Month: March 2023

by Evan Ren

GAME STORY: Graford uses big fourth quarter to end Benjmin’s dream season in San Antonio

SAN ANTONIO — The Benjamin Mustangs had the environment they wanted while making their debut at the UIL Boys Basketball State Championships against Graford on Thursday — an up-tempo, guard-oriented game with the ball often changing hands near the midcourt area. 

There was just one problem: The Mustangs fell victim to too many of their own unforced errors to take advantage of the situation, falling to the defending state champions in a 66-42 state semifinal loss. 

Christian Shea scored 18 points, Brad Lemley added 17 and Colin Roberts had 14 to lead Graford (34-3), which advances to face Jayton (38-2) for the Class 1A state title at 8:30 a.m. on Saturday. Leading 41-35 heading into the final quarter, the Jackrabbits blew open what had been a competitive game with a 25-7 tally through the final eight minutes. 

Benjamin closed its season at 21-2, led by a game-high 36 points from Grayson Rigdon. 

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by Evan Ren

CLASS 1A STATE SEMIFINAL PREVIEW: Jayton, Benjamin head to San Antonio pursuing title

SAN ANTONIO — In terms of style and experience, you’d be hard-pressed to find a wider variance than the Big Country’s two representatives — Jayton and Benjamin — at this year’s UIL Boys Basketball State Championships. 

But while their approaches are radically different, the success rate of each is nearly the same.

For Jayton, the big stage is nothing new. The defensive-minded, balanced-scoring Jaybirds, who qualified for their eighth regional in nine seasons this year, are now making their third appearance at state since 2019. For coach Ryan Bleiker, this is his fourth trip to a state semi, having also guided Rule there in 2008.

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by Brandon McAuliffe

BREAKING NEWS: Jim Ned looks internally, hires Todd as new athletic director

TUSCOLA — The Jim Ned Consolidated Independent School District is facing the reality that as early as the 2024-25 realignment period that its lone high school could move up to Class 4A due to the booming growth that the community is experiencing.

Because of that, JNCISD made the decision to split the head football coach and athletic director duties into separate roles.

Monday night, Indians offensive coordinator Dustin Todd was named the district’s new AD and given a two-year contract during a regularly scheduled school board meeting.

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by Evan Ren

BIG COUNTRY PREPS PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Hamlin lefty takes this week’s award

Softball tournaments can distort the significance of pitching accomplishments due to inning caps or time limits, rendering perfect games or no-hitters into half-versions of their true selves. 

However, there is no denying that tournaments are work, especially for pitchers, and our Big Country Preps Player of the Week, Hamlin southpaw Zoe Moore, earned the accolade with a 4-0 record in the Wichita Falls Sunrise Optimist Tournament last week.

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by Evan Ren

GAME STORY: Jayton relies on defense to stop Lorenzo in Region I-1A Championship

lORENZOLEVELLAND — With Lorenzo breathing down their necks for 32 straight minutes, the Jayton Jaybirds turned to an old friend to punch their ticket to San Antonio in Saturday’s Region I-1A championship game.

Defense, both timely and consistent, remained in the Jaybirds’ corner, lifting them to a 56-47 win at South Plains College. 

Nathaniel Williams scored a game-high 26 points while Sean Stanaland and Griff Reel added seven apiece to lead Jayton (37-2) which will face Tilden McMullen County (37-2) at 10 a.m. on Thursday in the Class 1A State Semifinals in the Alamodome. The winner will face either Benjamin (21-1) or Graford (35-3) in Saturday’s state championship game at 8:30 a.m. 

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by Daniel Youngblood

GAME STORY: Brock drops overtime heartbreaker to Childress in Region I-3A title game

WOLFFORTH — Playing their third game this week to go to down to the final minute, the Brock Eagles finally ran out of late-game magic Saturday in a 56-55 overtime loss to Childress in the Region I-3A championship game. 

After defeating Vernon 40-36 on Monday in a region quarterfinal matchup that was tied with just over two minutes remaining and getting a bucket just before the horn to win an overtime thriller over Shallowater in Friday’s region semifinals, BHS couldn’t get a buzzer-beating 3-pointer to fall against Childress on Saturday, seeing its season end one basket short of a state tournament berth for the second consecutive year.

The 10th-ranked Eagles closed their campaign at 29-10, while the No. 5 Bobcats (27-7) earned a trip to San Antonio next week, joining Hooks, No. 2 Hitchcock and No. 7 Lytle in the Class 3A state field.

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by Yale Youngblood, Special to Big Country Preps

GAME STORY: Top-ranked Graford pulls away from Huckabay in second half of III-1A title game

MANSFIELD — Huckabay boys basketball coach Dustin Hargrove knew coming into the Indians’ Region III-1A championship game with No. 1-ranked Graford on Saturday that his team would have a looming mountain to climb to get to the state tournament.

He was right.

