Month: March 2025

by Brandon McAuliffe

TOURNAMENT CENTRAL: Abilene High, Cooper close AISD Invitational with wins

The annual AISD Invitational came to a cold, windy and wet end on Saturday as Cooper finished an undefeated tournament with a 9-2 win over Burleson, while Abilene High beat Copperas Cove 10-6.

Cooper finished the tournament at 5-0 while AHS went 4-1.

Meanwhile, a highly anticipated game between Brock and Wylie was canceled on account of the weather.

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by Brandon McAuliffe

TOURNAMENT CENTRAL: Area squads have monster second day at AISD Invitational

Five teams from the Big Country Preps coverage area picked up a pair of wins on Friday on the second day of the AISD Invitational.

Abilene High, Cooper and Wylie all had relatively stress-free days, while Brownwood and Brock combined for four wins.

Wall, which struggled at times during its tournament action, closed out its play in the event with a big win over San Angelo Central.

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by Brandon McAuliffe

HIRING NEWS: Brownwood hires Katy OC Brixey as new head football coach

Jeryl Brixey calls Brownwood one of 10 cities in the state that when it’s mentioned, the immediate thought turns to high school football.

On Friday, Brixey was named the new head football coach of the Lions, calling it an honor to lead a program that Gordon Wood brought so much success to.

Brixey comes to Brownwood after serving as the offensive coordinator at Katy. During his first stints at the Houston-area powerhouse, Brixey coached current Carolina Panthers quarterback Andy Dalton.

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by Brandon McAuliffe

TOURNAMENT CENTRAL: Local schools go 5-1 on opening day of AISD Invitational

Cooper and Wylie swept their opponents as the AISD Invitational got under way on Thursday at three different locations across town, while Abilene High split a pair of games with Brock and Wall.

The Cougars knocked off San Angelo Lake View and Brownwood, while the Bulldogs were able to dispatch Andrews and San Angelo Central in their two games. The Eagles fell to Brock in their tournament opener before rebounding with a resounding win over Wall.

Teams in the Big Country Preps coverage area went a combined 8-4 on Thursday with Brock joining the two Abilene schools with an undefeated day.

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by Daniel Youngblood

CLASS 2A DII STATE CHAMPIONSHIP: Martin’s Mill pulls away late to end Lipan’s three-peat bid

SAN ANTONIO — It took the better part of three years, but the Lipan Indians finally met their match Thursday at the Alamodome.

Taking on Martin’s Mill for the Class 2A Division II state championship and a chance at a rare three-peat, LHS was done in by some uncharacteristic struggles on the offensive end in a 55-43 loss to the Mustangs.

The Indians shot just 31.9 percent from the field, made only four of 18 3-point attempts and had a negative assist-to-turnover ratio in the loss, which snapped a streak of 19 consecutive playoff victories for coach Brent Gaylor and his LHS program. Despite this, Lipan still had its opportunities throughout the game, trailing by just three points at halftime (23-20) and five early in the fourth quarter (42-37) before Martin’s Mill closed the contest on a 13-6 run.

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by Daniel Youngblood

CLASS 1A DI STATE CHAMPIONSHIP: Perrin-Whitt speeds way to 65-46 win over larger Valley

SAN ANTONIO — Facing off with a much larger squad from Turkey Valley on Thursday, the Perrin-Whitt Pirates knew they’d need to speed up the Patriots and convert turnovers into transition points if they hoped to leave the Alamodome with the Class 1A Division I state championship trophy.

Fortunately for coach Todd McCormick and his team, that’s a game plan the Pirates are well accustomed to employing and have experienced unprecedented success with this season.

Utilizing a speed and quickness advantage on both ends of the court, Perrin-Whitt turned 15 takeaways into an 18-0 edge in fast-break points to pull away in the second half for a 65-46 victory, claiming the program’s first state title in its first state trip since earning a runner-up finish in 1946.

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Jayton
by Daniel Youngblood

CLASS 1A DII STATE CHAMPIONSHIP: Jayton dominates Bryson to claim second straight title

SAN ANTONIO — A near-perfect defensive effort by the Jayton Jaybirds ended the competitive phase of the Class 1A Division II state title game by halftime Thursday, as coach Ryan Bleiker’s squad held Bryson without a field goal in the first two quarters on its way to a dominating 70-36 win at the Alamodome.

The Jaybirds, who overcame a slow offensive start to build a 35-3 lead by the break, forced more than twice as many turnovers (25) as field goals allowed (12), making for a comfortable defense of last year’s state championship — the first in program history.

Now back-to-back champions with five state trips in the past seven seasons, Jayton further cemented its place as one of the premier programs in Texas small school basketball — a fact not lost on Bleiker, who led the Jaybirds to their first-ever state trip in 2019.

