Littlefield 49, Brownfield 13 — The Wildcats won their fourth straight game behind 399 yards in total offense.
Chip Green threw for 128 yards and two scores and rushed for 146 yards and another TD to lead Littlefield (4-1).
Month: September 2023
DISTRICT 2-3A DIV. II Week 5 report: TLCA blanks Stanton, but the remainder of the district falls in Week 5
San Angelo TLCA 41, Stanton 0 — The Eagles were the lone team in District 2-3A DII to notch a victory in Week 5.
Limiting Stanton to only 260 yards in total offense, TLCA forced four SHS turnovers and controlled from beginning to end.
DISTRICT 5-2A DIV. I WEEK 5 REPORT: San Saba upsets Hamilton; Coleman, De Leon open league play with wins
San Saba 32, Hamilton 28 — Ethan Gonzales ran for 215 yards and three touchdowns while Lane Miller added a pair of rushing scores of his own to lead the Armadillos to an upset win over the Bulldogs in the district opener for both squads.
San Saba (2-3, 1-0) got off to a fast start, jumping out to a 19-6 halftime lead and increasing that to 32-14 by the end of the third quarter, before holding off a late rally in the final period.
DISTRICT 3-3A DIV. I Week 5 report: Buckaroos hold on to top Benbrook, Eastland shocks Jim Ned
Breckenridge 36, Benbrook 28 — The Buckaroos allowed more than 400 yards in total offense to Benbrook, but survived a shootout on the road.
Two turnovers, forced by the Breckenridge defense, were a key, along with 243 passing yards, to give the Buckaroos (3-2) their third straight win after an 0-2 start.
DISTRICT 5-4A DIV. I Week 5 Report: Missed PAT creates escape hatch for Yellow Jackets in win over Rider
Stephenville 21, Wichita Falls Rider 20 — A missed fourth quarter extra point allowed Stephenville to leave Wichita Falls a winner on Friday.
Elijah Jackson scored on a 1-yard run with 4:07 to play to pull Rider to within a point. But an errant snap on the ensuing extra point doomed the Raiders (3-2).
GAME REPORT: Abilene High dominant in all phases in district-opening rout of Lubbock Monterey
Photos by Chase Seabolt, HubCityPreps.com
LUBBOCK — Abilene High kicked off District 2-5A Division I play in dominating fashion Friday, following a 14-point first quarter with 35 points in the second to put Lubbock Monterey away by halftime.
Dylan Slack passed for 259 yards and five touchdowns, Brayden Henry had 107 all-purpose yards and two scores and the Eagle defense limited the Plainsmen 162 yards and forced four turnovers to fuel a thorough 59-14 win at Lowrey Field.
The victory improved AHS (3-2 overall) to 1-0 in league play heading into next week’s homecoming matchup with Amarillo Tascosa.
GAME STORY: Miscues, missed opportunities cost Cooper in 41-20 loss to Permian
As was the case with last week’s loss to Lubbock Coronado, the Cooper Cougars will see a lot of positive things on both sides of the ball when they turn on the film from Friday’s home matchup against Odessa Permian.
But for the second straight week, untimely mistakes and missed opportunities proved the difference between celebrating a win and playing the what if game after another frustrating defeat.
The Cougars rebounded from a disastrous start to pull within a touchdown on two occasions before halftime and had a number of opportunities to make things interesting in the second half. But four turnovers and three empty red zone trips proved too much to overcome in a 41-20 loss to the Panthers to close out nondistrict play.
BCP GAME OF THE WEEK: Bulldogs rout Sweetwater, wreck Mustang homecoming to stay unbeaten
SWEETWATER — Both clubs may have entered Friday at 4-0. But at the end of the night, it was a senior-laden Clyde team dominating a Sweetwater club filled with underclassmen, 41-7 in the Big Country Preps Game of the Week.
Blake Carr rushed for 121 yards and two scores and threw for 88 yards and two more TDs to life Clyde (5-0), which spoiled Sweetwater’s homecoming in the Mustang Bowl to remain unbeaten.
Sweetwater (4-1), which lost starting quarterback Caiden Ortiz to a hand-wrist injury in the second quarter, was led by Uriah Aguilar-Rivera with 143 yards rushing and one score.
“This is a pillar win for our program,” Clyde coach Danny Dudgeon said. ” We’ve been on the up and up, but for us to get over the hump against a good Sweetwater team is a very big win for us.”
