Brownwood (2-3) — The Lions were idle Friday night.
They will see action again on Oct. 9 when they play host to Waco La Vega.
Author: Evan Ren
Stephenville (5-0) — The top-ranked Yellow Jackets were idle Friday night. 
BIG COUNTRY PREPS GAME OF THE WEEK: Seymour uses big second half to top Munday
SEYMOUR — The Munday Moguls may have arrived at Fair Park Stadium with a 5-0 record, but they left with the understanding that there are only so many mistakes that they can make before someone puts a blemish on their résumé.
That occurred in Friday’s Big Country Preps Game of the Week, during which Seymour pounded out 342 yards rushing and took advantage of two key Munday turnovers, two bad snaps and several miss-timed penalties to hand the Moguls a 49-26 loss.
Jaxton Carrington rushed for 66 yards and three scores and Demarcus Smith and James Betts combined for 205 yards rushing to lead Seymour (4-2, 2-0 District 6-2A DII) which blew open a 21-20 game with 28 straight points in the second half.
Munday (5-1, 1-1) was led by Carson Willison with 121 yards rushing and 136 passing.
BIG COUNTRY PREPS GAME OF THE WEEK: Unbeaten Munday travels to Seymour
LAST WEEK: 54-13, .805
SEASON TOTAL: 267-82, .765
With the bulk of our area teams enjoying a mid-season open date prior to the opening of district play, our selection of games has been cut drastically this week.
Nonetheless, we have several games worth keeping an eye on, beginning with our Game of the Week: Munday at Seymour.
We haven’t seen the Moguls in a Game of the Week in several years and for Seymour, a BCP newcomer, this is the first time we’ve had the Panthers in our spotlight game as part of our coverage area.
Both clubs are explosive, so personally, I’m expecting a shootout.
Should be fun. We’ll see you on the road (weather permitting, of course).
AREA VOLLEYBALL STATISTICAL LEADERS (Through Sept. 30)
Big Country Preps is publishing area volleyball statistical leaders each Wednesday at 7 p.m. throughout the regular season.
This database will be continually updated for our subscribers throughout the remainder of the season, using only those statistics submitted by area coaches. If your team is missing, please give your coach a friendly reminder to check their email and submit their stats each week by 2 p.m. on Wednesdays.
BIG COUNTRY PREPS PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Graham QB Corley takes this week’s top honor
A week ago, Graham senior quarterback Cooper Corley narrowly missed taking our Big Country Preps Player of the Week award.
This time around, there was no stopping him.
Corley, who led the Steers to a 48-21 win over Peaster, hit 16 of 27 throws for 307 yards and two TDs.
He also rushed 12 times for 132 yards and four more scores and caught a 29-yard TD pass for seven touchdowns on the night.
“Very rarely do you see a kid total 7 TDs in a night and score in three different ways,” Graham coach Clay McChristian said. “He scored at least one touchdown passing, rushing, and receiving.
“That is right at 1000 total yards and 13 TDs in the last two weeks against two quality opponents.”
DISTRICT 3-2A DII WEEK 5 REPORT: Roscoe, Crosbyton both score wins
Roscoe 72, Olney 22 — Kash Hope had 103 yards receiving for two TDs, two interceptions with one pick six, and two kickoff returns for 68 yards (one for a TD) as Roscoe picked up its first win of the season.
The Plowboys (1-4) scored 25 more points in this game than in their previous four games combined (47).
They will now enjoy and open date before opening district play with Ralls on Oct. 9.
DISTRICT 13-4A DII WEEK 5 REPORT: Brownwood, La Vega, Robinson all impressive
Brownwood 42, China Spring, 21 — The up-and-down odyssey of the Brownwood Lions continued on Friday with BHS handing China Spring a convincing loss.
The Lions, who nearly upset top-ranked Stephenville in Week 2, only to fall to Springtown (54-6) and Graham (64-9), seemed to recover its early season form against China Spring.
