Category: Area football

by Daniel Youngblood

SIX-MAN REWIND: Water Valley-Rankin, Strawn-May headline wild week of action

Week 2 is in the books, and what a week it was for area six-man football. With a thrilling win by Water Valley over top-ranked Rankin and a two-point Strawn victory over May serving as co-main events, the week’s slate more than delivered on what was promised going in.

It’s time now to take a closer look at the six-man landscape, with a focus on the biggest developments and most outstanding individual performances seen last week.

We hope you enjoy this look back in our weekly  “Big Country Rewind” column and encourage you to check out our Six-Man/Class 1A Central page when you’ve finished reading for more information on your favorite team(s).

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by Daniel Youngblood

DISTRICT 8-2A DII WEEK 2 REPORT: Santo continues hot start to season as rest of league goes 3-3

rioSanto 61, Dublin 0 — Jackson McKinnerney ran for 125 yards and two touchdowns and added a 22-yard scoring catch, while Rylan Griffith passed for 59 yards and two scores to help the Wildcats run away from the Lions.

Santo outgained Dublin 405-60, holding the Lions to minus-2 rushing yards on 18 attempts. The Wildcats picked off five passes and forced seven total turnovers in the win.

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by Daniel Youngblood

DISTRICT 4-2A DI WEEK 2 REPORT: Ballinger, Forsan and C-City all victorious in 4-3 week for league

Ballinger 27, Odessa Compass 20 — Brody Wilde had an 89-yard kickoff return touchdown and a 70-yard pick-six to go with 40 yards rushing and 26 yards receiving to power the Bearcats to a hard-fought win over the Cougars.e

Wyatt Clemens added 165 yards and two touchdowns passing, and Hunter Kresta received for 91 yards and a TD as Ballinger made a 21-14 halftime lead hold up in the final two quarters for its second straight win to start the season.

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by Daniel Youngblood

DISTRICT 5-3A DII WEEK 2 REPORT: Area teams go 0-5 as district drops all but two games

Cisco 38, Comanche 6 — Colby McIlroy passed for 200 yards and two touchdowns and added another score on the ground to fuel the Loboes to a lopsided win over the Indians.

Landry Vosburg added 102 yards and one TD rushing, and Cannon Harris had 84 yards and two TDs receiving to help Cisco, which led 24-6 by halftime.

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by Evan Ren

DISTRICT 3-2A DII WEEK 2 REPORT: Roscoe hurts itself with mistakes in big loss to Forsan, Pathway forced into open week

Forsan 44, Roscoe 19 — Owen Bishop threw for 228 yards and two scores and Ashton Ellis rushed for 168 yards and three TDs to lead Forsan (2-0) over Roscoe. 

The Plowboys (0-2) produced 309 total yards, but were crippled by four turnovers.

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by Daniel Youngblood

DISTRICT 3-3A DII WEEK 2 REPORT: Coahoma shuts out Brownfield for first win; Wink runs away from Stanton

Coahoma 37, Brownfield 0 — Austin Joslin passed for 304 yards and three touchdowns, hitting Austin Molina five times for 110 yards and two of those scores, to lead the Bulldogs to a blowout win over the Cubs.

Coahoma (1-1) also ran for 165 yards, led by Aiden Rodriguez, with 47 yards and a TD on 15 attempts, while Tyler Rechichar (3-51 receiving) added a touchdown catch in the win.

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by Daniel Youngblood

DISTRICT 3-3A DI WEEK 2 REPORT: Wall blasts Class 6A La Joya, Early strong again in blowout of Breckenridge

Wall 55, La Joya 14 — The Hawks went up three classifications and handed the Coyotes a lopsided loss, amassing 482 total yards in a dominating effort.

Gunner King passed for 222 yards and five touchdowns, while Gunner Garza added 127 yards and a TD rushing on just 10 carries and Evan Boehle received for 77 yards and two scores.

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by Daniel Youngblood

DISTRICT 4-4A DII WEEK 2 REPORT: Mineral Wells tops Pilot Point in father-son matchup; Graham rolls

Mineral Wells 24, Pilot Point 19 — Aleck Gonzales ran for 132 yards and two touchdowns and Slade Evans ran for 98 yards and a TD to lead the Rams to a thrilling win over the Bearcats a game dubbed Worrell War 1.

Pitting Mineral Wells coach Cody Worrell against his dad, Pilot Point head man Chad Worrell, the game saw the Rams increase a 7-0 halftime lead to 17-6 in the third quarter and 24-12 in the fourth before holding on for the victory.

