Roscoe 57, Abilene TLCA 0 — In a game that was halted in the second half due to an injury scare, the Plowboys remained in district title contention with a win over the Eagles.
Jace Arnwine threw for 213 yards and two scores and Aiden Cema rushed for 116 yards and two more TDs to lift Roscoe (6-1, 2-0), which faces defending state champion Albany next week for sole possession of first place in the district.
Brownwood 66, San Angelo Lake View 0 — Ike Hall rushed for 185 yards and two touchdowns and passed for 176 yards and another score to lead the Lions to a blowout win over the Chiefs.
Brownwood (7-1, 2-0) also got productive rushing games from Logan McKibben (7-86, 2 TDs), Xavier Zepeda (11-72, TD) and Levi Pearson (9-52, 2 TDs), while Aaron Edmonds (5-55) and Stone Ratliff (2-59) led the team in receiving.
Bangs 41, San Saba 38 — Kenny Cole rushed for 212 yards and three touchdowns to go with 56 passing yards to lead the Dragons to a key district win over the Armadillos.
Bangs (2-5, 1-2), which rushed for 366 yards as a team, also got strong games from Ethan Ethridge (20-75, 2 TDs rushing) and Skyler Minshew (4-58, 1 TD rushing; 2-34 receiving) in rallying from a 38-35 deficit in the fourth quarter.
Stamford 28, Cisco 13 — The Bulldogs set themselves up for a potential district title showdown with Hawley with a tough win at Cisco.
Christian Duran rushed for 73 yards and three scores and threw for 128 yards to lead Stamford (6-0, 3-0), which put the game away with two fourth quarter touchdowns.
Eastland 23, Merkel 20 — The Mavericks raced out a 14-0 lead in the first quarter, stretched it to 23-6 by halftime and held on for dear life from there to knock off the Badgers in a district thriller.
Isaiah Hays passed for 166 yards and a touchdown for Eastland (2-5, 1-1), which got rushing touchdowns from Eddie Medina and Cayden Alford and strong receiving days from Jay Oznick (9-87) and Preston Rose (2-59, 1 TD).
Idalou 54, Coahoma 10 — Tate Hendley threw for 144 yards and three scores and rushed for 63 yards and two more TDs to lead Idalou over Coahoma.
Idalou, which struggled through a 1-4 non-district start is now 3-4 overall and 2-0 in District 4-3A DII.
Wall 61, Ballinger 6 — The Hawks used 10 different ball carriers to produce 392 rushing yards in a win over their area rival.
Luke Kemp topped the stat chart with 104 yards rushing and two scores on only three carries for Wall, which improved to 5-2 and 2-0.
Vernon 42, Breckenridge 20 — The Lions pounded out 388 yards rushing to hand Breckenridge a loss at Buckaroo Stadium.
Breckenridge, which hurt itself with three turnovers, was limited to 286 yards in total offense. Camden Escalon led the Bucks with 226 yards passing a two scores.
Stephenville 59, Waxahachie Life 19 — Ryan Gafford threw for 263 yards and two scores and Latrell Titus rushed for 167 yards and five TDs to lift SHS (5-2, 1-0) to an easy win over the Mustangs.
The Yellow Jackets rolled up 549 yards in total offense, while limiting Life to 280.
Photos by Tom Carver, PressPassSports.com
AMARILLO — The Cooper football team went to Dick Bivins Stadium and left with a huge district win Friday night, holding off Amarillo Palo Duro 28-21 to snap a three-game losing streak and put itself firmly in the District 2-5A Division II playoff race.
Led by Daniel Bray, who rushed for 99 yards and two touchdowns, and Christian Rico, whose 85-yard kickoff return touchdown staked the Cougars to an early 21-7 lead, Cooper held a 28-14 advantage at halftime.
That was all the Coogs needed thanks to a strong performance by a defense that limited the Dons to a single touchdown the rest of the way.
A slow start and a couple of missed opportunities in the first two quarters put Wylie in a 14-0 halftime hole, and the Bulldogs could never dig their way out in a 34-14 loss to Wichita Falls Rider on Friday at Hugh Sandifer Stadium.
