In an era when video-game offenses across the state routinely test the mettle of the ERCOT grid, the Santo Wildcats are quite content to go “Old School” in 2022.
(As a reminder, Old School has a sign outside the door that proclaims: “Offense Sells Tickets. Defense Wins Championships!”)
While it’s still a bit premature to raise trophies, it’s high time to exclaim what the Wildcats have accomplished on the defensive side of the ball so far this fall.
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Continue reading “PHOTO GALLERY: San Angelo Central-Wylie volleyball (80 images)”
The Wylie volleyball team wrapped up the pre-district portion of its schedule with a home split Tuesday, sweeping Granbury 25-18, 25-19, 29-27 before falling to San Angelo Central 25-14, 24-21, 16-25, 25-16 in the finale of a dual match at Bulldog Gym.
The results send the Lady Bulldogs into Friday’s District 4-5A opener at Abilene High with a 15-13 record.
While her team struggled at times in the nightcap against the Lady Cats, Wylie coach Shay Cox focused on the positives from the two matches, concluding that the Lady Bulldogs showed some necessary growth with league play on the horizon.
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.
Abilene Christian volleyball coach Arnett McClure knows he’s got a good team this year and a big part of that is the play of sisters Halle and Shea Bruntmyer.
The daughters of Hardin-Simmons University president Eric Bruntmyer have become mainstays in McClure’s lineup, with Shea leading the way as the team’s setter and leading server, while Halle is a back-line anchor.
Shea, who is a year older than Halle, has the task of being both a teammate and older sister and has to juggle being able to know when to play each role both on and off the court.
When word came of last week’s epic 62-61 win by Stephenville at Everman, one could only expect there to be some epic performances involved.
There were.
And at the top of that list is our Capital Farm Credit/BCP Player of the Week, Tate Maruska, a junior running back who went absolutely bananas in that game.
Wylie 30, Lubbock Monterey 0 — The Bulldogs dominated the Plainsmen from start to finish, building a 21-0 lead less than 14 minutes into the game and cruising from there to the shutout win.
Wylie (2-0) outgained Monterey 470-280, rushing for 232 yards and passing for 238. Landry Carlton had a big day individually, rushing for 126 yards and two touchdowns while adding 32 yards and another score receiving. In the passing game, K.J. Long was 16 of 22 for 238 yards and a pair of scores, hitting Braden Regala eight times for 154 yards and a TD.
Monterey was led in the loss by quarterback D.J. Williams (19-31-1—213) and running back Jayden Hibbler (13-95 rushing; 8-86 receiving).
Abilene High 14, Cooper 10 — Trailing 7-0 after the first quarter and 10-7 heading into the fourth, the Eagles came up with the two touchdown drives they needed to edge rival Cooper in the 62nd Crosstown Showdown.
The victory, which snapped a three-game losing streak in the series for AHS, improved coach Mike Fullen’s team to 1-1 on the year.
Abilene High outgained the Cougars 252-196, getting 186 yards passing and one touchdown from quarterback Dylan Slack in his first career start. Running back Antoine Rashaw (22-76 rushing) and DeMarco Upshaw (6-73 receiving) each had TDs for the Eagles, while the Cougars got their only touchdown from running back Mikei Flye.
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Continue reading “PHOTO GALLERY: Haskell-Stamford football (72 images)”
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Continue reading “PHOTO GALLERY: Cooper-Abilene High football (80 images)”
Santo 20, Goldthwaite 7 — The Wildcats limited the Eagles to just 49 yards of total offense while rushing for 203 of their 238 yards in a dominating effort.
Goldthwaite (0-2), which scored its only touchdown on a kickoff return, passed for 25 yards and rushed for 24.
Santo, meanwhile, got a game-high 66 yards rushing from Kash Johnson, while Hut Thornton (8-50), Billy Sandoval (5-15) and Brayden Newcomb (2-4) each had rushing scores for the Wildcats.