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by Daniel Youngblood

DISTRICT 2-4A DII WEEK 2 REPORT: Andrews rallies past Big Spring; Lake View too much for Snyder

Andrews 42, Big Spring 34 — Tommy Evans ran for 242 yards and four touchdowns, including three in the final 10 minutes, to  lead the Mustangs to a remarkable comeback win over the Steers.

Big Spring, which got 172 yards and two touchdowns passing from Javon Jackson and TDs from both its special teams (blocked punt return) and defense (interception return), stretched a 21-14 halftime lead to 34-14 by the 10:26 mark of the fourth quarter. But Andrews, which also got 161 yards rushing from Blas Hernandez, scored the game’s final four touchdowns, taking a 35-34 lead on Evans’ final score with 5:37 to play before icing the game with a Jorge Rodriguez TD run with just under two minutes remaining.

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by Evan Ren

DISTRICT 12-4A DI WEEK 2 REPORT: Stephenville, Jarrell, Marble Falls notch Week 2 victories

Waco University 29, China Spring 23 — Ray Brown Jr. rushed for 225 yards and three scores and Cameron Holleman threw for 146 yards and another TD to lift University to a difficult win over an improved China Spring club.

The Trojans improved to 2-0 with the win; China Spring fell to 1-1. 

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by Brandon McAuliffe

GAME STORY: De Leon wins the ‘middle 8’ in dominant fashion to beat Stamford

STAMFORD — On paper, Friday night’s game between Stamford and De Leon looked like it would be an exciting matchup after both squads put up magnificent offensive performances to open the season.

Stamford sophomore quarterback Miles Follis was coming off a 363-yard passing effort (No. 3 in the Big Country Preps coverage area) and had favorite target Slayden Young (9-215 receiving) ready to build off a week that saw him finish with the second-most receiving yards and third-highest catch total in the area.

On the other sideline, the Bearcats had Lane Couch, who had 14 carries for 351 yards in De Leon’s season opener.

When the two squads took to the field at Bill Anderson Stadium, though, it was all Bearcats as De Leon steamrolled Stamford for a 57-7 win.

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by Brandon McAuliffe

FEATURE: Bluecats starting to settle in following tumultuous two months

SWEETWATER — When the calendar flipped from June to July this year, the Coleman Bluecats football team was preparing for its 13th season under John Elder, who had amassed 81 wins and eight playoff berths while leading the program since the 2014 season.

Not even two weeks later, on July 13, Elder announced that he was stepping away from the program in a move that sent shockwaves across the Big Country coaching community.

A week later, Coleman ISD named Elder’s offensive coordinator, Zach Edington, as his successor for at least the 2026 season.

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by Evan Ren

BIG COUNTRY PREPS GAME OF THE WEEK: Mason squares off with Hamilton (+plus Evan Ren’s Big Country Picks)

LAST WEEK: 55-19, .743
SEASON TOTAL: 55-19, .743

Our Big Country Preps Game of the Week is as much a welcoming as it is a top matchup.

With 2A DI state champion Hamilton (now in 3A DII) playing host to fourth-ranked 2A DI Mason, much of the state will be interested in the results this produces. 

But, with both schools now entering their first season under the Big Country Preps coverage banner, it quickly became an opportunity to roll out the red carpet for both clubs as well. 

Hamilton, which is coming off a 26-21 loss to 2A superpower Bremond, will be fired up with the home crowd behind it. 

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by Daniel Youngblood

SIX-MAN REWIND: First week of season yields thrilling results, standout performances

The six-man season got underway with a bang in Week 1, which featured a number of thrilling games and eye-popping individual efforts.

As we have done on Mondays the past two years, it’s time to recap the best of those in our weekly “Six-Man Rewind” column.

We hope you enjoy taking a look back at the week that was in Big Country six-man football and encourage you to check out our new “Six-Man/Class 1A Central” page for more information on your favorite six-man teams.

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by Evan Ren

BIG COUNTRY PREPS PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Haskell QB takes the first award of the school year with an insane effort

Before Haskell senior quarterback Haegen Pinkerton arrived at HHS as a freshman, the name of Pinkerton was something I associated with the famous detective agency. 

I now associate it with statistical insanity, and you should associate it with the Big Country Preps Player of the Week. 

Pinkerton, who was behind center in Haskell’s 80-62 loss to Stamford, had one of the biggest nights I can recollect in a losing effort, accounting for seven touchdowns on Friday. 

Hitting 15 of 22 throws for 193 yards, three of Pinkerton’s deliveries went for scores. But it was on the ground where he did most of his damage, rushing 29 times for 290 yards and four touchdowns to help keep the Indians competitive. 

