Author: Brandon McAuliffe

by Brandon McAuliffe

GAME STORY: Early rallies but falls short in high-scoring affair with Holliday

CLYDE — First-year Early head coach Marvin Wilson learned a lot about football in college at Hardin-Simmons University under the legendary Jimmie Keeling and spent this season instilling one of those lessons in his Longhorns squad.

“We are too ignorant to ever think we are out of a game,” he said. “Coach Keeling said it all the time: ‘Go play hard no matter what the circumstances are.’ We’ve tried to play hard and know that we are never out of games.”

The Longhorns came up short at Bulldog Stadium in their Region II-3A Division II bi-district matchup with Holliday, falling 50-36, but the Longhorns battled the entire night and that left Wilson emotional as Early saw its fifth playoff appearance in the past six years end after just one game.

It was a playoff appearance hardly anyone expected when the season began just over three months ago.

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by Brandon McAuliffe

GAME STORY: Stofel’s big night carries Hawley to bi-district win over Forsan

SWEETWATER — Hawley junior running back Brycen Stofel has had a quiet 2025 season for the most part, but when the Hawley football team needed him to step up, he did so in a big way.

Stofel ran for 181 yards and three touchdowns on just 15 carries Thursday as Hawley claimed a 42-14 win over Forsan in a Region I-2A Division I bi-district matchup at the Mustang Bowl.

It was an effort Hawley coach Mitch Ables said he told Stofel that he hoped to see more of.

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by Brandon McAuliffe

BIG COUNTRY PREPS GAME OF THE WEEK: Hawley holds off Stamford in thriller to claim the No. 2 playoff seed

HAWLEY — The final play of Friday night’s showdown between Stamford and Hawley in the Big Country Preps Game of the Week couldn’t have been written into any script — Hollywood or otherwise.

It sure wasn’t in the playbook for either head coach.

Stamford forced a Hawley punt with nine seconds left and nearly pulled off a miracle, when — after numerous laterals on the punt return — C’nai Whitfield was finally pushed out of bounds at the HHS 25 to allow the Bearcats to hold on for a 36-28 win in the District 4-2A Division I finale at Forrest Field.

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by Brandon McAuliffe

BIG COUNTRY PREPS GAME OF THE WEEK: Stephenville shuts out Brownwood for program-record sixth straight win in series

BROWNWOOD — Since the start of the current decade, the Battle for 377 has been extremely one-sided with the Stephenville Yellow Jackets claiming the first five matchups by an average of 31.2 points per game.

In Friday’s Big Country Preps Game of the Week, the No. 2-ranked Yellow Jackets continued their recent dominance over Brownwood with a 49-0 win at Gordon Wood Stadium, clinching the District 4-4A Division I championship in the process.

Stephenville’s previous longest winning streak in the 85-game series history was four games from 1948-1951, which was matched again from 1999-2002. Friday night also marked just the sixth shutout for the Yellow Jackets in the series’ history.

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by Brandon McAuliffe

REALIGNMENT CENTRAL: Snapshot Day numbers coming in for area schools

In order to account for new schools opening and in keeping the different classifications as balanced and competitive as possible, the University Interscholastic League goes through a realignment every other year.

It’s one of the highlights of what’s typically a slow football offseason, but it gets started before the current season has drawn to a close.

A multi-step process, realignment got under way on Friday with Snapshot Day. All UIL schools are required to turn in their enrollments on the day for the governing body to determine cutoff numbers for each classification and start drawing up the new districts.

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by Brandon McAuliffe

GAME STORY: Turnovers doom Santo in 55-34 loss to Lindsay

SANTO — The Santo football team entered Thursday night’s District 8-2A Division II matchup at W.A. Lewis Field with Lindsay knowing that it was already headed to the playoffs, but the Wildcats needed to beat the Knights to secure the No. 3 seed.

A rough six minute stretch between the end of the second quarter and start of the third put SHS in a hole it couldn’t dig out of in a 55-34 loss in the penultimate game of the regular season.

Santo will now close out the regular season with a road game at No. 7 Collinsville — which is tied for the district lead with No. 2 Muenster ahead of their Friday night showdown.

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by Brandon McAuliffe

GAME STORY: Clyde holds off furious Sweetwater rally for crucial win

CLYDE — When the Clyde football team hosts Sweetwater, it’s almost guaranteed the game is going to be in doubt until the final whistle.

The Bulldogs took the 2022 meeting between the two programs 29-28 in overtime before hitting the road in each of the last two years.

Friday night at Bulldog Stadium, the hosts claimed a crucial 27-20 District 3-3A Division I win as they stopped a Caiden Ortiz scramble in the middle of the field on the final play of the game. It was a thrilling end to a game that saw a ho-hum first half played in a driving rain give way to a second half full of momentum swings and stunning turns of events.

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by Brandon McAuliffe

GAME STORY: Sophomore Cox, stout defensive effort lead Graham to shutout win over Mineral Wells

MINERAL WELLS — After moving their District 3-4A Division II game up 24 hours anticipating bad weather on Friday, the Graham and Mineral Wells football teams were less than 10 minutes from kickoff at Ram Stadium on Thursday when Mother Nature showed up anyways.