And, just as had been the case the previous evening, when the Jackrabbits’ 6-foot-8 center Colin Roberts stood taller than anyone in the tournament semifinals — both literally and figuratively — the celebrated senior proved too much for yet another opponent to overcome.

Saturdays’ numbers told a compelling story of why Graford, the defending Class 1A state champion, is 35-3 and still playing and why Huckabay’s storybook 30-7 season came to an end on the court at Mansfield High School:

The Jackrabbits won the game, 43-34, and Roberts’ individual effort was, without question, the major reason why. He scored 24 points, grabbed nine rebounds and consistently plugged up the middle of the Graford zone defense, which rendered the game Indians’ offense frustrated possession after possession. 

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by Brandon McAuliffe

GAME STORY: Rigdon’s 44 points sends Benjamin to first state tournament

SNYDER — For the first time in school history, the Benjamin Mustangs are headed to the Class 1A boys basketball state tournament after they beat Garden City 59-52 on Saturday afternoon at The Coliseum.

Benjamin, ranked No. 19 in the state, followed up Friday’s upset of No. 4 Irion County by taking down the seventh-ranked Bearkats in the Region II-1A final.

Grayson Rigdon, who was named tournament MVP, scored 44 points in the win.

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by Daniel Youngblood

GAME REPORT: Nazareth rallies past Huckabay girls for 30-20 win in Class 1A state title game

SAN ANTONIO — For two quarters, the Huckabay girls basketball team had the Nazareth Swiftettes right where it wanted them in the Class 1A state championship game Saturday morning at the Alamodome. But leading 14-9 at halftime, the Lady Indians went cold in the final 16 minutes of a tough 30-20 loss.

Nazareth used a 13-3 run through the third quarter to turn the halftime deficit into a five-point lead and held the Lady Indians to just three more points in the fourth to claim its 25th state title in its 31st state tournament appearance.

The loss ended Huckabay’s season at 40-3, denying the Lady Indians’ their first state championship. It was the second year in a row for coach Barry Gill’s squad to fall to the eventual state champion in San Antonio, after HHS lost to Ackerly Sands in the 2022 state semifinals.

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by Daniel Youngblood

GAME STORY: Disastrous first half dooms Munday in II-1A semifinals loss to Garden City

SNYDER — It was just one of those days for the Munday Moguls on Friday in their Region II-1A semifinal matchup with No. 7 Garden City.

Making its first region tournament appearances since 2013, MHS could do no right in the first half and the Bearkats could do no wrong.

After allowing the game’s first 15 points and falling behind 38-8 by halftime, the 20th-ranked Moguls looked much more like themselves in the second half. But the damage was long since done by that point in a 54-34 loss.

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by Daniel Youngblood

GAME STORY: Fast start propels feisty Benjamin Mustangs past No. 4 Irion County, into II-1A final

SNYDER — Playing the defending Region II-1A champion and fourth-ranked Irion County Hornets in the opening game of their first regional tournament in program history, it was the No. 19 Benjamin Mustangs who looked like state tournament veterans Friday at The Coliseum. 

BHS raced out to a quick 10-0 lead and answered every Irion County run from there to claim a 67-52 wire-to-wire victory over a Hornets squad that was widely considered to be the region favorite again this year.

The win, which might have come as a surprise to some, was no such thing for the Mustangs, who will play for their first state berth at 2 p.m. Saturday against No. 7 Garden City, which defeated Munday 54-34 in Friday’s other semifinal matchup.

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by Evan Ren

GAME STORY: Jayton creates unHappy evening for Cowboys in 61-42 regional win

LEVELLAND — Few expected unranked Happy to reach a regional tournament and perhaps even fewer gave the Cowboys a shot at topping second-ranked Jayton in Friday’s Region I-1A semifinal at South Plains College. 

Whatever pregame doubts may have existed, Jayton quickly put a stop to all of them by gaining a permanent upperhand in the opening quarter on the way to a 61-42 win. 

Ben Blankenship scored 14 points and Sean Stanaland added 12 more to lead Jayton (36-2), which will face No. 15 Lorenzo (26-10) for the regional title on Saturday at 3:30 p.m. 

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by Yale Youngblood, Special to Big Country Preps

GAME STORY: No. 1 Graford too much for youthful Gordon in Region III-1A semifinals

MANSFIELD — Should the Graford Jackrabbits be fortunate enough to hang a second consecutive Class 1A state championship banner on the gymnasium wall this winter, they should probably assign the task to Colin Roberts. Friday night, he certainly stood tall enough to manage that feat and many others.

Despite missing a good stretch of the second half in foul trouble, the Jackrabbits’ 6-foot-8 talented center scored 20 points and collected 12 rebounds to lead Graford to a 61-37 win over upstart Gordon. As a result, the consensus “team to beat” heading into the Region III-1A semifinals, is likely the team to beat in Saturday’s final, when Graford meets Huckabay at 2 p.m. at Mansfield High School after the Indians defeated Dodd City 56-44 in overtime.

