Author: Brandon McAuliffe

by Brandon McAuliffe

GAME STORY: Abilene High’s Slack leads Blue to 20-10 win over Red in FCA football game

In a game that typically sees offenses struggle, the Blue team won the 25th annual FCA Myrle Greathouse All-Star Football Classic 20-10 over the Red team at Shotwell Stadium on Saturday night.

Since moving to a draft format, the Red and Blue teams have split the eight games played after the North All-Stars dominated the first 16 years, winning 13 times against their counterparts from the South.

Abilene High quarterback Dylan Slack was named Offensive MVP after throwing for 179 yards and two scores, while Cooper’s Eric Tonche earned Defensive MVP honors with two sacks among his five tackles.

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by Brandon McAuliffe

GAME STORY: Red rallies for win over Blue in FCA volleyball match

Eschewing the traditional North vs. South format in favor of a team draft had the intended results of a more competitive Fellowship of Christian Athletes All-Star Classic volleyball match Saturday afternoon at Wylie’s Bulldog Gym.

Seven of the first 10 volleyball matches saw the event end with a 2-0 sweep for either the North or South.

The first all-star draft produced a competitive three-setter as the Red team rallied past the Blue for a 20-25, 25-12, 25-19 win, led by Clyde’s Aven Horn, who left as the Bev Ball MVP.

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by Brandon McAuliffe

BREAKING: Haddock tabbed to replace old college roommate as new football coach, athletic director at Clyde

Just 18 days after Danny Dudgeon announced he was leaving Clyde to take over as the head football coach and athletic director at Godley, new CISD Superintendent Bryan Allen found his replacement.

With the summer break moving quickly, Allen somehow moved quicker as he tabbed Plainview’s Johnathon Haddock as Dudgeon’s replacement. Haddock beat out a field of 46 applicants for the job.

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by Brandon McAuliffe

GAME STORY: Mother Nature only delays Stephenville’s series-clinching win

STEPHENVILLE — The Stephenville baseball team has had plenty of bad luck this year during the postseason when it comes to weather delays.

Saturday afternoon, that bad luck continued at James T. Young Field.

As Seminole’s Marco Reyes’ stepped into the batter’s box with his team down 3-2 to start the seventh inning, the lightning alarms went off, leading to a lengthy delay of more three hours.

Once the game resumed, Stephenville saw a bloop single tie the game before Kutter Stone’s walk-off sacrifice fly gave the Yellow Jackets a 4-3 win, clinching their fourth consecutive trip past the Region I-4A semifinals.

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by Brandon McAuliffe

BREAKING: Dudgeon makes hard decision to leave Clyde for Godley

Regardless of their sport, coaches often talk about athletes in their program being an extended part of their family.

That relationship made Friday’s announcement to his team especially tough for Clyde football coach and athletic director Danny Dudgeon as he revealed to his squad that he had taken the same role at Godley, a growing Class 4A school northwest of Cleburne.

Making that move now, as summer workouts are on the cusp of starting, was tough for the man that has led the Bulldogs for the past three years.

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by Brandon McAuliffe

GAME STORY: Forsan steals momentum early to take Game 3 win over Haskell

In a series full of wild momentum swings, it was the Forsan softball team that landed the decisive one against Haskell on Saturday at Abilene Christian University’s Poly Wells Field.

The Lady Buffs jumped out to a 7-0 lead through the first two innings of Game 3 and held on for a 10-6 win and a date with Anson in the regional final next week.

After rallying from a six-run deficit to win Game 1 on Thursday, Forsan saw Haskell start fast on Friday as the Maidens took Game 2.

Saturday’s series finale marked the first time all week that the Lady Buffs jumped out to an early lead and they made the most of it.

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by Brandon McAuliffe

GAME STORY: Bangs rallies to force extra innings before Stamford gets walk off win

Bangs scored four two-out runs in the top of the seventh inning on Saturday to force extra innings before Alex Guzman dropped a shot on the chalk down the right field line, scoring Brayden Jimenez, as Stamford took a 10-9 win to sweep the Region I-2A quarterfinal series at Hudson Wade Memorial Field on the campus of Abilene Christian Schools.

Stamford coach Steven Gould said Guzman’s series-clinching hit was perfectly placed.

