Month: October 2023

by Daniel Youngblood

DISTRICT 5-3A DIV. II WEEK 7 REPORT: Merkel thumps Dublin; Millsap takes down Comanche to open league play

Merkel 47, Dublin 21 — The Badgers kicked off district play with a comfortable win over the Lions, getting 145 yards and three touchdowns passing from Maddox O’Malley and 181 yards and a TD rushing from Connor Willyerd in the process.

Rayson Houston (1-59 receiving), Kaden Blubaugh (3-44) and Bryant Jones (2-37) all caught touchdown passes from O’Malley, who added 34 yards and another score rushing in the win. Merkel (5-1, 1-0) finished with 496 yards of total offense, rushing for 287 to go with 209 yards through the air. 

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by Evan Ren

DISTRICT 5-4A DIV. I Week 7 report: La Vega, China Spring open league play with wins

Waco La Vega 56, Waxahachie Life 20 — Bryson Roland rushed for 141 yards and four scores and Jubulani Thornton rushed for 110 yards and two more TDs to lead La Vega (5-2, 1-0) to a win over Life in the district opener for both clubs. 

Life (2-5, 0-1) was limited to 221 yards in total offense. 

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by Daniel Youngblood

GAME REPORT: Abilene High stays perfect in league play with 55-0 win at Caprock

AMARILLO — The Abilene High football team continued its dominant start to District 2-5A Division I play Friday, routing Amarillo Caprock 55-0 at Dick Bivins Stadium to improve to 3-0 in league action.

The Eagles, who have outscored their first three district opponents by a combined margin of 156-34, led 41-0 by halftime and coasted from there to their first shutout of the season.

AHS (5-2 overall) outgained the Longhorns 453-166, pounding out 314 yards on the ground in a game that was decided by the end of the first quarter.

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by Daniel Youngblood

GAME STORY: Wylie escapes Plainview with wild 36-34 win to open district play

PLAINVIEW — Friday’s District 2-5A Division II opener between Wylie and Plainview was a dog fight in more ways than one.

In the end, it was the Bulldogs from WHS who had just a bit more bite than their PHS counterparts in a thrilling 36-34 win.

In a game that featured a number of wacky plays and wild momentum shifts, Wylie rallied from a 20-16 halftime deficit to take a two-possession lead on a pair of occasions in the final five minutes of the game. But Plainview responded each time it looked like the visitors had put their hosts away, forcing coach Clay Martin’s team to recover an onside kick in the final minute to secure the narrow victory.

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by Zach Duncan, Special to Big Country Preps

BCP GAME OF THE WEEK: Clyde makes statement in 60-36 rout of previously unbeaten Vernon

VERNON — Clyde is a different team this season. 

In case anyone had forgotten that, the Bulldogs’ performance Friday night against Vernon in the Big Country Preps Game of the Week served as a stark reminder.

A battle of unbeatens turned into a blowout as Clyde scored early and often, routing the Lions 60-36 in a District 3-3A Division I opener. 

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by Yale Youngblood, Special to Big Country Preps

GAME STORY: Blessing, Tolar too much for Coleman in district romp

TOLAR — Isaac Blessing rushed for 127 yards, passed for 146 more and accounted for five touchdowns to lead Tolar to a 43-0 trouncing of Coleman in a District 5-2A Division I battle that helped define the league’s playoff hierarchy in the early stages.

Both teams entered the contest with high hopes of contending for the district title, but the Rattlers took control of this fight early and landed telling blows throughout. Thus, Tolar improved to 5-1 on the year and 2-0 in district. The Bluecats fell to 5-2 and 2-1.

Blessing was the main reason why.

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by Evan Ren

GAME STORY: De Leon tops San Saba, stays in district title hunt

SAN SABA — A powerful running game, operated at a quick tempo powered De Leon to a 42-20 win at San Saba on Friday night. 

