a 68-0 lead into halftime.
Brock outgained Peaster 616-122 and forced a pair of turnovers in improving to 9-0 on the year and 6-0 in league play.
Quarterback Tyler Moody went 11-of-12 passing for 239 yards and six touchdowns, hitting Nathan Jones (4-118 receiving) with three TD passes and Eli Potts (3-56) with two. Kutter Wilson (18-197, 3 TDs rushing) and Brett Tutter (6-100, 1 TD), meanwhile, both went over 100 yards rushing for Eagles, who finished with 377 yards rushing as a team.
Ballinger 46, Bangs 3 — Carter Arrott threw for 142 yards and two scores and Nathan Rivera-Mcduffee rushed for 117 yards and two scores to lead Ballinger to an important win on the road.
The Bearcats produced 419 yards in total offense with only 17:28 of possession time. This included 277 yards rushing.
Bangs was led by Guy Powell, who rushed for 56 yards on 13 carries.
Hico 42, Meridian 0 — The Tigers wrapped up the No. 3 playoff seed out of this district with a shutout win over the Yellowjackets.
Hico (5-5, 2-2) led just 14-0 at halftime, but coach Todd Swearengin’s squad scored three unanswered touchdowns in the third quarter to pull away.
Angel Gonzalez led the effort for the Tigers, rushing for 164 yards and three touchdowns on just 17 carries. Reese Polk (12-59 rushing) and Price Mullin (7-37) also had rushing scores for Hico, which posted its best regular-season record and highest playoff seed since 2017.
Roscoe 46, Lockney 6 — The Plowboys locked up their first district championship since 2015 with a dominating effort against what had been a hot Longhorns squad coming in.
Roscoe, which snapped a seven-game losing streak for Lockney (7-2, 2-1), led 38-0 by halftime and did all of its scoring before the Longhorns found the end zone late to avoid the shutout.
Quarterback Jax Watts had a big day throwing for the Plowboys (7-1, 3-0), hitting 17 of 19 throws for 242 yards and three touchdowns. Jake Gonzales added 161 yards and two rushing touchdowns on just 12 carries as RHS outgained Lockney 470-136.
Midland Greenwood 34, Snyder 7 — The Rangers were too much for the Tigers, limiting Snyder to just 228 yards of offense and one second-quarter touchdown in a comfortable home win.
Greenwood also won the turnover battle 3-0, allowing the Rangers (5-4, 3-1) to pull away in the third quarter despite finishing with just 281 yards themselves.
Snyder, which fell to 6-3 overall and 1-2 in league play with the loss, got its only touchdown on a short run by Bryce Ford to that the deficit to 14-7 at halftime. Greenwood was led by quarterback Ty Flowers, who went 7-of-7 passing for 87 yards and added 69 yards and three TDs on the ground.
Haskell 35, Anson 18 —Carter Rankin threw for 207 yards and two scores and added a rushing TD to lead Haskell (3-6, 1-3) to a crucial district win at Anson which throws the possible playoff scenarios into complete turmoil.
With the score tied at 7-7 at the break, Haskell took the game over with a 28-8 run through the second half.
Stephenville 38, Midlothian Heritage — The Jaguars bottled up the explosive Yellow Jackets’ offense, holding SHS to just 253 total yards. But coach Sterling Doty’s squad scored a pair of defensive touchdowns to survive a challenge from Heritage.
The Jaguars (6-3, 2-2) led 14-0 after the first quarter, but No. 2 Stephenville (9-0, 4-0) scored 31 unanswered points to take control of the game by the final period.
Quarterback Ryder Lambert passed for 112 yards and two touchdowns in the win, hitting Reece Elston (7-65 receiving) and Coy Eakin (4-18) with scoring passes. Tate Maruska led the Yellow Jacket rushing attack, going for 64 yards and a score on 10 carries.
Lubbock Roosevelt 52, Coahoma 19 — Roosevelt limited Coahoma to 221 yards in total offense while rolling up 381 yards of its own (all on the ground).
Five different Eagles added rushing touchdowns, including Nate Gensler and JJ Diaz, who both scored twice to help Roosevelt improve to 9-0, 4-0.