“He’s a very patient hitter, got the count to 3-1 and knew they were going to have to pitch to him,” Gould said. “He put it right on the line and you can’t do any better than that. He came through in a big way at the plate.”

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by Brandon McAuliffe

GAME STORY: Stamford takes down Bangs in series opener

Stellar pitching and magnificent defensive plays aren’t always the norm at the small school level.

Someone forgot to tell that to the Bangs and Stamford baseball teams.

Stamford’s Christian Duran and Bangs’ Kenny Cole went toe-to-toe on Friday afternoon at Hudson Wade Memorial Field on the campus of Abilene Christian Schools as the Bulldogs eked out a 4-2 win in the opening game of their best-of-three Region I-2A quarterfinal series.

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by Brandon McAuliffe

GAME STORY: Ira uses fast starts to sweep May in Region I-1A semifinals

CLYDE — Ira baseball coach Toby Goodwin was ecstatic when his team opened its Region I-1A semifinal matchup against May with five runs in the top of the first inning of Thursday’s Game 1 as the Bulldogs rolled to a 10-0 win at the Hanner Sports Complex.

The Game 2 encore left him almost speechless.

For the fourth time this year, Ira’s offense pushed at least 12 runs across the plate in an inning as the Bulldogs rolled to an 18-2 win to clinch the series. It was just one run off their best inning of the year, which they accomplished twice in eight days in mid-April. Thursday night’s outburst was also the 10th time this year that Ira had posted an inning with double-digit runs in just 21 games.

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by Brandon McAuliffe

SIGNING DAY: Fourteen Cooper athletes, Wylie’s Salada make college decisions official

It was a special afternoon on Wednesday inside the Cooper and Wylie gyms as 15 local athletes from a variety of sports made their college decisions official in a pair of signing ceremonies.

Cooper had nearly all of the signees as 14 seniors signed for their future with their families, friends, coaches and community members filling the bleachers of Cougar Gymnasium.

At Wylie, meanwhile, Garrett Salada was the lone signee, taking a brief break from his prep for this week’s Region I-5A quarterfinal series against crosstown rival Abilene High to solidify his pledge to Luna Community College in Las Vegas, N.M.

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by Brandon McAuliffe

GAME STORY: Holliday ends Jim Ned’s season for the third straight year

ABILENE — After a pair of thrilling 2-1 games to open their Region I-3A area-round series on Thursday, Jim Ned and Holliday shifted sites on Saturday to Abilene Christian University’s Crutcher Scott Field.

Both teams showed up with an offense ready to go as the Eagles took a 3-2 lead after the first inning before a two-out seventh-inning rally allowed Holliday to escape with a 6-4 win.

Holliday advances to face Brock in the regional quarterfinals next week.

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by Brandon McAuliffe

GAME STORY: Small ball helps Lady Eagles shut out Wylie, advance to region semis for first time since 2003

When Amyah Starks suffered a season-ending knee injury in an early-season tournament, the Abilene High softball team was forced to find a new offensive identity with their slugger sidelined.

The Lady Eagles perfectly executed their small ball mentality in a five-run fourth inning, getting just a leadoff single in the frame as they finished off a Region I-5A sweep of crosstown rival Wylie with a 6-0 win Saturday morning at Abilene Christian University’s Poly Wells Field.

Despite being sidelined, Starks said she’s having as much fun this year she’s had in her four years in the program.

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by Brandon McAuliffe

GAME STORY: Iowa Park stuns Wall in one-game playoff to advance

“This was supposed to end differently.”

Those words from first-year Wall baseball coach Jeremy Gordon carried pain, anguish and heartbreak after his squad was upset 5-2 by Iowa Park in a Region I-3A area-round matchup Friday night at Abilene Christian University’s Crutcher Scott Field.

Uncharacteristic mistakes in the first inning, including twice not being able to turn what would have been an inning-ending double play, were the difference in the single-game playoff.

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by Brandon McAuliffe

GAME STORY: Coahoma flexes offensive power late in shutout of Henrietta

ABILENE — For the third round in a row, the Coahoma softball team faced a do-or-die postseason situation as the Bulldogettes had another single-game playoff on Thursday evening at Abilene Christian University’s Poly Wells Field.

Coach Alex Orosco’s message to his team, as it has been before all 27 games this year, was to weather the storm early knowing they’d get Henrietta’s best punch and then to wear down the Lady Cats in the later stages.

Coahoma did just that and unleashed an offensive onslaught in the fifth and sixth innings on its way to a 7-0 win in the Region I-3A quarterfinals.

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by Brandon McAuliffe

STATE TRACK ROUNDUP: Roby girls, Gordon boys claim state titles as area competitors dominate the medal podium

AUSTIN — Taking two medals in the first event of the day set the stage for Big Country Preps athletes to shine on the final day of the UIL Track & Field State Meet on Saturday at the University of Texas’ Mike A. Myers Stadium.

Area competitors claimed 16 medals in the field events (3 gold, 8 silver, 5 bronze) on their way to 38 on the day. Big Country girls athletes accounted for 23 medals, almost singlehandedly eclipsing the area’s total of 25 medals from the 2023 state meet.

The Roby girls were able to defend their 2023 team title as they finished with 60 points, while Throckmorton (44 points) and Gordon (42 points) finished in second and third place as a team. The Gordon boys completed the banner day by winning the team title with 83 points, while Jayton finished in third place as a team with 34 points.

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by Brandon McAuliffe

GAME STORY: Snyder rebounds from tough Game 2 loss to eliminate Decatur

CLYDE — With 15 wins this year by a run-rule heading into their best-of-three series with Decatur, the Snyder Lady Tigers had not faced much adversity.

A 13-2 win in the opening game of the series on Thursday had it feeling like the Lady Tigers would roll into the third round of the Region I-4A postseason.

After storms interrupted Game 2 of the series, the Lady Eagles walked off Snyder with an Abby Steele home run for a 6-5 win on Saturday morning. Snyder, meanwhile, answered the bell with a 6-2 win in the series finale to advance to the next round.

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by Brandon McAuliffe

GAME STORY: Sixth-inning insurance runs help May fend off Abilene TLCA in playoff opener

CLYDE — The May and Abilene TLCA baseball teams had not played many close games this year as they headed into their Region I-1A bi-district matchup.

After getting started on Friday night and making it just a few pitches before being interrupted by lightning, the two teams returned to the Hanner Sports Complex for what turned into a thrilling 7-4 win by the Tigers on Saturday morning.

May coach Chad Dail was happy to see how his team dealt with the adversity of falling behind multiple times with a response — especially with a lineup missing numerous starters due to injuries.

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by Brandon McAuliffe

STATE TRACK ROUNDUP: Hico’s Hunt, Goldthwaite’s Jernigan headline 18-medal day for area athletes

AUSTIN — After area Class 3A and 4A competitors opened the UIL Track & Field State Meet with a combined 10 medals on Thursday, Big Country Preps athletes took partial ownership of the medal stand at Mike A. Meyers Stadium at the University of Texas on Friday in the Class 2A and 5A portions of the event.

Area athletes combined to claim 18 medals on the day, with Hico junior Kaylee Hunt joining Goldthwaite seniors Lainey Jernigan and Hope Hermesmeyer in a dominating performance.

The trio combined for six medals on the day as Goldthwaite, Stamford and Hico all posted top-five finishes in the 2A girls team competition.

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by Brandon McAuliffe

STATE TRACK ROUNDUP: Stephenville’s Brister, Brownwood’s Hall and Brock’s Foster claim gold medals at 3A/4A meet

AUSTIN — The UIL Track & Field State Meet kicked off Thursday with Classes 3A and 4A competing at Mike Meyers Stadium on the campus of the University of Texas, and Big Country athletes made their presence felt to start to the three-day affair.

Area competitors didn’t quite match the 14 medals accrued on the opening day of the 2023 state meet, but they still made a solid showing with 10 combined medals.

Headlining the list of medalists were Brock’s Dylan Foster (300-meter hurdles), Stephenville’s Creece Brister (shot put) and Brownwood’s Ike Hall (triple jump), who all left Austin with gold medals. Continue reading “STATE TRACK ROUNDUP: Stephenville’s Brister, Brownwood’s Hall and Brock’s Foster claim gold medals at 3A/4A meet” →

by Brandon McAuliffe

GAME STORY: Explosive fourth inning helps Hermleigh take Game 1 win over Santa Anna

TUSCOLA — Into the fourth inning on Tuesday night, Hermleigh’s softball team had very few answers for Santa Anna pitcher Dayla Ray.

Leading 4-2 with one out in the fourth, Hallie Ellerbee reached base on a controversial infield single and it led to an eight-run inning as the Lady Cardinals bats came alive on their way to a 13-3 win in the first game of a Region I-1A quarterfinal series.

Ellerbee’s hit was one that brought the dugout to life and quickly gave confidence to the Lady Cardinal offense.

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by Brandon McAuliffe

GAME STORY: Snyder opens series with 11-1 victory over Brownwood

ABILENE — With a .911 winning percentage on the season, the No. 10-ranked Snyder softball team entered the postseason on an eight-game winning streak heading into its Region I-4A bi-district series with Brownwood.

The Lady Tigers also owned 9-0 and 7-1 wins over the Lady Lions during nondistrict play.

Friday afternoon at Cooper’s Cougar Diamond, Snyder made it 3 for 3 against Brownwood with an 11-1 win to take a 1-0 series lead.

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by Brandon McAuliffe

SOFTBALL ROUNDUP: Bangs, Coahoma open postseason with run-rule wins

SAN ANGELO — The Bangs Lady Dragons and Coahoma Bulldogettes both opened their playoff runs with comfortable wins Thursday afternoon, easily dispatching of their opponents in lopsided fashion.

Opening the doubleheader of one-game bi-district playoffs, the Lady Dragons wasted no time in burying McCamey 22-1 win in the day’s early action. And as an encore, the Bulldogettes saw Mia Clemmer hit two home runs, including a walk-off grand slam, as Coahoma hammered Ingram Moore 17-0.

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by Brandon McAuliffe

GAME STORY: Long balls launch Wall to undefeated district championship

WALL — There was a time this season where first-year Wall coach Jeremy Gordon used the designated hitter in his lineup to keep second baseman Matthew Steen on the bench.

After having worked his way back into the lineup, Thursday night Steen had a massive breakout game as the Hawks completed an undefeated run through District 6-3A with a 12-3 win over Jim Ned.

Steen, a senior, had two of the Hawks’ season-high five home runs as Wall claimed its first outright district championship since 2019.

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by Brandon McAuliffe

BREAKING: After four years as head coach, Price leaving Early for East Texas

Coaching changes are often prevalent in years in which the University Interscholastic League announces changes to the district and classification alignments, and that has certainly been true of the Big Country, which has seen 11 changes this offseason between the 11-man and six-man ranks.

Monday, that number grew again as Daniel Price announced that he is leaving Early to take over as the offensive coordinator at Palestine.

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by Brandon McAuliffe

BREAKING: Abilene ISD fills prominent roles within athletic department

Abilene Independent School District Athletic Director Jim Garfield hasn’t had to make too many significant hires during his short time leading the department.

During his nearly two years, Garfield had hired Brandon Hudson to lead the Cooper girls basketball team, Tiffany Van Hoose to lead the Abilene High girls soccer program and Brad Harman to captain the AHS baseball team.

Wednesday afternoon, the veteran administrator added to that list when AISD announced the replacements for Del Van Cox (assistant AD) and Brenda Andress (AHS girls basketball). Lubbock ISD Assistant AD Lou Mora will replace Cox while Andress’ successor is Hale Center girls basketball coach Alfonzo Franklin.

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by Brandon McAuliffe

LOCAL SOFTBALL ROUNDUP: Abilene High, Wylie earn important wins

While the District 4-5A baseball race garners hype and headlines, the softball race may be just as compelling.

Wylie beat Lubbock Coronado 15-4 on Tuesday night while Abilene High knocked off district leader Lubbock Cooper 5-4, creating a logjam among the league’s four teams jockeying for playoff positioning.

Tuesday’s win by the Lady Eagles leaves them at 8-4 in district play with their season complete while it dropped the Lady Pirates to 9-2. Wylie, meanwhile, is now tied for second place with Lubbock Monterey at 8-3.

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