Month: April 2024

by Brandon McAuliffe

BREAKING: Abilene ISD fills prominent roles within athletic department

Abilene Independent School District Athletic Director Jim Garfield hasn’t had to make too many significant hires during his short time leading the department.

During his nearly two years, Garfield had hired Brandon Hudson to lead the Cooper girls basketball team, Tiffany Van Hoose to lead the Abilene High girls soccer program and Brad Harman to captain the AHS baseball team.

Wednesday afternoon, the veteran administrator added to that list when AISD announced the replacements for Del Van Cox (assistant AD) and Brenda Andress (AHS girls basketball). Lubbock ISD Assistant AD Lou Mora will replace Cox while Andress’ successor is Hale Center girls basketball coach Alfonzo Franklin.

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by Yale Youngblood, Special to Big Country Preps

FEATURE: Johnson’s banner season helping fuel veteran Bluecats to another successful campaign

At 4 p.m. on Friday, District 7-2A fans will be treated to the biggest game of the 2024 baseball season: the rematch between 8-2 Coleman and 8-2 Bangs on the Bluecats’ home field that will likely decide the league title.

The Colemen faithful are hoping — and probably expecting — that senior shortstop/pitcher Kaden Johnson will play a significant role in the outcome. That’s because Johnson might be having the best overall season of anyone in the region.

In this week’s Big Country Preps statistical leaders update, Johnson’s name was among the top five in each of the following categories: batting average (.583), on-base percentage (.643), doubles (12), triples (7), home runs (2), RBIs (27) and steals (19). 

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by Daniel Youngblood

GAME STORY: Big seventh inning lifts Wylie to win over red-hot Cooper

Facing off with a red-hot Cooper team that had won five straight games to work itself back into the District 4-5A playoff race, the Wylie baseball team weathered an early storm and put together one big inning late to pull away for a 6-2 win Tuesday at Cougar Field. 

Trailing 2-0 after two innings, the Bulldogs scratched across single runs in the third and fifth innings to tie the game, before exploding for four runs in the top of the seventh to finally put the Cougars away.

The victory improved Wylie (21-4 overall) to 10-4 in district play, keeping the Bulldogs within a half-game of league-leader Lubbock Cooper (17-13, 11-4), while Cooper (12-14, 6-9) remains within a game of 4-5A’s final playoff spot thanks to Abilene High’s 7-1 win over Lubbock Monterey on Tuesday.

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by Brandon McAuliffe

LOCAL SOFTBALL ROUNDUP: Abilene High, Wylie earn important wins

While the District 4-5A baseball race garners hype and headlines, the softball race may be just as compelling.

Wylie beat Lubbock Coronado 15-4 on Tuesday night while Abilene High knocked off district leader Lubbock Cooper 5-4, creating a logjam among the league’s four teams jockeying for playoff positioning.

Tuesday’s win by the Lady Eagles leaves them at 8-4 in district play with their season complete while it dropped the Lady Pirates to 9-2. Wylie, meanwhile, is now tied for second place with Lubbock Monterey at 8-3.

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by Evan Ren

GAME STORY: Stamford edges Haskell 3-2 to force four-way tie

HASKELL — With the District 7-2A/1A softball standings teetering on the brink of a rare, four-way tie for the top 2A seed, the Haskell Maidens had a chance to clarify things on Tuesday if they could knock off Stamford in the regular season finale for both clubs. 

It didn’t happen. 

Emma Follis tossed a five-hitter with 13 strikeouts and Jasmine Whitaker had a two-RBI single in the seventh inning to lift Stamford to a crucial 3-2 win on Haskell’s home field.  

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by Evan Ren

BIG COUNTRY PREPS PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Clyde senior tosses no-no, takes the award

With plenty of competition for the top spot, our Big Country Preps Player of the Week goes to Clyde senior pitcher Trip Ancheta. 

When in doubt, a dominating no-hitter is usually a solid choice. 

Ancheta did exactly that in a 14-0 mercy rule win over Grape Creek that saw him work all five innings with 11 strikeouts — narrowly missing a perfect game by one walk. 

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by Brandon McAuliffe

BREAKING: Merkel names Snyder’s Wood as new head football coach, AD

It took a little over a month, but Merkel ISD has found its man to lead the Badgers football program and athletic department as a whole.