DISTRICT 4-3A DII WEEK 5 REPORT: Merkel, Henrietta, Bowie chalk up wins
Merkel 54, San Angelo TLCA 0 — Easton Malone was 9 of 10 for 139 yards and four TDs and CJ Guadarrama rushed for 52 yards and two more scores as Merkel routed San Angelo TLCA.
Merkel will have an open date on Friday, after which they will open district play with a road date against Jacksboro on Oct. 9.
DISTRICT 12-4A DI WEEK 5 REPORT: Stephenville, Jarrell chart wins in Week 5
Stephenville 35, Canyon West Plains 17 — The top-ranked Yellow Jackets forced three fumbles (recovering two) and picked off a pass to hand West Plains a loss.
Stephenville (5-0) will now enjoy a week off before opening district play with Lampasas on Oct. 9 at home.
DISTRICT 5-4A DII WEEK 5 REPORT: Kemp, Hillsboro both win; Venus comes close to ending losing streak
Waco Robinson 56, Glen Rose 35 — Trailing 28-21 at the break, Robinson exploded with a 35-7 third quarter to take control of the game.
Judd Connally threw for 246 yards and three scores to lead Glen Rose. But five costly interceptions eventually hurt the Tigers.
DISTRICT 2-3A DI WEEK 5 REPORT: Clyde, Sweetwater, Odessa Compass are this week’s winners
Clyde 56, Fort Stockton 21 — Devan Wright threw for 301 yards and four scores and rushed for 88 yards and another TD to lead Clyde to an easy win over Fort Stockton (0-5).
Jonathan White added 151 yards rushing and two more TDs for Clyde, which is off to a 5-0 start.
DISTRICT 6-2A DII WEEK 5 REPORT: Seymour, Windthorst, Munday post wins in week 5
Seymour 56, Electra 6 — Keaton Anderson threw for 141 yards and two scores and Demarcus Smith rushed for 108 yards and another TD as Seymour improved to 3-2 with its second straight win.
The Panthers (3-2, 1-0) will play host to Munday (5-0, 1-0) in an important district matchup on Friday.
DISTRICT 7-2A DII WEEK 5 REPORT: Goldthwaite improves to 5-0 with win
Goldthwaite 69, Winters 0 — The Eagles remained unbeaten by holding Winters to minus-14 yards in total offense.
Owen Campbell rushed for 57 yards and two scores and Hayes Greenway threw for 47 yards, rushed for 26 and accounted for two TDs to lead Goldthwaite (5-0, 1-0).
DISTRICT 5-2A DI WEEK 5 REPORT: Anson, Cisco, TLCA, De Leon, Hico all chart victories
Anson 43, Breckenridge 19 — Grayson Feagan threw for 245 yards and four scores and rushed for 118 yards and another TD to lead Anson (3-2) to a win over Breckenridge.
Levii Diaz was another big contributor, rushing for 110 yards and one score on nine carries.
BIG COUNTRY PREPS GAME OF THE WEEK: Wall forces multiple Greenwood mistakes in 31-13 win
WALL — Although the yardage totals were fairly close in Friday’s Big Country Preps Game of the Week, the key play was rather lopsided in Wall’s favor in a win over Midland Greenwood.
The Hawks dominated in that area, forcing several key Greenwood mistakes, scoring on special teams and even producing a dramatic fourth-quarter strip to save a touchdown in a 31-13 victory at Hawk Stadium.
Gunner King threw for 206 yards and rushed for 105 more while accounting for three scores to lead Wall (5-0), which overcame an early 7-0 deficit to win its 21st straight game.
Andrick Rodriguez led Greenwood (3-2) with 215 yards passing and one TD to go with 90 yards rushing.
“Those guys can play,” Wall coach Craig Slaughter said of Greenwood. “They’re a very good football team and we didn’t play as well as (we can).”
Each time the chips were down, however, Wall managed to find an answer, with big plays playing a key role in it.
BIG COUNTRY PREPS GAME OF THE WEEK: Wall plays host to Midland Greenwood (w/ Evan Ren’s Big Country Picks)
LAST WEEK: 48-21, .695
SEASON TOTAL: 213-69, .755
After suffering through one my worst mid-season pick weeks in recent memory (by midseason I’m usually zeroed in), about all I could do was raise my eyebrows, shake my haed and get back to work.