Following the 32-minute lightning delay, Graham forced a three-and-out and scored in the first 1:57 as the Steers rolled to a 42-0 win, setting up a showdown with Brock on Halloween for the expected district championship.

Graham coach Clay McChristian was proud of how his team dealt with the unexpected shift in schedules this week.

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by Brandon McAuliffe

GAME STORY: Wichita Falls Memorial offense tops 500 yards in big win over Wylie

Wylie entered Friday night’s District 2-5A Division II game against Wichita Falls Memorial at Hugh Sandifer Stadium with the potential to be part of a three-way tie for the district championship in a few weeks as the league has featured shocking results on a weekly basis.

After a 45-14 loss to the Mavericks, the Bulldogs are now headed into their open week trying to find answers while knowing that a trip to the playoffs isn’t nearly the guarantee that it seemed to be Friday morning.

With Amarillo Palo Duro rallying past Lubbock Cooper and Abilene Cooper pulling away from Plainview on Friday, the Bulldogs (4-4 overall, 2-2 district) find themselves in third place in a massive logjam in the postseason race.

Plainview, Wichita Falls Legacy and Memorial are all tied for fourth place at 1-2 in district while the Lubbock Cooper is now 1-3.

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by Brandon McAuliffe

GAME STORY: Fourth-quarter rally leads Clyde past Breckenridge in district opener

CLYDE — Having a drive where a team needs to gain at least 30 yards to convert a first down is usually something that can derail an offense’s momentum in a football game.

If it happens twice in a game? That’s a recipe for disaster.

Despite the odds being against them, the Clyde Bulldogs overcame two possessions where it needed a least 35 yards for a first down with a fourth-quarter rally to beat Breckenridge 22-14 at Bulldog Stadium to open District 6-3A Division I play on Friday night.

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by Brandon McAuliffe

GAME STORY: Abilene Christian falls to Covenant Classical in match for share of district championship

Abilene Christian Schools volleyball coach Arnett McClure was optimistic heading into Thursday’s TAPPS District 1-3A showdown with Fort Worth Covenant Classical that his team could get an upset win and have a shot to tie for the district championship.

His belief stemmed from a five-set loss two weeks ago to the Lady Cavaliers on the road.

Instead, it was Covenant Classical that took a 25-14, 25-14, 25-14 straight-sets win at Panther Gym to wrap up the district title.

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by Brandon McAuliffe

GAME STORY: Batendji brothers play crucial roles as Abilene High rallies past Amarillo High

Through the first half of the 2025 season, the race for the District 2-5A Division I championship has appeared to be a three-team battle between Abilene High, Amarillo High and Amarillo Tascosa — all of which opened district play with wins last week.

Friday night at Shotwell Stadium, the Eagles and Sandies squared off to see which AHS would be in control of its own destiny ahead of its respective showdown against Tascosa.

In the end, it was the Eagles who knocked off the Golden Sandstorm, 24-21, in thrilling matchup between two teams that had both spent time ranked in the Class 5A Division I top 10 at different points this year.

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by Brandon McAuliffe

GAME STORY: Hawley sweeps Albany in hard-fought 6-2A volleyball match

ALBANY — Even after losing in straight sets, Albany volleyball coach MJ Reneau was encouraged by how her team performed against No. 7 Hawley at home on Tuesday night.

Hawley claimed a 25-17, 25-23, 25-19 win in the District 6-2A matchup to move to 2-0 in district play while the Lady Lions fell to 1-1.

After the match, Reneau said the final score didn’t indicate how close the two squads are, especially the opening set, which saw Hawley go on a 12-3 run.

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by Brandon McAuliffe

GAME STORY: Bangs uses first quarter flurry to pound Colorado City

COLORADO CITY — After going 2-8 in his first year as a head coach, Bangs’ Colton Buzzard set the bar high for his second year leading the Dragons.

“Our expectations are to make the playoffs and win that first-round game,” he said. “We wanted to treat this trip like a playoff road trip because in the second round we are going to have to travel like this.”

Friday night, the Dragons ruined Colorado City’s homecoming with a 56-0 win at Wolf Stadium, using two turnovers and a special teams score in a span of 60 seconds to turn a scoreless game into a blowout.

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by Brandon McAuliffe

GAME STORY: Albany opens District 6-2A play with win over Abilene TLCA

Albany coach MJ Reneau said before Tuesday night’s District 6-2A opener that she was hoping to see her team snap out of a funk that had seen them lose nine of 13 matches and 12 of their last 14 sets.

While the Lady Lions struggled, including six service errors in the final set, Albany still began district play with a 25-16, 25-10, 25-19 win over Abilene TLCA at Eagle Gymnasium.

The win pushed Albany to 10-10 overall while the Lady Eagles are now 2-10.

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by Brandon McAuliffe

GAME STORY: Cooper dominates Lubbock Coronado to earn shutout for Homecoming, Senior Night

The Cooper football team entered Friday night’s homecoming against Lubbock Coronado having been involved in a pair of thrilling games the last two weeks — even though they’d come out on the wrong end of the decision against crosstown rival Abilene High and San Angelo Central.