Continue reading “District 4-3A Div. II Week 10 Report: Roosevelt tops Coahoma to remain unbeaten”
Eastland 45, Merkel 21 — Keaton Hicks and Cooper Wright combined for 257 yards passing and two TDs to help Eastland improve to 4-5 overall and 3-1 in district play.
Isaiah Burns led Merkel with 112 yards rushing and a score. Joey Zink added 75 yards passing, including a pair of TD strikes.
Coleman 49, San Saba 7 — The Bluecats clinched the district title with 313 yards rushing as a team.
The Coleman defense, which ranks among the best in the Big Country, forced four San Saba turnovers and held the Armadillos to just 208 yards in total offense.
Jim Ned 35, Breckenridge 12 — Tate Yardley threw for 185 yards and three scores and Xavier Wishert rushed for 237 yards and one score on 31 carries to help Jim Ned (9-0, 4-0) lock up the district title.
The Indians rolled up 478 yards in total offense en route to the win, including 293 yards on the ground.
Andrews 45, San Angelo Lake View 24 — The Mustangs kept their hopes of a shared district title alive with a comfortable road win over the Chiefs.
Coming off a lopsided home loss to Big Spring, Andrews (3-6, 1-1) raced out to a 16-0 lead after a quarter and increased its advantage to 38-8 in the second quarter to put the game away by halftime.
Led by quarterback EJ Lopez, who passed for 136 yards and two TDs, and running back Jaxon Lawdermilk, who rushed for a pair of scores, the Mustangs only had 313 yards of total offense. But they held Lake View () to just 261 yards and intercepted Lake View QBs Cade Henry and Jacob Chappa a combined four times.
MIDLAND — The Abilene High football team locked up a playoff berth Friday, defeating Midland High 42-28 to improve to 6-3 on the year and 4-1 in District 3-6A play.
Leading just 21-14 at halftime, the Eagles scored the first 21 points of the second half to go up 42-14 before the Bulldogs scored a couple of late touchdowns against backups.
AHS ran for 324 yards in the victory, led by senior running back Da’King Thomas, who finished a yard shy of 200 for the game with three touchdown runs.
AZLE — Another slow start resulted in a familiar outcome for the Cooper Cougars, who fell to Azle 52-23 on Friday at Hornet Field.
Cooper fell behind 14-0 after a quarter and 24-0 by halftime, forcing a comeback that never came for coach Aaron Roan’s squad.
The Cougars efforts were hurt by four turnovers that helped the Hornets go up 45-7 late in the third quarter.
BIG SPRING — Gunning for their first district championship since 1990, the Big Spring Steers had the ball in senior quarterback Gabriel Baeza’s hands with 1:44 to play and 99 yards to cover for the game-winning touchdown Friday against Fort Stockton.
Baeza, who started the night with a school-record 18 consecutive completions, did everything in his power to will his team to victory. He started the drive with 34 yards rushing and 21 yards passing to put the Steers in position for a potential game-winning Hail Mary.
With eight seconds to go and facing fourth down at the Fort Stockton 49, Baeza rolled left and avoided two sacks while waiting on a receiver to get open. He then uncorked a deep bomb off his back foot for Sa’quan Fizer, who had gotten behind the Panthers secondary.
The ball glanced off Fizer’s fingertips and fell to the turf as time expired, allowing Fort Stockton to escape with a 29-28 win at Memorial Stadium in a key District 2-4A Division I matchup.
For most of the first half Friday at Hugh Sandifer Stadium, the Wylie football team executed its game plan about as well as could be expected against fifth-ranked Lubbock Cooper.
By the time halftime hit, the Bulldogs had run more than twice as many plays as the Pirates, dominated time of possession and taken three of their seven possessions inside the Cooper 30-yard line.
Unfortunately for the Bulldogs, they came away with just three points in those scoring chances, while Cooper combined a pair of big plays on offense with a pick-six on defense to build a 21-3 halftime lead on its way to a 38-10 win.
ALBANY — There are whispers that the Albany football team is fielding its best product in several years this season. And the Lions did very little to shed doubt on that rumor on Friday with a 33-6 win over previously unbeaten Santo in the Big Country Preps Game of the Week.
Jaheim Newton rushed for 184 yards and two touchdowns and Cole Chapman threw for 114 yards and another score to lead Albany (8-0, 3-0 District 8-2A Division II), which clinched the district title with the win.