Munday 58, Abilene TLCA 30 — Chris Garcia was 12 of 12 for 210 yards and two scores and rushed for 121 yards and three more TDs to lead Munday (2-0), which coasted after building a 53-2 halftime lead.
Jonathan Rico led TLCA with 131 yards passing and one TD. He aslso rushed for 36 yards and another score.
Forsan 41, Post 15 — The Buffaloes improved to 2-0 with an emphatic win over the Antelopes, using a 19-point third quarter to increase a 19-7 halftime lead to 31 points by the start of the fourth.
Forsan only outgained Post 360-357, but the Buffs won the turnover battle 2-0 and held the Antelopes to just 5 of 16 on third-down conversion attempts and 2 of 6 on fourth downs.
FHS, which rushed for 285 yards, was led by Kevin Kligora, who had 89 yards and a touchdown on 12 carries. Quarterback Cade Wallis (8-16-0—85 passing, 6-48 rushing), Huston Stockton (8-33 rushing), Grant Roman (3-30) and Brycen Cervantes (1-1) also had rushing scores in the win.
Hamlin 6, Water Valley 2 — The Pipers overcame an early 2-0 deficit caused by an errant punt snap with a first-quarter touchdown and held on the rest of the way to win their first game since 2020.
The Pied Pipers rushed for more than 200 yards as a team but hurt themselves with multiple drive-killing penalties. Hamlin’s defense proved to be the difference, forcing several turnovers and holding Water Valley to 99 total yards.
Whitesboro 31, Bells 27 — The Bearcats rallied from a 21-10 halftime deficit to score an impressive come-from-behind win over the Panters.
Outscoring Bells 13-0 in the third quarter, Whitesboro (2-0) took a 23-21 lead into the fourth quarter, before outscoring the Panthers 8-6 there to secure the narrow victory.
BHS ran for 255 yards in the loss, getting 104 yards and four touchdowns from Grady Waldrip, but it wasn’t enough as quarterback Mac Harper sandwiched a pair of touchdown passes to Brett Donaldson around a Maxx Parker TD run during the Bearcats’ second-half rally.
Winters 18, Eldorado 12, OT— Chris Martinez hit Aidan Bryant with a 25-yard TD pass in overtime to lift the Blizzards (1-1) to their first win of the year.
WHS managed only 159 yards in total offense and had two turnovers but overcame it with a solid defensive effort.
Coleman 48, Ballinger 0 — The Bluecats dominated the Bearcats, outgaining BHS 413-30 in a shutout victory.
Coleman, which led 30-0 by halftime, got a strong all-around game from quarterback Jadin Jackson (6-10-0—133, 2 TDs passing; 10-47, 1 TD rushing), while Ryland Gentry (13-102, 2 TDs) topped 100 yards rushing.
Brent Bouldin (9-66 rushing) and Dayden Hunter (7-62) both added rushing touchdowns, while Braxton Smith (2-77 receiving) and Hagen Cavanaugh (2-50) each caught touchdown passes as the Bluecats improved to 2-0.
Cisco 18, Wall 14 — Cisco outlasted Wall in a tough, defensive struggle that saw only 375 yards in combined total offense between the two clubs.
Trent Huston scored on runs of 8 and 5 yards to lead Cisco, the latter of which came with 6:08 to play to put CHS up for good.
Hunter Long led was the yardage leader for Cisco (2-0), rushing for 115 yards and throwing for 27.
Snyder 21, Levelland 7 — The Tigers rallied from an early 7-0 deficit, scoring the final three touchdowns in a workmanlike win over the Lobos.
Snyder (2-0), which took a 14-7 lead into halftime before tacking on one final touchdown in the third quarter, outgained Levelland 272-221 and held a 2-1 advantage in the turnover margin.
Dyllan Angeley (5-8-0—89, 2 TDs) and Easton Stewart (9-13-0—85) shared the quarterbacking duties, passing for a combined 174 yards, while Dom Dominguez (7-50 rushing; 3-50, 1 TD receiving) went over 100 yards in total offense. Chon Vasquez was SHS leading receiver with three catches for 83 yards and a touchdown.