In a move announced Monday that causes dominoes to fall across the Big Country, MISD tabbed Snyder’s Wes Wood to the post, replacing Will Kates, who resigned in March to move closer to his family.

While it may come as a surprise that Wood would leave a Class 4A Division II program to move to a Class 3A Division II squad, Wood said it was his experiences and family that led to the decision.

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by Zach Duncan, Special to Big Country Preps

FEATURE: Albany’s Roberson has big plans after close calls

Photos by Amanda Tabor 

ALBANY  — Kiana Roberson knows she can be a state champion this year.

After all, the Albany senior was close to accomplishing that feat twice last spring. Roberson was nine inches shy of gold in the Class 2A discus and a mere 2.5 inches shy in the shot put.

“When I got second last year at state, I was happy because it was better than the previous year,” Roberson said. “But with that being said, it just shows me it’s possible to win it all, and that’s my plan this year.”

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by Zach Duncan, Special to Big Country Preps

FEATURE: Stamford’s Brady, relays hitting their stride 

As soon as Stamford’s football season came to an end, Jared Brady wanted to know when track season started.

The senior Bulldog loves track more than any sport. He’s a returning state qualifier who runs the 100 and both sprint relays. And he’s looking forward to ending his high school track career with another trip to Austin.

“This year I’ve put in blood, sweat and tears to making it this far, and I’m not done yet,” Brady said. “Medaling in Austin would mean that I’ve proven to everyone that I am a winner and that I can push beyond my limits.”

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by Daniel Youngblood

GAME STORY: Cooper outlasts Abilene High in 11-inning epic, claims fifth straight victory

Friday’s crosstown baseball showdown between Abilene High and Cooper took 11 innings and nearly three hours to decide. But by the end of the epic affair, the visiting Cougars found themselves celebrating a near perfect night at Blackburn Field.

In addition to outlasting their archrival for a thrilling 8-7 win — their fifth victory in a row after a 1-8 start to District 4-5A play — the Coogs (12-13, 6-8) got the results they were looking for in both of the district’s other two matchups, pulling within a game of Lubbock Monterey for league’s fourth and final playoff spot with four games remaining.

Monterey (12-15-1, 7-7) fell 3-2 to now-sole district leader Lubbock Cooper, while Lubbock Coronado (12-16, 6-8) fell by the same score to last-place Lubbock High, adding an extra layer of satisfaction to Cooper’s marathon win over the Eagles.

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by Evan Ren

GAME STORY: Lions lock up district title with win over archrival Stephenville

STEPHENVILLE — For the Brownwood Lions, it couldn’t have been a better scenario. 

Not only did BHS clinch the District 6-4A championship on Friday, but the Lions did it by completing a season sweep of their archrival Stephenville with a 6-2 win on the Yellow Jackets’ home field. 

Brownwood starter Yovani Figueroa delivered 4.1 solid innings to earn the win and Eli Hill was 1 for 3 with a three-RBI double to lead the Lions (20-5-1, 9-1), who blew the game open with a four-run third inning. 

“I’ve been blessed to come back with a great bunch of kids,” said first-year Brownwood coach Blake Sandford, a former coach at Early High School. “They’ve worked really hard and bought into the process.” 

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by Daniel Youngblood

FEATURE: Surprising turnaround has Cooper baseball back in District 4-5A playoff race

If at any point before last week you had discussed the Cooper baseball team’s playoff chances, the words “slim” and “none” might have been part of the conversation.

But following a 1-8 start to District 4-5A play, the Cougars have worked themselves back into the league’s postseason race with a four-game winning streak that few would have predicted after back-to-back losses to crosstown rivals Abilene High (4-0) and Wylie (3-2) saw their losing streak hit seven games on March 28.

In the aftermath of that loss to AHS, though, third-year coach Brandon Stover challenged his squad in a very direct way to do some self reflection and respond. And since that game, the Cougars have done exactly that, following a one-run loss at Wylie with wins over Lubbock Monterey (3-1), Lubbock High (5-4), Lubbock Coronado (6-5) and Lubbock Cooper (10-2) to pull within two games of their district’s fourth playoff spot with five games left to play.

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by Daniel Youngblood

GAME STORY: Clutch pitching, one big inning lift Abilene High to key 3-2 win at Wylie

Inheriting a bases-loaded, no-out situation in the bottom of the seventh inning with his team clinging to a narrow 3-2 lead, Abilene High ace Brady Bennett couldn’t have asked for a much more difficult relief assignment Tuesday in the Eagles’ last of three District 4-5A meetings with Wylie.

