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Continue reading “PHOTO GALLERY: Wichita Falls Legacy-Abilene High boys basketball (40 images)”
A busy week across the Big Country that began Monday with the University Interscholastic League’s biennial realignment continued Wednesday with National Signing Day ceremonies at all three local high schools.
Abilene High and Cooper each had three football players put pen to paper, joining a fourth at each school who had already made his commitment official. And Wylie, meanwhile, had a pair of athletes sign to compete collegiately — one in football and another in soccer.
In all, eight local boys signed at their respective Signing Day ceremonies, earning celebration from family, friends and their high school coaches.
Coming off a rough performance Saturday in a 48-41 loss to crosstown rival Cooper, the Abilene High boys basketball team bounced back in a major way Tuesday, dominating Wichita Falls Legacy from start to finish in a 54-34 win at Eagle Gym.
The Eagles limited the Leopards to just 11 points before halftime, taking a 16-point lead into the break before stretching that advantage to a game-high 25 points early in the fourth quarter.
The dominating effort, which followed a 49-19 Legacy win in the girls game, improved Abilene High to 17-11 on the year and kept the Eagles alone in first place in the District 4-5A standings at 4-1.
While area coaches and athletic directors were left scrambling to adjust to the unexpected new districts they were placed in on Monday during the University Interscholastic League’s biennial realignment, the leaders of Abilene’s three largest football programs shared a stress-free day in the Metroplex at the Birdville ISD Fine Arts/Athletic Complex.
Abilene High, Cooper and Wylie saw minimal changes to their football district alignments when those were made public at 9 a.m., as the Eagles remained in District 2-5A Division I with Amarillo High, Amarillo Caprock, Amarillo Tascosa, Frenship Memorial, Lubbock High, Lubbock Monterey and Wolfforth Frenship and the Cougars and Bulldogs stayed in District 2-5A DII with Amarillo Palo Duro, Lubbock Cooper, Lubbock Coronado, Wichita Falls Legacy and Wichita Falls Memorial.
Adding to the largely mundane nature of Monday’s proceedings, the three schools also remained in a five-team District 4-5A for their other sports, staying with the two Wichita Falls schools in an unchanged league.
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Continue reading “PHOTO GALLERY: Abilene High-Cooper boys basketball (68 images)”
Digital photos, prints and keepsakes may be purchased by clicking the link below. The “BigCountryPreps.com” watermark will be removed from all purchased photos.
Continue reading “PHOTO GALLERY: Abilene High-Cooper girls basketball (38 images)”
17Digital photos, prints and keepsakes may be purchased by clicking the link below. The “BigCountryPreps.com” watermark will be removed from all purchased photos.
Last week’s winter storm made for a wild week of action, condensing a week’s worth of games into three day’s time. And the results were as unpredictable as you might expect given the circumstances.
We saw several district championship and playoff races shaken up by upsets and others take shape as the cream continued its rise to the top.
As we do here weekly, it’s time to take survey of the Big Country boys basketball landscape. We hope you enjoy this look at the biggest developments from last week and the biggest games this week’s slate has to offer.
Over the past two years, the boys basketball coaches in District 4-5A have consistently talked about the competitive balance of the league and how no game or opponent can be overlooked because any of the district’s five teams can beat another on a given day.
Saturday’s crosstown matchup between Abilene High and Cooper was a great example of this principle in action.
The Cougars came in off losses in each of their first three district games, while the Eagles were unbeaten at 3-0. But at the end of 32 minutes, it was Cooper celebrating a massive 48-41 win on its home floor that revitalized its playoff hopes and set up what is certain to be a wild second half of league action starting next week.
The District 4-5A showdown between Abilene High and Cooper had the look and feel of a playoff matchup Saturday afternoon at Cougar Gym.
Neither team created any separation until Cooper senior Amiya Mayes’ free throw with 5.55 seconds to play put the Lady Cougars up five as CHS held off an Abilene High squad that was looking for its first district win, 33-28, to all but lock up a playoff spot. It was Cooper’s first home win over Abilene High since a 60-36 victory on Dec. 16, 2022.
To officially clinch a playoff berth, the Lady Cougars will need to win one of their final two games (at Wichita Falls Memorial, versus Wichita Falls Legacy) or see Abilene High lose one of its final two games against Legacy or Wylie. It would be Cooper’s first playoff berth since the 2019-20 season.
