Author: Brandon McAuliffe

by Brandon McAuliffe

2025 SIX-MAN DIVISION I PREVIEW: Gordon set up for a rare three-peat

In 2024, coach Mike Reed’s Gordon Longhorns squad played just 320 minutes and 15 seconds of football in 15 games — with just the state semifinal matchup against Abbott and the title game against Whiteface extending past halftime.

The Longhorns are guaranteed to play more football this year as Reed added 11-man schools Thorndale (Sept. 19) and Brackettville (Oct. 24) to his schedule so that his squad, which already features a pair of Division I Football Bowl Subdivision commits, could be exposed to playing the second half of games.

Gordon enters the year as the top-ranked team in Division I and a favorite to join a short list of teams that have earned a three-peat in state history.

Here’s a preview of each of the Class 1A Division I districts in the Big Country Preps coverage area with our predictions for 2025.

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by Brandon McAuliffe

2025 SIX-MAN DIVISION II, TAPPS PREVIEW: Jayton looks to repeat while ACS is a title contender

Like Gordon in Division I, Jayton opens the 2025 season as the state’s top-ranked team and favorite to repeat for the title in December.

Coach Josh Stanaland and his staff, which led the Jaybirds to their first football state championship in 39 years last fall, have built an athletic program that expects to win, regardless of the sport, and has made state trips a habit in recent years.

In TAPPS, Abilene Christian’s biggest competition for a state championship could come within its own district, and that has Kirk Wade fired up about the Panthers’ potential.

Here’s a preview of each of the Class 1A Division II districts in the Big Country Preps coverage area, as well as TAPPS Division II District 1, with our predictions for 2025.

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by Brandon McAuliffe

GAME STORY: Father-Son pairings the story of the day at FCA football

Saturday’s Myrle Greathouse FCA All-Star Classic was quite literally a family affair at Shotwell Stadium.

The Blue team was led by Hawley head coach Mitch Ables and his son Keagan and also had Stephenville’s Jeremiah and Jack Butchee.

On the opposite sideline, Wylie offensive coordinator Jason Meng had one last go with his son, Bear.

The family relationships even extended to the officiating crew with longtime umpire Winkie James getting to work with his son Cory, the referee for the game.

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by Brandon McAuliffe

GAME STORY: Historic season for Mineral Wells ends with Game 3 loss to Seminole

GRAHAM — A magical season for the Mineral Wells baseball team has drawn to a close.

After going 7-17-1 in Jacob Clay’s first year as head coach, the Rams finished Year 2 at 20-14-1, beating Seminole 7-2 in Game 2 of their Region I-4A Division I championship series, before getting no-hit into the fifth inning in a 5-0 loss in Game 3 on Saturday at the Graham High School Baseball Field.

The 2025 season marked the first time that Mineral Wells advanced to a region final since 1958.

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by Brandon McAuliffe

FEATURE: Baseball helps begin the healing process for Gordon in wake of EF-1 tornado

STEPHENVILLE — While the National Weather Service has classified the tornado that struck Gordon on Sunday evening as an EF-1, Longhorn athletic director Mike Reed says the devastation to the community of 489 people was far worse.

“The state didn’t declare that we lost enough homes to receive aid, but 90 percent of our town was affected because the school was hit,” he said. “If this would have been in the Metroplex, one school wouldn’t have as much effect, but being in a rural town, it affects a huge percentage of us. They may call it an EF-1 based on the damage, but we watched it on the security cameras at the football field before everything went out. It was pretty devastating.”

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by Brandon McAuliffe

GAME STORY: Resilient Gordon Longhorns roll to 13-2 win over Perrin-Whitt in series opener

STEPHENVILLE — After spending all week cleaning up from a devastating EF-1 tornado that hit town on Sunday, it would have been easy for the Gordon baseball team to just go on cruise control in the opening game of its best-of-three Region II-1A championship series against Perrin-Whitt on Thursday night.

Instead, the Longhorns showed the same focus, drive and determination that has been on display all week, riding a nine-run first inning to a 13-2 win at Stephenville High School.

It was an effort that got to Longhorn coach Ligon West.

