De Leon 58, Coleman 0 — Heston Jobe passed for 240 yards and four touchdowns while adding a fifth touchdown on the ground to fuel the Bearcats to a lopsided win over the Bluecats.
Adan Salinas added 67 yards and two TDs rushing, and Bryce Burkeen (4-85, 1 TD) and Jake Cooper (5-69, 2 TDs) had productive days receiving the ball as De Leon (5-2, 2-0) built a 46-0 lead by halftime.
Early 28, Clifton 3 — Caden Wilson passed for 144 yards and two touchdowns, and the Longhorns defense limited the Cubs to just 80 yards of offense to improve to 2-0 in league play with a dominant effort against CHS.
Early (3-4 overall) finished with just 222 total yards, but that was enough to build a 14-3 halftime lead and create separation from there for the lopsided win.
Brock 55, Mineral Wells 7 — Holt Frazier passed for 334 yards and four touchdowns, and Colt Matlock received for 134 yards and two scores to lead the Eagles to a lopsided win over the Rams.
Dash Lindsey (8-85, 2 TDs rushing; 1-17, 1 TD receiving) and Bryer McDonald (8-72, 2 TDs) also had productive days for Brock (7-0, 2-0), which also got 60 yards and a TD receiving from Davis Lee.
Fort Stockton 49, Snyder 15 — Gerry Diaz passed for 284 yards and four touchdowns, hitting jaden Sotelo three times for 150 yards and three scores, to fuel the Panthers to a blowout win over the Tigers.
Diaz also ran for 98 yards and a pair of TDs in the win, which saw Fort Stockton (5-3, 1-1) take a 21-0 lead after a quarter and increase that to 35-0 by halftime.
Big Spring (4-2), idle — Like everyone else in this league, the Steers had the week off to prepare for the start of district play next week.
Big Spring, which has won four of its last five games, will open 3-4A DI play next week with a home game against Andrews.
PLAINVIEW — Jaden Carrillo passed for 203 yards and two touchdowns and ran for 177 yards and three more scores to lead Cooper to a 56-43 win over Plainview on Friday at Greg Sherwood Memorial Stadium.
Peyton Ewing added 134 yards and two touchdowns on the ground, and Zaylon Johnson received for 127 yards and two scores as the Cougars used a 28-point fourth quarter to break open a game that was tied after each of the first three periods.
The wild victory improved Cooper to 5-3 overall and 3-1 in District 2-5A Division II play, keeping coach Aaron Roan’s squad within a half-game of league leader Amarillo Palo Duro (6-1, 3-0) with two games to play.
Facing off with an overmatched opponent in front of a homecoming crowd, the Abilene High Eagles were about as dominant as a team could be Friday, scoring 59 points in the opening half of a 73-0 win over Lubbock High at Shotwell Stadium.
AHS followed a 28-point first quarter with 31 more points in the second, while holding the Westerners to minus-25 first-half yards defensively on 29 plays — three of which ended in turnovers.
With a running clock in the second half, coach Mike Fullen’s squad finished off the shutout after halftime, turning a fourth takeaway into its third non-offensive touchdown to improve to 6-2 on the year and 4-0 in District 2-5A Division I play.
When Jaden Carrillo was tabbed to be Cooper’s starting quarterback in the preseason, beating out fellow seniors Johnathon Rico and Jared Clancy for the role, it was likely eyebrow-raising news for some.
That’s because for most of his time as a Cougar, the speedy playmaker was catching passes, not throwing them.
Carrillo cut his teeth as a varsity football player at the slot receiver position, amassing 71 receptions for 657 yards and five touchdowns across his sophomore and junior seasons. But the senior three-sport standout has always thought of himself as a quarterback — and given the chance to man the position in his final high school season, he’s showing others exactly why.
We’ve reached Week 8, and playoff races are starting to take shape in our area six-man districts.
While most of our best matchups are still to come, this week’s slate, which is headlined by a marquee District 7-1A Division I clash between No. 8 Westbrook and fellow toughie Ira, has its share of intriguing games.
