Author: Brandon McAuliffe

by Brandon McAuliffe

GAME STORY: Jayton tested in first half before ending Benjamin’s title reign

Jayton football coach Josh Stanaland was worried about how his squad would respond if challenged and forced to play more than one half of football.

With that having happened only once all year, in Week 4 against Knox City, the veteran coach got his answer in a resounding way in a Region II-1A Division II final against Benjamin on Friday night at McMurry’s Wilford Moore Stadium.

The Jaybirds scored the final 36 points and used a stifling second-half defense to outlast the Mustangs 100-50, dethroning the two-time defending state champions in the process.

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by Brandon McAuliffe

GAME STORY: Wall dominates all phases of game in win over Littlefield

SWEETWATER — The Wall Hawks put up 522 yards of offense and rolled to a 56-21 win over Littlefield in a Region I-3A Division II semifinal matchup on Friday afternoon at the Mustang Bowl.

The win moves the Hawks into the regional finals, where they will take on Canadian, which needed a fourth-and-goal interception late to claim a 27-21 win over Idalou.

Friday’s matchup was the fourth all-time in the postseason between the Hawks and Wildcats. Littlefield won the first meeting in 2010 by a 35-0 score in the regional finals, while the Hawks took the last two matchups in 2015 (area round) and 2016 (regional semifinals) by scores of 63-27 and 55-7, respectively.

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by Brandon McAuliffe

GAME STORY: Glen Rose outlasts Seminole in triple-overtime classic

SWEETWATER — When the playoffs began, Glen Rose coach Cliff Watkins knew his team would have a treacherous path to the state championship game on Dec. 20 in Arlington.

Following a bi-district game against Saginaw Eagle Mountain, the Tigers’ had the potential of having to face Seminole, No. 3 Graham, Brock and No. 1 Carthage — all to face off against whoever comes out of the other side of the bracket.

Friday night at the Mustang Bowl, Glen Rose passed the first of those tests with a 52-50 win over Seminole in a triple overtime thriller in the Region I-4A Division II area round. The Tigers will next face Graham, which beat Monahans on Thursday, next week in Mineral Wells.

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by Brandon McAuliffe

GAME STORY: Graham reaches third round for the first time in four years after hammering Monahans

SWEETWATER — Graham sophomore Damien Noria, a player on the Steers junior varsity squad, spent all week acting as a Monahans running back on the scout team to prepare the Steers defense for their Region I-4A Division II area-round matchup.

What nobody expected was to see him get a chance to shine under the bright lights of the Mustang Bowl on Thursday night.

With Graham cruising to an easy 63-6 win, Noria ran for 67 yards on 13 carries and trucked several defenders to score his first career touchdown in the third quarter.

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by Brandon McAuliffe

GAME STORY: Central fends off valiant Abilene High rally in Eagles’ home opener

Abilene High boys basketball coach Justin Reese said anytime the Eagles face off with San Angelo Central, strange things happen.

Those strange things happened at the end of the third quarter on Tuesday night as Payton Shawver’s slam dunk preceded a half-court buzzer-beating 3-pointer by Eric Salazar to end the third quarter.

The flurry, which tied the game at 47, wasn’t enough for the Eagles as AHS dropped its home opener 68-61 to the Bobcats at Eagle Gym.

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by Brandon McAuliffe

GAME STORY: Layne powers Anson to bi-district romp of Christoval

SWEETWATER — It was a start unlike anything Anson coach Cory McCombs could remember in his coaching career.

After receiving the opening kickoff, the Tigers had to burn a timeout because their starting center had lost his mouthpiece and the Fort Worth officials working the game made him go back to the sidelines to get a new one.

Despite that, the Tigers had no issues dispatching of Christoval 46-11 in a Region I-2A Division I bi-district matchup Friday night at the Mustang Bowl.

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by Brandon McAuliffe

GAME STORY: Peaster outlasts Comanche in overtime thriller to open playoffs

GRAHAM — As Comanche coach Jake Escobar walked out to midfield after regulation, he thought his squad was in the perfect position against Peaster in a Region I-3A Division I bi-district matchup Thursday night at Newton Field .

The Indians had won a 13-10 overtime game against Jim Ned just over a month earlier and were getting set for an extra period of play to open the postseason.

As the visiting team, Peaster coach Trevor Owens had the opportunity to call the coin toss, winning it and choosing to go on defense first. It was a decision that ultimately made the biggest impact as the Greyhounds claimed a 33-30 win — the first playoff victory in school history.