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by Brandon McAuliffe

GAME STORY: Botos homer, patient offense, pitching staff help Hamlin rally to oust Ira

EULA — When Hamlin senior first baseman Jantz Botos stepped to the plate just before 2:30 p.m. on Saturday, he didn’t know that with one swing of the bat he would trigger another five hours of baseball at Pirate Field.

With two outs in the fifth inning, the left-handed Botos, who had never homered in his career, was trying to hit a ball into the gap with the Pied Pipers trailing Ira 2-1 in Game 2 of their Region I-1A semifinal.

The senior swatted a 1-2 pitch from Brandt Cox for a three-run home run to left, propelling Hamlin to an 8-4 win in Game 2 before the Pipers outlasted Ira 15-11 in eight innings in Game 3.

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by Brandon McAuliffe

GAME STORY: Wells’ no-hitter has Coahoma one win from state semifinals

Hannah Wells threw her second no-hitter of the postseason — and third of 2025 — as Coahoma beat Jacksboro 10-0 in the opening game of the Region I-3A Division II championship series on Friday night at Abilene Christian University’s Poly Wells Field.

The senior standout struck out 11 and faced just two batters over the minimum in notching her second win over the Tigerettes this season.

Wells, a University of Texas signee, also beat Jacksboro on March 1 with an 11-strikeout one-hitter in a 4-0 win.

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by Brandon McAuliffe

GAME STORY: Wylie drops opener to Grapevine despite gutsy effort from starter Gay

GRAHAM — Wylie senior pitcher Brady Gay did not want coach Grant Martin or athletic trainer Kathryn Gay, his aunt, to come out of the dugout in the bottom of the sixth inning after a hard-hit line drive hit his ankle and ricocheted into right field.

As soon as the play was ruled dead, Martin and Gay were quick to the mound to check on the senior who continued to wave them off and needed just one warm-up pitch to prove that he was still fit to stay on the mound in the Bulldogs Region I-5A Division II matchup with No. 1 Grapevine.

In a night in which he was hit hard, both literally and figuratively, Gay gave his squad everything he had in a 5-0 loss in which the Mustangs pounded out 13 hits and drew two walks while striking out just three times.

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by Brandon McAuliffe

SIGNING DAY: Twelve Cooper athletes make their futures official

Cooper football coach and campus athletic coordinator Aaron Roan had a hard time hiding his elation Wednesday at Cougar Gym, where 11 student-athletes from four sports (baseball, track, soccer and golf) and a cheerleader made their college decisions official.

The signees’ school choices ranged from Division I to junior college, but getting to continue their careers while pursuing further education is what really mattered.

While most are staying in state, Asharee Davis is heading to Tennessee Tech of the Ohio Valley Conference, where she will take part in the long jump and triple jump for the Golden Eagles.

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by Brandon McAuliffe

GAME STORY: Hermleigh rallies for pair of wins to oust Eula for fourth straight year

ABILENE — Hermleigh softball coach Sammy Winters said he only got about three hours of sleep on Friday night after his team lost 6-4 to Eula in the opener of its Region I-1A semifinal series at Abilene Christian University’s Poly Wells Field.

Winters left the school at 1 a.m. and was still wound up as he was replaying the game, studying GameChanger and poring over statistics before finally falling asleep a little after 3:30 a.m.

The extra time and effort paid off as the Lady Cardinals, who were down to their final strike in the seventh inning of Game 2, rallied to claim a 6-5 win in eight innings before finishing off the series with a 6-1 win in Game 3.

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by Brandon McAuliffe

GAME STORY: Birdville uses fast start to even series with Abilene High

North Richland Hills Birdville made an emphatic statement in the first inning on Friday night to ensure that the Abilene High softball team wouldn’t get any more Maiya Magic at Hogan Field.

A night after the sophomore stole third and scored to give AHS a walk-off win in the opener of a best-of-three Region I-5A Division I semifinal series, the Lady Hawks evened the series with an 11-1 victory.

Game 3 will be at 1 p.m. Saturday, and the winner will earn the right to face Aledo for a berth in the state semifinals.

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by Brandon McAuliffe

GAME STORY: Reichenau’s dominant performance on the mound leads Wall to win over Henrietta

EULA — Postseason flips in the area round have not been kind to Wall baseball coach Jeremy Gordon during his two years leading the Hawk program.

