Wylie 37, San Angelo Central 27 — Bear Meng passed for 191 yards and three touchdowns while rushing for 47 yards and another score to lead the Bulldogs to a homecoming win over the Bobcats in their final nondistrict game of the season.
Malachi Daniels added 106 yards and two touchdowns rushing while Derrick Evans received 101 yards and a TD as Wylie (3-2) built a 24-14 lead by halftime and stretched that to 30-14 by the end of the third quarter.
Photo by Chase Seabolt, HubCityPreps.com
Abilene High 59, Lubbock Monterey 14 — Dylan Slack passed for 259 yards and five touchdowns and Brayden Henry accounted for 112 all-purpose yards and two scores to lead the Eagles to a blowout win over the Plainsmen in the district opener for both teams.
Abilene High (3-2, 1-0) outgained Monterey 432-162 and forced four turnovers, building a 49-7 lead by halftime. Of the Eagles’ eight touchdown drives in the game, only one was longer than 50 yards, and three spanned fewer than 30 yards.
Collinsville 63, Lindsay 21 — The Pirates opened district play with a thorough win over the Knights, racing out to a 49-7 halftime lead and cruising from there to the blowout.
Logan Jenkins passed for 376 yards and six touchdowns to lead Collinsville (4-1, 1-0), which got productive receiving days from Reed Patterson (4-112, 3 TDs), Colin Barnes (4-94) and Landon Carpenter (3-71, 2 TDs).
Forsan 40, Kermit 32 — The Buffaloes stayed hot with their fourth consecutive win, rushing for 236 yards in a hard-fought victory over the Yellow Jackets.
Kevin Kligora led Forsan with 71 yards on the ground, while Grant Roman (8-56, 2 TDs), Huston Stockton (7-51, 1 TD), Yandell Melendez (8-20, 1 TD) and Hayden Bowlin (2-19, 1 TD) all had rushing touchdowns.
Brock 78, Boyd 0 — Brody Woods was nearly perfect through the air, hitting 11 of 13 passes for 196 yards and three touchdowns, while leading 350-yard rushing effort with 87 yards and another score on the ground to fuel the Eagles to blowout win over the Yellowjackets in the league opener for both teams.
Brett Tutter added 83 yards and three touchdowns and Vance Guthrie rushed for 82 yards and two TDs as the Eagles (2-3, 1-0) scored seven times on the ground.
Snyder 56, Big Spring 13 — Easton Stewart completed 22 of 26 passes for 226 yards and four touchdowns, and Daenin Smith rushed for 128 yards and two TDs and received for 63 yards and another score to lead the Tigers to a blowout win over the Steers.
Ethan Rios added 51 yards and two touchdowns rushing and a nine-yard touchdown catch for Snyder (3-2), which also got TD receptions from Hayden Foster and Chon Vasquez.
Brownwood 31, Waco Connally 28 — Ike Hall rushed for 135 yards and four touchdowns while adding 85 yards passing to fuel the Lions to a come-from-behind win over the Cadets.
Behind the dual threat quarterback, Brownwood (5-0) built a 17-14 halftime lead and scored the first touchdown of the second half to take a 24-14 lead. But Connally roared back with back-to-back touchdown runs by Kiefer Sibley to go up 28-24 early the fourth quarter, before Hall’s final TD run served as the game-winner with 5:15 remaining.
Eastland 21, Jim Ned 19 — Isaiah Hays passed for 259 yards and a touchdown and Cayden Alford rushed for a pair of scores to lift the Mavericks to an upset win over the Indians.
Preston Rose had a huge day receiving, hauling in four passes for 127 yards and a TD for EHS (1-4), which outscored Jim Ned 14-12 in the final quarter to earn its first victory of the season.
San Saba 32, Hamilton 28 — Ethan Gonzales ran for 215 yards and three touchdowns while Lane Miller added a pair of rushing scores of his own to lead the Armadillos to an upset win over the Bulldogs in the district opener for both squads.
San Saba (2-3, 1-0) got off to a fast start, jumping out to a 19-6 halftime lead and increasing that to 32-14 by the end of the third quarter, before holding off a late rally in the final period.
Photos by Chase Seabolt, HubCityPreps.com
LUBBOCK — Abilene High kicked off District 2-5A Division I play in dominating fashion Friday, following a 14-point first quarter with 35 points in the second to put Lubbock Monterey away by halftime.
Dylan Slack passed for 259 yards and five touchdowns, Brayden Henry had 107 all-purpose yards and two scores and the Eagle defense limited the Plainsmen 162 yards and forced four turnovers to fuel a thorough 59-14 win at Lowrey Field.
The victory improved AHS (3-2 overall) to 1-0 in league play heading into next week’s homecoming matchup with Amarillo Tascosa.
As was the case with last week’s loss to Lubbock Coronado, the Cooper Cougars will see a lot of positive things on both sides of the ball when they turn on the film from Friday’s home matchup against Odessa Permian.
But for the second straight week, untimely mistakes and missed opportunities proved the difference between celebrating a win and playing the what if game after another frustrating defeat.