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by Brandon McAuliffe

GAME STORY: Hamilton intercepts Hail Mary to beat De Leon in a classic

DE LEON — Entering Friday night’s game at Bearcat Field, two things were certain: A district champion would be crowned and it would be won by a Marwitz brother.

Carson Roberts intercepted Heston Jobe’s Hail Mary at the buzzer, after the ball bounced off the helmet of Hamilton’s Garrett Guinn, and the Bulldogs escaped with a 35-28 win to claim the district championship.

It was the second year in a row that Ryan Marwitz got a win over his younger brother, Jacob.

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by Brandon McAuliffe

GAME STORY: Hawley tested by Bangs before prevailing in five sets

TUSCOLA — It wasn’t easy or pretty for the Hawley volleyball team on Tuesday night at Bill Thornton Arena in the Lady Bearcats’ Region I-2A Division I matchup with Bangs in the bi-district round of the postseason.

The Lady Cats took the first two sets (25-17, 25-15) before Bangs stormed back, taking the next two (25-21, 25-23) to set up a winner-take-all race to 15.

Hawley jumped out to a 7-1 lead in the final set before closing out the match with a 15-8 win to advance to the area round to face the winner of the Nocona-Seymour match.

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by Brandon McAuliffe

GAME STORY: Stephenville Honeybees handle Big Spring to open volleyball playoffs

TUSCOLA — The Stephenville Honeybees rolled to a 25-7, 25-6, 25-15 win over Big Spring to open the Region I-4A Division I volleyball playoffs on Tuesday night at Bill Thornton Arena.

Stephenville barely broke a sweat in a match that lasted less than an hour while setting the stage for an area-round matchup on Thursday night with Springtown.

Honeybee coach Shay Douglas was excited about how her team played on Tuesday.

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by Brandon McAuliffe

SIDEBAR: Coaches and others look back on the end of an era for Stephenville

As the 2024 version of the Stephenville football team finished off its home slate with a 44-0 win over longtime rival Brownwood on Friday night, it also marked the end of an era.

It was the last time that the Yellow Jackets will play a home game at Tarleton State University’s Memorial Stadium.

The fact that it was a game against their bitter rival closing out the run was not lost on many.

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by Brandon McAuliffe

GAME STORY: Stephenville claims Highway 377 supremacy with shutout of Brownwood

STEPHENVILLE — In the first half of Friday’s District 4-4A Division I matchup, Brownwood held rival Stephenville to just 96 yards of total offense even though the Yellow Jackets held a 13-0 lead at the break.

The good feelings on the Brownwood sideline didn’t last very long after that.

No. 4 Stephenville ended its run at Tarleton State’s Memorial Stadium with a 44-0 win to clinch at least a share of the district championship, earning a bi-district playoff matchup with San Angelo Lake View in the process.

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by Brandon McAuliffe

GAME STORY: Zephyr forces eight turnovers, knocks off rival Blanket

ZEPHYR — Friday night’s District 13-1A Division II showdown at Blaine Quirl Stadium between No. 9 Blanket and Zephyr was billed as a heavyweight fight that would come down to the wire.

For half the game, the bitter rivals that have campuses separated by just 11.1 miles via FM 1467 more than lived up to the hype as the sides traded plenty of body blows.

The second half was a much different story, though, as Zephyr forced turnovers on all six Tiger possessions and quickly pulled away for a 58-14 win, marking the Bulldogs’ third straight in the series. It also gives Zephyr 10 straight district wins and puts the Bulldogs in strong position to claim their third consecutive district title.

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by Brandon McAuliffe

GAME STORY: Clyde sweeps Wall on Senior Night to move within a match of first place

CLYDE — When Clyde and Wall first met on the volleyball court in District 6-3A play last month, the Lady Hawks won a five-set thriller at home. That afternoon, all five sets were decided by either two or three points.

The rivals met again Tuesday night as the Lady Bulldogs honored their five seniors and, with former coach Laura Carr watching from the stands, took down their nemesis 25-22, 25-21, 25-17 at Bulldog Gym.

While the sweep was shocking in its own right, it was the way that Clyde finished off the match that was even more impressive. Courtney Freeman’s squad went on a 14-2 run to close out the third set.

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by Brandon McAuliffe

BIG COUNTRY PREPS GAME OF THE WEEK: Roscoe runs for more than 300 yards in win over Hamlin

HAMLIN — As the temperatures outside have cooled off, the Big Country Preps Game of the Week continues to get hotter and hotter.

Heading into Friday night’s District 7-2A Division II showdown between Roscoe and Hamlin, three of the last four choices for the top area game had been one-score games.

