Category: Area football

by Evan Ren

BIG COUNTRY PREPS NOTEBOOK: Mentioned tonight … Cisco, Eastland, Breckenridge and Clyde

The biggest problem I have with our high school football scheduling practices in Texas is that by the second year of the alignment period, many of those schedules are out of date and no longer suitable for schools that have been hit hard by graduation. And if you want an example of that, I’ll give you one close to home: the Cisco Loboes. 

Cisco (1-4), which notched its first win of the season last week with a victory at Colorado City, is both young and thin in the numbers department. It’s one of those years that every program below the 4A level will eventually run into. And unfortunately, since the Loboes had reeled off 12 straight winning seasons, including a state title in 2013, their nondistrict schedule was merciless. 

No Class 2A team was willing to take them on, so they ended up with four straight likely playoff teams from Class 3A in Clyde, Wall, Breckenridge and Jacksboro.

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by Daniel Youngblood

DISTRICT 8-2A DIV. II WEEK 5 REPORT: Collinsville, Celeste and Muenster win openers while Santo rests

Collinsville 63, Lindsay 21 — The Pirates opened district play with a thorough win over the Knights, racing out to a 49-7 halftime lead and cruising from there to the blowout.

Logan Jenkins passed for 376 yards and six touchdowns to lead Collinsville (4-1, 1-0), which got productive receiving days from Reed Patterson (4-112, 3 TDs), Colin Barnes (4-94) and Landon Carpenter (3-71, 2 TDs).

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by Daniel Youngblood

DISTRICT 3-2A DIV. I WEEK 5 REPORT: Forsan extends winning streak with win over Kermit

Forsan 40, Kermit 32 — The Buffaloes stayed hot with their fourth consecutive win, rushing for 236 yards in a hard-fought victory over the Yellow Jackets.

Kevin Kligora led Forsan with 71 yards on the ground, while Grant Roman (8-56, 2 TDs), Huston Stockton (7-51, 1 TD), Yandell Melendez (8-20, 1 TD) and Hayden Bowlin (2-19, 1 TD) all had rushing touchdowns. 

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by Daniel Youngblood

DISTRICT 4-3A DIV. I WEEK 5 REPORT: Brock blasts overmatched Boyd to open league play

Brock 78, Boyd 0 — Brody Woods was nearly perfect through the air, hitting 11 of 13 passes for 196 yards and three touchdowns, while leading 350-yard rushing effort with 87 yards and another score on the ground to fuel the Eagles to blowout win over the Yellowjackets in the league opener for both teams.

Brett Tutter added 83 yards and three touchdowns and Vance Guthrie rushed for 82 yards and two TDs as the Eagles (2-3, 1-0) scored seven times on the ground.

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by Daniel Youngblood

DISTRICT 3-4A DIV. II WEEK 5 REPORT: Stewart leads Tigers to blowout win over Big Spring

Snyder 56, Big Spring 13 — Easton Stewart completed 22 of 26 passes for 226 yards and four touchdowns, and Daenin Smith rushed for 128 yards and two TDs and received for 63 yards and another score to lead the Tigers to a blowout win over the Steers.

Ethan Rios added 51 yards and two touchdowns rushing and a nine-yard touchdown catch for Snyder (3-2), which also got TD receptions from Hayden Foster and Chon Vasquez.

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by Evan Ren

DISTRICT 7-2A DIV. II Week 5 Report: Windthorst too much for Haskell in league opener

Windthorst 47, Haskell 7 — Brock Belcher threw for 230 yards and four scores to lead the Trojans to a big win over the Indians in the district opener for both clubs. 

Kasen Wiles was the top target of Belcher’s, hauling in eight passes for 148 yards as Windthorst improved to 3-1. 

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by Daniel Youngblood

DISTRICT 2-4A DIV. I WEEK 5 REPORT: Hall rushes for four touchdowns in thrilling win over Connally

Brownwood 31, Waco Connally 28 — Ike Hall rushed for 135 yards and four touchdowns while adding 85 yards passing to fuel the Lions to a come-from-behind win over the Cadets.

