Author: Brandon McAuliffe

by Brandon McAuliffe

HIRING NEWS: Forsan tabs special teams guru Thompson to lead the Buffaloes

Family photo courtesy of Casey Thompson

When he enrolled at Hardin-Simmons University as a student-athlete, Casey Thompson knew that if he wanted to find early playing time, he needed to find a niche.

What he found was a role on the Cowboys special teams unit that fostered what has turned into a love of what could be considered the most important part of the game.

After becoming one of the most respected special teams coordinators in the state, Thompson was named the 11th head football coach and athletic director at Forsan on Tuesday.

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by Brandon McAuliffe

HIRING NEWS: Sweetwater promotes veteran Hodnett to lead the program

After the surprise retirement of Russell Lucas last month, Sweetwater ISD didn’t have to look far to find his replacement.

Offensive coordinator Brian Hodnett was promoted to head football coach and athletic director on Monday night, marking the third different program he’s led in his career.

Prior to joining Lucas’ staff in 2021, Hodnett spent six years as the head coach at Jacksboro and four more at Haskell. His teams have made the playoffs six times in his head coaching career.

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by Brandon McAuliffe

COACHING NEWS: After more than a decade, Roscoe parts ways with Freeman

In an unexpected move, the Roscoe school board voted 4-3 on Wednesday night to not renew the contract of Jake Freeman, the school’s head football coach and athletic director since 2013.

Freeman led Roscoe to an overall record of 64-68 with nine playoff appearances, including district championships in 2015 and 2021.

Wednesday’s decision ended Freeman’s run at a place he considered a dream job.

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by Brandon McAuliffe

FEATURE: Jayton basketball coaches team up to fuel historic postseason

It’s never easy being a coach when your team is in the postseason and you’re having to work to scout opponents, set up potential playoff sites (for a game that may not even happen), come to an agreement on which chapter of officials to use while worrying about the X’s and O’s on the court.

While bigger schools tend to have a staff of 3-4 coaches that ease the pressure felt, at the Class 1A level, it’s often just the head coach and a single assistant that have to juggle everything — including travel and lodging.

That’s where Jayton-Girard ISD is bucking the trend with the coaching staffs of the boys and girls basketball teams.

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by Brandon McAuliffe

HIRING NEWS: Haskell gets well-traveled Henderson to replace McLemore

Photos courtesy of Creighton Henderson

In a departure from their past three hires, Haskell CISD announced on Friday that it was hiring Wellington offensive coordinator Creighton Henderson as its new head football coach and athletic director.

This marks Henderson’s first time to lead a program and he’s the first person to land their inaugural head coaching job in Haskell since Kent Colley in 2008.

Henderson, who will start after spring break, is excited for the opportunity and getting back to a familiar area after getting his college degree from Hardin-Simmons.

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by Brandon McAuliffe

GAME STORY: Jayton pulls away late to win showdown with Gordon

ABILENE — In a matchup that had been anticipated over the 65 days since Jayton and Gordon both claimed Class 1A state championships at AT&T Stadium in football, the two met up on the hardwood Friday night at Wylie’s Bulldog Gymnasium to see who would be headed to the Region II-1A Division II semifinals.

The game — and crowd — more than lived up to the hype.

Tied after the first and second quarters in front of a standing room only crowd of more than 1,400 people, No. 1-ranked Jayton’s offense got hot while the defense smothered the third-ranked Longhorns in the fourth quarter as the Jaybirds took a 51-34 win and punched their ticket to the third round.

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by Brandon McAuliffe

GAME STORY: Munday’s big night behind the arc sends Moguls past Westbrook

CLYDE — With three lead changes in the first quarter, Thursday’s Region II-1A Division I area-round matchup between Munday and Westbrook was shaping up to be an instant classic at Bulldog Gym.

Withstanding a 7-0 run by the Wildcats, the Moguls took the lead with a banked-in 3-pointer by Jariyis Williams to end the first quarter and rolled to a 48-36 win.

Caisen Lee had a game-high 18 points for Munday while Williams added 15 points.

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by Brandon McAuliffe

GAME STORY: Jayton girls continue magical run with regional semifinal win over Blackwell

ABILENE — While it’s been hard to find any coaches in love with the new split division postseason format in basketball, Jayton’s Kevin Chisum isn’t one that is upset by it anymore.

After continually telling his team that they’re “not supposed to be here,” Chisum has the Lady Jays one win away from their fourth trip to the state semifinals after a 49-36 win over Blackwell on Tuesday night at Abilene Christian University’s Moody Coliseum.