The Cougars rebounded from a disastrous start to pull within a touchdown on two occasions before halftime and had a number of opportunities to make things interesting in the second half. But four turnovers and three empty red zone trips proved too much to overcome in a 41-20 loss to the Panthers to close out nondistrict play.
At 15 years old, Dycin Davis can’t even legally drive yet. But the Cooper sophomore is already attracting attention from some of the top colleges in and out of the state.
Blessed with a 6-foot-4 frame that he has added a significant amount of weight to over the past calendar year, Davis is a physical force to be reckoned with from his defensive end spot.
But if you ask coach Aaron Roan, it’s Davis’ other, less visible attributes that truly make him a special player. While the young man’s natural talent has and will continue to open doors for him, it’s his intelligence, drive and a maturity beyond his years that will be the key to unlocking his full potential, the coach said.
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.
Following their 0-2 start, I was consistent in my belief that the Wylie Bulldogs would finish the season with a much stronger football team than the one that started it. I said as much on our weekly podcast after each of Wylie’s defeats, downplaying the ultimate significance of season-opening home losses to quality outfits from Brownwood and Lubbock Monterey.
But I’d be lying if I said I expected the type of quick turnaround we’ve seen the last two weeks from coach Clay Martin’s team, which is now 2-2 after gritty road wins over Lubbock Cooper (35-34) and Stephenville (42-32) — both double-digit favorites according to a prominent power ranking service.
When I talked about Wylie finding its stride and eventually turning a corner, I was thinking more about October than September. So to see the Bulldogs go from where they were in Weeks 1 and 2 to beating a pair of good, established programs on the road was a surprise to even me.
Wylie 42, Stephenville 32 — Bear Meng passed for 252 yards and three touchdowns and added 78 yards and another TD rushing to lead the Bulldogs to a exciting road win over the Yellow Jackets.
Trailing 10-7 at the 7:58 mark of the second quarter, Wylie (2-2) reeled off 28 consecutive points to go up 35-10 with just under eight minutes to go in the third quarter, before holding off a furious Stephenville rally with a late touchdown drive to put the game away.
Photo by Steven Gutierrez, HubCityPreps.com
Wolfforth Frenship 17, Abilene High 12 — The Eagles bottled up the explosive Tigers offense, limiting Frenship to 319 yards while forcing three turnovers, but it wasn’t enough in a tough road loss to close out nondistrict play.
Abilene High (2-2) managed just 235 yards of its own, mustering an eight-yard touchdown run by Brayden Henry and two Naim Segura field goals in three trips to the red zone. Henry led the Eagles offense with 83 yards rushing, 10 yards passing and 11 yards receiving, while Dylan Slack passed for 77 yards, De’Zhon Magee rushed for 53 and Ryland Bradford received for 55.
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Continue reading “PHOTO GALLERY: Wylie-Stephenville football (94 images)”
Rio Vista 27, Santo 0 — The Wildcats struggled to take care of the football, turning the ball over seven times in a shutout loss to the Eagles.
Santo limited Rio Vista to just 47 rushing yards and 184 yards of total offense, but coach Devon Mann’s Wildcats managed only 134 yards of their own in falling to 1-3 on the year.
Forsan 41, McCamey 21 — The Buffaloes rushed for 382 yards, getting 151 yards and a touchdown from Kevin Kligora and 135 yards and three scores from Huston Stockton to run away from the Badgers.
Forsan (3-1) used a 15-point second quarter to take a 21-14 lead into halftime, before outscoring McCamey 14-0 in the fourth quarter to put the game away.
Gunter 35, Brock 12 — Walker overman rushed for 149 yards and two touchdowns and passed for 51 yards and an another score to lead the Tigers to a comfortable win over the Eagles.
Behind overman, Gunter rushed for 214 of its 304 yards, while limiting Brock to 278 total yards. The Tigers used a 28-point second quarter to go to halftime up 35-6 and were never threatened after the break.
Sweetwater 56, Big Spring 30 — The Mustangs offense was too much for the Steers defense, piling up 586 yards of total offense in a thorough victory.
Sweetwater (4-0), which rushed for 368 of those yards, got big games from quarterback Caiden Ortiz (10-17-1—218, 3 TDs passing), running backs Korda Moore (13-183, 3 TDs rushing; 2-30, 1 TD receiving) and Uriah Martinez (9-122, 2 TDs rushing; 1-19, 1 TD receiving) and receiver Jadyn Forbes (5-146, 1 TD receiving).
Brownwood 46, Glen Rose 34 — Returning to the lineup after missing most of last week’s game due to injury, Ike Hall passed for 286 yards and two touchdowns and rushed for 178 yards and an additional score to help the Lions overcome three turnovers in a two-score win over the Tigers.
Brownwood (4-0), which outgained Glen Rose 555-370, also got 89 yards and a touchdown rushing from Jaylan Brown and a big receiving game from Marsello Hooker (2-128, 2 TDs).
Coleman 26, Llano 20 — Brayden Torres passed for 232 yards and three touchdowns and ran for 60 yards and another score to fuel the Bluecats to an upset win over the Class 3A Division I Yellowjackets.