But after watching teammates Connel Colley and Joseph Flores pitch out of similar jams each of the previous two innings, the AHS right-hander rose to the occasion himself, delivering three strikeouts on just 10 pitches to preserve a dramatic one-run victory over the Bulldogs.

The win, combined with Abilene Cooper’s 10-2 upset of Lubbock Cooper on Tuesday, pulled the Eagles into a three-way tie for first place in the 4-5A standings with LCHS and Wylie, adding a new layer of craziness to an already wild district race.

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by Evan Ren

FEATURE: Breckenridge workhorse Chloe Whitmire not afraid to live on the edge while in the circle

BRECKENRIDGE — Chloe Whitmire isn’t your standard, cookie-cutter-mold high school softball pitcher. 

While many pitchers carry a grim look on their faces heading into the circle, it’s not uncommon to spot Whitmire wearing a smile, even while under pressure.

While the majority of hurlers focus on keeping the ball down and changing speeds, this 17-year-old Breckenridge senior spends much of her time up in zone, aggressively challenging hitters with a hard riseball and screwball.

Her numbers are uncommon as well. 

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by Evan Ren

BIG COUNTRY PREPS PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Wall’s Jones takes five district titles and our Player of the Week

While we normally try to share the love in our Big Country Preps Player of the Week column, five district titles in one week isn’t easy to sidestep. 

And while Wall’s Briggs Jones has already pulled down our award once this year, he earned a second with his showing at the District 6-3A meet in Clyde last week by sweeping the long jump (23-2), the triple jump (44-10.75), the 200 meters (21.92), the 100 meters (10.72) and assisting the 800 relay team to gold with a 1:29.68 split. 

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by Zach Duncan, Special to Big Country Preps

FEATURE: Tutter, Brock seniors hitting their stride 

Brett Tutter is conflicted when it comes to these last few weeks of track season.

The Brock senior is excited about the possibility of getting back to state for the third time.

But he readily admits to being bummed that his days competing as an Eagle with his buddies are almost over.

Tutter and the Eagles are coming off a strong showing at last week’s District 8-3A Meet in Dublin. Not only did Tutter win the 100 with a season-best time of 10.71 seconds, but he also anchored both sprint relays to gold.

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by Daniel Youngblood

GAME STORY: Wylie Bulldogs bounce back from tough loss with big 4-2 win over Lubbock Cooper

The Wylie Bulldogs weren’t happy with how they played Friday in a 10-2 loss at Lubbock Coronado, but the 18-game District 4-5A schedule doesn’t give any team too long to dwell on any particular result.

That proved to be a good thing for coach Grant Martin’s team, which responded to Friday night’s loss with a 4-2 home win over Lubbock Cooper on Saturday afternoon, pulling into a first-place tie with the Pirates in the process.

Senior Brady Clark delivered a strong outing on the mound, limiting Cooper to two runs on six hits over 6.1 strong innings, and his teammates made that stand up with three runs in the second and another in the fourth. 

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by Brandon McAuliffe

GAME STORY: Cougars cap off perfect week with crucial win over Lubbock Coronado

Cooper baseball coach Brandon Stover was left paraphrasing iconic (and fictitious) Cleveland Indians manager Lou Brown on Saturday afternoon after his squad took down Lubbock Coronado 6-5 in District 4-5A play at Cougar Field.

“When you win three in a row, that’s called a winning streak. It has happened before.”

Only for the Cougars, this isn’t Hollywood.

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by Daniel Youngblood

GAME STORY: Wylie snaps losing streak with 19-1 win over Cooper

Riding a three-game losing streak into Friday’s home matchup with crosstown rival Cooper, the Wylie softball made it apparent early it had no intention of seeing that skid reach four games.

The Lady Bulldogs scored six runs in the first inning and eight more in the second to build a 14-0 lead and cruised from there to a dominant 19-1 win at Bulldog Field.

The victory improved WHS (20-8 overall) to 5-3 in District 4-5A play, pulling coach Heather Collier’s squad a half-game ahead of Abilene High (16-12-1, 5-4) for third in the league standings after the Lady Eagles’ 4-1 road loss to second-place Lubbock Monterey (18-11-2, 7-2) on Friday.