There’s good news and bad news for the Wylie football team heading into Friday’s home matchup against fifth-ranked Lubbock Cooper.
The good news: The Bulldogs still control their playoff destiny.
The bad news: They’ve lost all margin for error.
If Wylie is to reach the playoffs, its best — and perhaps only — path is through the Pirates this week and the Plainview Bulldogs in their District 3-5A Division II finale next Friday. With wins over both, coach Clay Martin’s Bulldogs will reach the postseason for the second consecutive season. With losses to either, they’ll very likely miss the playoffs for the third time in four years.
With those circumstances accepted and the stakes known, the Wylie players and coaches are treating each game as though the playoffs have already begun. And while the challenge before them is a steep one, they’re determined to tackle it head on.
Based strictly on the stat sheet, Cooper’s Cullen McMillon wouldn’t meet most definitions of impact player.
The senior quarterback-turned-receiver has amassed just 121 total yards and a pair of touchdowns this season for Cougars, who enter Friday’s game at Azle at 5-3 overall and 3-2 in District 3-5A Division I play.
But if you want to know McMillon’s true value to his team, you need look no further than the actions of his teammates, who voted him a captain, and the words of his coaches, who need no prodding to find complimentary things to say about him.
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 vs. Twitter Polls (Week 10)”
HAWLEY — For much of a very successful tenure at Hawley, eighth-year coach Mitch Ables directed a wide-open spread attack that helped the Bearcats reach unprecedented heights. He then switched to a power running game for two straight seasons and led Hawley to the Region I-2A DI championship game.
One team. One program. But two completely different styles, geared to fit existing personnel.
We are now seeing a third successful version — one that enters Friday’s game at Colorado City at 8-0. Call it Hawley 3.0, if you will — a balanced offensive attack, backed by what is arguably the best defense in school history.
Starting the season as a reserve inside linebacker behind a pair of senior captains, Anthony Daniel wasn’t necessarily expecting to play a leading role for the Abilene High defense this year.
But the 6-foot, 190-pound senior made sure he was prepared to do so, if called upon.
As circumstances would dictate, Daniel was indeed needed in a starting capacity. And since replacing the injured Maison Dickinson in Week 1, he’s done his best to ensure there was no discernible drop-off in the middle of the Eagle defense.
LAST WEEK: 39-8, .830
SEASON TOTAL: 361-82, .814
Since absorbing Santo into our coverage area last season, we have yet to have the Wildcats in our Big Country Preps Game of the Week.
That all changes on Friday night when the unbeaten ‘Cats head to Albany, where they will face what might be the best AHS team we’ve seen in five or six years. And given Albany’s track record, that’s saying a great deal.
To the winner: A District 8-2A Division II title, a No. 1 seed in the playoffs and a slightly more equitable postseason path in a tough region.
Here’s this week’s forecast:
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Continue reading “PHOTO GALLERY: Cooper-Wylie volleyball (64 images)”
Having already clinched the No. 2 playoff seed out of District 4-5A, the Wylie volleyball team didn’t necessarily need a Senior Night win over crosstown rival Cooper on Tuesday at Bulldog Gym.
But with the postseason approaching, the Lady Bulldogs played as though they did, taking care of business in a 25-14, 25-15, 26-24 sweep to head into the playoffs on a 6-1 run.
Coach Shay Cox’s squad, which improved to 30-13 win the victory, closed out its district schedule with an 8-2 record, while ending the Lady Cougars’ season at 16-23 overall and 3-7 in league play.
Photos by Kristie Williams
The Wall Lady Hawks volleyball team has made the playoffs in all six seasons with Robynn Jones as head coach. But like with most successful sports teams, the Lady Hawks want more.
They are seeking to beat Clyde for the District 6-3A championship and advance beyond the area round of the Class 2A playoffs.
“Every year since Clyde has been in our district, we hadn’t beaten them until this year,” Jones said Tuesday. “We beat them earlier this year in a tournament, and we stole one from them in district. We actually split (two matches) in district.”
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.
It’s never a surprise to see Sweetwater senior quarterback Leo Holsey among the top performers in our Capital Farm Credit/Big Country Preps Player of the Week column.
Since his freshman year, the four-year starter has topped our weekly list multiple times, including this week after helping Sweetwater to a 61-37 win over Pecos on Friday.