WHS outgained Rider 371-330 and had 21 first downs to the Raiders’ 13, but the visitors took advantage of a Wylie interception and a short field to build a two-score lead just two possessions in, and Bulldogs couldn’t cash in on a couple scoring opportunities before the halftime break.
That left coach Clay Martin’s team playing from behind the rest of the way, and though the Bulldogs twice cut the deficit a single touchdown in the second half, that was as close as they could get in a key District 2-5A Division II loss.
An illegal man downfield penalty forced Dylan Slack to throw two touchdown passes in the final 35 seconds to complete a game-winning drive against Lubbock Cooper on Friday at Shotwell Stadium.
But the Abilene High signal caller was up to the task, responding to the untimely infraction with an 18-yard strike to Ryland Bradford with just four seconds left to lead the Eagles to a dramatic 38-35 win and put his team in control of the District 2-5A Division I race with two games remaining in the regular season.
That touchdown pass — Slack’s second of the game and 17th on the season — capped a 65-yard scoring drive in the final 1:30 to improve AHS to 6-2 on the year and a perfect 4-0 in district play.
HICO — Entering Friday’s Big Country Preps Game of the Week, the Hico Tigers wanted to run the ball, control tempo and contain Dawson’s big play threats in order to win a crucial matchup in Disctrict 10-2A DII. They achieved all three.
Unfortunately for the Tigers, they hurt themselves with three drive-killing turnovers and further aided Dawson with three 15-yard penalties in a 14-7 loss to the Bulldogs at Tiger Stadium.
Brant Boatright threw touchdown passes of 48 and six yards and Colby Springer rushed for 108 yards on 16 carries to lift Dawson (6-1, 3-0), which held on to its one-score lead throughout a scoreless second half.
CLYDE — In what was likely the main event in District 3-3A Division I play this year, Clyde quarterback Blake Carr delivered four huge haymakers to help lead the Bulldogs to a 29-14 win over rival Jim Ned before a capacity-plus crowd Friday night at Bulldog Stadium.
The dual-threat signal caller had scoring tosses of 40, 7 and 33 yards. And for good measure, his 33-yard scoring run with 21 seconds left sealed a big win for the hosts, who improved to 7-0 on the season and 2-0 in district play. The Indians fell to 5-2 and 1-1.
As big as Carr was for Clyde, he had to share hero honors on this night with a defense led by Braylon Gomez, Josh Hutton and Dai’Jon Booker. The Bulldogs held the Indians to 12 first downs, 234 yards for the game — and no points in the first half.
Update, 8:30 a.m. Saturday: Per TLCA coach Jeremy Kirk, freshman Dekota Morris-Porras was released from the hospital shortly after 8 a.m. with a clean bill of health.
In a scene that nobody attending a football game ever wants to see, Friday’s Roscoe-Abilene TLCA game was called early in the second half after a major injury scare.
As Roscoe was driving on offense, TLCA freshman Dekota Morris-Porras landed awkwardly on his upper back/neck-area after being blocked, and paramedics immediately started tending to him.
TLCA coach Jeremy Kirk said Morris-Porras, who was just called up to varsity this week, was transported to Rolling Plains Memorial Hospital in Sweetwater for evaluation and treatment.
Continue reading “GAME REPORT: Serious injury ends Roscoe-Abilene TLCA early”
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: 41-7, .854
SEASON TOTAL: 307-71, .812
Big Country Preps makes a point of sharing the love and we look for opportunities to take our Game of the Week to as many different places that make sense each year.
Yet since our inaugural season in 2018, a rebuilding Hico football team missed our spotlight game for five straight seasons.
That drought ends this week when BCP visits Hico for the first time as the Tigers (5-2, 2-1 District 10-2A DII) host Dawson (5-1, 2-0) in a crucial matchup with high seed implications.
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Continue reading “PHOTO GALLERY: Cooper-Wylie volleyball (36 images)”
With just two weeks left in the regular season, only one playoff berth has been decided in District 4-5A: the Lady Pirates of Lubbock Cooper know they will be playing in the postseason.
