LAST WEEK: 51-12, .809
SEASON TOTAL: 247-79, .757
Week 6 generally sees slim pickings for possible Games of the Week, with the bulk of the area enjoying an open week prior to district.
Nonetheless, we have some quality Week 6 matchups this year, topped by a 4-1 Littlefield team paying a visit to Coahoma (3-1) in our spotlight game. That’s where I’ll be, but keep a close eye on some others. It’s a surprisingly good week, despite the low amount of activity.
Here’s this week’s picks:
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Overwhelming. If there were a one-word description for last week’s performance by six-foot Graham senior Lillian Noble, that would be it.
Noble, a four-year varsity player who has already committed to Oklahoma Baptist, was far and away the most dominant player in both a 3-1 win over Wichita Falls Memorial and a 3-1 loss to Glen Rose last week.
Her combined totals: 54 kills, 23 digs and 12 blocks — making her the most effective two-way player the area saw on both sides of the net last week.
“Lillian has become a true utility player for us this season,” coach Marci Faulk said. “It’s exciting to see her embrace this new role and have so much success doing so!”
Goldthwaite 41, Chilton 0 — 
The Eagles (2-2, 1-0) pounded out 240 yards rushing, including 112 and two TDs from Landry Sanderson to beat Chilton (1-3, 0-1).
Luke Sanderson was another top contributor, with 90 yards rushing and two scores. Aidyn Lee threw for 62 yards and two more scores.
Chilton was limited to 97 yards in total offense.
Roscoe 26, New Home 6 — Ivan “The Terrible” McCann rushed for 154 yards and two scores and took a fumble back 23 yards to lead Roscoe (1-4) to its first win of the year.
New Home fell to 2-3 with the loss.
Wink 51, Coahoma 40 — 
Kemyd Faciane rushed for 292 yards and one TD and Layne Lusby threw three TD passes to lead Wink over Coahoma in a shootout.
Boyd Cox led Coahoma (3-1) with 297 yards passing for four scores.
Wink improved to 4-1 with the win.
Alvarado 71, Glen Rose 50 — 
With starting quarterback Canyon Evans nursing an injury to his non-throwing shoulder, the Tigers lacked the firepower to keep up with unbeaten Alvarado.
Cardea Collier rushed for 318 yards and threw for 268 to lead Alvarado (5-0) which might be fielding the best team it’s had in more than 10 years.
Glen Rose (3-2) was led by Josiah Groeneweg with 296 yards rushing and three scores on 32 carries.
Hamilton 40, San Saba 21
The Bulldogs improved to 5-0 by blowing open a 26-21 game with two unanswered touchdowns in the fourth quarter.
Luke Tharp led the Armadillos (3-2) with 110 yards rushing, 56 yards passing and two scores.
Stamford 55, Henrietta 14 — Christian Duran rushed for 77 yards and three scores and threw for 96 yards and another TD to keep Stamford (5-0) unbeaten at the season’s midpoint.
Other key contributors included Kaston Vega, who rushed for 194 yards and two scores and Cle Whitfield (94 yards rushing, two TDs) as SHS built a 41-7 halftime lead before putting things into cruise control.
Limited to only 197 total yards, Henrietta fell to 2-3.
Comanche 54, Early 20 
— Cayden Davis rushed for 186 yards, threw for 104 and accounted for four touchdowns to lead Comanche to a win over Early.
The Indians rushed for 403 yards through seven different ball carriers, five of whom scored.
Stephenville 38, Waco La Vega 28 — 
The Yellow Jackets gradually built a 38-14 lead by the 11-minute mark of the fourth quarter, capped by a 46-yard TD run by Sawyer Wilkerson.
SHS then had to hold off a late La Vega rally attempt which saw the Pirates add a pair of late touchdowns, including a 1-yard scoring run by Bryson Roland to get La Vega within two scores with four minutes left.
SWEETWATER — Friday’s Big Country Preps Game of the Week could have been called a tale of two halves.