Up next for the Lady Jays is No. 18 Irion County, and Chisum says that his team will take full advantage of having a couple of days to recover from a physical game that the old playoff format didn’t allow for.

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by Brandon McAuliffe

GAME STORY: Haskell goes cold late, falls in area round to Crawford

EASTLAND — The Haskell girls basketball team entered Thursday’s Region II-2A Division II area-round game against Crawford expecting a low-scoring, defense-intensive game at Eastland High School.

What the Maidens weren’t prepared for was an 8-0 run in the first two minutes of the game that put the Lady Pirates on top and left Haskell chasing all night.

Despite rallying to take their first lead of the night on a shot by Kayce Coleman with 6:43 to play, the Maidens saw their season come to an end with a 34-28 loss.

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by Brandon McAuliffe

GAME STORY: Honeybees’ season ends with bi-district loss to Lubbock Estacado

The Stephenville Honeybees started off Tuesday’s Region I-4A Division I bi-district game against Lubbock Estacado by winning the leap for opening tip-off.

They then won the second and third attempts at it as well after the first two tries ended with players sprawled on the court at Moody Coliseum scrambling for the loose ball with nobody having claimed possession yet.

Once the Lady Matadors controlled the third try at starting the contest, Estacado quickly seized control and rolled to a 58-37 win.

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by Brandon McAuliffe

GAME STORY: Hamlin rallies past Knox City for first playoff win in over a decade

STAMFORD — In 2012, London hosted the Summer Olympics for the third time, NASA landed a rover on Mars and Queen Elizabeth II celebrated her Diamond Jubilee.

It was also the last time the Hamlin girls basketball team had won a playoff game — prior to the Lady Pipers rallying in the fourth quarter for a 43-32 win over Knox City on Monday at Bulldog Gymnasium in a Region II-1A Division I bi-district matchup.

It was freshman Kinzlee Gruben’s 3-pointer off a turnover with 27 seconds left in the third quarter, with Hamlin down 28-24, that got the rally started.

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by Brandon McAuliffe

GAME STORY: Aspermont uses fast start to cruise to bi-district win over Crowell

STAMFORD — If there is a year for the Aspermont girls basketball team to get over the area-round hump of the postseason, this could be the year that the Lady Hornets break through.

AHS picked up its fifth consecutive win in the bi-district round of the playoffs on Monday night with a 57-31 rout of Crowell to open the Region II-1A Division II postseason, marking the second consecutive year that Aspermont opened the playoffs with a win over the Lady Wildcats.

Now, with the split divisions, the Lady Hornets will face someone other than Hermleigh or Highland as they look to make a return to the second week of the postseason for the first time since the 2019-20 season.

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by Brandon McAuliffe

GAME STORY: Wyatt’s big first half helps Eagles close out home schedule with win over WF Memorial

The Abilene High boys basketball team entered Friday night’s game with Wichita Falls Memorial knowing that they were already locked into a bi-district game with No. 13 Amarillo High and, with nothing on the line, wanted to ensure that its four seniors got a win in their home finale.

Those seniors (Tyson Thompson, Eric Salazar, Carter Wyatt and Connel Colley) all started for the Eagles and played key roles as AHS snapped a two-game losing skid with a 39-37 win over the Mavericks at Eagle Gym.

Wyatt led the group with 10 points on Friday night, after having not scored more than three points in a contest this season.

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by Brandon McAuliffe

LOCAL HOOPS ROUNDUP: Lady Eagles lone local school to post a win on Tuesday

With the regular season quickly drawing to a close, the Abilene High and Cooper basketball teams had critical District 4-5A games against Wichita Falls Legacy and Wichita Falls Memorial, respectively, on Tuesday night.

The Cougars were in desperate need of a win in both games for playoff purposes and came up short, with the Lady Cougars 46-31 loss officially eliminating them from playoff contention. The Cooper boys, meanwhile, found themselves leading at halftime against the Mavericks before falling 43-37. The loss leaves Cooper two games behind Memorial with three games to play.

In Wichita Falls, the Abilene High girls claimed a 39-28 win over Legacy, clinching second place in the district. The Abilene High boys, on the other hand, fell out of a three-way tie for first place with Wylie and Legacy with a 50-34 loss to the Leopards.

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by Brandon McAuliffe

GAME STORY: Eagles fend off second-half rally from Cooper; AHS girls roll to win

The Abilene High boys and girls basketball teams rode hot-shooting first quarters to wins on Friday as they swept crosstown rival Cooper in District 4-5A basketball at Eagle Gym.