Behind the dual threat quarterback, Brownwood (5-0) built a 17-14 halftime lead and scored the first touchdown of the second half to take a 24-14 lead. But Connally roared back with back-to-back touchdown runs by Kiefer Sibley to go up 28-24 early the fourth quarter, before Hall’s final TD run served as the game-winner with 5:15 remaining. 

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by Evan Ren

DISTRICT 6-2A DIV. II Week 5 Report: Albany tops Comanche, Cross Plains, Hamlin both collect victories

Albany 31, Comanche 13 — Chip Chambers passed for 178 yards and three touchdowns and Adam Hill rushed for 136 yards and a score to lead the Lions to a comfortable win over the Indians.

Behind those two, Albany outscored Comanche 10-0 in the third quarter, stretching a 14-7 halftime lead to three scores by the start of the fourth.

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by Daniel Youngblood

DISTRICT 5-3A DIV. II WEEK 5 REPORT: Eastland knocks off Jim Ned; Merkel, Dublin score victories

Eastland 21, Jim Ned 19 — Isaiah Hays passed for 259 yards and a touchdown and Cayden Alford rushed for a pair of scores to lift the Mavericks to an upset win over the Indians.

Preston Rose had a huge day receiving, hauling in four passes for 127 yards and a TD for EHS (1-4), which outscored Jim Ned 14-12 in the final quarter to earn its first victory of the season.

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by Evan Ren

DISTRICT 4-2A DIV. I Week 5 Report: Cisco snaps five-game losing streak, Ables wins No. 100, Stamford gets W

Cisco 36, Colorado City 7 — With a brutal non-district schedule featuring likely 3A playoff teams now behind them, the Cisco Loboes settled in to face their first 2A DI opponent in their district opener. 

In the process, they snapped a five game losing streak dating back to last year’s postseason loss to eventual state champion Hawley. 

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by Daniel Youngblood

DISTRICT 5-2A DIV. I WEEK 5 REPORT: San Saba upsets Hamilton; Coleman, De Leon open league play with wins

San Saba 32, Hamilton 28 — Ethan Gonzales ran for 215 yards and three touchdowns while Lane Miller added a pair of rushing scores of his own to lead the Armadillos to an upset win over the Bulldogs in the district opener for both squads.

San Saba (2-3, 1-0) got off to a fast start, jumping out to a 19-6 halftime lead and increasing that to 32-14 by the end of the third quarter, before holding off a late rally in the final period. 

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by Evan Ren

DISTRICT 3-3A DIV. I Week 5 report: Buckaroos hold on to top Benbrook, Eastland shocks Jim Ned

Breckenridge 36, Benbrook 28 — The Buckaroos allowed more than 400 yards in total offense to Benbrook, but survived a shootout on the road.

Two turnovers, forced by the Breckenridge defense, were a key, along with 243 passing yards, to give the Buckaroos (3-2) their third straight win after an 0-2 start. 

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by Evan Ren

DISTRICT 5-4A DIV. I Week 5 Report: Missed PAT creates escape hatch for Yellow Jackets in win over Rider

Stephenville 21, Wichita Falls Rider 20 — A missed fourth quarter extra point allowed Stephenville to leave Wichita Falls a winner on Friday.

Elijah Jackson scored on a 1-yard run with 4:07 to play to pull Rider to within a point. But an errant snap on the ensuing extra point doomed the Raiders (3-2).

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by Evan Ren

BCP GAME OF THE WEEK: Bulldogs rout Sweetwater, wreck Mustang homecoming to stay unbeaten

SWEETWATER — Both clubs may have entered Friday at 4-0. But at the end of the night, it was a senior-laden Clyde team dominating a Sweetwater club filled with underclassmen, 41-7 in the Big Country Preps Game of the Week. 

Blake Carr rushed for 121 yards and two scores and threw for 88 yards and two more TDs to life Clyde (5-0), which spoiled Sweetwater’s homecoming in the Mustang Bowl to remain unbeaten. 

Sweetwater (4-1), which lost starting quarterback Caiden Ortiz to a hand-wrist injury in the second quarter, was led by Uriah Aguilar-Rivera with 143 yards rushing and one score. 