The Plowboys and Pied Pipers nearly extended that streak, but a 29-yard field goal by Roscoe freshman David Villa with under a minute to play gave the Plowboys the cushion they needed for a 29-18 win to stay tied with Albany atop the district standings.

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by Brandon McAuliffe

GAME STORY: Coleman snaps long skid after rallying to top Bangs in five-set thriller

COLEMAN — The past 6½ weeks have been incredibly tough on the Coleman Bluekatt volleyball team since it beat Rotan in straight sets in tournament play.

The Bluekatts had won just six sets over the course of a 17 match losing streak — losing a dozen of them in straight sets, including a 25-11, 25-13, 25-14 match against Bangs in District 5-2A play on Sept. 28.

With their hopes of snagging a playoff berth dangling by a thread, Coleman found itself trailing the Lady Dragons 24-20 in the opening set of the rematch on Tuesday night.

What followed from there was nothing short of remarkable as the Bluekatts scored the final six points of the opening set and rallied again late for a thrilling 26-24, 16-25, 19-25, 25-19, 16-14 win to move into a tie with De Leon for the fourth and final playoff spot — setting up a crucial home match on Friday night.

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by Brandon McAuliffe

GAME STORY: Eagles defense comes up with key plays to help propel prolific offense to win over Coronado

On a night when Lubbock Coronado’s offense had one of its best games of the season, the Abilene High defense that made enough big plays to help the Eagles to a 59-40 win in a District 2-5A Division I matchup Friday night at Shotwell Stadium.

Trae Shaw’s strip sack was followed by a M’Aujehl Aboso interception, leading to 10 points for the Eagles in the third quarter, giving AHS the breathing room it needed to put away a pesky Mustang offense that averaged 12.4 yards per play on Friday.

Despite the down-to-down struggles, Abilene High coach Mike Fullen was proud of how the defense came up big when it mattered most.

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by Brandon McAuliffe

FEATURE: Former Jim Ned coach Avery coming out of retirement to lead the Baird girls basketball program

Photos courtesy Jimmy Avery

By all accounts, Jimmy Avery was living every retirees dream — working at a golf course, playing golf and spending time with his grandchildren daily.

The extremely successful basketball coach, who spent a decade at Jim Ned, was even driving a trash truck.

All of that changed roughly one month ago when Baird athletic director Dale Means was in a crunch and picked up the phone to call his longtime pal.

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by Brandon McAuliffe

GAME STORY: Hawley claims hard-fought win over Albany in straight sets

HAWLEY — For most of Tuesday’s match, the Hawley and Albany volleyball teams were locked in a slugfest that featured both teams’ service and receiving games executing exactly how they wanted to.

The District 6-2A rivals combined for just 15 aces in the match, which saw the Lady Bearcats sweep the Lady Lions 25-21, 25-21, 25-19 at Bearcat Gymnasium.

It was such a close match, Hawley coach Amy Eckoff and M.J. Reneau, her counterpart at Albany, both had nothing but praise for how their team handled the match between the two frontrunners for the district championship.

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by Brandon McAuliffe

GAME STORY: Wylie hammers Wichita Falls Legacy in district opener

As the clock ticked down during the fourth quarter of Wylie’s 49-19 win over Wichita Falls Legacy in a District 2-5A Division II football game, an unusual chant started to break out on the Bulldogs sideline.

“Bry-son! Bry-son! Bry-son!”

When junior Bryson Baker lined up at wide receiver, the chant turned into a full-blown pandemonium of cheers. Continue reading “GAME STORY: Wylie hammers Wichita Falls Legacy in district opener” →

by Brandon McAuliffe

GAME STORY: Midland Legacy’s record-setting night too much for Abilene High to overcome

The Abilene High defense learned the hard way on Friday night that records are made to be broken in a 62-42 loss to longtime rival Midland Legacy at Shotwell Stadium.

Sophomore J.P. Reyes set the Rebels’ single-game passing record by throwing for 422 yards and six scores in his first career start, while senior wide receiver Aiden Serrano’s nine catches gave him sole possession of the school’s career record for receptions.

All of that came from a Class 6A squad that entered the night 0-3 on the year after not shying away from playing high quality opponents Allen, Euless Trinity and Austin Lake Travis.

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by Brandon McAuliffe

GAME STORY: Unbeaten Mineral Wells overcomes multiple first-half turnovers to top Quinlan-Ford

ARLINGTON — A dominant start to the season for the Mineral Wells football team saw its first true challenge on Thursday night at Choctaw Stadium, where the Rams needed a penalty on an onside kick with under a minute to play to seal a 34-28 win over Quinlan Ford.