Coahoma 31, Sonora 27 — Boyd Cox threw for 116 yards and one score and Isaiah Eleda rushed for 81 yards and another TD to help Coahoma even its record up at 1-1.
The Bulldogs survived a Sonora rally, which saw the Broncos erase a 24-14 deficit and take 27-24 lead in the third quarter.
Merkel 14, Stanton 0 — The Badgers bounced back from a season-opening loss to Clifton with a shutout win over the Buffaloes.
The game was scoreless until the opening minutes of the fourth quarter, when Joey Zink hit Maddox O’Malley with a long touchdown pass to put Merkel (1-1) up 8-0. The Badgers would add a second touchdown later to put the game out of reach.
Conner Willyerd had a big interception for MHS late in the third quarter, halting a potential scoring drive for Stanton and keeping the game scoreless into the final period.
Brownwood 55, Marble Falls 16 — The Lions got off to a fast start and never let up in a blowout win over the Mustangs.
Brownwood (1-1) scored the first 24 points of the game, led 27-8 by halftime and increased its advantage to 55-8 before Marble Falls got back on the board with the game’s final touchdown late in the fourth quarter.
The Lions outgained the Mustangs 402-201, getting a big game from quarterback Ike Hall, who went 9-of-13 passing for 189 yards while rushing for a team-high 79 yards and a touchdown. Running back Konlyn Anderson added 69 yards and three TDs on 16 carries, while Thad Hinds (3-77) and Jordan Leach (3-47) led the Lions in receiving.
Breckenridge 35, Childress 8 — The Buckaroos improved to 2-0 with a quality defensive effort, limiting Childress to only 232 yards in total offense on the Bobcats’ homefield.
Breckenridge raced out to a 21-0 halftime lead and was never seriously threatened. The ‘Bucks overcame two turnovers and eight penalties for 117 yards to get the win.
Stephenville 62, Everman 61 — Ryder Lambert was 16 of 34 for 254 yards and four scores and Tate Maruska rushed for 298 yards and five touchdowns to lead Stephenville to a dramatic come-from-behind win over Class 5A Everman.
The Yellow Jackets trailed 28-14 after the first quarter, 35-28 at the break, 49-42 at the end of three quarters and 61-56 with 0:34 to play. But Lambert had the final say, hitting Caden Henderson with a 16-yard TD pass on the game’s final play to lift Stephenville to the win.
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Continue reading “PHOTO GALLERY: Eastland-Clyde football (72 photos)”
STAMFORD — It took a combined 15 penalties, nine fumbles, countless leg cramps and nearly three hours on a rain-sopped field to finally complete. But through it all, a very young Stamford team executed enough of its game plan to remain unbeaten in a 28-9 win over area rival Haskell on Friday at SHS.
Christian Duran threw for 127 yards and one score and Kaston Vega rushed for 77 yards and two more touchdowns to lead Stamford (2-0), which took an early 14-0 lead and never relinquished it.
Hampered by five fumbles (losing three) and nine flags for 105 yards, the Bulldogs still outgained Haskell 282-194 by limiting Haskell quarterback Marquise Johnson to only 60 yards on 24 carries. Johnson entered the game as the leading rusher in the Big Country, after charting 195 yards on 38 carries in a season-opening win over New Home last week.
The Abilene High football team outlasted rival Cooper in a defensive slugfest Friday, snapping a three-game losing streak in the Crosstown Showdown series with a hard-fought 14-10 win at Shotwell Stadium.
Trailing twice in the game — at 7-0 after the first quarter and 10-7 heading into the fourth — the Eagles came up with a pair of timely touchdown drives and a bevy of clutch defensive stops to even their record at 1-1.
AHS outgained Cooper 252-196, limiting the Coogs to just 122 yards after a 74-yard touchdown drive on the game’s opening possession.
CLYDE — The Clyde football team was flagged 23 times on Friday night, with 21 coming against the offense, but the Bulldogs were able to overcome them all, including 11 pre-snap penalties, to shut out Eastland 26-0 on Friday night at Bulldog Stadium.