After being cooped up for several days due to Winter Storm Fern, the Abilene High basketball teams were finally able to return to the court on Thursday for a District 4-5A doubleheader against Wichita Falls Memorial.
The matchup was postponed on Tuesday and Wednesday due to the cancellation of school for Abilene ISD and then was in jeopardy on Thursday after Wichita Falls ISD canceled classes.
Memorial was given permission from WFISD superintendent Dr. Donny Lee to travel to Abilene and headed home with a split of the two games. The Lady Mavericks overcame a halftime deficit to beat AHS 49-37, while the Abilene High boys led wire to wire and used an electric fourth quarter to claim a 53-39 win.
Mother Nature did her best to bring the high school basketball season to a standstill, sending a winter storm that put most Big Country teams on the shelf for a week. But the action around that unexpected break gives us plenty to talk about in this week’s look at the area boys basketball scene.
With a number of excellent (and meaningful) games last week and some big matchups slated for the next few days, the area district races remain as intriguing as ever.
Let’s go ahead now and take a look at the biggest games the area slate has to offer this week and some of the outcomes last week that helped shape the weeks to come.
Most high school football teams have that one player acknowledged by the coaching staff as the prime example of what a teammate should be.
He’s the guy who seldom misses any practice time and is a regular in the weight room. He’s early to arrive. He’s late to leave and takes pride in being coachable, though he seldom needs direction.
He always sets the right example for younger players. He doesn’t complain and, above all else, he’s tough enough to make all the aforementioned traits consistently possible.
Know someone like that? Here is where they are honored.
Here are our first-team selections for the 2025 All-Big Country Preps football team. For the rest of this year’s selections, click the links below.
Here are our second-team selections for the 2025 All-Big Country Preps football team. For the rest of this year’s selections, click the links below.
Here are our selections for the 2024 All-Big Country Preps Football Team (Third-Team roster). For the rest of this year’s selections, click the links below.
Here are our selections for the 2024 All-Big Country Preps Rising Stars Team — an honor reserved for the area’s top freshman and sophomore football players. For the rest of this year’s selections, click the links below.
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Continue reading “PHOTO GALLERY: Wylie-Abilene High basketball doubleheader (60 images)”
With his team down one early in the fourth quarter, Payton Shawver drained 3-pointers on three consecutive possessions to fuel the Abilene High boys basketball team to a 61-53 home win over crosstown rival Wylie in a key District 4-5A game full of big runs, clutch shots and wild momentum swings Tuesday at Eagle Gym.
The three triples came as part of an 11-point fourth quarter for the talented senior, whose game-high 27 points sent a raucous AHS crowd home happy as the Eagles (15-10 overall) improved to 2-0 in district play.
Wylie, which erased a 10-point third-quarter deficit to take a 42-41 lead on John Chavez’s 3 with 6:21 remaining in the game, fell to 9-11 on the season and 0-1 in league action with the loss, which came as part of a doubleheader split as the Lady Bulldogs topped the Lady Eagles 65-19 in Tuesday’s early game.
Ysée Le Borgne may feel like a fish out of water living in Ballinger, Texas. After all, the 16-year-old foreign exchange student and native of Lille, France is more than 5,000 miles and (needless to say), a major cultural shift away from her hometown.
On the basketball court, however, the 6-foot sophomore guard is right at home — so much so that she earned our Big Country Preps Player of Week for the week ending Jan. 17 with a rare quadruple double.
Le Borgne, who opened the week with a 24-point, 14-rebound double-double in a loss to Colorado City, showed the potential for a “quad” that night with seven steals, six pass deflections and four blocks.
Three days later it happened in a 43-32 win over Coleman that saw Le Borne finish with 23 points, 12 boards, 10 steals and 10 pass deflections.
District races are heating up throughout the Big Country and the cream is quickly rising to the top in our area leagues.
Last week and helped provide some clarity in a number of district’s throughout the BCP coverage area, and this week will, no doubt, do the same.
Without further ado, let’s go ahead and dive into this week’s column and take a look at the biggest games on this week’s slate and some of the top results last week had to offer.
Entering Tuesday’s crosstown rivalry game off lopsided losses to open District 4-5A play, both the Abilene High and Cooper girls basketball teams were looking to break into the win column and get an early leg up in the race for the league’s fourth playoff spot.