So here goes nothing:
Our Big Country Preps Game of the Week heads south this Friday to Wall, where the Class 3A Hawks will put their 20-game winning streak on the line against a Class 4A toughie from Midland Greenwood.
Greenwood enters this game at 3-1 after topping Wichita Falls Legacy in a shootout last week, 43-42. The Rangers have averaged 33 points per game against a difficult schedule and are accustomed to big games, so they won’t enter this intimidated.
AREA VOLLEYBALL STATISTICAL LEADERS (Through Sept. 23)
Big Country Preps is publishing area volleyball statistical leaders each Wednesday at 7 p.m. throughout the regular season.
This database will be continually updated for our subscribers throughout the remainder of the season, using only those statistics submitted by area coaches. If your team is missing, please give your coach a friendly reminder to check their email and submit their stats each week by 2 p.m. on Wednesdays.
BIG COUNTRY PREPS PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Goldthwaite safety takes the top spot
Who says defensive players can’t win Big Country Preps Player of the Week?
Goldthwaite’s Owen Campbell silenced that opinion with an extraordinary effort against previously unbeaten De Leon last week after charting an eyebrow-raising 22 tackles in a 24-13 win.
DISTRICT 3-2A DII WEEK 4 REPORT: Roscoe, Pathway both fall
Santo 48, Roscoe 0 — Santo raced out to a 41-0 halftime lead before putting things into cruise control.
The Wildcats improved to 3-1 after outgaining Roscoe 451-128. Dillan Branham led Santo with 122 yards and two scores on only four carries.
The Plowboys fell to 0-4.
DISTRICT 13-4A DII WEEK 4 REPORT: La Vega continues to dominate, Brownwood suddenly struggling
Graham 64, Brownwood 9 — Brownwood’s inexplicable slide continues with its second straight lopsided loss after nearly upsetting top-ranked Stephenville two weeks ago.
Graham rolled up 643 yards in total offense, including 330 through the air to improve to 4-0.
Clyde 42, Breckenridge 18 — Devan Right threw for 197 yards and four scores and Harley Griffen rushed for 193 yards and another TD to keep Clyde unbeaten at 4-0.
DISTRICT 5-2A DI WEEK 4 REPORT: Anson, Hico earn wins; Cisco, Hawley fall
Anson 48, Haskell 44 — Haskell (2-2) was involved in its fourth straight shootout, this time falling a bit short.
To date, the Indians have yet to score fewer than 44 points in a game and have yet to allow fewer than 42.
Anson leveled off at 2-2 with the win.
Merkel 47, Odessa Compass Academy 30 — Easton Malone threw for 190 yards and three scores and rushed 20 times for 139 yards and two more TDs as Merkel improved to 2-2.
DISTRICT 5-4A DII WEEK 4 REPORT: Glen Rose, Kemp come out on the winning side
Glen Rose 42, China Spring 39 — Judd Connally rushed for 235 yards and three TDs and threw for 216 yards and another score as Glen Rose (3-1) outlasted China Spring (1-3).
The Cougars have now dropped three straight games, despite scoring 99 points in that span.
DISTRICT 6-2A DII WEEK 4 REPORT: Seymour, Munday, Windthorst chart wins
Seymour 52, Shamrock 8 — The Panthers leveled off at 2-2 with a lopsided win at Shamrock.
Keaton Anderson threw for 181 yards and three scores and Demarcus Smith rushed for 75 yards and another TD to lead Seymour.
DISTRICT 12-4A DI WEEK 4 REPORT: Jarrell, Stephenville, Marble Falls chart wins
Jarrell 49, Austin Eastside Memorial 6 — JHS had an easy time with Eastside, blowing the game open with a 35-6 first half before coasting the rest of the way.
The Cougars (4-0) remain unbeaten, but their opposition thus far is a combined 1-14.
Eastside fell to 0-4.
DISTRICT 7-2A DII WEEK 4 REPORT: Stamford, Miles, Albany, Winters all score wins
Stamford 27, Cisco 7 — The Bulldogs stunned Cisco with a 21-0 second quarter and then held on to get the win on the road.
Christopher McCan rushed for 110 yards, including a 90-yard TD run in the third quarter, and miles Follis threw for 216 yards and two scores to lead the Bulldogs (2-2).
Cisco (2-2) was led by Colby McElroy, who rushed for 145 yards and threw for 117
BIG COUNTRY PREPS GAME OF THE WEEK: Early outbattles Hawley in spotlight game
HAWLEY —There was nothing cute about Early’s 21-14 win over Hawley in Friday’s Big Country Preps Game of the Week at Forrest Field. It was largely a two-man game in the EHS backfield with one zone read play after another between quarterback Caden Wilson and running back Isaac Ibarra.
This, backed by a sturdy Longhorn defense which limited Hawley to only two scores, lifted Early to a 4-0 record on the year in a physical game spent largely in the trenches.
Ibarra rushed for 103 yards and two scores, Wilson rushed for 55 and threw for 80 and the EHS defense forced two key turnovers to keep the ‘Horns unbeaten.
Hawley (2-2) was led by Jagger Wiley with 150 yards passing and one TD and Brycen Stofel, with 103 yards rushing and one score.
BIG COUNTRY PREPS GAME OF THE WEEK: Unbeaten Early travels to Hawley (w/ Evan Ren’s Big Country Picks)
LAST WEEK: 55-14, .794
SEASON TOTAL: 165-48, .774
The Early Longhorn have quietly stayed under the radar while posting a 3-0 record thus far, notching wins over Merkel, Breckenridge and Ballinger — the last two of which were quite convincing with scores of 47-18 and 34-0.
The secret is out, the Longhorns are good.
But in this week’s Big Country Preps Game of the Week, not only will Early face its most challenging test thus far at Hawley, but it will likely go into the matchup as a slight underdog.
At this stage, Hawley has faced a tougher overall schedule, but the Bearcats are at home and they’re more accustomed to big matchups.
AREA VOLLEYBALL STATISICAL LEADERS (through Sept. 16)
Big Country Preps is publishing area volleyball statistical leaders each Wednesday at 7 p.m. throughout the regular season.
This database will be continually updated for our subscribers throughout the remainder of the season, using only those statistics submitted by area coaches. If your team is missing, please give your coach a friendly reminder to check their email and submit their stats each week by 2 p.m. on Wednesdays.
BIG COUNTRY PREPS PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Clyde’s Wright takes this week’s award
It’s still too early to say, but 2026 could be the year of the quarterback in the Big Country. At least it has been that way through three weeks, with Clyde senior Devan Wright taking our latest Big Country Player of the Week award after another eye-popping performance from an area signal caller.
In the wake of Haskell’s Haegan Pinkerton winning our first two awards with two huge performances in Week 1 and Week 2, Wright followed those up with one of his own in a 57-21 win over Comanche on Friday.
Helping Clyde improve to 3-0, Wright connected on 12 of 18 throws for 194 yards and four scores. He also rushed nine times for 116 yards and three more TDs, giving him a direct hand in seven touchdowns.
DISTRICT 6-2A DII WEEK 3 REPORT: Munday, Haskell win again; Windthorst suffers first loss
Munday 28, Roscoe 6 — The Moguls are officially off to one of their best starts in years at 3-0 and will face area rival Hamlin (2-1) next Friday in one of the area’s better matchups.
Roscoe has slipped to 0-3.
DISTRICT 3-2A DII WEEK 3 REPORT: Roscoe falls to Munday; Tahoka and Lockney score wins
Munday 28, Roscoe 6 — The Moguls are officially off to one of their best starts in years at 3-0 and will face area rival Hamlin (2-1) next Friday in one of the area’s better matchups.
Roscoe has slipped to 0-3.
The Plowboys will attempt to break into the win column next Friday at Santo (2-1).
DISTRICT 12-4A DI WEEK 3 REPORT: Stephenville, Jarrell, Lampasas all score wins
Stephenville 48, Lubbock Cooper 7 — Trot Jordan threw for 248 yards and three scores and Zyler McClendon rushed for 65 yards and two more scores to keep Stephenville (3-0) unbeaten.
