Month: December 2024

by Evan Ren

GAME STORY: Offensive line, defense lead Stamford to regional title win over Post

SNYDER — With Stamford’s overall team speed garnering much of the attention this season, the Bulldogs’ offensive line and aggressive defense have quietly propelled SHS to a 14-0 start and trip to the state semifinals. 

Both were on display in Thursday’s 48-26 win over previously unbeaten Post in the Region I-2A DI championship at Grant Teaff Tiger Stadium. 

Christian Duran was 11 of 11 for 227 yards and three scores and Kaston Vega rushed for 131 yards and two more TDs to lift Stamford, which now advances to face either Hamilton (13-0) or Axtell (12-1) in the state semifinals. 

Post, which was limited to six points through three quarters by Stamford’s 3-3 stack defense, was led by Ian Vergara’s 223 yards rushing and three scores. Twenty of the Antelopes’ 26 points came in the fourth quarter while several reserve players were on the field. 

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by Daniel Youngblood

TOURNAMENT CENTRAL: Abilene High, Cooper cruise to wins on first day of Key City Classic

The Abilene High and Cooper boys basketball teams got off to winning starts on Day 1 of the Raising Cane’s Key City Classic, cruising to comfortable victories Thursday to kick off the annual tournament on a high note.

The Eagles downed Perryton 54-37 in there opener to earn a matchup with El Paso Coronado at noon on Friday, while the Cougars smothered El Paso Jefferson in a 34-20 win to advance to play Lubbock Cooper at 1:30 p.m. on Day 2. 

Mineral Wells, the only other area team in the event’s 16-team field, dropped its first game 52-30 to Clebrune and will take on Midland Legacy at 9 a.m. Friday. For a full listing of Day 1 results and a complete tournament schedule, click here.

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by Daniel Youngblood

Big Country Preps’ Pick ‘Em Panel (Week 15)

Each week here at Big Country Preps, we’ll post our picks for all of that week’s 11-man games, in addition to the results of our weekly fan polls for each matchup.

For those interested in voting, polls go up on Sunday night each week and close Thursday morning.

Disagree with our picks or the fan poll consensus? Let us know in the comments section below.

Continue reading “Big Country Preps’ Pick ‘Em Panel (Week 15)” →

by Brandon McAuliffe

SIGNING DAY: Abilene High’s Bradford makes UTEP decision official

In an era where the transfer portal can make it difficult to garner Football Bowl Division scholarship offers, Abilene High coach Mike Fullen encourages his athletes to take advantage of opportunities that arise for them.

On Wednesday, AHS wide receiver Ryland Bradford finalized his decision and signed an offer with the University of Texas-El Paso — accepting a full ride to join coach Scotty Waldren’s squad.

When asked what led to choosing UTEP, Bradford was quick to touch on the relationships he built with the Miners coaching staff.

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by Evan Ren

EVAN REN’S PLAYOFF FORECAST: Eight teams from BCP coverage area survive to see December

LAST WEEK: 7-2, .777
SEASON TOTAL: 585-141, .805

It seems like the day before yesterday when I was out working our annual football photo tour during two-a-days. 

Now we’re looking down the barrel of Christmas. 

Unbelievable. 

At any rate, we still have eight teams from our coverage area slugging their way through the playoff brackets and unless I miss my guess, we’ll see at least four playing for state titles in Arlington. 

In the meantime, we’ve got state semifinals to take care of. 

Here’s this week’s forecast: 

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by Daniel Youngblood

GAME STORY: Clyde girls dominant on both ends of court in 58-18 win over Cooper

Gracie Caperton scored 18 points and Madeline Underwood added 12 over her own to lead the Clyde girls basketball team to a 58-18 win over Cooper in a nondistrict matchup Tuesday at Cougar Gym.

In all, eight Lady Bulldogs scored as the visitors dominated the Lady Cougars on both ends of the floor.

Fueled by that balanced attack that saw five players score at least five points and an active zone on defense, Clyde raced out to a 13-2 first-quarter lead and only added to its advantage the rest of the way in improving to 7-3 on the season.

Continue reading “GAME STORY: Clyde girls dominant on both ends of court in 58-18 win over Cooper” →

by Daniel Youngblood

SIX-MAN REWIND: Water Valley, Gordon and Jayton punch tickets to state semifinals

The six-man region finals have come and gone, and three teams from the Big Country Preps coverage area remain in the hunt for a state championship.

Water Valley and Gordon punched their ticket to the Class 1A Division I state semifinals with wins over Westbrook and Jonesboro, respectively, while top-ranked Jayton earned a trip to the DII state semis with an impressive win over two-time defending state champion Benjamin.

Richland Springs, meanwhile, joined those to bow out in the playoffs’ third round, dropping a hard-fought game to Oglesby.

With that backdrop setting the stage for this week’s games, it’s time to take a look back at how we got here. We hope you enjoy this “rewind” and encourage you to check out our Six-Man/Class 1A Central page for schedules and results.

Continue reading “SIX-MAN REWIND: Water Valley, Gordon and Jayton punch tickets to state semifinals” →

by Evan Ren

BIG COUNTRY PREPS PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Wall’s York takes second award of the year

With all the competition in the Big Country Preps coverage area, taking our Player of the Week award once is a big enough challenge. 

Wall quarterback Landon York has done it twice. 

York, who led Wall to a 56-21 win over Littlefield in the Region I-3A DII semifinals, takes his second award with a huge performance. 

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