GAME STORY: Total team effort lifts Wylie to homecoming win over San Angelo Central
San Angelo Central entered Friday night’s game against Wylie at Hugh Sandifer Stadium with a 1-3 record and every game being decided by one score.
Last year, the Bobcats used a walkoff Hail Mary to beat the Bulldogs at San Angelo Stadium.
There would be no close finish or miracle this go-round as the Bulldogs thoroughly dominated the Bobcats in all phases of the game and took a 37-27 homecoming win in front of a packed house.
FEATURE: Cooper sophomore Davis driven to maximize elite potential
At 15 years old, Dycin Davis can’t even legally drive yet. But the Cooper sophomore is already attracting attention from some of the top colleges in and out of the state.
Blessed with a 6-foot-4 frame that he has added a significant amount of weight to over the past calendar year, Davis is a physical force to be reckoned with from his defensive end spot.
But if you ask coach Aaron Roan, it’s Davis’ other, less visible attributes that truly make him a special player. While the young man’s natural talent has and will continue to open doors for him, it’s his intelligence, drive and a maturity beyond his years that will be the key to unlocking his full potential, the coach said.
FEATURE: Brownwood kicker/punter Martinez a serious special teams weapon for Lions
As Brownwood attempts to go 5-0 to start the 2023 season while playing host to 3-1 Waco Connally at 7:30 p.m. Friday night at Gordon Wood Stadium, there’s a pretty good chance the most important Lion on the field won’t carry or catch the ball — or, even, make a single tackle.
If past is prologue, Junior Martinez looms as one of Brownwood’s premier weapons, and his presence Friday could help determine if the Lions’ next-to-last tune-up before District 2-4A Division I play begins goes the direction of its four predecessors. In wins over Wylie, Marble Falls, Burnet and Glen Rose, Brownwood has scored 168 points, 33 of which have come via PAT conversions or field goals by the celebrated senior kicker.
This year alone, Martinez has converted each of 21 point-after kicks and made four of five field goal tries, including a 52-yarder. His loan miss came from 44 yards out and was pushed just wide by a swirling wind.
But that’s not all Martinez has done to buoy Brownwood’s hopes for a long season this year. He also has averaged 40.3 yards per punt on 12 kicks, with a season-long boot of 52 yards and another punt that pinned the opponent inside the 5-yard line. And, even at 5-foot-9, 160 pounds, he has the leg to routinely turn his kickoffs into touchbacks.
Big Country Preps’ Pick ‘Em Panel vs. Twitter Polls (Week 5)
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.
BIG COUNTRY PREPS GAME OF THE WEEK: Sweetwater plays host to Clyde in battle of unbeatens
LAST WEEK: 44-11, .800
SEASON TOTAL: 183-49, .788
Some weeks are just loaded with competitive area games and Week 5 of the 2023 season falls squarely into that category.
This week’s menu features six or seven games that under normal circumstances, would qualify for our Big Country Preps Game of the Week. This forces us to push some great matchups aside to select our spotlight game.
This week, we go with a battle of unbeatens — Class 3A Division I Clyde (4-0) at Class 4A Div. II Sweetwater (4-0) — at the famed Mustang Bowl at SHS.
PHOTO GALLERY: Wylie-Lubbock Monterey volleyball (38 images)
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GAME STORY: Wylie stays undefeated in District 4-5A volleyball with sweep of Monterey
Wesley Ruff, Bri Johnston and Aliyah Jowers all finished the match with double digit kills as the Wylie volleyball team swept Lubbock Monterey 25-17, 25-18, 25-19 in District 4-5A action Tuesday night at Bulldog Gym.
Ruff and Johnston each finished the match with 12 kills, while Jowers added 10 as the Lady Bulldogs improved to 16-14 on the season and, more importantly, 3-0 in district.
Adding to the all-around team effort were Mycala Reed (15 digs) and Callie O’Connell (34 assists, 10 digs) in a performance coach Shay Cox was excited to see.
PHOTO GALLERY: Tolar-Comanche football (39 images)
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ABILENE NOTEBOOK: Talking Wylie football, predictions slump, local volleyball turnarounds
Following their 0-2 start, I was consistent in my belief that the Wylie Bulldogs would finish the season with a much stronger football team than the one that started it. I said as much on our weekly podcast after each of Wylie’s defeats, downplaying the ultimate significance of season-opening home losses to quality outfits from Brownwood and Lubbock Monterey.