Lubbock-Cooper dropped to 0-3.
DISTRICT 5-4A DII WEEK 3 REPORT: Glen Rose rebounds; Kemp earns first win
Glen Rose 19, Godley 7 — Judd Connally threw for 200 yards and two scores to lead Glen Rose past Godley (0-3).
Coming off a tough loss to Gatesville, the Tigers (2-1) recaptured their momentum by holding Godley to 237 yards in total offense.
DISTRICT 13-4A DII WEEK 3 REPORT: Brownwood falls as Springtown pulls a stunner
Springtown 54, Brownwood 6 — Brownwood was outgained 519-149 in a rough night for the Lions.
Kaine Hill rushed for 122 yards and two scores and threw for 217 and another TD as Springtown (1-2) earned its first win of the year.
Brownwood dropped to 1-2.
DISTRICT 4-3A DII WEEK 3 REPORT: Merkel, Jacksboro, Henrietta land in the win column
Merkel 53, Colorado City 27 — The Badgers (1-2) collected their first win of the season behind Easton “Moose” Malone’s 218 yards passing and two scores.
Malone also rushed for 80 yards and three scores; Kayden Diaz added 68 yards rushing and two more TDs.
Hico 56, Moody 7 — Tyler Rainwater threw for 212 yards and two scores and rushed for 221 yards and two more TDs as Hico had an easy time with Moody. 
Sweetwater 42, Big Spring 21 — The Mustangs (1-2) notched their first win of the season after racing out to a 28-7 lead.
DISTRICT 7-2A DII WEEK 3 REPORT: Goldthwaite, Hamlin both notch wins
Goldthwaite 35, San Saba 17 — The Armadillos came to play against their heavily favored archrivals and held a 10-7 lead after one quarter.
But after Goldthwaite took command with a pair of second-quarter touchdowns, the Eagles maintained the upper hand for the rest of the evening.
Goldthwaite improved to 3-0; San Saba fell to 1-2.
BIG COUNTRY PREPS GAME OF THE WEEK: Haskell rallies from two-score deficit in fourth quarter to edge Santo in Big Country classic
SANTO — Imagine an early September non-district game that was so intense, so emotional, that there were tears shed by multiple players in its aftermath.
As multiple Santo players wept following a 44-42 loss to Haskell in the Big Country Preps Game of the Week, a group of jubilant Indians were dumping a cooler of ice water on the head of Haskell coach Creighton Henderson — almost as if their victory had come in Arlington instead of at W.A. Lewis Field.
But following a game that had produced six lead changes to go with a third-quarter tie, the emotional scene seemed to fit the circumstances, though nothing was really gained or lost prior to the onset of district play.
Haskell’s Haegen Pinkerton, who has already won the Big Country Preps Player of the Week award twice this season, again put in a huge performance with 217 yards rushing, 157 yards passing and a direct hand in five touchdowns to lead Haskell (2-1) which entered Friday’s game with a slight chip on its shoulder.
BIG COUNTRY PREPS GAME OF THE WEEK: Unbeaten Santo to face one of the area’s top weapons (w/ Evan Ren’s Big Country picks)
LAST WEEK: 55-15, .785
SEASON TOTAL: 110-34, .763
Out Big Country Preps Game of the Week pairs what might be the area’s most improved team (Santo, 2-0) against one its top offensive weapons in Haskell QB Haegen Pinkerton, who with 544 yards rushing and 434 yards passing, has already won our Big Country Preps Player of the Week award twice this season.
The Indians are a modest 1-1 on the year, but have already put up 124 points with Pinkerton accounting for 978 yards in total offense. Nonetheless, Santo has allowed just 13 total points in wins over Chilton and Dublin, and if they get their flexbone offense rolling, can effectively keep Pinkerton and company off of the field.
That, will be the key element in keeping the Indians at bay, but Pinkerton will get his share of big plays.
Regardless, the Wildcats will get the higher number of defensive stops and improve to 3-0.
PICK: Santo by 10