“This is a pillar win for our program,” Clyde coach Danny Dudgeon said. ” We’ve been on the up and up, but for us to get over the hump against a good Sweetwater team is a very big win for us.” 

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by Yale Youngblood, Special to Big Country Preps

FEATURE: Brownwood kicker/punter Martinez a serious special teams weapon for Lions

As Brownwood attempts to go 5-0 to start the 2023 season while playing host to 3-1 Waco Connally at 7:30 p.m. Friday night at Gordon Wood Stadium, there’s a pretty good chance the most important Lion on the field won’t carry or catch the ball — or, even, make a single tackle.

If past is prologue, Junior Martinez looms as one of Brownwood’s premier weapons, and his presence Friday could help determine if the Lions’ next-to-last tune-up before District 2-4A Division I play begins goes the direction of its four predecessors. In wins over Wylie, Marble Falls, Burnet and Glen Rose, Brownwood has scored 168 points, 33 of which have come via PAT conversions or field goals by the celebrated senior kicker.

This year alone, Martinez has converted each of 21 point-after kicks and made four of five field goal tries, including a 52-yarder. His loan miss came from 44 yards out and was pushed just wide by a swirling wind.

But that’s not all Martinez has done to buoy Brownwood’s hopes for a long season this year. He also has averaged 40.3 yards per punt on 12 kicks, with a season-long boot of 52 yards and another punt that pinned the opponent inside the 5-yard line. And, even at 5-foot-9, 160 pounds, he has the leg to routinely turn his kickoffs into touchbacks.

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by Daniel Youngblood

Big Country Preps’ Pick ‘Em Panel vs. Twitter Polls (Week 5)

Each week here at Big Country Preps, we’ll post our picks for all of that week’s 11-man games and select six-man games, in addition to the results of Evan Ren’s Twitter polls for each matchup.

For those interested in voting, polls go up on Monday night each week.

Disagree with our picks or the Twitter consensus? Let us know in the comments section below.

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by Evan Ren

BIG COUNTRY PREPS GAME OF THE WEEK: Sweetwater plays host to Clyde in battle of unbeatens

LAST WEEK: 44-11, .800
SEASON TOTAL: 183-49, .788

Some weeks are just loaded with competitive area games and Week 5 of the 2023 season falls squarely into that category. 

This week’s menu features six or seven games that under normal circumstances, would qualify for our Big Country Preps Game of the Week. This forces us to push some great matchups aside to select our spotlight game. 

This week, we go with a battle of unbeatens — Class 3A Division I Clyde (4-0) at Class 4A Div. II Sweetwater (4-0) — at the famed Mustang Bowl at SHS. 

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by Evan Ren

BIG COUNTRY PREPS PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Moran running back takes the award with insane performance

There are big games and then there are those that border on insanity. 

Moran running back Ellis Hise, our Big Country Preps Player of the Week for the week ending Sept. 16, fell squarely into the latter category on Saturday with a performance that was absolutely nuts. 

Helping the Bulldogs to a thrilling 68-67 win over Mullin in one of the top six-man games the Big Country has seen this year, Hise rushed for 287 yards and six touchdowns on only 26 carries. But that’s just the beginning. 

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by Evan Ren

BIG COUNTRY PREPS NOTEBOOK: Fanning eclipses McCoy; Jackson shall return; De Leon rebounds

TUSCOLA — Jim Ned coach Matt Fanning is one of those guys who barely flinches when someone mentions his accomplishments. So it should come as no surprise that he had to be told early in the season that he was approaching the school record for career wins by a football coach. 

That milestone fell in Friday’s 38-12 win over Rockdale, which allowed Fanning to surpass Brad McCoy on the all-time Jim Ned win list with a 54-13 overall record. 

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by Brandon McAuliffe

SPOTLIGHT: Gordon kicker does the unfathomable, boots extra point into moving vehicle

Video courtesy Waco Live Oak Classical coach Brice Helton; Photos courtesy Kennedy Irwin

Gordon football coach Mike Reed is sure of the fact that Juan Cabrera has a career as a college kicker, and now the junior has a kick that calling it highlight worthy might be a gross understatement.