Without further adieu, let’s go ahead and jump into this week’s “Lookahead.” We hope you enjoy this preview of the week’s action and encourage you to check out our Six-Man/Class 1A Central page for more information on your favorite team(s).
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 evening.
Disagree with our picks or the fan poll consensus? Let us know in the comments section below.
Coming into the second crosstown volleyball match between Abilene High and Cooper, the youthful Lady Cougars had yet to win a set in five District 4-5A matches. So when coach Kandice Williams’ squad had its rival down 9-2 in the fifth set Tuesday, there were a lot of surprised — and nervous — fans in Cougar Gym.
But after struggling to wrestle momentum from the feisty Lady Coogs for most of the match, thanks in no small part to a large and rowdy crowd, the Lady Eagles recovered just in time to avoid an upset loss, rallying for a 25-13, 24-26, 22-25, 25-17, 15-13 win to level their district record at 3-3.
The match was a far cry from the first meeting between the teams, which saw AHS breeze to a 25-8, 25-10, 25-12 victory at home. And after it, Lady Eagles coach Emily Gravitt was just happy to see her team escape with the hard-earned win.
With Week 7 came the opening of district play for most six-man teams in the Big Country Preps coverage area. And we already have some separation being created in a number of area leagues.
Included in those is District 13-1A Division II, which saw Blanket down Gustine 57-12 in our our “Big Country Lookahead” Game of the Week.
But that was one of many interesting results we’ll be discussing in this week’s “Big Country Rewind” column. We hope you enjoy this look back at Week 7 and encourage you to check out our Six-Man/Class 1A Central page for more information on your favorite team(s).
Each week here at Big Country Preps, we offer fans the chance to pick the winners of all games involving our local and area football teams. The results of these weekly polls, which will close at 5 p.m. each Thursday, will be included in our weekly Pick ‘Em Panel.
Here are the games for Week 8:
Photos by Susanna Jackson, HubCityPreps.com
Abilene High 35, Lubbock Coronado 6 — The Eagles ran for 258 yards, getting 178 of those and two touchdowns from Ethan Joyner, to cruise to a workmanlike win over the Mustangs.
Symanni Strahan also had a big game for Abilene High (5-2, 3-0), rushing for 36 yards and two touchdowns while adding a third TD receiving, as the Eagles bu8ilt a 21-6 lead by halftime.
Abilene Cooper 66, Lubbock Cooper 16 — Jaden Carrillo passed for 273 yards and a school record-tying six touchdowns while adding 80 yards and another score rushing to lead the Cougars to a blowout win over the Pirates.
Zaylon Johnson was Carrillo’s favorite target in the passing game, hauling in seven passes for 140 yards and four touchdowns, while Jace Johnson and Donovan Wilkerson also had TD catches for the Coogs (4-3, 2-1).
Haskell 44, Munday 20 — The Indians picked up their second consecutive win in district play, cruising past the Moguls for a comfortable victory.
With the score tied at 6-all early, Haskell closed the first half with 24 unanswered points to take a 30-6 lead into halftime. Munday rallied to close the gap to 38-20 in the fourth quarter, but that as close as the score would get.
Santo 27, Era 14 — Jackson McKinnerney ran for 108 yards and two touchdowns, and the SHS defense limited Era to 144 yards of total offense to fuel the Wildcats to a two-score win over the Hornets.
Justin Hollingsworth also had a rushing score and Rylan Griffith had 79 yards rushing and passing TD for Santo (5-1, 1-0), which took advantage of a 3-1 edge in the turnover margin.
Christoval 15, Colorado City 6 — The Cougars only generated 174 yards of total offense, but that was enough thanks to a dominant defensive effort against the Wolves.
Trailing 6-0 after a quarter, Christoval (3-3, 1-0) got a touchdown pass from Ty Debusk in the second quarter to take a 7-6 lead into halftime, before getting another TD throw from the quarterback in the third quarter to put the game away.