With just four wins between them coming into the week, both squads have faced their share of adversity this season. But competing in a five-team district guarantees that at least one of them will close a tough year of transition and/or growth in the playoffs.
On Tuesday at Eagle Gym, it was Cooper that took a running leap toward that goal, using relentless pressure defense to stifle Abilene High in a dominant 43-18 victory. The Lady Cougars, who forced more turnovers than points allowed, trailed only once (at 5-4 early in the second quarter), scoring 17 second-quarter points to pull away for a commanding 21-7 lead by halftime.
With district play either underway or starting this week for all area boys basketball teams, it’s time to start taking a closer look at how our Big Country hoops races are shaping up.
And as we’ve done in the past, we’ll break down our top upcoming matchups, the top results from the previous week and the area’s biggest surprise right here each Sunday, starting with this column.
We hope you enjoy a look at this week in area boys basketball.
It’s one thing to pour in points.
It’s quite another to do it against difficult competition in a big-school tournament. Wylie senior Swade Sipe, our Big Country Preps Player of the Week, did exactly that in last week’s Granbury tournament, helping the Bulldogs to a 2-2 mark in the challenging event.
Sipe’s weekend began with a 22-point effort in a 54-48 win over Saginaw. It continued with 12 points in a 56-50 loss to Prosper Rock Hill, 20 points in a 59-51 win over Midland Christian and a 33-point night in a 46-43 loss to Arlington Lamar.
The Abilene High and Cooper boys basketball teams both scored impressive wins on the opening night of the Fyzical Therapy and Balance Centers Key City Classic on Thursday evening to earn their way into the championship bracket for the remainder of the three-day event.
AHS whipped El Paso Jefferson 73-33 at Eagle Gym in its opener, while Cooper downed Cleburne 49-42 at Cougar Gym.
For full results of the tournament’s first day and the schedule for Friday’s second-round action, click here.
Here are the 2025 Fyzical Therapy and Balance Centers Key City Classic boys basketball tournament matchups and results: Continue reading “TOURNAMENT CENTRAL: 2025 Fyzical Therapy and Balance Centers Key City Classic schedule, results”
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Continue reading “PHOTO GALLERY: Abilene High-Denton Ryan area-round football playoff (115 images)”
Not only is our Big Country Preps Player of the Week holding down the top spot with big numbers, but his performance in Graham’s 35-28 area round win over Lubbock Cooper Liberty was a virtual seminar on poise.
Helping the Steers (9-3) to overcome three separate deficits, senior QB/kicker/punter Jace Gill was 15 of 28 for 239 yards and three TDs. He also rushed 12 times for 118 yards and another score.
FORT WORTH — Friday night’s Region I-5A Division I area round showdown between No. 10 Abilene High and No. 4 Denton Ryan at Crowley ISD Multi-Purpose Stadium started badly for the Eagles and quickly went downhill from there as the Raiders rolled to a 59-0 win.
Quin Henigan threw for 319 yards and six touchdowns as Ryan put up 453 yards of offense, avenging a 31-21 loss in the same round of the 2023 playoffs.
Abilene High coach Mike Fullen fully shouldered the blame for the loss as AHS had just 246 yards of offense and turned the ball over four times.
You have to love a great all-around performance and in the case of Brayden Henry, our Big Country Preps Player of the Week, his effort in last week’s 84-25 bi-district win over El Paso Bel Air was a record-setter.
Aside from going 6 of 7 through the air or 56 yards and one TD, he also rushed five times for 137 yards and three more scores.
The Abilene High football team kicked off its playoff run in dominant fashion Thursday, scoring early and often in an 84-25 bi-district win over El Paso Bel Air at Shotwell Stadium.
Do-it-all senior Brayden Henry led the way, accounting for six total touchdowns — three rushing, one punt return, one passing and one receiving — to pass Abram Smith for the school record in career touchdowns responsible for. But it was complete team effort for the Eagles, as eight players had a hand in at least one touchdown, and virtually everyone on the roster got a chance to play and contribute.
With the victory, AHS’ seventh in a row, coach Mike Fullen’s squad earned a Region I-5A Division I area-round matchup next week with fourth-ranked Denton Ryan, which routed Fort Worth Chisholm Trail 59-7 in its first-round game on Thursday.