With the Longhorns leading 34-8 at Waco Live Oak Classical on Friday night, the junior lined up for a routine extra point — his fifth kick of the night.

What happened next was anything but routine. Continue reading “SPOTLIGHT: Gordon kicker does the unfathomable, boots extra point into moving vehicle” →

by Daniel Youngblood

DISTRICT 8-2A DIV. II WEEK 4 REPORT: Turnovers doom Santo in shutout loss to Rio Vista

rioRio Vista 27, Santo 0 — The Wildcats struggled to take care of the football, turning the ball over seven times in a shutout loss to the Eagles.

Santo limited Rio Vista to just 47 rushing yards and 184 yards of total offense, but coach Devon Mann’s Wildcats managed only 134 yards of their own in falling to 1-3 on the year.

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by Daniel Youngblood

DISTRICT 3-2A DIV. I WEEK 4 REPORT: Buffaloes run wild in three-touchdown win over McCamey

Forsan 41, McCamey 21 — The Buffaloes rushed for 382 yards, getting 151 yards and a touchdown from Kevin Kligora and 135 yards and three scores from Huston Stockton to run away from the Badgers.

Forsan (3-1) used a 15-point second quarter to take a 21-14 lead into halftime, before outscoring McCamey 14-0 in the fourth quarter to put the game away.

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by Daniel Youngblood

DISTRICT 4-3A DIV. I WEEK 4 REPORT: Gunter runs away from Brock; Paradise stays unbeaten

Gunter 35, Brock 12 — Walker overman rushed for 149 yards and two touchdowns and passed for 51 yards and an another score to lead the Tigers to a comfortable win over the Eagles.

Behind overman, Gunter rushed for 214 of its 304 yards, while limiting Brock to 278 total yards. The Tigers used a 28-point second quarter to go to halftime up 35-6 and were never threatened after the break.

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by Daniel Youngblood

DISTRICT 3-4A DIV. II WEEK 4 REPORT: Sweetwater stays unbeaten; Monahans too much for Snyder

Sweetwater 56, Big Spring 30 — The Mustangs offense was too much for the Steers defense, piling up 586 yards of total offense in a thorough victory. 

Sweetwater (4-0), which rushed for 368 of those yards, got big games from quarterback Caiden Ortiz (10-17-1—218, 3 TDs passing), running backs Korda Moore (13-183, 3 TDs rushing; 2-30, 1 TD receiving) and Uriah Martinez (9-122, 2 TDs rushing; 1-19, 1 TD receiving) and receiver Jadyn Forbes (5-146, 1 TD receiving).

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by Evan Ren

DISTRICT 7-2A DIV. II WEEK 4 REPORT: Seymour back to its winning ways; Haskell, Munday fall

Seymour 75, Quanah 18 — Coming off a lopsided loss to Albany, Seymour got back on the winning track with a blowout of Quanah. 

Brayden Loyd threw for 317 yards and six touchdowns to lead Seymour (3-1), which rushed for 221 yards as a team using six ball carriers. 

Continue reading “DISTRICT 7-2A DIV. II WEEK 4 REPORT: Seymour back to its winning ways; Haskell, Munday fall” →

by Daniel Youngblood

DISTRICT 2-4A DIV. I WEEK 4 REPORT: Hall returns to lead Brownwood past Glen Rose

Brownwood 46, Glen Rose 34 — Returning to the lineup after missing most of last week’s game due to injury, Ike Hall passed for 286 yards and two touchdowns and rushed for 178 yards and an additional score to help the Lions overcome three turnovers in a two-score win over the Tigers.

Brownwood (4-0), which outgained Glen Rose 555-370, also got 89 yards and a touchdown rushing from Jaylan Brown and a big receiving game from Marsello Hooker (2-128, 2 TDs). 

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by Evan Ren

DISTRICT 4-2A DIV. I WEEK 4 REPORT: Anson edges Haskell, Hawley falls to Albany in battle of state champs

Anson 21, Haskell 20 — It all boiled down to turnovers in this tough Anson road win, with the Tiger defense charting five takeaways to key the victory. 