A first half that saw Sweetwater utilize a big second quarter and a huge special teams break to take a 21-12 lead into the locker room at the break. And a second half that saw Wall grab the early momentum and complete a 30-0 tally after the half to win going away, 42-21, spoiling Sweetwater’s homecoming in the Mustang Bowl.
Reid Robertson had nine receptions for 152 yards and one score and Landon York threw for 312 yards to lift Wall (4-1) which overcame a 22-6 deficit with 36 unanswered points (including the last touchdown of the first half).
Sweetwater, which lost standout running back Korda Moore to a first-half injury, dropped to 2-3.
“It was just kids stepping up and doing a super job of competing,” first-year Wall coach Craig Slaughter said. “The score right before the half picked our energy back up and our defense was great. But Korda Moore is a special player and it’s a little different defending them when he’s not there.”
LAST WEEK: 55-8, .873
SEASON TOTAL: 196-67, .745
How about those apples?
After a pathetic start that saw this column stagger out of the gate with a pick percentage in the low 600s after two weeks, it rebounded with two straight solid weeks, including a 55-8 record last week (.873) to bump its season tally up to .745 four weeks into the season.
Thank the maker. I was beginning to feel a little pressure.
We now move on to Week 5, with a Big Country Preps Game of the Week featuring the Wall Hawks (3-1) at Sweetwater (2-2) in SHS’ storied Mustang Bowl.
Let’s dive in shall we?
Here’s this week’s picks:
Hawley’s Keagan Ables is no stranger to the Big Country Preps Player of the Week column — appearing among our top performers multiple times over the last three years.
However, his latest effort to help HHS defeat De Leon 54-21 on Friday, may rank as one of his best.
The Hawley senior connected on 16 of 32 passes for 441 yards and six touchdowns to help Hawley improve to 4-0 on the year.
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Continue reading “PHOTO GALLERY: Brady-Ballinger football (20 images)”
Wall 27, Monahans 20 — Landon H York threw for 138 yards and three scores to lead Wall over visiting Monahans.
The Hawks (3-1) used a balanced attack with 148 yards rushing, including 91 yards from Thomas Leanos to get the win.
San Saba 60, Waco Reicher 0 — Twelve different Armadillos got touches in this lopsided San Saba win.
Luke Tharp topped the list with 126 yards rushing on only six carries.
Alex Estrada was the leading scorer with 78 yards rushing and three TDs.
The ‘Dillos improved to 3-1 with the win.
Albany 62, Merkel 21 — The Lions amassed 321 yards rushing, including 87 yards and five scores from Branson Beal to level their record 2-2.
Merkel (0-4) was led by Bronson Lloyd, who threw for 172 yards and two scores.
Goldthwaite (1-2), Idle — The Eagles enjoyed the night off on Friday but will return to action next Friday when they open district play at home against Chilton.
Bremond (2-1), idle — The Tigers enjoyed the night off on Friday but will return to action next Friday when they open district play at Mart.
Anson 51, Haskell 13 — The Tigers used a dominating defensive effort to hand Haskell a loss.
Limited to only 238 yards in total offense, indians were down 31-7 by the break and never made a game of it.
Corey Layne topped the stat sheets for Anson with 228 yards passing and 160 yards rushing while accounting for five TDs.
Lead art provided by Mark Rogers, HubCityPreps.com
Sweetwater 39, Lubbock Estacado 25 — Korda Moore rushed for 160 yards and three touchdowns and Caiden Ortiz threw for 135 yards to lead Sweetwater, which evened its record to 2-2 with the win.
The Mustangs finished with 388 yards in total offense while dropping Estacado to 1-3.
Waco Robinson 49, Glen Rose 42 — Evan Moreno rushed for 294 yards and five TDs as Robinson handed Glen Rose its first loss of the year.
Canyon Evans led Glen Rose with 269 yards passing and four scores. Keltyn Raymond led the Tigers (3-1) on the ground with 102 yards rushing on only five carries.
Robinson improved to 3-1 with the win.
Waco La Vega 43, Brownwood 0
Bryson Roland rushed for 142 yards and three scores as La Vega took down Brownwood in Gordon Wood Stadium.
The Pirates outgained the Lions 436-139 to improve to 2-2 on the year.
BALLINGER — With Ballinger off to a 3-0 start and hoping to have turned a corner, the Brady Bulldogs came to town on Friday to hand the Bearcats a 20-0 loss.
Johnny Menefield rushed for 71 yards and one score and caught a 14-yard TD pass to lead Brady (3-1), which used a dominating defensive effort to get the win over its area rival.
LAST WEEK: 47-11, .810
SEASON TOTAL: 141-59, .705
After nosediving in Week 2 with one of the worst pick records I’ve ever had, the column rebounded in Week 3 with an .810 percentage to push my overall tally over .700 again.
As for this week’s Big Country Preps Game of the Week, Mr. Yale Youngblood will be on hand in Tolar to cover Comanche’s road game with the Rattlers in what should be a fun one.
I’ll be heading to Ballinger, where the Bearcats (3-0) will play host to Brady (2-1) in a battle of upstarts.
Let’s dive into this week’s picks:
Versatility is a definite advantage for nominees in our Big Country Preps Player of the Week column. And for Anson senior quarterback Corey Layne it was enough to put him in this week’s top spot.
Leading the Tigers (3-0) to a 49-28 over Dublin, Layne connected on 18 of 27 throws for 284 yards and four touchdowns. He also rushed eight times for 65 more yards and two additional scores.
Layne was equally effective from his linebacker spot, collecting 10 tackles and one interception.
San Saba, 20, Goldthwaite 12 — One of the Big Country’s most intense rivalries was settled by a late San Saba touchdown with four minutes to play.
The Armadillos (2-1) will travel to Waco Reicher next Friday; Goldthwaite (1-2) will enjoy an open date before beginning district play at home against Chilton on Sept. 27.
San Saba, 20, Goldthwaite 12 — One of the Big Country’s most intense rivalries was settled by a late San Saba touchdown with four minutes to play.
The Armadillos (2-1) will travel to Waco Reicher next Friday; Goldthwaite (1-2) will enjoy an open date before beginning district play at home against Chilton on Sept. 27.
Miles 46, Johnson City 6 — 
The Bulldogs piled up 504 yards in total offense and seven TDs in an impressive win over Johnson City.
Tevin Meade rushed for 168 yards and three TDs on only 13 carries and Cooper Ellison caught five passes for 198 yards and three scores to lead Miles (3-0), which has only allowed 40 combined points through three games.
Cisco 30, Breckenridge 20 — Julius Proffitt was 11 of 16 for 189 yards and three scores and rushed for 31 yards and another TD to lead Cisco over the Buckaroos (3-0).
Laike Kennedy was another key contributor for the Loboes (2-1), hauling in six catches for 112 yards and three scores.
Wall 25, Jim Ned 24 — Landon York threw for 222 yards and two scores and Thomas Leanos rushed for 58 yards
and another score to lift Wall (2-1) in a tough win over Jim Ned (1-2).
Jim Ned rallied from a 17-0 deficit to take a 24-17 lead in the fourth quarter only to lose to a late two-point
conversion pass from York to Lane Stansberry in the game’s final minute.
Comanche 36, Eastland 14 — Cayden Davis threw for 177 yards and four scores and Ladainian Smith rushed for 140 yards and another TD as Comanche (2-1) handed Eastland its first loss of the season.
The Mavericks (2-1) managed 182 yards rushing and two scores with their newly installed wing-T offense.
Glen Rose 44, Brownwood 16
For a complete report on this game, please read Evan Ren’s game story here.
Glen Rose improved to 3-0 on the year. Brownwood slipped to 1-1.
Stephenville 45, Godley, 0
Ryan Gafford threw for 296 yards and three scores to lead Stephenville to an easy win over Godley.