But I’d be lying if I said I expected the type of quick turnaround we’ve seen the last two weeks from coach Clay Martin’s team, which is now 2-2 after gritty road wins over Lubbock Cooper (35-34) and Stephenville (42-32) — both double-digit favorites according to a prominent power ranking service.
When I talked about Wylie finding its stride and eventually turning a corner, I was thinking more about October than September. So to see the Bulldogs go from where they were in Weeks 1 and 2 to beating a pair of good, established programs on the road was a surprise to even me.
BIG COUNTRY PREPS PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Moran running back takes the award with insane performance
There are big games and then there are those that border on insanity.
Moran running back Ellis Hise, our Big Country Preps Player of the Week for the week ending Sept. 16, fell squarely into the latter category on Saturday with a performance that was absolutely nuts.
Helping the Bulldogs to a thrilling 68-67 win over Mullin in one of the top six-man games the Big Country has seen this year, Hise rushed for 287 yards and six touchdowns on only 26 carries. But that’s just the beginning.
BIG COUNTRY PREPS NOTEBOOK: Fanning eclipses McCoy; Jackson shall return; De Leon rebounds
TUSCOLA — Jim Ned coach Matt Fanning is one of those guys who barely flinches when someone mentions his accomplishments. So it should come as no surprise that he had to be told early in the season that he was approaching the school record for career wins by a football coach.
That milestone fell in Friday’s 38-12 win over Rockdale, which allowed Fanning to surpass Brad McCoy on the all-time Jim Ned win list with a 54-13 overall record.
DISTRICT 2-5A DIV. II WEEK 4 REPORT: Wylie downs Stephenville; Plainview keeps winning
Wylie 42, Stephenville 32 — Bear Meng passed for 252 yards and three touchdowns and added 78 yards and another TD rushing to lead the Bulldogs to a exciting road win over the Yellow Jackets.
Trailing 10-7 at the 7:58 mark of the second quarter, Wylie (2-2) reeled off 28 consecutive points to go up 35-10 with just under eight minutes to go in the third quarter, before holding off a furious Stephenville rally with a late touchdown drive to put the game away.
DISTRICT 2-5A DIV. I WEEK 4 REPORT: AHS falls at Frenship; Lubbock Cooper, Coronado claim wins
Photo by Steven Gutierrez, HubCityPreps.com
Wolfforth Frenship 17, Abilene High 12 — The Eagles bottled up the explosive Tigers offense, limiting Frenship to 319 yards while forcing three turnovers, but it wasn’t enough in a tough road loss to close out nondistrict play.
Abilene High (2-2) managed just 235 yards of its own, mustering an eight-yard touchdown run by Brayden Henry and two Naim Segura field goals in three trips to the red zone. Henry led the Eagles offense with 83 yards rushing, 10 yards passing and 11 yards receiving, while Dylan Slack passed for 77 yards, De’Zhon Magee rushed for 53 and Ryland Bradford received for 55.
SPOTLIGHT: Gordon kicker does the unfathomable, boots extra point into moving vehicle
Video courtesy Waco Live Oak Classical coach Brice Helton; Photos courtesy Kennedy Irwin
Gordon football coach Mike Reed is sure of the fact that Juan Cabrera has a career as a college kicker, and now the junior has a kick that calling it highlight worthy might be a gross understatement.
With the Longhorns leading 34-8 at Waco Live Oak Classical on Friday night, the junior lined up for a routine extra point — his fifth kick of the night.
What happened next was anything but routine. Continue reading “SPOTLIGHT: Gordon kicker does the unfathomable, boots extra point into moving vehicle”
PHOTO GALLERY: Wylie-Stephenville football (94 images)
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PHOTO GALLERY: Cooper-Lubbock Coronado football (94 images)
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DISTRICT 8-2A DIV. II WEEK 4 REPORT: Turnovers doom Santo in shutout loss to Rio Vista
Rio Vista 27, Santo 0 — The Wildcats struggled to take care of the football, turning the ball over seven times in a shutout loss to the Eagles.
Santo limited Rio Vista to just 47 rushing yards and 184 yards of total offense, but coach Devon Mann’s Wildcats managed only 134 yards of their own in falling to 1-3 on the year.