The Lady Eagles opened the night with a 64-39 win as they moved to 16-14 on the year and 4-2 in district. The win also clinched a playoff berth for Abilene in its first year under coach Alfonzo Franklin.

The boys team followed that up by holding off a second half rally from the Cougars to earn a 60-53 win on a night where they didn’t have their normal shooting touch from behind the arc. Friday’s win moved AHS to 18-10 on the season and 3-1 in district while the Cougars fell to 8-14 overall and 0-4 in district — putting Cooper in a must-win situation on Tuesday.

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by Brandon McAuliffe

BREAKING: After 35 years of coaching, Sweetwater’s Lucas is hanging up his whistle

For the first time since 1980, Russell Lucas will not be on a sideline come the first Monday in August this fall after announcing his retirement on Wednesday.

That dates back to his time as a high school player and covers not just his playing career, but also more than three decades of coaching across all ranks.

With a career record of 161-85, including 21 playoff victories, and 10 district championships, the most impressive number from his career that sticks out to the father of three is: two.

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by Brandon McAuliffe

GAME STORY: Wylie sweeps Abilene High in 4-5A hoops in front of a packed house

With a 14-point lead at the end of the third quarter in front of a standing room only crowd, the Wylie boys basketball team looked like it was going to cruise to a win over crosstown rival Abilene High on Tuesday night at Bulldog Gym.

The Bulldogs then had to hold off a spirited comeback attempt by the Eagles, with Connel Colley’s 3-point attempt with just seconds remaining missing the mark, allowing Wylie to survive 55-52 in District 4-5A play.

It was the type of contest both Gregg Ruffin (Wylie) and Justin Reese (Abilene High) said their teams can expect in the five-team district that will only play eight games — making each matchup a crucial one.

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by Brandon McAuliffe

GAME STORY: Offensive outbursts help Wall sweep Clyde in 6-3A doubleheader

CLYDE — With logjams atop the District 6-3A basketball standings for both the boys and girls, the Wall Hawks earned a pair of crucial wins on Tuesday night, sweeping Clyde at Bulldog Gymnasium.

The Lady Hawks got 18 points from Kennedi Graves as they rolled to a 70-26 win in the opener, while Jager Thompson had 12 of his 15 points in the second half to lead Wall to a 46-33 win in the nightcap.

In both games, it was the second quarter that proved pivotal.

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by Brandon McAuliffe

GAME STORY: Fostel gets 600th win as Eula opens district play with win over Baird

EULA — The Eula Lady Pirates opened District 13-1A play with an 58-8 win over Baird on Friday night at Mary Mosley Gymnasium in a game that marked coach Josh Fostel’s 600th career win as a head coach.

Despite being honored postgame, Fostel was quick to turn around and credit the many players he’s had as both a boys and girls coach for helping him reach the milestone.

“I’ve never gotten to get a milestone at home, so this is special,” Fostel said. “I’ve gotten to 600 wins because I’ve been doing it a long time, but I’m at a really good place and I’ve had really good kids that have put in a lot of work.”

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by Brandon McAuliffe

TOURNAMENT CENTRAL: Eula girls claim title with pair of top-10 wins

EULA — Since the Eula Holiday Classic expanded to 16 teams for both the boys and girls tournaments in 2005, neither of the Pirates programs had won the tournament title.

That changed on Saturday when the Lady Pirates, who entered the tournament ranked No. 3 in the state in Class 1A, knocked off 10th-ranked Hermleigh 50-41 in a spirited championship match at Mary Mosley Gymnasium.

The win capped off a day that saw Roscoe and Clyde fall in the third- and fifth-place games, respectively, while the Tolar Lady Rattlers won the consolation championship.

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by Brandon McAuliffe

STATE FEATURE: Stanaland, Reed cement their legacies in Arlington

ARLINGTON — While both Jayton coach Josh Stanaland and Gordon coach Mike Reed both tried to downplay the achievement, the pair of long tenured Big Country coaches earned legacy wins on Wednesday in the Class 1A state championship games at AT&T Stadium.

Stanaland led the Jaybirds to a 54-8 win over Oakwood to open four days of action at the home of the Dallas Cowboys before the Longhorns hammered Whiteface 70-24 to make it a clean sweep.

It was the first state championship for Jayton since 1985, while the Longhorns went back-to-back. The two squads had a combined seven seniors and are already heavily favored to return to Arlington in 2025.