Big Spring 49, Kermit 14 — The Steers bounced back from last week’s loss to Fort Stockton with a blowout win over the Yellow Jackets, dominating from start to finish to improve to 4-2 on the year.
Big Spring built a 35-0 lead by halftime and extended that advantage in the third quarter, before Kermit scored a pair of touchdowns late.
Bangs 48, Ballinger 0 — Cason Tidwell ran for 185 yards and four touchdowns, and the BHS defense pitched a shutout to fuel the Dragons to a statement win over the Bearcats.
Bangs, which ran for 309 yards as a team, built a 28-0 lead by halftime in improving to 4-2 overall and 1-0 in district with its fourth consecutive victory.
Early 43, Tolar 14 — Cameron Love ran for 106 yards and a touchdown, while Caden Wilson and Isaac Ibarra each added two rushing scores to help the Longhorns snap a four-game losing streak with a lopsided win over the Rattlers.
Early (2-4, 1-0) ran for 314 yards as a team, getting 70 yards from Stone Ratliff and 69 yards each from Wilson and Ibarra in the victory. Wilson also passed for 67 yards, hitting Andrew for a TD as the Longhorns built a 28-14 halftime lead.
Brock 41, Saginaw Eagle Mountain 13 — Holt Frazier threw for 257 yards and three touchdowns, and Bryer McDonald ran for 90 yards and two scores to lead the Eagles to a comfortable win over the Knights.
Charles Hibbler (2-96 receiving), Davis Lee (3-50) and Casen Christenson (4-38) all had receiving TDs for Brock (6-0, 1-0), which shut Eagle Mountain out in the second half after going to halftime up 28-13.
Monahans 37, Snyder 33 — Trailing 27-23 at halftime, the Loboes outscored the Tigers 14-6 in the fourth quarter to rally for a thrilling win.
Majestic Williams accounted for four total touchdowns to lead Monahans (1-6, 1-0), including a 23-yard scoring run to put the Loboes ahead in the game’s final minute. That was the third TD run for the senior running back, who also caught a touchdown pass.
Photos by Carter Pirtle, PressPassSports.com
AMARILLO — Facing off with Amarillo Palo Duro with sole possession of the District 2-5A Division II lead on the line, the Wylie football team spent most of Friday’s game trying to dig out of an often two-score hole.
After finding themselves down 14-0, 21-7, 28-14 and 35-21 and trimming the deficit to a touchdown each time, the Bulldogs finally leveled the score at 35 with just under two minutes remaining in the game. But Raymond Johnson IV’s third touchdown run of the night, which came with 53 seconds to play, proved too much to overcome in a 42-35 Dons victory at Dick Bivins Stadium.
The outcome dropped Wylie (4-3 overall) to 2-1 in district play — a half-game behind Palo Duro (5-1, 2-0), the only remaining undefeated team in District 2-5A DII.
After rushing for more than 300 yards in each of their first two district games — and three of their first six games overall — the Cooper Cougars seemed to be settling nicely into an identity as a power run team.
But anyone who thought the ground game was the only trick in the Coogs’ book learned differently in Friday’s 66-16 home win over Lubbock Cooper.
Sure, CHS got its yards on the ground — 249, to be exact — but it was a record passing performance by senior quarterback Jaden Carrillo that had Shotwell Stadium abuzz as coach Aaron Roan’s squad cruised to a surprising 50-point win over the Pirates.
Photos by Susanna Jackson, HubCityPreps.com
LUBBOCK — Ethan Joyner ran for 178 yards and two touchdowns, and Symanni Strahan ran for a pair of scores and received for another to help Abilene High run away from Lubbock Coronado for a 35-6 win Thursday at Lowrey Field.
Led by those two, the Eagles rushed for 258 yards as a team, while limiting the Mustangs to 184 yards of total offense to improve to 5-2 on the year and 3-0 in District 2-5A Division I play.
AHS also won the turnover battle 3-1 in shutting Coronado out for the game’s final 33 minutes.
Over the past 20 years, the Wylie football program has been blessed at the outside receiver position, fielding a parade of talented wideouts with the size and speed to cause matchup problems for opponents.