In both 2024 and 2025, Gordon lost the flip to decide if they would have a single-game playoff or a best-of-three series as well as the flip to decide who would be the home and visiting team.

After falling to Iowa Park last year, Gordon’s team ensured that their season wouldn’t end at the hands of another District 7 team, beating Henrietta 4-2 on Thursday night at Pirate Field behind the strong pitching of Gage Reichenau.

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by Brandon McAuliffe

SIGNING DAY: Abilene High pair makes Hardin-Simmons decision official

Abilene High seniors Bryson Perez and Dristian Payne were key parts of the Eagle football program over the past four years and the pair will both continue their playing careers on the north side of town after making their college commitments official to Hardin-Simmons University on Tuesday afternoon.

AHS coach Mike Fullen was effusive in his praise of what the pair brought to the Abilene High program over the past four seasons and said that he’s excited to watch them progress.

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by Brandon McAuliffe

GAME STORY: Wall softball takes thrilling 11-inning win before falling to Jacksboro in Game 3

ABILENE — The Wall Lady Hawks showed up to Wylie’s Bulldog Field on Saturday expecting to have a long day of softball after dropping the opening game of their best-of-three Region I-3A Division II area-round series with Jacksboro 17-6 on Friday night.

Nobody expected the Lady Hawks and Tigerettes to wind up playing 18 innings in one day.

Wall took a 6-5 win in 11 innings in Game 2 before Jacksboro rebounded with a 10-5 win to clinch the series and earn a date with Muleshoe next week.

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by Brandon McAuliffe

GAME STORY: Wylie polishes off sweep of Plainview in convincing fashion

With an 8-2 victory on Saturday, the Wylie baseball team picked up its eighth consecutive win over Plainview as WHS completed a two-game sweep in a Region I-5A Division II bi-district series.

The win sends Wylie into the area round of the playoffs, where it will face off against El Paso Del Valle next week.

Wylie coach Grant Martin said after the game that playing in front of a home crowd on Saturday helped the team earn the win.

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by Brandon McAuliffe

STATE TRACK ROUNDUP: Gordon sweeps team titles as numerous 1A state records are broken

Cover photo courtesy Mike Reed

AUSTIN — Class 1A athletes and teams from the Big Country Preps coverage area set five state records as the track and field season drew to a close at Mike A. Meyers Stadium on Saturday with the UIL state championships.

The Gordon boys (88 points) and girls (52 points) swept the team titles as area athletes put forth a dominant effort on the day, winning a total of 44 medals.

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by Brandon McAuliffe

STATE TRACK ROUNDUP: Big Country athletes persevere in 2A/5A meet despite weather delay

AUSTIN — It wouldn’t be the UIL state track and field meet if there wasn’t a weather delay, but this time the UIL was ahead of the game with bad weather forecast for the Central Texas region on Friday.

As the field events were ongoing for Classes 2A and 5A, the UIL made the decision around lunch on Friday to delay the track portion of the two classifications to Saturday morning in the interest of spectator and competitor safety.

When the meet resumed on Saturday morning, all the drama one could hope for, and more, was ready to unfold.

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by Brandon McAuliffe

GAME STORY: Miller, Hermleigh blank Baird to set up third-round showdown with Eula

CLYDE — After throwing a pair of no-hitters in a bi-district sweep of Ira, Hermleigh freshman Peyton Miller dominated in the circle again on Friday night as the Lady Cardinals shut out Baird 11-0 in a one-game Region I-1A area-round playoff at the Hanner Sports Complex.

Miller struck out eight and walked two in a complete-game effort.

After the performance, Hermleigh coach Sammy Winters said that Miller has the potential to be one of the next star pitchers to come out of the Big Country.

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by Brandon McAuliffe

STATE TRACK ROUNDUP: Brownwood girls claim team title; Wall boys narrowly miss out

Cover photo courtesy Brian Hodnett

AUSTIN — The 2025 UIL state track and field meet got underway on Thursday at the University of Texas’ Mike A. Myers Track & Soccer Stadium, and the Big Country is bringing home some hardware.

The Brownwood Lady Lions made the most of their trip to Austin, claiming the Class 4A girls team championship on the strength of their three relays.