Who joins them in chasing a state championship is still up in the air, but a small sliver of the picture came into focus on Tuesday night.
Wylie knocked off Cooper 25-8, 25-15, 25-19 at Bulldog Gym to move to the precipice of clinching its postseason berth, but the Lady Bulldogs were denied a chance to officially clinch when Lubbock Monterey claimed a five-set thriller over Abilene High.
Big Country Preps is publishing area volleyball statistical leaders each Tuesday at 7 p.m. roughout the regular season.
This database will be continually updated for our subscribers throughout the remainder of the season, using only those statistics submitted by area coaches.
Those paying attention likely already know that Abilene High is in the midst of one of its best football seasons in several years.
Off to a 5-2 start, the Eagles have only lost to 5-1 Class 6A squads from Midland Legacy and Wolfforth Frenship, and they’ve dominated their first three district opponents to the tune of a 156-34 margin.
But if AHS hopes to close the 2023 season with its first district championship since 2016, it will likely come down to this week’s home matchup against Lubbock Cooper. Since falling 35-34 to Wylie on Sept. 8 in a game that saw them allow three defensive touchdowns, the Pirates (4-2, 2-0) have been almost as dominant as the Eagles, setting up quite a matchup Friday at Shotwell Stadium.
One top-notch performance after another.
That’s the 2023 résumé of Clyde senior quarterback Blake Carr, who has once again taken our Big Country Preps Player of the Week award after leading the Bulldogs to a 60-36 rout of Vernon on the road on Friday.
It is the second time this season Carr has taken the top spot.
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Continue reading “PHOTO GALLERY: De Leon at San Saba (59 images)”
After opening the season with a 50-34 loss to archrival Coahoma on Aug. 25, the Forsan Buffaloes have set about improving things and gradually chipped away with consecutive wins over Post (1-5), Stanton (1-5), McCamey (2-4) and Kermit (1-6) to improve to 4-1 prior to their open date on Sept. 29.
A solid effort, but nothing eye-popping.
However, the Buffs followed that with a district-opening 42-12 win over a very good Reagan County team (4-2, 0-1) last week and will enter this week’s home date with Anthony at 5-1 and 1-0.
Wylie 36, Cooper 34 — Malachi Daniels rushed for 185 yards and a touchdown and the WHS defense made four stops inside its own 25-yard line to escape Plainview with a thrilling two-point victory.
Wylie (4-2, 1-0) was outgained 343-273, but coach Clay Martin’s squad took advantage of two blocked extra points (one returned for two points) and a 2-1 edge in the turnover margin, including a fourth-quarter scoop-and-score.
Abilene High 55, Amarillo Caprock 0 — The Eagles made quick work of the Longhorns, scoring three touchdowns in each of the first two quarters to put the game away by halftime.
AHS, which led 41-0 at the break, outgained Caprock 453-166 in improving to 4-2 overall and 3-0 in district play with the win. Dylan Slack threw two touchdown passes, while Brayden Henry and Chard Lara each had two rushing scores and Ryland Bradford had one TD rushing and receiving.
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Continue reading “PHOTO GALLERY: Wylie-Plainview football (86 images)”
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Continue reading “PHOTO GALLERY: Jacksboro-Eastland football (47 images)”
Paradise 65, Boyd 7 — The Panthers made quick work of the Yellowjackets, using a 29-point second quarter to take a 44-0 halftime lead on their way to a blowout win.
Paradise (7-0, 3-0) outgained Boyd 499-223, rushing for all but 43 of those yards while winning the turnover battle 2-0.
Santo 41, Chico 0 — The Wildcats had no trouble with the Dragons, snapping a four-game losing streak with a blowout victory.
Santo (2-4, 1-1) outgained Chico 386-56, building a 34-0 lead by halftime. Kalder Halbrook was at the forefront of that effort, rushing for 148 yards and a touchdown while adding 48 more yards and an additional score through the air.
Hico 23, Wortham 22 — Price Mullin rushed for 127 yards and two scores to lead Hico to a stunning win over favored Wortham.