Heston Jobe rushed for 200 yards and five touchdowns and Jake Cooper rushed for 163 yards and had an 13-yard TD reception to lead De Leon (6-1, 3-0) which never trailed and maintained a lead from the 10:44 mark of the first quarter until the final whistle. 

Ethan Gonzales led San Saba (2-5, 1-2) with 118 yards rushing and 129 yards receiving with three total TDs. 

The Armadillos remained within striking distance through much of the evening. But De Leon was able to sprinkle in enough defensive stops to build and maintain the lead. 

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by Brandon McAuliffe

GAME STORY: Explosive offense leads Jacksboro to big win over Eastland

EASTLAND — Going into Friday night’s District 5-3A Division II opener, the Eastland Mavericks knew that they would have to limit explosive plays on defense to have a shot at upsetting Jacksboro.

Despite Eastland’s efforts, the Tigers had 10 plays that covered at least 20 yards on their way to putting up 617 yards of offense in a 49-24 win at Maverick Stadium.

It was a defensive effort that left first-year Eastland head coach Bobby Schuman looking for answers.

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by Zach Duncan, Special to Big Country Preps

FEATURE: Gentry thriving as Stephenville’s biggest weapon

Down to its third-string quarterback and with its top running back banged up, Stephenville needed a play to be made last week in a tie game against Brownwood. 

That Tristian Gentry was the Yellowjacket who stepped up, catching a bubble screen and scoring from 65 yards out with 5:53 remaining, should be no surprise to anyone. 

A year after racking up 1,110 receiving yards and 14 touchdowns, Gentry is well on his way to smashing those numbers during a junior season that also includes a commitment to Texas Tech. 

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by Daniel Youngblood

GAME STORY: Rider takes advantage of Cooper special teams miscue, pulls away for 42-21 win

After rallying from a 14-0 first-quarter hole to tie the game in the second quarter, the Cooper football team saw its District 2-5A Division II opener against Wichita Falls Rider take an unfortunate turn Thursday at Shotwell Stadium.

Following their third consecutive stop after allowing touchdowns on each of Rider’s first two possessions, the Cougars appeared poised to take the momentum — and perhaps even a lead — into halftime.

Instead, a muffed punt led to a 32-yard touchdown drive for the Raiders, who would start the second half with three unanswered touchdowns to pull away for a 42-21 victory.

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by Daniel Youngblood

Big Country Preps’ Pick ‘Em Panel vs. Twitter Polls (Week 7)

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.

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by Evan Ren

BIG COUNTRY PREPS GAME OF THE WEEK: Clyde heads to Vernon for district-opening battle of unbeatens

LAST WEEK: 37-3, .925
SEASON TOTAL: 266-64, .806

Contrast in styles games make for excellent entertainment and are usually high on our list of potential Big Country Preps Games of the Week. 

Friday we have such a matchup when Clyde (5-0) travels to Vernon (5-0) in the District 3-3A DI opener for both clubs. Clyde and its power spread offense capable of running or throwing the ball well, against a run-based multiple attack used by Vernon that seems almost out of the 1950s. 

Both clubs are good at what they do. Both are physical and both are fully aware of how important this league opener is. In fact, this may end up ranking as one of the more physical Games of the Week we’ll see in 2023. 

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by Daniel Youngblood

GAME STORY: Wylie holds off Abilene High on road to take four-set thriller

It’s not often that the momentum — or even outcome — of an entire volleyball match hinges on a single point, but that sure seemed to be the case in Wylie’s 25-27, 25-15, 26-24, 25-21 win at Abilene High on Tuesday night at Eagle Gym.

After seeing a 24-21 lead erased in a tough Game 1 loss to fall into an early hole, the Lady Bulldogs found themselves in an almost identical situation in Game 3. This time, Wylie watched a 24-19 lead evaporate as the Lady Eagles fought off game point for five consecutive points to even the score at 24-all.