Gordon started four freshmen against the Jackrabbits, a collective David vs. the giant that is Roberts. And, while the Longhorns battled gamely for a quarter, Graford’s big man, along with ample assistance from teammate Brad Lemley (17 points and 12 rebounds, as well), proved too much for the region’s Cinderella. Graford outscored Gordon 49-25 over the final three periods to take another step at earning the big trophy that is awarded the state’s best team at the end of the season.

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by Yale Youngblood, Special to Big Country Preps

GAME STORY: Huckabay rallies past Dodd City in OT, earns title game matchup with Graford

MANSFIELD — Payton Gill scored 18 points — 15 from outside the 3-point arc — and Huckabay shook off a slow start to outlast Dodd City 56-44 in overtime in the Region III-1A semifinals Friday night. 

The Indians outscored the Hornets 14-2 in the extra session to earn a spot in the regional finals at 2 p.m. Saturday against powerful Graford, which blitzed Gordon 61-37 in the other semifinal game at Mansfield High School.

The triumph wasn’t as one-sided as the final score might indicate, though.

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by Daniel Youngblood

BIG COUNTRY BOYS BASKETBALL REGIONAL PREVIEW: Six Big Country Preps teams remain

After four months of intense and entertaining action, the high school boys basketball season is nearing its end. But for six teams in the Big Country Preps coverage area, the most important games remain in front of them.

With Brock in the Region I-3A tournament and five area Class 1A teams — Jayton, Benjamin, Munday, Huckabay and Gordon — spread across three regions, there’s still plenty of meaningful basketball to be played.

And with two more wins, any of those six could be headed to San Antonio next week for the state tournament.

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by Daniel Youngblood

GAME REPORT: Baccus, Huckabay girls too much for Irion County in Class 1A state semis

SAN ANTONIO — After returning all but two players from a squad that ended its season the Class 1A state semifinals last year, the top-ranked Huckabay girls basketball team entered that same round Thursday hoping to earn one more game in the Alamo City than it did a year ago.

Fueled by a 23-point effort by senior Rion Baccus, the Lady Indians accomplished exactly that with a workmanlike 47-35 win over Irion County.

Trailing 10-7 after a quarter, Huckabay outscored the the Lady Hornets in each of the final three periods to pull away for a 12-point win that pushed the Lady Indians into the Class 1A title game, where they’ll face off with state power Nazareth at 8:30 a.m. Saturday.

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by Daniel Youngblood

STATE PREVIEW: Experienced Huckabay girls looking for extended stay in San Antonio this time around

As Huckabay’s excursion to San Antonio for the girls basketball state tournament began to take shape earlier this week, Tuesday was, per coach Barry Gill, a “fun, stress-free” day.

The Lady Indians saw a good portion of the historic Texas city, including the picturesque San Antonio River Walk, on which the team snaked around town that evening by boat, reveling in the eclectic mix of light, sound and savory aromas that marked every turn of the rudder. Among many reasons the Alamo City has evolved into one of Texas’ more popular destinations, the river ranks near the top.

So, coincidentally, does the Huckabay girls program.

Gill has been at the school two years. The conclusion of both has included a trip to the Alamodome, where the state’s four best teams in each classification vie to determine which one hoists the championship trophy.

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by Evan Ren

BIG COUNTRY GIRLS TRACK FORECAST: Who are the top girls athletes to watch in 2023?

The Big Country takes its track and field quite seriously and the results often prove it, with a multitude of team and individual state championships collected by area athletes over the years. 

Soon, the sound of starters pistols will be ringing throughout the area as we once again begin the process of seeing who will represent their schools and the entire Big Country area at the state meet in Austin. 

So let’s see how everyone stacks up, shall we? 

Below you’ll find a comprehensive list of this year’s top returnees, along with their personal best times and distances from last year. 

Enjoy. We’ll see you at the track. 

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by Brandon McAuliffe

SIGNING DAY: Hall’s signing shows McMurry working to develop local pipeline

There were numerous times over the past few months that Tristen Hall thought his football career ended when Abilene High was eliminated by Burleson Centennial in the third round of the Class 5A playoffs in November.

The senior defensive end was at peace with that, too, after a bumpy road on the recruiting trail that saw him earn an offer from NAIA Wayland Baptist in Plainview that he said just wasn’t the right fit.

On Wednesday afternoon, though, in front of his teammates and family, Hall signed with a program he knew was home.

Hall, who didn’t even play football until seventh grade, is staying home to play at McMurry.

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by Brandon McAuliffe

Cross Plains’ Cosby leaves hardwood legacy behind as he moves full-time into administrative role

All good things must come to an end, and for the Cross Plains boys basketball team, the end is the tenure of Dade Cosby leading the program.

On Tuesday, Cosby announced that he was stepping down from the program that he’s been part of for nearly a decade in order to focus on his other job — being the superintendent of the school district.

His coaching career came to a close with a 53-35 loss to Aspermont in the area round of the playoffs on Friday night.

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