Corey Layne rushed for 49 scores and two TDs to lead the Anson offense. 

Haskell (0-3) was led by Haegen Pinkerton’s 70 yards passing and 107 yards rushing.  He added two rushing TDs. 

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by Daniel Youngblood

DISTRICT 5-2A DIV. I WEEK 4 REPORT: Torres fuels Coleman past Llano; De Leon hands Hico its first loss

Coleman 26, Llano 20 — Brayden Torres passed for 232 yards and three touchdowns and ran for 60 yards and another score to fuel the Bluecats to an upset win over the Class 3A Division I Yellowjackets.

Playing its second consecutive game without quarterback Jadin Jackson, Coleman (3-1) raced out to 14-6 halftime lead and withstood a third-quarter Llano rally to win the game with the only touchdown of the fourth quarter.

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by Evan Ren

DISTRICT 4-3A DIV. II WEEK 4 REPORT: Coahoma, Abernathy, Littlefield and Lubbock Roosevelt all notch wins

Coahoma 48, Colorado City 20 — Boyd Cox threw for 184 yards and four scors and Jaidyn Vineyard rushed for 87 yards and another TD to lead Coahoma (3-1) to a win over its area rival. 

Austin Perkins and Billy Baily were favorite targets of Cox, both finishing with five catches and two scores each. 

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by Daniel Youngblood

DISTRICT 5-3A DIV. II WEEK 4 REPORT: Merkel runs over Bangs; Eastland, Dublin competitive in losses

Merkel 54, Bangs 37 — Connor Willyerd and Maddox O’Malley rushed for 171 and 164 yards, respectively, as the Badgers ran over and around the Dragons for a comfortable win.

Willyerd had one touchdown and O’Malley rushed for four as Merkel (3-1) finished with 389 yards on the ground as a team. Braxton Duden (4-60 rushing) also had a rushing TD for the Badgers, who got 98 yards passing and one score from O’Malley and 72 yards and two touchdowns receiving from Kaden Blubaugh.

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by Evan Ren

DISTRICT 2-3A DIV. II WEEK 4 REPORT: Wall, Brady collect wins in an otherwise tough night for the district

Wall  42, Peaster 0 — The Hawks (3-1) pounded out 221 rushing yards among nine different ball carriers in a dominating win over Peaster (1-3).

It was the first shutout of the year for the Hawks, who to date, have allowed only 37 points through four games

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by Evan Ren

DISTRICT 3-3A DIV. I WEEK 4 REPORT: Fanning passes McCoy, Bucks stop Eastland; Clyde remains unbeaten

Jim Ned 38, Rockdale 12 — Dean Guffey threw for 201 yards and two scores and Aiden Ellis rushed for 150 yards and another TD to keep Jim Ned (4-0) unbeaten. 

The Indians rushed for 314 yards as a team while accumulating 515 yards in total offense. 

Rockdale dropped to 1-3.

With the win, Jim Ned coach Matt Fanning (54-13) became the winningest football coach in Jim Ned football history, passing former Coach Brad McCoy (53-19). 

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by Evan Ren

DISTRICT 5-4A DIV. I WEEK 4 REPORT: China Spring, La Vega score big wins, Alvarado, Waxahachie Life fall

China Spring 61, Waco Connally 41 — The Cougars (3-1) rolled up 468 yards in total offense, including 285 passing yards to beat Connally in a shootout. 

While suffering its first loss, Connally (3-1) pounded out 355 yards rushing, but was unable to keep pace with a China Spring offense that ran 23 fewer plays than the Cadets.

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by Daniel Youngblood

GAME STORY: Wylie holds off Stephenville rally, spoils Yellow Jackets homecoming with 42-32 win

STEPHENVILLE — Leading Stephenville 35-10 early in the third quarter after scoring its fourth consecutive touchdown off the Yellow Jackets’ second turnover of the game, the Wylie football team seemed to be well on its way to a comfortable win Friday night at Tarleton Memorial Stadium.

In the end, though, it would take a pressure-packed touchdown drive in the final 5:50 and a victory-sealing interception in the end zone for the Bulldogs to finally breath easy with a thrilling 42-32 win. 