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by Daniel Youngblood

WEEK 2 FAN POLLS … Pick this week’s 11-man winners!

Each week here at Big Country Preps, we offer fans the chance to pick the winners of all games involving our local and area football teams. The results of these weekly polls, which will close at 5 p.m. each Thursday, will be included in our weekly Pick ‘Em Panel.

Here are the games for Week 2:

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by Daniel Youngblood

DISTRICT 8-2A DII WEEK 1 REPORT: Santo impressive in Week 1; rest of league goes 4-2

rioSanto 22, Chilton 13 — Jackson McKinnerney ran for 142 yards and a touchdown, while Rylan Griffith ran for 88 yards and passed for 50 to help the Wildcats kick off the 2026 season with an impressive win over the Pirates.

Santo, which saw a 14-0 lead after a quarter whittled to 14-13 in the third,  outgained Chilton 348-221 — including 298-171 on the ground — to overcome a 2-0 deficit in the turnover margin.

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by Evan Ren

DISTRICT 7-2A DII WEEK 1 REPORT: Goldthwaite, Cross Plains, Stamford and Hamlin earn first-week wins

 

Goldthwaite 59, Junction 27
Goldthwaite dominated Junction, outgaining JHS 502-220, including 283 yards rushing. 

Haynes Greenway led GHS, with 219 yards passing and three scores.

Landry Sanderson was the top ground gainer for Goldthwaite with 132 yards and four TDs on 22 carries. 

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by Daniel Youngblood

DISTRICT 7-2A DI WEEK 1 REPORT: Coleman, Bangs, Mason open with wins; Brady, San Saba drop openers

Coleman 16, San Angelo Grape Creek 12 — Post-touchdown conversions were the difference in this matchup, which saw the Bluecats cash in two-point conversions after both of their touchdowns while the Eagles failed to convert after either of their two scores.

Grape Creek, which trailed 8-6 at halftime, led 12-8 in the third quarter after following a first-half defensive touchdown with a rushing score. But Coleman closed out the scoring with a fourth-quarter touchdown pass from Hunter Edington to Jayden Smith for what proved to be the winning points.

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by Daniel Youngblood

DISTRICT 4-2A DI WEEK 1 REPORT: Colorado City, Forsan score OT wins; Ballinger rolls in opener

Colorado City 29, Roscoe 22 (OT) — The Wolves followed up their shocking upset of Sonora in last season’s finale with another impressive showing to open the 2026 campaign, outlasting the Plowboys in overtime.

Quarterback Ace Mejia led the way for C-City, rushing for 173 yards and two touchdowns to go with his 107 yards and additional TD passing, while sophomore Joel Hernandez finished with 86 yards on just eight carries, including the game-sealing 22-yard touchdown run in overtime (shown in the video above).

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by Evan Ren

DISTRICT 6-2A DII WEEK 1 REPORT: Stamford outlasts Haskell unforgettable shootout

Stamford 80, Haskell 62 — The Bulldogs outlasted Haskell in a shootout for the ages. 

Miles Follis threw for 324 yards and four scores and Brenham Walker rushed for 134 yards and a TD to lead Stamford (1-0). 

Haskell was led by Haegan Pinkerton with 339 yards rushing and four TDs. He also threw for 176 yards and three more scores. 

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by Daniel Youngblood

DISTRICT 5-3A DII WEEK 1 REPORT: Comanche takes care of Breck to headline otherwise rough week for area squads

Comanche 28, Breckenridge 6 — Cooper Welch threw for 135 yards and two touchdowns on just 10 pass attempts, and LaDainian Smith added 63 yards and a pair of scores on the ground to fuel the Indians to a three-score win over the Buckaroos.

Comanche also got productive days from Nicolas Anaya (6-91 rushing) and Zaden Tello (6-82 rushing; 2-64, 1 TD receiving) in increasing a 13-0 halftime lead to 28-0 in the fourth quarter before Breckenridge finally got on the board with an 80-yard kickoff return.

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by Evan Ren

DISTRICT 3-2A DII WEEK 1 REPORT: Roscoe falls to C-City; Munday spoils Pathway debut

Colorado City 29, Roscoe 22 (OT) — Ace Mejia threw for 206 yards and two scores and rushed for 173 yards and two more TDs to lift Colorado City to a win in overtime. 

Aydin Cruces led Roscoe with 206 yards passing for two scores. 

Roscoe will play host to Forsan (1-0) next Friday. 