Playing its second consecutive game without quarterback Jadin Jackson, Coleman (3-1) raced out to 14-6 halftime lead and withstood a third-quarter Llano rally to win the game with the only touchdown of the fourth quarter.
Merkel 54, Bangs 37 — Connor Willyerd and Maddox O’Malley rushed for 171 and 164 yards, respectively, as the Badgers ran over and around the Dragons for a comfortable win.
Willyerd had one touchdown and O’Malley rushed for four as Merkel (3-1) finished with 389 yards on the ground as a team. Braxton Duden (4-60 rushing) also had a rushing TD for the Badgers, who got 98 yards passing and one score from O’Malley and 72 yards and two touchdowns receiving from Kaden Blubaugh.
Photos by Steven Gutierrez, HubCityPreps.com
WOLFFORTH — The Abilene High football team held a Wolfforth Frenship offense that came in averaging 44.7 points and 510.3 yards per game to just two touchdowns on Friday, but it still wasn’t enough to hand the Tigers their first loss of the season.
AHS scored just one touchdown itself, settling for short field goals on two of its three red zone trips and having a late kickoff return touchdown called back by a penalty in a tough 17-12 loss at Peoples Bank Stadium.
The Eagles finished with just 235 yards of total offense, being held to an uncharacteristically low 87 passing yards in closing their nondistrict schedule at 2-2.
STEPHENVILLE — Leading Stephenville 35-10 early in the third quarter after scoring its fourth consecutive touchdown off the Yellow Jackets’ second turnover of the game, the Wylie football team seemed to be well on its way to a comfortable win Friday night at Tarleton Memorial Stadium.
In the end, though, it would take a pressure-packed touchdown drive in the final 5:50 and a victory-sealing interception in the end zone for the Bulldogs to finally breath easy with a thrilling 42-32 win.
Stephenville quarterback Ryan Gafford hooked up with Tristian Gentry for three second-half touchdown passes to trim a once-four score Wylie lead to 35-32 with just under six minutes remaining in the fourth quarter. But after managing just one first down on their four previous possessions, the Bulldogs marched 74 yards in 10 plays on their last to fend off the SHS rally and spoil the Yellow Jackets homecoming.
7 p.m. Friday at Peoples Bank Stadium, Wolfforth
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.
Digital photos, prints and keepsakes may be purchased by clicking the link below. The “BigCountryPreps.com” watermark will be removed from all purchased photos.
Continue reading “PHOTO GALLERY: Cooper-Abilene High volleyball (64 images)”
Entering Tuesday’s crosstown volleyball match off district-opening losses on Friday, both Abilene High and Cooper needed a win to avoid falling in an 0-2 hole to start to District 4-5A play.
In the end, it was the Lady Eagles celebrating in front of their home crowd at Eagle Gym after sweeping the Lady Cougars 25-20, 25-23, 25-15 to snap a seven-match losing streak.
AHS, which fell in four games to Wylie last week in its league opener, started strong and never let up Tuesday, improving to 8-18 overall and 1-1 in district action with one of its most complete performances of the year.
Cooper 53, San Angelo Central 45 — Junior running back Daniel Bray had a record breaking night, rushing for 366 yards and seven touchdowns to fuel the Cougars to their first win of the season.
Bray did all that damage on just 21 carries, finishing with four touchdown runs of at least 50 yards, including three of 70 yards or more. Behind the standout back, Cooper held a narrow 27-24 lead at halftime, before facing a pair of third-quarter deficits. The Cougars scored the final touchdown of the third quarter and the first of the fourth to take the game’s only two-score lead at 47-38 and held on from there for the victory.
Midland Legacy 48, Abilene High 17 — Trailing just 21-17 after opening the second half with a touchdown drive, the Eagles were outscored 27-0 the rest of the way in a lopsided home loss to the Rebels.
Abilene High (2-1) gained 453 yards of total offense, but they scored just three points in three trips to the red zone and turned the ball over three times on the Legacy side of the field. The Eagles were led in the loss by Dylan Slack, who passed for 302 yards and two touchdowns, and Ryland Bradford, who caught four passes for 123 yards and a score.
Digital photos, prints and keepsakes may be purchased by clicking the link below. The “BigCountryPreps.com” watermark will be removed from all purchased photos.
Continue reading “PHOTO GALLERY: Midland Legacy-Abilene High football (106 images)”
Hamilton 20, Santo 14 — A 14-0 halftime cushion proved just enough for the Bulldogs, who held off a Wildcat rally in the second half for their second consecutive win.
Hamilton rode a balanced offensive effort to a slight 265-236 edge in total yardage, rushing for 131 of those yards and passing for 134. The Bulldogs also forced the game’s only turnover.
Forsan 32, Stanton 14 — Nicholas Holloway passed for 148 yards and three scores, hitting Hayden Bowlin (3-66 receiving) with two of those TDs and Brycen Cervantes (3-76) for the other to lift the Buffaloes to their second consecutive win.
Forsan (2-1), which finished with 311 total yards, rushed for 92 of those, getting a team-high 48 yards from Kevin Kligora and rushing touchdowns from Holloway (4-3 rushing) and Grant Roman (4-29).