Led by Blake Carr’s 166 yards passing and 169 yards rushing, the Bulldogs were able to put up 453 yards of offense to offset the 173 penalty yards that went against them.
Clyde coach Danny Dudgeon was proud of the resiliency that Carr, a junior, showed despite having to overcome numerous obstacles.
As a defensive lineman who currently handles the place-kicking duties for his team and has also punted in the past, Abilene High senior Tristen Hall is something of a rarity at the large-school level.
And his path to that unique combination of roles wasn’t exactly a linear one.
If his mother had had her way, he would have simply been a kicker in high school. And if he had had his, he likely would have stayed on the offensive side of the ball at tight end — the position he played as a freshman.
But team needs and a veteran coaching staff dictated another path for the 6-foot-2, 215-pound athlete. And now, after a successful transition to the defensive end position, everyone’s happy with the way things have turned out.
By Zach Duncan, special to Big Country Preps
WICHITA FALLS — Two heavyweights repeatedly traded punches Thursday night at Memorial Stadium.
Brock’s Billy Mathis watched his squad force overtime with 31 seconds remaining against a Hirschi team ranked No. 3 in 4A Division II.
Already having battled back from multiple second-half deficits, the Eagles were ready to answer once again in the extra session after the Huskies’ A’Marion Peterson scored from 17 yards out.
Photos by Olivia Raymond, HubCityPreps.com
LUBBOCK — Despite a quick turnaround, a shortened week of preparation and its second lengthy road trip in as many weeks, the Wylie football team was dominant in all phases Thursday against Lubbock Monterey, routing the Plainsmen 30-0 at Lowrey Field.
The Bulldogs (now 2-0) outgained Monterey 470-280, taking a 21-0 lead by the 10:13 mark of the second quarter and never faltering after the fast start.
Wylie, which took that three-touchdown lead into halftime, added nine more points to its advantage in the second half, forcing its second red zone fumble of the season early in the fourth quarter to preserve the shutout.
As a junior last season, Cooper receiver D’Andre Ralston showed flashes, but playing in a support role to older teammates, he was never able to establish himself as a featured part of the Cougars offense.
Fast forward just one year, and the 5-foot-10, 180 pound senior is finally in a position to show the type of playmaker he can be.
After doing exactly that in the Cougars’ opener, catching eight passes for 129 yards and a touchdown in a 34-16 loss to Keller, Ralston would have every reason to be excited about his place in the Cooper offense and the success that breakout performance might foretell. But being the team-first player he is, the senior was more focused instead on the things he could do better to make his team — and teammates — more successful.
Each week here at Big Country Preps, we’ll post our picks for all of that week’s 11-man games and select six-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.
Disagree with our picks or the Twitter consensus? Let us know in the comments section below.
LAST WEEK: 45-14, .762
SEASON TOTAL: 45-14, .762
The column is off to a solid start, hitting 76 percent on Big Country picks last week.
Friday will see Big Country Preps travel to Stamford, where the Bulldogs will entertain area rival Haskell in the BCP Game of the Week.
Without wasting any time, let’s dive into Friday night’s games.
Here’s this week’s Big Country football forecast:
Playing a reserve role behind a pair of senior backs in 2021, Landry Carlton garnered only a handful of carries as a junior. But Wylie coach Clay Martin was confident coming into this season that the 5-foot-6, 160-pound senior was ready to carry a heavier load.
One game and one 100-yard performance later, Carlton is already proving that his coach’s faith was well placed.
Making his first start after rushing for 65 yards and a touchdown last season, Carlton ran for 124 yards on just 16 carries on Friday to help the Bulldogs to a 30-24 road win over Brownwood in their season opener. And that performance was only the beginning, if you ask Martin, who is excited to see what his senior back will do with the opportunity that he’s waited — and worked — so long to have.
Moody 23, Hico 6 — The Tigers struggled offensively while falling to 1-1 on the year, producing only 187 yards in total offense at Moody.