With the set and match score tied and the balance of the key District 4-5A contest seemingly at stake at that point, the teams played their longest point of the match, going back and forth for what felt like minutes before the rally finally ended with an AHS hitting error. That point spurred Wylie to a Game 3 win, which was followed by a come-from-behind victory in Game 4 to take the match — and a two-match lead on the Lady Eagles in the district standings.

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by Evan Ren

Big Country Volleyball Statistical Leaders (as submitted by area coaches through Oct. 3)

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.

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by Yale Youngblood, Special to Big Country Preps

FEATURE: Twins Abby, Blake Carr fueling Clyde athletics’ successful fall

As fans of the Clyde Bulldogs revel in the school’s resounding success in both volleyball and football this fall, they don’t have to look long to find a common denominator in the collective achievement.

The volleyball team is 26-12 and 2-1 in District 6-3A and will play at Ballinger (4-6) at 7 p.m. Tuesday night. The overall record is a little deceiving in that all but a handful of the defeats came against Class 5A and 6A schools. Per usual, Clyde is a 3A contender.

The Bulldogs’ football team, meanwhile, is 5-0 heading into its District 3–3A Division I opener at Vernon (also 5-0) on Friday. The winner will emerge as the district leader, but few around the program believe Clyde won’t have a run to — and possibly through — mid November. 

And one last name appears on the rosters of both teams: Carr. 

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by Daniel Youngblood

ABILENE NOTEBOOK: Local volleyball races heating up; football teams hitting pivotal stretches

Several weeks ago, when our local volleyball teams were struggling against tough nondistrict schedules, I laid out a case in this column for patience, citing the significant progress those squads typically make over the course of the season.

Well, we’ve reached the midway point of the District 4-5A campaign and the Wylie and Abilene High volleyball teams are making me look smarter than I really am.

Heading into the second half of league play, which begins Tuesday with a big matchup between those two teams at AHS’ Eagle Gym, the Lady Bulldogs (18-15 overall) are in second place at 5-1 — behind only 6-0 Lubbock Cooper — while the Lady Eagles (11-19 on the year) are a match behind in third at 4-2.

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by Evan Ren

BIG COUNTRY PREPS PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Cisco running back takes this week’s accolade

After an 0-4 start against a brutal non-district slate, the Cisco Loboes have rebounded with a pair of wins in district play, most recently, Friday’s 48-7 victory over Winters at Chesley Field. 

Our Big Country Preps Player of the Week, senior running back Gus Hart, was at the forefront of that win with 173 yards and six touchdowns on only 14 carries. 

“Gus had a great game against Winters,” coach Kevin Stennett said. “He has battled some injuries this year and he is finally getting back to 100 percent. “We will rely on him heavily over the next few weeks.”

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by Evan Ren

BIG COUNTRY PREPS NOTEBOOK: Mentioned tonight …Roscoe, Brock, Haskell and Stamford

Jake Freeman

ROSCOE — At first glance, the Roscoe Plowboys of 2023 may leave you short of being awestruck.

They’re 4-1 against good overall competition. But with the exception of a lopsided win over Colorado City in Week 1, nothing really leaps off the page. 

There are, however, two factors here to consider: First, the Plowboys have been without starting quarterback Jax Watts since a Week 1 injury. And secondly, their last four games have all been decided by two scores or less and they’ve managed to win three of them under tough circumstances.

That’s a good sign.

Consistently finding a way to win close games is a trait you want to carry into district play. 

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by Daniel Youngblood

DISTRICT 2-5A DIV. I WEEK 6 REPORT: Abilene High, Amarillo High and Lubbock Cooper pick up wins, stay perfect in district

Abilene High 42, Amarillo Tascosa 20 — The Eagles took advantage of three turnovers and a special teams score to blow out the Rebels despite holding a narrow 290-270 edge in total yardage.

After allowing the first touchdown of the game to fall behind 7-0, Abilene High (4-2, 2-0) got a 97-yard kickoff return touchdown from Ryland Bradford to kick off a run of four consecutive scores to take a 28-7 lead into halftime. That proved more than enough cushion as the game never got closer than 15 points after the break.

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