Any frustrations that the Cougars had from those two games were quickly vanquished as Cooper closed out nondistrict play with a 59-0 thumping of Lubbock Coronado at Shotwell Stadium.

It was a total team effort for the Cougars as coach Aaron Roan’s squad used three quarterbacks and had nine players carry the ball, six receivers catch passes, three kickers convert extra points and 18 players record a tackle.

The Coogs also had three players intercept a pass and got two fumble recoveries from Dycin Davis.

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by Brandon McAuliffe

GAME STORY: Special teams, long drives key Quinlan Ford win over Mineral Wells

MINERAL WELLS — The Quinlan Ford football team entered Thursday’s nondistrict contest with Mineral Wells at Ram Stadium having scored 49 points in each of their first three games this year.

After being shut out in the first quarter for the first time all season, the Panthers dominated the second quarter and took a 35-21 win over the Rams.

The second quarter saw Quinlan Ford score a touchdown on a blocked punt and put together a pair of scoring drives of more than 90 yards as the Panthers moved to 4-0 on the year while Mineral Wells fell to 2-2.

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by Brandon McAuliffe

GAME STORY: Wylie hammers Lubbock Coronado for 70-14 homecoming win

Any way you slice it, Friday night’s homecoming game at Hugh Sandifer Stadium could not have gone any better for the Wylie football team.

Coming off a tough three-point road loss to Lubbock Monterey last week, the Bulldogs did whatever they wanted to on offense in a 70-14 throttling of Lubbock Coronado.

The Bulldogs converted eight of 12 third downs, and when they got stopped, they converted on fourth down.

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by Brandon McAuliffe

GAME STORY: Clyde knocks off Jim Ned in thrilling opener to District 6-3A play

CLYDE — When Clyde and Jim Ned meet on the volleyball court, records can always be thrown out the window as the two squads tend to be part of a three-way battle with Wall for the District 6-3A championship.

Tuesday night’s affair at Bulldog Gym between the Lady Indians and Lady Bulldogs was nothing short of spectacular.

When all was said and done, it was the hosts who claimed a thrilling 25-22, 25-20, 23-25, 25-22 win to start district play.

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by Brandon McAuliffe

GAME STORY: Albany Lions take down Hawley as 2A powerhouses clash

ALBANY — If it’s raining in the Big Country during football season, two things are a virtual guarantee: the West Texas Fair & Rodeo is in Abilene and Albany is scheduled to play Hawley.

For the first time in four meetings, the Lions and Bearcats were able to play at their scheduled location as Albany took a 21-7 win on Friday night at Faith Field at Robert Nail Memorial Stadium. The previous three seasons had seen the game played twice at Hardin-Simmons University’s Shelton Stadium and once at Wylie’s Hugh Sandifer Stadium.

The latest matchup was a defensive slugfest that saw the Lions knock off Hawley for the second time in three years despite the fact that the Bearcats have dominated the series since 2018.

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by Brandon McAuliffe

JAYTON GRIDIRON CLASSIC: No. 4 May upsets No. 2 Whiteface for Brown’s first career win

JAYTON — The Jayton Gridiron Classic lived up to the hype this year with nine games over three days — including five on Saturday at Jaybird Stadium — as it culminated with a showdown between two of the top teams in the Class 1A Division I.

No. 2 Whiteface and fourth-ranked May, who could potentially meet in Arlington in December in a state championship game, closed it out with the Tigers posting a dominant 64-46 win over the Antelopes, the defending state runner-up, in Jacob Brown’s debut as a head coach.

Brown, a 2018 graduate of May, was quick to credit the 10 seniors on his roster for making his job easy.

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by Brandon McAuliffe

GAME STORY: Henry leaves his mark as AHS opens season with big win over San Angelo Central

After seeing his junior year end with a torn ACL last October, Abilene High quarterback Brayden Henry returned to the field on Friday night at Shotwell Stadium and led the No. 9-ranked Eagles to a 42-21 win over San Angelo Central in the season opener for both squads.

Henry ran for a pair of touchdowns and added the go-ahead score with a second quarter-punt return for a touchdown as he accounted for 283 total yards in the win.

The senior was excited to be back on the field and having the ability to play a pivotal role in the win.

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by Brandon McAuliffe

2025 ABILENE TLCA FOOTBALL PREVIEW: Ward continuing process of building Eagles program

Steven Ward’s second year leading the Abilene TLCA program has some promise but looks like it will be another year of tough learning experiences and growth from young players.

The Eagles have 20 returning lettermen from a year ago, with nine starters back on both sides of the football.

One thing that TLCA will be looking at this year is how well does the roster react to having a new offensive and defensive coordinator.

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by Brandon McAuliffe

2025 MUNDAY FOOTBALL PREVIEW: Moguls excited about Langston’s third year

It’s often said that Year 3 of a coaching tenure is when a program sees its biggest growth.

The Munday Moguls are hoping that’s the case as they enter their third season under Brandon Langston in search of their first playoff berth since 2017. Langston is fired up about the season ahead as the Moguls will have more depth than they have had at any point in his tenure.

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