The Tigers (5-2, 2-1) built a 23-6 lead then held off a fierce Wortham rally to get the win. WHS fell to 5-2 and 2-1 with the loss.
Haskell 39, Munday 0 — Haegen Pinkerton rushed for 169 yards and two scores and threw for 79 yards and another score to help Haskell (2-4, 2-1) to a win over Munday.
The Indians remained in the playoff hunt with the victory and will host Archer City (3-2, 1-1) in a crucial district game next week.
Albany 41, Miles 0 — Adam Hill rushed for 184 yards and three scores and Chip Chambers threw for 195 yards and three more TDs to lift Albany to an easy win over Miles.
The Lions finished with 475 yards in total offense while limiting a much-publicized Miles offense to 105 total yards.
Forsan 42, Reagan County 12 — Nick Holloway passed for 173 yards and two touchdowns, while Huston Stockton rushed for 129 yards and a TD and Hayden Bowlin received for 120 yards and a score to fuel the Buffaloes to a blowout win over the Owls in their first district matchup.
Led by that trio — and a defense that held Reagan County to just 37 rushing yards — Forsan (5-1, 1-0) built a 27-12 lead by halftime and only added to that advantage after the break.
Cisco 40, Olney 13 — Kannon Orsagh had 216 yards passing for three TDs on only six completions and rushed for 48 yards on only 10 carries to lead Cisco to a lopsided road win.
Cisco (3-4, 3-0) has now won three straight district games after an 0-4 start against a brutal non-district schedule.
Midland Greenwood 27, Snyder 23 — Trailing 23-21 with about 5½ minutes remaining in the game, the Rangers got a late touchdown run from Demaurin Mayfield to rally past the Tigers for a narrow win in the district opener for both teams.
It was the second touchdown run of the fourth quarter for Mayfield, who finished with 189 yards on just 13 carries to lead a 208-yard rushing effort. Greenwood also got 140 yards and a touchdown passing from Lincoln Madrid in improving to 2-5 overall and 1-0 in league play.
Littlefield 55, Coahoma 21 — Chip Green threw for 148 yards, rushed for 170, and accounted for four touchdowns to help Littlefield to a district-opening win over Coahoma.
The Wildcats (5-1, 1-0) finished with 395 yards in total offense, including 247 on the ground.
Brownwood 56, Big Spring 7 — Ike Hall passed for 139 yards and two touchdowns, ran for 110 yards and two TDs and received for 41 yards and a fifth score as Brownwood cruised to a blowout win over the Steers in the district opener for both teams.
The Lions outgained Big Spring 543-347, getting big games from Levi Pearson (21-151, 2 TDs rushing; 2-65, 1 TD receiving) and Xavier Zepeda (2-90, 1 TD rushing) as well. Brownwood (6-1, 1-0) led 14-0 after a quarter and used a 28-point second quarter to take a 42-7 lead into halftime.
Wall 67, San Angelo Grape Creek 0 — The Hawks (4-2, 1-0) pounded out 375 yards rushing to open district play with a win.
Wall used nine different ball carriers, with Nathan Pepper topping the stat sheet with 91 yards and three scores on seven carries.
Goldthwaite 42, Bangs 14 — Ethan Deeds passed for 136 yards and two touchdowns — both to Luke Sanderson — and rushed for 93 yards and two more scores as the Eagles pounded out 259 yards on the ground to pull away from the Dragons for a lopsided victory in a near must-win game for both teams.
Sanderson finished with 99 yards receiving on eight catches to supplement a rushing attack that also got 75 yards from Max Storm, 43 from Marcus Stevens and 41 from Erick Lozoya. Behind that nucleus, Goldthwaite (3-4, 1-2) increased a 7-0 halftime lead to 21-0 by the midway point of the third quarter and held from there for the win.
Jim Ned 34, Bowie 6 — Brayden Shipman rushed for 126 yards and one score and Dean Guffey threw for 84 yards and another TD to lift Jim Ned to a win over Bowie.
The Indians (5-1, 1-0) finished with a modest 256 yards in total offense.
Bowie fell to 1-5 and 0-1.