Five local athletes put pen to paper at local Signing Day ceremonies on Wednesday, making their college decisions official in front of friends, family and the coaches who helped make their special day possible.
At Wylie, baseball players Colby Garrett and Hudson Tuley signed with Ranger College and McLennan Community College, respectively, while softball player Olivia Volz signed to continue her athletic and academic career at Cisco College.
And over at Abilene High, softball pitcher Avah Reyes gave her signature to Odessa College, while soccer player Rheauna De La Garza signed to play at Seminole State College in Seminole, Okla.
Photo by Roy Wheeler, PressPassSports.com
Amarillo High 63, Amarillo Tascosa 21 — After having all but one of its wins wiped out for the use of an ineligible player, the Sandies entered Friday needing a win over the Rebels and some help after to earn a spot in the playoffs. Amarillo High got both, routing Tascosa and then winning a three-way coin toss over Amarillo Caprock and Lubbock High for the district’s fourth-playoff spot.
The Sandies (2-8, 2-4) put up 551 yards of offense in the win, getting 368 yards and seven touchdowns passing from Jett Lopez and a huge game running and catching the ball from Jude Dunavin (13-174, 2 TDs rushing; 5-119, 1 TD receiving). Austin Sluder (8-184, 5 TDs) also had a big game catching the ball for AHS.
It’s been a good while since a Goldthwaite Eagle snagged our Big Country Preps Player of the Week award in any sport. But sophomore Owen Campbell obliterated that streak with a fabulous effort in a 61-0 rout of Meridian on Friday.
His performance came on both sides of the ball, beginning with 12 carries for 144 yards and four touchdowns from his running back position.
Defensively Campbell charted eleven tackles, including seven solos, four assists and an interception from the GHS secondary.
“Owen had a tremendous game on Friday where he contributed to our win,” coach Andy Howard said. “He made a huge impact in all three phases of the game. He plays a huge role for us every week on defense, offense and on special teams.
“He continues to grow and improve as a player every week. I am proud of Owen but proud of everyone around him as well.”
Abilene High 42, Lubbock Monterey 34 — Brayden Henry passed for 183 yards and two touchdowns, ran for 62 yards and two more scores and had a hand in a pair of two-point conversions to help the Eagles clinch the outright district title with a hard-fought win over the Plainsmen.
AHS also got strong production from M’Aujehl Aboso (5-76, 1 TD receiving; 4-38, 1 TD rushing) and Ethan Joyner (14-81 rushing, 2-13 receiving) in closing its regular season at 8-2 overall and 6-0 in league play.
Spending Halloween at Shotwell Stadium for Abilene High’s Senior Night matchup against Lubbock Monterey, Eagles quarterback Brayden Henry made a number of plays on Friday that will be haunting the Plainsmen’s dreams.
The senior speedster, who has been a nightmare to defend all season, made a pair of particularly fiendish plays to bookend a thrilling 42-34 win for AHS that both clinched the outright District 2-5A Division I championship for the Eagles and left Monterey needing to beat Amarillo Caprock in next week’s regular season finale to advance to the postseason as the league’s No. 4 playoff seed.
After opening the game’s scoring with a 31-yard touchdown run on a third-and-6 play that saw him evade a tackle in the backfield, beat a defender the edge and weave through the Plainsmen defense all the way to the end zone, Henry sealed the Abilene High victory with a similarly monstrous effort.
Facing a third-and-7 situation with one minute, 38 seconds remaining after the Plainsmen had narrowed the gap to eight points with Jonah Reed’s fifth touchdown pass of the night, Henry escaped the clutches of Darius Tillman in the backfield and evaded another potential tackle for loss by Sean Calderon before racing to and down the visitor’s sideline for a 14-yard gain that allowed his team to close the game in the victory formation and its night by hoisting its third district championship trophy in as many years.
What more can be said about the performance of Wall senior Landon York last week other than it was a model of efficiency?
Our Big Country Preps Player of the Week shredded Grape Creek in a 48-0 district win to clinch the District 4-3A DII championship.
Along the way, York connected on 18 of 21 throws for 246 yards and get this: seven touchdowns. That means one out of every three throws resulted in points.
How good of a night did he have? How about a ridiculous quarterback rating of 294.1?