DISTRICT 3-2A DIV. I WEEK 4 REPORT: Buffaloes run wild in three-touchdown win over McCamey
Forsan 41, McCamey 21 — The Buffaloes rushed for 382 yards, getting 151 yards and a touchdown from Kevin Kligora and 135 yards and three scores from Huston Stockton to run away from the Badgers.
Forsan (3-1) used a 15-point second quarter to take a 21-14 lead into halftime, before outscoring McCamey 14-0 in the fourth quarter to put the game away.
DISTRICT 10-2A DIV. II WEEK 4 REPORT: Frost, Dawson, Mart impressive in wins
Frost 55, Centex Sports Association 6 — The surprising Frost Polar Bears improved to 3-1 with a rout of CSA.
Frost, which led 35-0 at the break, amassed 356 yards rushing as a team and 428 yards in total offense.
DISTRICT 4-3A DIV. I WEEK 4 REPORT: Gunter runs away from Brock; Paradise stays unbeaten
Gunter 35, Brock 12 — Walker overman rushed for 149 yards and two touchdowns and passed for 51 yards and an another score to lead the Tigers to a comfortable win over the Eagles.
Behind overman, Gunter rushed for 214 of its 304 yards, while limiting Brock to 278 total yards. The Tigers used a 28-point second quarter to go to halftime up 35-6 and were never threatened after the break.
DISTRICT 3-4A DIV. II WEEK 4 REPORT: Sweetwater stays unbeaten; Monahans too much for Snyder
Sweetwater 56, Big Spring 30 — The Mustangs offense was too much for the Steers defense, piling up 586 yards of total offense in a thorough victory.
Sweetwater (4-0), which rushed for 368 of those yards, got big games from quarterback Caiden Ortiz (10-17-1—218, 3 TDs passing), running backs Korda Moore (13-183, 3 TDs rushing; 2-30, 1 TD receiving) and Uriah Martinez (9-122, 2 TDs rushing; 1-19, 1 TD receiving) and receiver Jadyn Forbes (5-146, 1 TD receiving).
DISTRICT 7-2A DIV. II WEEK 4 REPORT: Seymour back to its winning ways; Haskell, Munday fall
Seymour 75, Quanah 18 — Coming off a lopsided loss to Albany, Seymour got back on the winning track with a blowout of Quanah.
Brayden Loyd threw for 317 yards and six touchdowns to lead Seymour (3-1), which rushed for 221 yards as a team using six ball carriers.
DISTRICT 2-4A DIV. I WEEK 4 REPORT: Hall returns to lead Brownwood past Glen Rose
Brownwood 46, Glen Rose 34 — Returning to the lineup after missing most of last week’s game due to injury, Ike Hall passed for 286 yards and two touchdowns and rushed for 178 yards and an additional score to help the Lions overcome three turnovers in a two-score win over the Tigers.
Brownwood (4-0), which outgained Glen Rose 555-370, also got 89 yards and a touchdown rushing from Jaylan Brown and a big receiving game from Marsello Hooker (2-128, 2 TDs).
DISTRICT 6-2A DIV. II WEEK 4 REPORT: Albany tops Hawley in battle of state champs; Roscoe, Hamlin both win
Albany 27, Hawley 14 — Albany improved to 4-0 with a win in this matchup of defending state champions behind three TD passes from Chip Chambers.
Leading 27-14 at the break, the Lions held on through a scoreless second half at Hardin-Simmon’ Shelton Stadium in a game that was moved due to Hawley’s Forrest Field being rendered unplayable by recent rainfall.
Hawley (2-2) was led by Keagan Ables, who threw for 231 yards and one score.
DISTRICT 4-2A DIV. I WEEK 4 REPORT: Anson edges Haskell, Hawley falls to Albany in battle of state champs
Anson 21, Haskell 20 — It all boiled down to turnovers in this tough Anson road win, with the Tiger defense charting five takeaways to key the victory.
Corey Layne rushed for 49 scores and two TDs to lead the Anson offense.
Haskell (0-3) was led by Haegen Pinkerton’s 70 yards passing and 107 yards rushing. He added two rushing TDs.
DISTRICT 5-2A DIV. I WEEK 4 REPORT: Torres fuels Coleman past Llano; De Leon hands Hico its first loss
Coleman 26, Llano 20 — Brayden Torres passed for 232 yards and three touchdowns and ran for 60 yards and another score to fuel the Bluecats to an upset win over the Class 3A Division I Yellowjackets.