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by Evan Ren

GAME STORY: Top-ranked Martin’s Mill ends Goldthwaite’s season in state semis

CHINA SPRING — After battling through Region IV as an unranked team, the Goldthwaite Eagles had one final hurdle to clear in order to make it to their first-ever state championship game. 

As luck would have it, however, the Eagles’ final challenge on the road to San Antonio was the toughest that Texas could provide in top-ranked Martin’s Mill. 

The Mustangs ended the Eagles’ remarkable postseason run with a 66-33 loss on Tuesday at China Spring High School. 

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by Daniel Youngblood

GAME REPORT: Jayton rallies past Texline in second half of foul-heavy state semifinal matchup

LUBBOCK — The Jayton boys basketball team won a war of attrition Monday, outlasting former region rival Texline for a 56-43 win in a Class 1A Division II state semifinal matchup that featured 54 total fouls and saw six players foul out.

The Jaybirds trailed 21-17 at halftime, but coach Ryan Bleiker’s squad regrouped at the break to outscore the Tornadoes 15-8 in the third quarter and 24-14 in the fourth, taking advantage of 42 fee-throw attempts to outscore Texline 23-9 from the foul line.

The victory sends JHS back to San Antonio for the third straight year and fifth time since 2019, giving the Jaybirds an opportunity to defend their state championship against the winner of Tuesday’s game between Bryson and Kennard at 11 a.m. Thursday at the Alamodome.

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by Daniel Youngblood

GAME STORY: Lipan runs away from New Home for 63-41 win in Class 2A DII state semifinals

ABILENE — After a competitive first quarter, the Lipan boys basketball team outscored New Home 52-31 over the final three periods Monday to cruise to a 63-41 win in a Class 2A Division II state semifinal clash at Abilene Christian University’s Moody Coliseum.

Facing off with the Leopards in the state semis for the third straight year, the two-time defending state champion Indians scored their most lopsided victory in the series, using a 16-8 run through the second quarter and a 15-6 run through the third to stretch a one-point lead after one period to 18 by the start of the final quarter.

New Home made one final surge, pulling with 12 points (45-33) with 6:37 to play. But Lipan followed a timeout with an 11-0 run to pull ahead by a game-high 23 points and coasted from there to earn its fifth consecutive trip to the Alamodome, where the Indians will play the winner of Tuesday’s matchup between Goldthwaite and Martin’s Mill for the championship at 1 p.m. on Thursday.

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by Evan Ren

BIG COUNTRY PREPS PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Stephenville’s Gentry lands the top spot

While Stephenville’s Tristian Gentry is no stranger to this column, it’s usually via football that he lands in our Top 10 — especially after missing track last year due to injury.

Well, it’s track season again and it just so happens that the SHS senior is healthy this time around — returning as one of the area’s top guns in that sport. He’s already off to a great start, having captured four gold medals at a talent-loaded Brock meet last week.

Aside from first place leaps in the long jump (21-1) and triple jump (43-2), he also helped SHS’ 400 and 800 relay teams take gold with splits of 43.26 and 1:30.1, respectively. 

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by Yale Youngblood, Special to Big Country Preps

GAME STORY: Perrin-Whitt tops Huckabay 57-44 to claim Region III-1A DI championship

WEATHERFORD — Jack McCormick scored 25 points and Cole Keeney added 15 to help carry Perrin-Whitt to a 57-44 win over Huckabay in the Region III-1A Division I championship game Saturday.

With the victory, the Pirates improved to 32-5 and earned a berth in the next week’s state semifinals against Brookeland. Huckabay finished 24-12, but with most starters scheduled to return next winter, the future appears promising for the Indians.

McCormick, son of Perrin-Whitt coach Todd McCormick, helped lead dad’s attacking offense to near perfection, as the Pirates were able to consistently draw fouls and earn trips to the free-throw line. The quick — and quick-thinking — guard enjoyed a 13-for-20 day from the line, while Perrin-Whitt shot 35 foul shots in all.

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by Daniel Youngblood

GAME STORY: Gaylor, Steed lead stellar offensive effort as Lipan routs Lindsay for region title

AZLE — Fueled by sophomore point guard Court Gaylor and junior post Darius Steed, who combined for 46 points on the night, the Lipan boys basketball team locked up its 16th trip to the state semifinals Friday with a 71-52 win over Lindsay in the Region II-2A Division II title game at the Azle High School Competition Gym.

Gaylor poured in a game-high 28 points while Steed ruled the paint with 18 of his own to lead the Indians, who closed the first quarter on a 15-6 run and opened the second with a 19-5 spurt to turn an early one-point deficit into a 42-18 lead by the two minute mark of the first half.

From there, it was academic as LHS cruised to its fifth consecutive state appearance and seventh since 2017 — a stretch that has seen the Indians claim four state championships, including each of the past two in Class 2A.

Continue reading “GAME STORY: Gaylor, Steed lead stellar offensive effort as Lipan routs Lindsay for region title” →