Photo by Carter Pirtle, PressPassSports.com
Abilene High 24, Amarillo Tascosa 6 — The Eagles made three red-zone stops in the first half to take a 10-0 lead into halftime and scored two fourth-quarter touchdowns pull away for a three-score win over the Rebels to clinch at least a share of the district title.
Ethan Joyner ran for 94 yards and received for 33, while M’Aujehl Aboso received for 160 yards and two touchdowns to fuel Abilene High (7-2, 5-0), which also got a solid game from Brayden Henry (14-67 rushing, 5-6-0—86, 1 TD passing) in the win.
Photos by Carter Pirtle, PressPassSports.com
AMARILLO — The Abilene High football team hit the road on a mission Friday, looking to clinch at least a share of the District 2-5A Division I title and lock up a home playoff game with a win over a tough Amarillo Tascosa team that came in riding a three-game district winning streak itself.
After waiting out a lightning delay that pushed the start the game back more than an hour and a half, the Eagles accomplished all of those things, grinding out a 24-6 win at Dick Bivins Stadium to improve to 7-2 overall and 4-0 in 2-5A DI action.
Leading 10-0 at halftime after holding the Rebels to zero points on three red zone trips in the first half and 10-6 after three quarters following Tascosa’s only touchdown of the game, Abilene High put together a pair of fourth-quarter scoring drives to seal the victory and set up a big regular-season finale at home against Lubbock Monterey next week.
Being honored as the lone senior on the Wylie volleyball team, Avery LaCroix made her final home match a memorable one Tuesday evening, putting on a Senior Night show in a 25-13, 25-10, 25-13 win over crosstown rival Abilene High.
The versatile hitter put up a team-high 11 kills with a remarkable .688 hitting percentage while contributing a team high-tying three blocks (1 solo, 2 assists) to fuel a dominant effort for the Lady Bulldogs, who stayed unbeaten in District 4-5A play heading into a huge match at Wichita Falls Memorial on Friday.
The victory, which improved WHS to 31-7 overall and 7-0 in league action, was the 11th in a row for coach Shay Cox’s team, which has a chance to secure its second consecutive district title with one more win.
Forsan senior Hayden Bowlin had a career night last Friday and picked up our Big Country Preps Player of the Week award in the process.
To begin with, the FHS QB rushed for 280 yards and five scores in last week’s 60-27 win over Colorado City. Aside from that, he threw for 59 yards, he returned a punt 75 yards for a sixth TD and had a 34-yard kickoff return to give him 389 all-purpose yards and 36 of FHS’ points.
Abilene High 73, Lubbock High 0 — The Eagles outgained the Westerners 445-32 and got three non-offensive touchdowns, including a pair of fumble return scores for nose guard Jayden Starks in a blowout win on homecoming.
Tristan Beal passed for 169 yards and a touchdown, Brayden Henry had scores passing and rushing, and Ethan Joyner () and Josh Castillo () both went over 100 total yards in the win, which saw Abilene High (6-2, 4-0) build a 59-0 lead by halftime.
Facing off with an overmatched opponent in front of a homecoming crowd, the Abilene High Eagles were about as dominant as a team could be Friday, scoring 59 points in the opening half of a 73-0 win over Lubbock High at Shotwell Stadium.
AHS followed a 28-point first quarter with 31 more points in the second, while holding the Westerners to minus-25 first-half yards defensively on 29 plays — three of which ended in turnovers.
With a running clock in the second half, coach Mike Fullen’s squad finished off the shutout after halftime, turning a fourth takeaway into its third non-offensive touchdown to improve to 6-2 on the year and 4-0 in District 2-5A Division I play.
Coming into the second crosstown volleyball match between Abilene High and Cooper, the youthful Lady Cougars had yet to win a set in five District 4-5A matches. So when coach Kandice Williams’ squad had its rival down 9-2 in the fifth set Tuesday, there were a lot of surprised — and nervous — fans in Cougar Gym.
But after struggling to wrestle momentum from the feisty Lady Coogs for most of the match, thanks in no small part to a large and rowdy crowd, the Lady Eagles recovered just in time to avoid an upset loss, rallying for a 25-13, 24-26, 22-25, 25-17, 15-13 win to level their district record at 3-3.
The match was a far cry from the first meeting between the teams, which saw AHS breeze to a 25-8, 25-10, 25-12 victory at home. And after it, Lady Eagles coach Emily Gravitt was just happy to see her team escape with the hard-earned win.