Playing its second consecutive game without quarterback Jadin Jackson, Coleman (3-1) raced out to 14-6 halftime lead and withstood a third-quarter Llano rally to win the game with the only touchdown of the fourth quarter.
DISTRICT 4-3A DIV. II WEEK 4 REPORT: Coahoma, Abernathy, Littlefield and Lubbock Roosevelt all notch wins
Coahoma 48, Colorado City 20 — Boyd Cox threw for 184 yards and four scors and Jaidyn Vineyard rushed for 87 yards and another TD to lead Coahoma (3-1) to a win over its area rival.
Austin Perkins and Billy Baily were favorite targets of Cox, both finishing with five catches and two scores each.
DISTRICT 5-3A DIV. II WEEK 4 REPORT: Merkel runs over Bangs; Eastland, Dublin competitive in losses
Merkel 54, Bangs 37 — Connor Willyerd and Maddox O’Malley rushed for 171 and 164 yards, respectively, as the Badgers ran over and around the Dragons for a comfortable win.
Willyerd had one touchdown and O’Malley rushed for four as Merkel (3-1) finished with 389 yards on the ground as a team. Braxton Duden (4-60 rushing) also had a rushing TD for the Badgers, who got 98 yards passing and one score from O’Malley and 72 yards and two touchdowns receiving from Kaden Blubaugh.
DISTRICT 2-3A DIV. II WEEK 4 REPORT: Wall, Brady collect wins in an otherwise tough night for the district
Wall 42, Peaster 0 — The Hawks (3-1) pounded out 221 rushing yards among nine different ball carriers in a dominating win over Peaster (1-3).
It was the first shutout of the year for the Hawks, who to date, have allowed only 37 points through four games
DISTRICT 3-3A DIV. I WEEK 4 REPORT: Fanning passes McCoy, Bucks stop Eastland; Clyde remains unbeaten
Jim Ned 38, Rockdale 12 — Dean Guffey threw for 201 yards and two scores and Aiden Ellis rushed for 150 yards and another TD to keep Jim Ned (4-0) unbeaten.
The Indians rushed for 314 yards as a team while accumulating 515 yards in total offense.
Rockdale dropped to 1-3.
With the win, Jim Ned coach Matt Fanning (54-13) became the winningest football coach in Jim Ned football history, passing former Coach Brad McCoy (53-19).
DISTRICT 5-4A DIV. I WEEK 4 REPORT: China Spring, La Vega score big wins, Alvarado, Waxahachie Life fall
China Spring 61, Waco Connally 41 — The Cougars (3-1) rolled up 468 yards in total offense, including 285 passing yards to beat Connally in a shootout.
While suffering its first loss, Connally (3-1) pounded out 355 yards rushing, but was unable to keep pace with a China Spring offense that ran 23 fewer plays than the Cadets.
GAME REPORT: Abilene High comes up just short in defensive slugfest at Frenship
Photos by Steven Gutierrez, HubCityPreps.com
WOLFFORTH — The Abilene High football team held a Wolfforth Frenship offense that came in averaging 44.7 points and 510.3 yards per game to just two touchdowns on Friday, but it still wasn’t enough to hand the Tigers their first loss of the season.
AHS scored just one touchdown itself, settling for short field goals on two of its three red zone trips and having a late kickoff return touchdown called back by a penalty in a tough 17-12 loss at Peoples Bank Stadium.
The Eagles finished with just 235 yards of total offense, being held to an uncharacteristically low 87 passing yards in closing their nondistrict schedule at 2-2.
GAME STORY: Wylie holds off Stephenville rally, spoils Yellow Jackets homecoming with 42-32 win
STEPHENVILLE — Leading Stephenville 35-10 early in the third quarter after scoring its fourth consecutive touchdown off the Yellow Jackets’ second turnover of the game, the Wylie football team seemed to be well on its way to a comfortable win Friday night at Tarleton Memorial Stadium.
In the end, though, it would take a pressure-packed touchdown drive in the final 5:50 and a victory-sealing interception in the end zone for the Bulldogs to finally breath easy with a thrilling 42-32 win.
Stephenville quarterback Ryan Gafford hooked up with Tristian Gentry for three second-half touchdown passes to trim a once-four score Wylie lead to 35-32 with just under six minutes remaining in the fourth quarter. But after managing just one first down on their four previous possessions, the Bulldogs marched 74 yards in 10 plays on their last to fend off the SHS rally and spoil the Yellow Jackets homecoming.