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by Daniel Youngblood

DISTRICT 3-3A DII WEEK 1 REPORT: Stanton, Coahoma fall; Crane earns win in McWilliams’ debut

Crane 21, Odessa Compass 14 — The Golden Cranes kicked off the Cannon McWilliams era with a victory, never trailing in an impressive win over the Cougars to keep the district from going winless in Week 1.

After scoring first in the second quarter to take a 7-0 lead into halftime, Crane watched Compass rally to tie the game on a 24-yard pass early in the third quarter. But the Golden Cranes answered with a pair of TD passes of their own to go up 21-7 in the fourth quarter before holding on down the stretch to make a winner out of the former Big Spring coach.

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by Evan Ren

DISTRICT 5-2A DI WEEK 1 REPORT: Abilene TLCA snaps 28-game losing streak; Hico, De Leon both notch wins

Abilene TLCA 46, Baird 20 — First-year coach Webb Murphy’s Eagles snapped a 28-game losing streak that dated back to Sept. 8 of 2023 with a win over Baird. 

BHS took a step up from the six-man ranks to challenge the Eagles but fell victim to QB Tyler Johnston, who hit 10 of 12 throws for 195 yards and three scores.  He also rushed 15 times for 62 yards. 

Senior Dashawn Polk had a big day as well, catching three passes for 44 yards and two scores and rushing for 124 yards and two TDs. 

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by Daniel Youngblood

DISTRICT 3-3A DI WEEK 1 REPORT: Wall, Early impressive in openers; Llano, Moore also score victories

Wall 42, Canyon West Plains 35 — Gunner King passed for 415 yards and four touchdowns and ran for 32 yards and an additional score to lead the Hawks to a thrilling come-from-behind win over the Class 4A Division I No. 10 Wolves in his first varsity start at quarterback.

Gunner Garza added 110 yards and a TD on the ground and 76 more yards receiving, while Jager Thompson (6-99), Evan Boehle (4-85, 1 TD) and Hudson Surber (5-83, 1 TD) also had productive days catching the ball for Wall.

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by Daniel Youngblood

DISTRICT 4-4A DI WEEK 1 REPORT: Brock, Graham, Mineral Wells all win in strong opening week for league

Brock 42, Springtown 20 — Holt Frazier passed for 232 yards and three touchdowns, and Bryer McDonald ran for 95 yards and three scores to fuel the Eagles to a three-touchdown win over the Porcupines.

Sophomores Casen Christenson (7-103, 1 TD) and Jett Kerr (3-93, 1 TD) both had productive receiving days for Brock, which used a 21-point second quarter to take a 28-6 lead into halftime.

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by Evan Ren

DISTRICT 2-3A DI WEEK 1 REPORT: A rough opening week for the district, with Clyde the lone team to score a win

Idalou 31, Sweetwater 6 — Two fumbles and an interception hurt Sweetwater in its opener with Idalou. 

The Mustangs were limited to 245 yards in total offense, with 187 of that coming on the ground. 

Mason Blueford was the top gainer for Sweetwater with 61 yards rushing on eight carries.

Idalou (1-0) finished with 389 total yards.

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by Evan Ren

DISTRICT 13-4A DII WEEK 1 REPORT: La Vega, Brownwood the only district members to score wins in opener

Waco La Vega 42, Franklin 16 — Ben Thompson rushed for 131 yards and two scores and Kourtney Parr threw for 116 yards and rushed for one TD to lift La Vega to a surprisingly easy win over perennial power Franklin. 

Leading 14-9 at the break, La Vega pulled away with a 28-7 second half. 

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by Daniel Youngblood

DISTRICT 2-4A DII WEEK 1 REPORT: Big Spring, Snyder drop season openers; rest of league goes 3-1

El Paso Ysleta 30, Big Spring 22 — Colin Mikels ran for 157 yards and a touchdown, and Javon Jackson passed for 96 yards and ran for 69 more and two scores, but it wasn’t enough to lift the Steers to a win in coach Stacey Martin’s Big Spring debut.

Ysleta raced out to a 14-7 halftime lead and stretched that to 22-7 by the start of the fourth quarter, when BSHS tried to rally came up a touchdown short.

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by Evan Ren

DISTRICT 5-4A DII WEEK 1 REPORT: Glen Rose the lone district member to score a win in opener

Glen Rose 28, Grandview 7 — Thomas Littlejohn rushed for 202 yards on 28 carries to pace Glen Rose to an impressive season-opening win over Grandview. 

Jayden Garza led the Glen Rose defensive effort with 11 tackles and one sack.  Cash Henrich added an interception.

The Tigers will travel to Gatesville (0-1) next Friday. 

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