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by Brandon McAuliffe

GAME STORY: Gordon caps off dominant season with second consecutive title

ARLINGTON — Wednesday afternoon was just another ho-hum day for Gordon as the Longhorns held the ball for just 4:09 and ran 16 offensive plays in the Class 1A Division I State Championship game against Whiteface at AT&T Stadium.

Despite the limited offensive snaps, the outcome was never in doubt as Gordon averaged 20 yards per play on its way to a 70-24 win, clinching a repeat as state champions.

Stryker Reed’s 45-yard touchdown run on the first play of the second half ended the game on the 45-point rule.

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by Brandon McAuliffe

GAME STORY: Jayton ends football title drought with dominant win over Oakwood

ARLINGTON — Colt Gentry had two fumble recoveries for touchdowns and Sean Stanaland accounted for four touchdowns as Jayton claimed its first state football championship in 39 years with a 54-8 win over Oakwood on Wednesday morning at AT&T Stadium.

Gentry recovered an offensive fumble in the end zone on Jayton’s first scoring drive before notching a scoop-and-score with a 73-yard return on the next Oakwood possession as he earned Defensive MVP honors in the Class 1A Division II game.

Stanaland, who threw for 102 yards and ran for 28 more, was named Offensive MVP after the Jaybirds (15-0) had their 13th win this season in a game that ended at halftime.

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by Brandon McAuliffe

GAME STORY: Abilene High boys start fast in dominant win over Wall

After watching the girls basketball team have to hang on for a win over Stephenville in the first game of the night, the Abilene High boys made sure their game would lack the same drama.

The Eagles had 10 different players contribute on the offensive end as they rode a fast start to a 67-35 win over Wall on Tuesday night at Eagle Gym .

Abilene High jumped out to an 8-0 lead and never trailed on its way to pushing its season record to 12-5. The fast start was exactly what coach Justin Reese was looking for as the Hawks had several football players seeing their first basketball action of the season.

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by Brandon McAuliffe

GAME STORY: Abilene High girls hold off Stephenville in nailbiter

A deflected inbounds pass with just over two-tenths of a second left was all the Abilene High girls basketball team needed to end a season-long four-game losing streak as the Lady Eagles picked up a 44-42 win over Stephenville on Tuesday night at Eagle Gym.

Emily Jordan had a game-high 22 points for AHS to help the Lady Eagles even their record at 10-10 under first-year head coach Alfonzo Franklin.

After the game, Franklin said he was pleased with how his squad battled in a game that never saw either team lead by more than six points. Continue reading “GAME STORY: Abilene High girls hold off Stephenville in nailbiter” →

by Brandon McAuliffe

TOURNAMENT CENTRAL: North Crowley claims title; local teams get mixed results

The 2024 edition of the Raising Cane’s Key City Classic wrapped up with a flourish of great games on Saturday at both Abilene High and Cooper.

The day started with Mineral Wells rallying in the final minute of regulation before taking an overtime win against El Paso Jefferson, saw South San Antonio claim a 44-41 win over Cleburne in double overtime and culminated with North Crowley improving to 2-1 in the championship game of the tournament over the past three years.

For full tournament results, click here.

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by Brandon McAuliffe

TOURNAMENT CENTRAL: AHS stuns Richardson Pearce for berth in championship game; Cooper, Mineral Wells go winless on Day 2

On the second day of the 16-team Raising Cane’s Key City Classic, Brooks Reese hit an off-balance, buzzer-beating 3-pointer to send the Abilene High boys basketball team to the championship game with a thrilling 44-42 win over Richardson Pearce that saw the fans storm the court Friday night at Eagle Gym.

Across town, Cooper fell to Lubbock Cooper 46-35 in the quarterfinals before dropping their nightcap 52-34 to Cleburne. Mineral Wells, meanwhile, dropped a pair of games against Midland Legacy (60-36) and Carrollton Creekview (62-47).

For a full listing of Day 2 results and a complete tournament schedule, click here.

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by Brandon McAuliffe

SIGNING DAY: Abilene High’s Bradford makes UTEP decision official

In an era where the transfer portal can make it difficult to garner Football Bowl Division scholarship offers, Abilene High coach Mike Fullen encourages his athletes to take advantage of opportunities that arise for them.

On Wednesday, AHS wide receiver Ryland Bradford finalized his decision and signed an offer with the University of Texas-El Paso — accepting a full ride to join coach Scotty Waldren’s squad.

When asked what led to choosing UTEP, Bradford was quick to touch on the relationships he built with the Miners coaching staff.

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