The Panthers, who scored with 43 seconds to play to close to within six points, recovered the ensuing onside kick but were flagged for illegal touching,  allowing Mineral Wells to kneel out the clock with just a single snap.

Thursday’s win moved the Rams to 4-0 on the season, their best start since going 5-0 to start the 2018 campaign.

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by Brandon McAuliffe

GAME STORY: Turnovers cost Sweetwater in lopsided loss to Seminole

SWEETWATER — In a sport where games are often decided by just a few plays here or there, a young Sweetwater football team learned on Friday night that sometimes it can be just a singular play that decides a game.

A 60-yard fumble return by Hiram Gaytan kept the Mustangs from driving for a go-ahead score in the second quarter, and it all unraveled from there as Seminole, ranked No. 9 in the state in Class 4A Division II, rolled to a 44-7 win at the Mustang Bowl in Sweetwater’s home opener.

Seminole running back Caton Cramer ran for four touchdowns in the second and third quarters combined as the Mustangs had trouble keeping pace with the Indians fast-paced attack that ran 75 plays — compared to just 61 by the Mustangs.

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by Brandon McAuliffe

GAME STORY: Wylie escapes with narrow win over Lubbock Monterey in season opener

With the way the second half had gone, it seemed like a foregone conclusion that Gio Cardenas was going to hit a walk-off 30-yard field goal for Lubbock Monterey on Friday night at Hugh Sandifer Stadium.

Wylie, meanwhile, was sending the house to try and block the attempt to win its season opener after having last week’s game against Brownwood canceled by lightning.

In the end, Monterey sophomore holder Noah Alexander couldn’t handle the snap, allowing the Bulldogs to escape with a thrilling 29-28 win.

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by Brandon McAuliffe

GAME STORY: Punishing ground game, stifling defense lead Santo to shutout win

MINERAL WELLS — Coming off a shocking loss to Electra after a bad snap on a punt late in the game, the Santo football team knew it needed to prove a point on Thursday night at Ram Stadium.

While the offense was putting up points on nearly every possession, it was the Wildcat defense that looked to be in late-season form as three different players recorded interceptions in a 47-0 win in a game that was pushed up a day and moved to a new venue early in the week.

With Santo installing artificial turf at W.A. Lewis Field, the torrential rains that hit the Big Country over the past week meant that workers weren’t able to finish the final two days of turf installation for the game to be held as scheduled on Friday.

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by Brandon McAuliffe

2024 ABILENE TLCA PREVIEW: New coaching staff gives hope to the Eagles

Having gone 0-10 and 1-9 in their first two seasons as an 11-man program, the Abilene TLCA Eagles changed coaches in the offseason — moving from Jeremy Kirk, who started the program as a six-man school, to Steven Ward.

In taking his first career head coaching job, Ward will be faced with many of the same challenges that Kirk dealt with at the charter school. The most notable of those is not knowing who he would have during the summer as he worked to implement his stamp on the program.

Ward will have continuity on his staff with the return of Dakota Fannin (offensive coordinator) and Tyler Burchette (defensive coordinator), which should help the Eagles as they look to put together the best season in the brief history of the program.

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by Brandon McAuliffe

2024 MUNDAY FOOTBALL PREVIEW: Full staff fuels optimism in Langston’s second year

Admittedly, Brandon Langston’s first year as a head coach did not go anywhere near as well as he had hoped it would.

A steep learning curve, while being shorthanded two coaches, hit the Moguls leader right square in the eyes.

In 2024, however, things are looking vastly different for the small school in southeastern Knox County. Langston said that Munday has beefed up its football coaching staff from three to five while also adding a full-time athletic trainer.

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by Brandon McAuliffe

2024 SIX-MAN PREVIEW: Gordon looks to start a dynasty; Division II is Jayton’s for the taking

After dethroning the two-time defending state champion Westbrook Wildcats in Arlington in December, Mike Reed’s Gordan squad is poised to make a run at repeating atop Class 1A Division I this fall. But the Longhorns will have their hands full as four of the top eight teams in the preseason Top 25 are from the Big Country.

But the bigger question entering the 2024 season is: What happens in Division II now that Grayson Rigdon has transferred from Benjamin to Class 3A Columbus?

Rigdon’s move, after winning three state titles between Strawn and Benjamin, swings the door wide open and hoping to break through it are the Jayton Jaybirds.

Here’s a preview of each of the six-man districts in the Big Country Preps coverage area with our predictions for 2024.

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