Stephenville quarterback Ryan Gafford hooked up with Tristian Gentry for three second-half touchdown passes to trim a once-four score Wylie lead to 35-32 with just under six minutes remaining in the fourth quarter. But after managing just one first down on their four previous possessions, the Bulldogs marched 74 yards in 10 plays on their last to fend off the SHS rally and spoil the Yellow Jackets homecoming.

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by Evan Ren

BCP GAME OF THE WEEK: Tolar spoils Comanche’s homecoming with one big play after another

COMANCHE — It was to be a special night for Comanche, with an overflow crowd and a game ball hand-delivered at the 50-yardline via helicopter to kick off the 2023 Homecoming celebration. 

Unfortunately for Comanche, the Tolar Rattlers never received the memo and left Indian Stadium with a convincing 41-18 win to hand the seventh-ranked 3A DII Indians their first loss of the year. 

Isaac Blessing threw for 125 yards, rushed for 148 and accounted for three scores to lead fifth-ranked 2A DI Tolar, which took a quick 14-0 lead and managed to hold off the Indians with a combination of big plays and defense.

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by Yale Youngblood, Special to Big Country Preps

FEATURE: Coahoma sophomore Cox maturing into one of area’s top signal callers

During his first year as the starting quarterback at Coahoma in 2022, Boyd Cox passed for more than 2,000 yards and 19 touchdowns — impressive numbers about which pretty much any high school signal caller would be justifiably proud.

But here’s the deal: 

When Cox took the wheel for the Bulldogs to start last season, he was still two years away from being old enough to take a driver’s test. And what the freshman signal caller accomplished was done largely on the fly as he was learning the toughest position on the field against a host of veteran varsity defenders whose primary goal was to introduce the ear hole in his helmet to the turf below his often-scrambling feet.

Fast forward to the early part of 2023, and you’ll discover, now that he’s more comfortable being a varsity quarterback, that Cox is evolving into one of the better passers in the area — and, maybe, in the state. He has completed 49 of 76 passes for 819 yards with a 10-to-1 touchdown-to-interception rate. 

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by Daniel Youngblood

Big Country Preps’ Pick ‘Em Panel vs. Twitter Polls (Week 4)

Each week here at Big Country Preps, we’ll post our picks for all of that week’s 11-man games and select six-man games, in addition to the results of Evan Ren’s Twitter polls for each matchup.

For those interested in voting, polls go up on Monday night each week.

Disagree with our picks or the Twitter consensus? Let us know in the comments section below.

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by Evan Ren

BIG COUNTRY PREPS GAME OF THE WEEK: 7th-ranked 3A Comanche hosts No.5 2A DI Tolar in clash of Central Texas powers

LAST WEEK: 44-16, .733
SEASON TOTAL: 139-38, .785

Tolar (2-1) at Comanche (3-0) — Our Big Country Preps Game of the Week has stood out like a sore thumb for weeks now. And despite fifth-ranked 2A DI Tolar suffering a setback at the hands of a powerful private school last week, its visit to No. 7 3A DII Comanche still shapes up as a top-flight interclass matchup.

There are a few extra factors to consider, not the least of which is the sore ankle of standout Comanche running back Sawyer Wilkerson, who as of now, will not play in this game. 

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by Zach Duncan, Special to Big Country Preps

FEATURE: Young Goldthwaite team beginning to live up to coach’s expectations

By Zach Duncan, special to Big Country Preps

Andy Howard knew Goldthwaite would be much improved this season. 

A second year in new schemes, tremendous mental growth and defensive progress were all reasons for the Eagles’ development. 

It didn’t take long for Howard’s beliefs to be verified. Playing highly ranked Crawford within 14 points in Week 1 didn’t snap Goldthwaite’s losing streak, but it proved to be the start of the turnaround. 

“Going into that Friday night, our motto was to believe,” Howard said. “I felt like we had a high-caliber team, but you’ve got to go out there and prove it. Our kids believed all week and kids executed at a high level. I’m not big on moral victories, but we wanted to continue to use that momentum and apply it for the last two weeks.” 

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