Stephenville 45, Godley, 0
Ryan Gafford threw for 296 yards and three scores to lead Stephenville to an easy win over Godley.
The Yellow Jackets raced out to a 35-0 halftime lead before putting it into cruise control.
Sawyer Wilkerson led the Yellow Jackets’ (3-0) on the ground with 80 yards rushing and three scores.
Continue reading “DISTRICT 4-4A DIV. I WEEK 3 REPORT: Stephenville dominates Godley to improve 3-0”
BROWNWOOD — Wins are seldom easy for visitors at Gordon Wood Stadium, but the Glen Rose Tigers managed to make it look that way on Friday with a 44-16 win over the Lions in the Big Country Preps Game of the Week.
Canyon Evans hit 27 of 35 passes for 327 yards and three touchdowns and Keltyn Raymond added two important rushing TDS to lead the Tigers (3-0), who used a 27-0 second quarter to ruin Brownwood’s home opener.
“Canyon and our receivers are so well-synced,” Glen Rose coach Cliff Watkins said. “They do such a good job of knowing where the windows are and where they need to get to.
LAST WEEK: 46-28, .621
SEASON TOTAL: 94-48, .661
Abysmal.
That’s about the only adjective that comes to mind when trying to describe my Big Country football picks, which are off to the single worst start through two weeks that I’ve ever experienced in 18 years of covering area football.
A percentage of .621 after two weeks of play is beatable by throwing darts, flipping coins, or even consulting with your local horoscope page. Yet here I sit, trying to dig myself out of the hole I’ve created. But enough of that, Glen Rose at Brownwood is our Big Country Preps Game of the Week, in a week filled with interesting matchups.
Let’s have a look at them:
Sometimes, the biggest stage creates the biggest performances.
And in the Big Country, the stage doesn’t get any bigger than the annual Abilene – Abilene Cooper matchup — one of the biggest rivalries in the state of Texas and arguably the biggest in our area (though you may get an argument from Brownwood-Stephenville).
Friday night with much of the city of Abilene paying attention, AHS quarterback Brayden Henry had a memorable night, hitting 15 of 19 throws for 216 yards passing and two TDs.
Goldthwaite 62, Center Point 6 — The Eagles (1-1) raced out to a 29-point first-quarter lead and were never threatened after that.
Four different running backs — Gary Wiedebusch, Max Storm, Aidyn Lee and Luke Sanderson combined for nearly 500 rushing yards to lift the Eagles.
Mason 47, Brady 19 —Coming off a lopsided loss to Wall in its season opener, Mason used a dominating defensive effort to level its record off at 1-1.
In dropping Brady to 1-1, the Punchers limited Brady to only 177 total yards.
Glen Rose 28, Gatesville 12 — Normally explosive Glen Rose is also playing some serious defense, allowing only 26 points to date and limiting Gatesville to 12 in Friday’s road win.
Lineman Keltyn Raymond led the effort on Friday with 10 tackles, including six solos. Caden Marrs wasn’t far behind, finishing with nine total stops.
Cross Plains 64, Abilene TLCA 8 — Cross Plains rolled up 495 total yards, including 304 yards rushing to push its record to 2-0
Kade Purvis topped the stat sheet with 191 yard passing and three scores to go with 42 yards rushing and two more TDs. Tyler Mackey was the leading rushing with 111 yards and two scores.
Coahoma 48, Roscoe 14 — For the second straight week Roscoe faced a larger school projected to be in the playoffs and for the second straight week, the Plowboys fell short.
Jaidyn Vineyard rushed for 201 yards and four TDs and Boyd Cox threw for 269 yards and two more scores to lead Class 3A DII Coahoma (2-0), which led 41-0 at the end of three quarters.
Hawley 21, Albany 0 — Both clubs had 58 plays with possession times of 24 minutes. But the similarities ended there.
Keagan Ables threw for 314 yards and one TD and Allyn Barker rushed for 39 yards and another score to keep Hawley (2-0) unbeaten.