The Wall boys came “painfully close” in the words of track coach Craig Slaughter to giving the Big Country Preps area a second team title as the Hawks’ 64 points left them just two points behind Holliday in the Class 3A boys team standings.

Even so, Slaughter said that Wall’s relay teams, both boys and girls, all set personal records in an “incredible day.”

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by Brandon McAuliffe

GAME STORY: Damron’s bat propels Eula to series-clinching win over Hamlin

Emma Damron finished a double shy of hitting for the cycle and had a walk-off three-run inside-the-park home run as Eula finished off a two-game sweep of Hamlin with a 15-4 win at ACU’s Poly Wells Field on Friday night.

Damron tripled in the first inning and had an RBI single in the fourth before ending the game in the fifth inning.

She also earned the praise of coach Jayton Thompson for the work she did behind the plate, catching Macy Flatt, who made her first career postseason start in Eula’s 22-3 win in the series opener.

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by Brandon McAuliffe

GAME STORY: Coahoma breaks state record in playoff tune-up win over Abilene High

The Coahoma softball team has been on a historic run since beating Bryan Rudder 5-0 on March 4, 2023.

Thursday night, the Bulldogettes etched their name in the history books with a 6-1 win over Abilene High at the AHS softball field — the 84th consecutive game they have gone without a loss.

Coahoma is 83-0-1 during the streak, with the lone tie coming earlier this year in a 2-2 decision in four innings in a tournament game against Lubbock High. With the record in hand, Coahoma coach Alex Orosco said that the team has been focused on doing things right daily and that allows for records to be broken.

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by Brandon McAuliffe

GAME STORY: Two diving catches help lead Wylie to comeback win over Cooper

Tuesday night’s Southtown Showdown at Bulldog Field saw Cooper jump out to an early lead before the Wylie offense erupted in the fourth inning for a 6-3 win in District 4-5A action.

Diving catches by Wylie’s Tye Briscoe (fourth inning) and Jace Tomlin (sixth inning) provided the two biggest momentum swings in Wylie’s favor to help sophomore Dylan Regala earn his second consecutive win in a crosstown matchup.

Regala scattered seven hits in five-plus innings while allowing three runs. He added three strikeouts and didn’t walk anyone, shutting down the Cooper offense after the Cougars scored two runs in the top of the first inning.

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by Brandon McAuliffe

GAME STORY: Jim Ned capitalizes on five errors, holds off late Clyde rally

TUSCOLA — The Jim Ned softball team only managed two earned runs off Clyde pitcher Kaycee Bingham on Friday, but five errors by the Lady Bulldogs led to seven unearned runs as the Lady Indians picked up a 9-7 win in District 6-3A action.

The win was the fifth in a row for the Lady Indians and pushed Jim Ned to 8-2 over its past 10 games.

It also put the Lady Indians in position to claim the top seed in the Class 3A Division I postseason as they have a 1½-game lead over Sweetwater in the standings with two games to play.

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by Brandon McAuliffe

BREAKING: Roscoe looks to North Texas, tabs Seymour’s Loyd to lead program

After spending 11 years at Seymour, including the last three seasons as the head football coach and athletic director, Dan Loyd has been chosen to take on the same roles at Roscoe, pending school board approval on Monday morning.

The Panthers made it to the postseason nine straight years during Loyd’s time with the program — a stint that included time as the quarterbacks coach and defensive coordinator before becoming head coach in 2022.

That’s right, he went from coaching the most important offensive position to leading the defense, a very unorthodox move for a unique personality.

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by Brandon McAuliffe

GAME STORY: Following early drama, Stamford gets win over Hawley in pitcher’s duel

HAWLEY — After a wild first inning that saw Stamford third baseman Brayden Jimenez and Hawley left fielder Aiden Romo ejected for aggressive moves while running the bases, the Bulldogs found a way to claim a 3-1 win in a critical District 8-2A matchup on Tuesday night at Bearcat Field.

While those plays were the story early, it was Stamford’s Alek Hernandez who stole the show on the mound in a dominant complete game.

Mixing a variety of pitches, including an effective slurve, Hernandez scattered six hits and allowed just one run while walking two and getting six strikeouts as the Bulldogs took control of the race for the district championship.

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