After graduating Gage Heighten — and his 747 yards and 10 touchdowns — from last year, the Bulldogs were going to need a new weapon to emerge on the outside this season if they hoped to continue that tradition.
Enter junior Blaze Ruffin, who has lived up to both his first name and his last in his first year as a starter for WHS.
Blaze, the son of Wylie boys basketball coach Gregg Ruffin, from whom he inherited his height at 6-foot-3, also brings with him the speed one might expect from someone so named. The combination of those attributes, along with a tireless work ethic, have made the junior one of the area’s most explosive pass-catchers in 2025 — a most welcome development for coach Clay Martin and his offensive staff.
Week 7 is upon us, and that means most of our area six-man teams are kicking off district play this week.
While most Big Country district openers are expected to have lopsided results, there are a handful of intriguing matchups, headlined by our Game of the Week between District 13-1A Division II playoff hopefuls Gustine and Blanket.
Let’s go ahead and dive into that one and the area’s other top Friday matchups in this week’s Six-Man Lookahead column. And make sure you check out our Six-Man/Class 1A Central page for more information on your favorite team(s).
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 evening.
Disagree with our picks or the fan poll consensus? Let us know in the comments section below.
A year ago, it took the Wylie and Wichita Falls Memorial volleyball teams three matches to decide which of those two would ultimately hoist the District 4-5A crown.
On Tuesday, the Lady Bulldogs and Lady Mavericks resumed one of the region’s best budding rivalries, writing a new chapter that was every bit as riveting as the three that preceded it.
In repeating a little history from the first meeting last year, Wylie rallied from an 0-2 hole to knock off Memorial in five sets, claiming a thrilling 22-25, 26-28, 25-20, 25-23, 15-13 victory at Bulldog Gym to grab a leg up in this year’s district title race with the first round of league action in the books.
It was rollercoaster of a match that kept those in attendance on the edge of their seats from the first serve to the final point and left WHS coach Shay Cox needing to catch her breath and collect her thoughts after its — thankfully, triumphant — conclusion.
While Week 6 was heavy on high-profile matchups, it didn’t deliver many competitive games.
All but a handful of area games were decided by 30 points or more, including all of the matchups featured in last week’s “Six-Man Lookahead” column.
It’s time now to take a look back at how those games played out, and which players throughout the Big Country Preps coverage area shined brightest in Week 6. We hope you enjoy this rewind and encourage you to check out our Six-Man/Class 1A Central page for updated standings, scores and upcoming matchups.
Each week here at Big Country Preps, we offer fans the chance to pick the winners of all games involving our local and area football teams. The results of these weekly polls, which will close at 5 p.m. each Thursday, will be included in our weekly Pick ‘Em Panel.
Here are the games for Week 7:
Continue reading “WEEK 7 FAN POLLS … Pick this week’s 11-man winners!”
Abilene High 24, Amarillo High 21 — Ethan Joyner ran 112 yards, while Brayden Henry ran for 111 yards and passed for 34 yards and three touchdowns to help the Eagles rally from a 21-0 second-quarter deficit to secure a thrilling win over the Sandies.
Down 21-7 at halftime, Abilene High (4-2, 2-0) tied the game with a pair of third-quarter touchdown passes from Henry. Elisha Batendji then hit a 40-yard field goal with 5:10 remaining in the fourth quarter for what proved to be the winning points.
Wylie 29, Abilene Cooper 22 — After allowing 22 points and 232 yards rushing in the first half, the Bulldogs shut the Cougars out in the second to score a hard-fought win over their crosstown rivals in our Big Country Preps Game of the Week.
Jadin Karleskint passed for 246 yards and three touchdowns and ran for a team-high 76 yards to lead Wylie (4-2, 2-0), which also got productive efforts from Blaze Ruffin (3-119, 1 TD receiving) and Julius Laine (17-71, 1 TD rushing; 2-36, 1TD receiving).
All of District 8-2A Division II was idle on Friday, with district play opening next week.
Here’s a quick look at the approaching matchups:
