Author: Yale Youngblood, Special to Big Country Preps

by Yale Youngblood, Special to Big Country Preps

FEATURE: Young Wylie squad working to build consistency as district play ramps up

Last year, the Wylie volleyball team finished the season perched on hallowed ground, setting/spiking/toughing its way to a 32-14 record en route to the Region I-5A quarterfinals. 

For those keeping score at home, that’s three rounds deep in the playoffs — marking the program’s deepest run since making the jump to Class 5A.

While coach Shay Cox appreciated the accomplishment of her very bulldog-ish Lady Bulldogs, she also knew every time she reviewed the list of the 2021 graduating players that replicating that kind of success and sustaining the momentum this season was going to be a tall order.

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by Yale Youngblood, Special to Big Country Preps

FEATURE: Evans, Hamlin finding surprising success out of ashes of 0-10 campaign

When you score all of 28 points during an entire season and win none of 10 games in the process, there’s a tendency for your fans to figure that whatever happens the next year is bound to be better than what happened last.

But even the most ardent among the Hamlin Pied Piper faithful have been pleasantly surprised by how the team’s 2022 campaign has begun.

Take last week, for instance. Hamlin blanked Crosbyton 33-0 to run its record to 2-1. Coupling that triumph with a 6-2 victory over Water Valley the week before, the Pied Pipers have now put together a win streak. Even more importantly, they’ve shown that coach Chris Evans, who can find a silver lining among even the darkest of clouds, might have something in that mantra of his.

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by Yale Youngblood, Special to Big Country Preps

FEATURE: Sophomore RB Wilkerson a budding star for resurgent Comanche Indians

Two games into the 2022 football season, the Comanche Indians have already doubled their win total from a year ago and mustered nearly 100 points. But that’s only part of one of the area’s better “feel good” stories as fall unfolds.

Comanche has also introduced a prime candidate to make fans do a double-take as they pore over the area’s weekly stat sheets moving forward.

Displaying a scintillating blend of thunder and lightning, sophomore running back Sawyer Wilkerson gained 103 yards on 12 carries in Comanche’s season-opening 49-7 victory over Brady. Then, last Friday during a 42-18 thumping of Bangs, Wilkerson upshifted to race for 273 more yards (on 18 carries). That means every time this year that a stadium announcer has uttered the words, “Wilkerson with the carry,” the back has carried the ball an average of 12½ yards.

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by Yale Youngblood, Special to Big Country Preps

FEATURE: Physical Santo defense off to dominating start

In an era when video-game offenses across the state routinely test the mettle of the ERCOT grid, the Santo Wildcats are quite content to go “Old School” in 2022.

(As a reminder, Old School has a sign outside the door that proclaims: “Offense Sells Tickets. Defense Wins Championships!”)

While it’s still a bit premature to raise trophies, it’s high time to exclaim what the Wildcats have accomplished on the defensive side of the ball so far this fall.

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by Yale Youngblood, Special to Big Country Preps

GAME STORY: Wylie rallies but drops nine-inning thriller to Aledo in Game 1

CLEBURNE — In a Region I-5A semifinal series opener marked by upwards of a dozen potential tell-tale moments, two bouncing balls ultimately sealed the deal in Aledo’s nail-biting, 6-5, nine-inning win over Wylie on Thursday evening.

The first, which denied the Bulldogs a chance to gain the upper hand in the best-of-three series, came off the bat of Wylie catcher Landon Williams in the seventh inning. The game was tied 5-5, and Williams was hitting with two outs and teammate Riley Hood leading off from first base after being hit by a pitch.

The junior backstop blasted a line drive to deep left field, which would have easily scored Hood — save for fact that it bounced over the fence for a ground-rule double. That left Hood at third and Williams at second, and the Bulldogs couldn’t bring either home.

The second, and deciding hop, occurred two innings later. With two outs in the bottom half of the inning and a runner on first, Bearcat right fielder Zach Harrison hit a soft popup some 130 feet from home plate toward the first base line. Had it gone 131, Wylie right fielder Grayson Beardon might have been able to catch it. Instead, his dive came up just short, and the ball caromed off his glove away from second baseman JT Thompson, who was also in hot pursuit — just far enough for Aledo’s Parker Stegall to race around the bases and beat Thompson’s throw by a few feet.

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by Yale Youngblood, Special to Big Country Preps

GAME STORY: Abilene High drops heartbreaker to Carroll in Reese’s final game

Photos by Seth LaRue, special to Big Country Preps

WEATHERFORD – In a Region I-6A quarterfinal softball game that offered practically everything a fan could ask for, the one thing lacking at the end Friday night was a happy ending to Abilene High coach Jim Reese’s storied career.

With one thunderous swing of the bat, Southlake Carroll’s Lillian Cooper saw to that. On a 3-2 pitch from AHS reliever Diana Silva, the Lady Dragon shortstop launched a three-run home run well beyond the center field wall. The blast capped a four-run eighth inning by the Lady Dragons, giving Carroll a thrilling — and controversial — 9-8 win over the scrappy Lady Eagles in a win-or-go-home game for Abilene High.

They went home, but not without a fight. After Cooper’s missile cleared the wall to make it 9-5 in the top half of the eighth inning, the Lady Eagles opened their half of the frame with four straight hits to cut the lead to the final margin. But Carroll pitcher Cameron Timmons induced four straight ground balls thereafter, three of which were converted to outs before AHS could scratch for the tying run.

As a result, Carroll, which beat the Lady Eagles 7-5 on Thursday in the first game of the best-of-three series, advances to the next round of the playoffs with a 21-13 record. Abilene High finished its season at 15-11 — and with a lot of questions that begin with the words “what if …?”

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by Yale Youngblood, Special to Big Country Preps

GAME STORY: QB Cowgill, RB Texada fuel Grapevine past Wylie 34-24

GRAPEVINE — Wylie’s scrappiness and penchant for big plays served it admirably for three quarters of the Bulldogs’ Region I-5A Division II bi-district battle with Grapevine on Friday night. But in the end, the Mustangs’ balanced attack — led by running back Caleb Texada and quarterback Max Cowgill — proved more than the visitors could match in an exciting 34-24 loss that ended the Dogs’ up-and-down 2020 season.

Texada was the lone ball carrier for Grapevine, but he ran with distinction, amassing 190 yards on 29 totes, while adding two scoring runs. Meanwhile, Cowgill, a keenly accurate senior signal caller, completed 23 of 35 passes for 282 yards and two touchdowns. Those collaborative feats helped propel Grapevine to an 8-3 record and a chance to advance in the playoffs. Wylie finished at 4-4.

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by Yale Youngblood, Special to Big Country Preps

GAME STORY: Stephenville cruises past Benbrook, into area-around matchup with No. 1 Argyle

FORT WORTH — Kason Philips ran for 167 yards and four touchdowns and Gavin Rountree went 8-for-11 passing for 183 yards and two more scores to lead the Stephenville Yellow Jackets to a resounding 56-14 thumping of the Benbrook Bobcats in a Region II-4A Division I playoff game Friday night at Farrington Field.

Philips powered, raced, zigged and zagged to scoring runs of 1, 3, 18 and 40 yards, as the Yellow Jackets struck early and often to improve their record to 6-5. In fact, Stephenville scored on five of its first six offensive possessions. And the Jackets even added a defensive score in between when Ryder Lambert returned a fumble 42 yards to help punctuate a dominant effort by Stephenville in all three phases of the game.

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by Yale Youngblood, Special to Big Country Preps

GAME STORY: Garcia, Cooper defense steal show in 48-0 win over Arlington Heights

FORT WORTH — Cooper’s super back Noah Garcia ran for 163 yards, caught a pair of passes good for another 82 yards, and scored five touchdowns to lead the Cougars to a 48-0 rout of Fort Worth Arlington Heights on Thursday night at Farrington Field.

At that, the senior speedster was just one of several offensive heroes for Cooper. Senior quarterback Aidan Thompson went 11-for-14 passing for 245 yards and three touchdowns, while sophomore running back Jeremiah Riley ran for 107 yards as the Cougars won their fourth straight game.

In the process, they improved to 4-1 on the season and 3-0 in District 3-5A Division I play. The Yellow Jackets, who have had several games canceled because of coronavirus and were playing for the first time in three weeks, fell to 2-1 overall and 0-1 in district.

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by Yale Youngblood, Special to Big Country Preps

GAME STORY: Brock drops heartbreaker to Pottsboro in 3A state semis

FRISCO — For the second consecutive year, the Brock Eagles stood at the doorstep of a Class 3A state title game, only to have the welcome mat yanked from beneath them in gut-wrenching fashion.

Friday, the Pottsboro Cardinals did the dirty deed by way of a 36-35 win in a game for the ages at the Ford Center at the Star. An offensive battle that saw only two punts all night – one by each team – ultimately came down to a gem of a defensive play. Eagle running back Cash Jones’ “jump ball” pass to quarterback Jaxon Gleaton was picked off by Pottsboro’s Tyler Farris in the end zone with 45 seconds left, thus ending Brock’s season at 12-3. The Cardinals improved to 15-0 and will play the winner of Grandview and Columbus in the title game at AT&T Stadium next week.

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by Yale Youngblood, Special to Big Country Preps

GAME STORY: Brock avenges district loss to Pilot Point, advances to state semis

BEDFORD — In a Class 3A regional final that featured a rematch between District 4 heavyweights Friday night, the Brock Eagles cashed in on their shot at revenge — pretty much literally.

With running back Cash Jones churning for 223 yards and a touchdown — and adding an interception, to boot — the Eagles avenged their only district loss by besting the Bearcats 31-21 at HEB ISD’s Pennington Field. With the win, the Eagles trumped Pilot Point’s 20-14 victory over them earlier in the year, ran their record to 12-2 and earned a spot in next week’s state Class 3A state semifinals against Pottsboro, which edged Gladewater 35-34 in overtime in another regional final Friday night. Pilot Point finished its season at 12-2.

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by Yale Youngblood, Special to Big Country Preps

Fast start, big plays spark Haltom past Abilene High 28-14

NORTH RICHLAND HILLS — Haltom’s quick-strike offense accounted for three big-play touchdowns, and that was enough to propel the unbeaten Buffalos to a 28-14 win over Abilene in a District 3-6A game Friday night that probably left the Eagles wondering, “What if …?” afterward.

Though the Buffs improved to 7-0 on the season and 3-0 in league play, Abilene High’s defense often put the clamps on a team that was averaging more than 50 points per game — and that had taken down perennial district kingpin Trinity 48-34 a week earlier.

It couldn’t stymie Haltom’s talented quarterback Michael Black three times, however, and that was pretty much the difference in a hard-hitting game. Black ran for a 51-yard score and threw a 51-yard touchdown bomb to Decorian Mitchell. At that, it was his third scoring play that showed why the Buffalos are so dangerous.

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by Yale Youngblood, Special to Big Country Preps

Abilene High earns emotional win at Hurst Bell

BEDFORD — Sparked by big plays by the offense, defense and special teams, the Abilene High Eagles earned an emotional 28-7 win over the Hurst Bell Blue Raiders in a District 3-6A game Friday night at Pennington Field.

Just days after the passing of Coach Del Van Cox’s father, Nowlin “Corky” Cox, the Eagles struck quickly on a bomb and a blocked a field goal — and intercepted a pass at a key juncture in the game — to improve their record to 5-1 overall and 2-0 in district. Bell fell to 1-5 and 0-2.

Afterward, during Cox’s postgame speech to the squad, dozens of Eagles shouted, “We love you, Coach!” and then proceeded to give him a group hug after he congratulated them on their effort against the Raiders.

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by Yale Youngblood, Special to Big Country Preps

Miscues cost Cooper in loss to Grapevine

DENTON — Cooper let one slip away Friday night — literally.

Taking advantage of a lost fumble, a pair of in-and-out-of-the-receivers’ hands interceptions and a slew of kicking game bobbles by the Cougars, Grapevine dealt the visitors a 31-13 loss at soggy Apogee Stadium. The venue, on the campus of the University of North Texas, served as the Mustangs’ home field because of construction on their own stadium.

Friday, it also served as a virtual rain gauge, as a steady showers sprayed the setting throughout the game, which was delayed for 30 minutes by lightening spotted in the area at the close of the first quarter.

The Cougars likely felt they had been struck by a figurative lightening bolt, as a number of potential Cooper possessions wound up with the ball on the ground or in their opponents’ hands at the most inopportune times.

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