Holsey only threw 15 passes, but he connected on 12 of them for 364 yards and five touchdowns. He also rushed six times for 75 yards and two more scores, giving him a direct hand in 439 yards and seven TDs.
Portrait and hospital photo by Brad Schowengerdt. Game photos by Toni Brockway.
The Clyde Bulldogs have lost seven of eight games as they finish a tough rebuilding football season. But the Bulldogs also have witnessed an inspiring miracle with the return of Wes Schowengerdt.
The senior offensive tackle has returned to play in Clyde’s last two games, including the Bulldogs’ only win against San Angelo TLCA. He returned after a 10-month battle with cancer, including seven months of chemotherapy and radiation treatments. He also was diagnosed with COVID during the middle of treatments, leading Schowengerdt to spend a month in the hospital at one point.
The 230-pound offensive tackle weighs about 50 pounds less than before all the treatments, but No. 56 just wanted a chance to finish what he started.
Photo by Keith Philips
Now is usually about the time Lingleville is counting down the days until basketball season.
The Cardinals have had only two winning seasons since football returned in 2010, and expectations for this fall weren’t sky high after last year’s 1-9 record.
But football is all the buzz these days in western Erath County as Lingleville (6-1) has been one of the Big Country’s biggest surprises. Coach Ken Davis and the Cardinals have won six straight games heading into Friday’s critical District 13-A Division I matchup against Baird.
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Continue reading “PHOTO GALLERY: Cisco-Coleman football (61 images)”
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Continue reading “PHOTO GALLERY: Canyon Randall-Wylie football (64 images)”
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Continue reading “PHOTO GALLERY: Odessa High-Abilene High football (102 images)”
Cross Plains 60, Meridian 12 — The Buffaloes snapped a two-game district losing streak and all but clinched the No. 4 playoff seed in this league with a lopsided win over the YellowJackets.
Needing a win to avoid missing the postseason for the first time since 2014, coach Daniel Purvis’ squad raced out to a 35-6 lead by halftime and cruised from there to the blowout. Cross Plains outgained Meridian 520-225, rushing for 341 of those yards.
Kade Purvis passed for 185 yards and three touchdowns, while Ryan Hopkins (3-113, 2 TDs rushing; 7-80, 2 TDs) had a huge day in both the running and passing game.The 60 points were a season-high for the Buffs, which had been limited to 13 points through its first two district contests.
Roscoe 58, Crosbyton 8 — The Plowboys continued their charge toward the district championship, blasting the Chiefs to improve to 7-1 overall and 2-0 in league play.
Roscoe, which shares the league lead with Lockney (7-1, 2-0), outgained Crosbyton (4-5, 1-2) by a 403-26 margin, building a 34-8 lead by halftime.
Jax Watts had a nice day throwing the ball, completing 13 of 19 passes for 191 yards with four touchdowns and two interceptions, Throwing touchdown passes to Antonio Aguayo (5-93, 1 TD receiving), Ivan McCann (6-58, 2 TDs) and Seth Wilcox (2-40, 1 TD). Jake Gonzales led the Plowboy rushing attack, running for 105 yards and two scores.
Goldthwaite 49, Winters 13 — Goldthwaite pounded out 259 yards rushing as a team and limited Winters to 190 yards in total offense to earn a crucial district win.
Seth Gardner rushed for 112 yards and two scores and Jackson Patrick rushed for 37 yards and another score to lead the Eagles (4-4, 2-1) which has virtually locked up a playoff spot with the win.
Brock 55, Boyd 7 — The No. 2 Eagles dominated the Yellowjackets from start to finish, using a 21-point third quarter to increase a 27-point halftime lead to 48 by the start of the fourth quarter.
Brock (8-0, 5-0) outgained Boyd 504-196, passing for more than 200 yards and topping the 300-yard rushing mark. Quarterback Tyler Moody had another efficient game through the air, going 12 of 17 for 202 yards and four touchdowns with one interception, while Kutter Wilson rushed for 141 yards and two scores, and Eli Potts (3-66 receiving) and Nathan Jones (2-23) each had two receiving TDs.
Boyd (1-7, 1-4) was led by quarterback Rendyn Lamance, who passed for 93 yards and rushed for 106.