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by Evan Ren

GAME STORY: Breck girls use long ball to drop Comanche, take district lead

BRECKENRIDGE — Using a combination of clutch hitting and power, the Breckenridge Lady Buckaroos took sole possession of first place in District 8 on Friday with a 9-5 win over Comanche to break a tie between the two clubs atop the league standings. 

Joni Jackson was 4-for-4 with a double and three RBIs, Reagan Robinson was 2-for-4 with a homer and three RBIs and Mia Castillo was 3-for-4 with a double, a homer and three RBIs to spearhead a 14-hit day for Breckenridge (20-9-1, 9-1),. which avenged a 12-6 loss to CHS on March 12.

Big Country strikeout leader Chloe Whitmire earned the win in the circle and helped the Lady Bucks avenge a 12-6 loss to CHS on March 12. Her complete game win saw her allow three earned runs on seven hits with 11 strikeouts — pushing her season total to 285 Ks in 159 innings. 

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by Daniel Youngblood

DISTRICT 4-5A TRACK MEET: AHS boys narrowly miss team title as local athletes combine to claim 48 medals

Entering the mile relay just two points down to Lubbock Cooper in the team race, the Abilene High boys track team gave itself a chance to claim team gold at the District 4-5A meet Thursday at the Shotwell Annex.

But after taking three of the top four spots in the 1,600 meters to put themselves in that position, the Eagles finished second to the Pirates in the final race of the evening to close the two-day meet with 172 points — six short of a district championship.

That 1-2 finish between LCHS and Abilene High mirrored the finish in the girls team race, which saw the Lady Pirates earn 141 points to top the second-place Lady Eagles by 29 points and the third-place Cooper Lady Cougars by 37.

The team medals, which also included a bronze for the Wylie boys (73 points) capped a successful district meet for Abilene’s three largest high schools, which combined to earn 48 medals (24 girls, 24 boys) and claim 68 spots at the Districts 3/4-5A area meet next week at Lowrey Field in Lubbock.

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by Daniel Youngblood

GAME STORY: Flores pitches Cooper to 3-1 win over Monterey to snap skid

Entering Tuesday’s matchup at Cooper, no team in District 4-5A was playing better baseball than Lubbock Monterey.

The Cougars, meanwhile, hadn’t won a district game since edging Lubbock High 2-0 on March 5.

But after coming up on the short end of number of close games since then, coach Brandon Stover’s squad finally pulled out a tight one, handing the Plainsmen a 3-1 loss on the strength of a complete game pitching gem by Jeron Flores.

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by Daniel Youngblood

GAME STORY: Silva tosses second straight no-hitter as shorthanded Abilene High cruises past Cooper

Coming off a no-hitter against Wylie on Thursday, Abilene High senior Diana Silva wasn’t expecting to pitch in Tuesday’s crosstown matchup against Cooper. 

But when a family emergency forced a pair of her teammates to miss the game, the senior ace responded in the best way she could — with her second no-hitter in as many outings.

Pitching around a couple of walks and her own throwing error in the seventh, Silva was nothing short of dominant, striking out 13 Lady Cougar hitters in a 8-0 victory at Cougar Diamond. 

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by Brandon McAuliffe

GAME STORY: Six-run third inning propels Abilene High to district win over Coronado

While it was what Abilene High coach Brad Harman calls a “perfect play,” the turning point of Tuesday’s District 4-5A matchup at Blackburn Field between AHS and Lubbock Coronado went the Mustangs’ way.

With two outs in the second inning of a 1-1 game, Harman had freshman George Ferguson try to score from second base on a hit up the middle. Isaiah Trevino delivered a strike to Bodie Pope to cut down Ferguson to end the frame, but the message was sent — the Eagles were going to be aggressive on the basepaths.

AHS would capitalize on that aggression later, scoring six in the third inning to cruise to a 9-5 win in a game that leaves AHS a half-game behind district co-leaders Wylie and Lubbock Cooper in the 4-5A standings.

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by Evan Ren

BIG COUNTRY PREPS PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Jim Ned senior takes this week’s award

While no-hitters are fairly common in high school baseball and softball, they generally put you at the top of the list where our Big Country Preps Player of the Week is concerned. 

Toss in a solid performance at the plate and you’re looking at a virtual shoe-in for the top spot. 

That is the case this week with Jim Ned senior Jake Rushing, who shut out Coahoma last week with a dominating no-hitter that featured 12 strikeouts. 

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