Here are the Big Country’s receiving leaders through Week 7:
Category: Ballinger Bearcats
DISTRICT 4-2A DI WEEK 7 REPORT: Ballinger rallies past Forsan in thriller; Colorado City, Ozona also win
Ballinger 40, Forsan 36 — Wyatt Clemens passed for 313 yards and four touchdowns, hitting Hunter Kresta nine times for 163 yards and two of those scores to lead the Bearcats to a thrilling win over the previously unbeaten Buffaloes.
Clemens also ran for 74 yards and another TD as Ballinger (5-1, 2-0) amassed 482 yards of total offense. Pierson Nord (7-81 receiving) and Brody Wilde (2-46) also caught scoring passes for the Bearcats, who also got a rushing TD run from Malachi Bentley.
DISTRICT 4-2A DI WEEK 6 REPORT: Forsan routs Reagan County; C-City drops heartbreaker to Ozona
Forsan 48, Reagan County 16 — Ashton Ellis ran for 144 yards and two touchdowns to fuel the unbeaten Buffaloes to a lopsided win over the Owls.
Owen Bishop and Coy Evans combined for 125 yards and three touchdowns passing for Forsan, which was led in receiving by Evans (3-58, 2 TDs) and Korbett Worden (1-48, 1 TD).
DISTRICT 4-2A DI WEEK 5 REPORT: Forsan, Ballinger, Sonora open league play with impressive wins
Forsan 46, Ozona 22 — Owen Bishop passed for 207 yards and three touchdowns, and Ashton Ellis ran for 112 yards and two scores and received for 62 yards and another TD to help the Buffaloes pull away for a lopsided win over the Lions.
Coy Evans added 91 yards and a TD receiving for Forsan (5-0, 1-0), which got pick-sixes on defense from Kalen Kemper and Matthew Blakeney.
DISTRICT 4-2A DI WEEK 4 REPORT: Ballinger wins thriller over Brady; Forsan, C-City coast to blowout wins
Ballinger 40, Brady 35 — Wyatt Clemens passed for 300 yards and six touchdowns, hitting Hunter Kresta eight times for 186 yards and four of those scores to lead the Bearcats to a thrilling win over the Bulldogs in a rivalry game.
Kresta had TD catches of 12, 3, 43 and 80 yards to help Ballinger (3-1) rally from a 28-21 halftime deficit to claim the victory.
PHOTO GALLERY: Ballinger-Early football (78 images)
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DISTRICT 4-2A DI WEEK 3 REPORT: Forsan rolls through Stanton; C-City, Ballinger suffer first losses
Forsan 48, Stanton 22 — Forsan rode an efficient offensive performance and a stellar special teams effort to a comfortable win over Stanton.
FHS (3-0) scored touchdowns on a kickoff return (54 yards by Korbett Worden), a punt return (75 yards by Cole Wyatt) and a fake field goal (33-yard double pass from Owen Bishop to Wyatt) while also getting 134 yards and three touchdowns on the ground, led by Worden with 98 yards and two scores.
GAME STORY: Wilson, defense power Early to shutout win over Ballinger on homecoming
EARLY — Ballinger head coach Bryan Gayoso and Early head coach Marvin Wilson have been friends for as long as they can remember and have even spent time working on the same coaching staffs as each other.
Friday night at Longhorn Stadium, the two faced off against each other as head coaches for the first time.
By the time the dust settled on the Longhorns’ homecoming, Early had laid claim to a 34-0 win and improved to 3-0 for the first time in five years while the Bearcats fell to 2-1.
Both coaches relished the opportunity to match wits with one another.
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.
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.
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).
Big Country Preps Preseason Football Position Rankings: Quarterbacks
After a week of highlighting area playmakers, we wrap up our eight-part preseason position rankings series with the Big Country’s best signal callers.
To complete our look at the area’s top players, we’ve ranked our top 15 quarterbacks with a list of others to watch in 2026.
We hope you enjoy this list and that you’ve enjoyed our position rankings as we get set to kick off a new season.
Big Country Preps Preseason Football Position Rankings: Wide Receivers/Tight Ends
We’re approaching the final stretch of our eight-part preseason position rankings series, and it’s time to look at the Big Country’s top receivers.
After starting the offensive portion of our series with the linemen, we now shift our attention to the playmakers on the perimeter, ranking our top 15 wideouts/tight ends with a list of others to watch in 2026.
We hope you enjoy our list and encourage you to check out the other position groups, which are linked below.
Big Country Preps Preseason Football Position Rankings: Offensive Linemen
With the defensive and special teams rankings behind us, it’s time to look at the area’s top offensive players. And we’ll start with the foundation of any productive offense: the offensive line.
For the fifth installment of our eight-part preseason position rankings series, we turn our attention to the trenches, ranking the Big Country’s top 15 offensive linemen with a list of others to watch in 2026.
We hope you enjoy reading through our rankings.
Big Country Preps Preseason Football Position Rankings: Kickers/Punters
After recognizing the top defensive players throughout the Big Country over the past three days, it’s time to honor the specialists.
We continue our eight-part preseason position rankings series by naming our top 10 kickers and top three punters to watch this fall.
We hope you enjoy this list and that you have enjoyed our position rankings as we get set to kickoff the 2026 season.
Big Country Preps Preseason Football Position Rankings: Defensive Backs
After starting with the linemen and linebackers, we turn to the defensive backfield to complete our look at the top defenders in the Big Country.
For the third installment in our eight-part preseason position rankings series, we shift our focus to the secondary, giving our list of the area’s top 15 defensive backs and others to look out for in 2026.
We hope you enjoy our list.
Big Country Preps Preseason Football Position Rankings: Linebackers
After taking a look at the Big Country’s top defensive linemen last night, it’s now time to examine those who will backing them in 2026.
Continuing with Big Country Preps’ eight-part preseason position rankings series, here’s our top 15 linebackers to watch this fall, as well as a list of the others we’re expecting big things from.
We hope you enjoy our list.
Big Country Preps Preseason Football Position Rankings: Defensive Linemen
With the start of football season around the corner, it’s time to take a look at the players who will be making the biggest impact in 2026.
For the first installment in an eight-part series that will cover all position groups, we’ll be taking a look at the area’s top defensive linemen, ranking our top 15 with a list of others to watch this fall.
As with any such list, these rankings are subjective. We hope you enjoy reading through them.
Continue reading “Big Country Preps Preseason Football Position Rankings: Defensive Linemen”
2026 DISTRICT PREDICTIONS: Evan and Daniel make their picks
The time has arrived for us to make our Big Country predictions, district-by-district.
Several weeks of research and two solid months of summertime labor have gone into this, so we’re more than ready to post it.
With that please dive in and study our take on the upcoming season, along with the more than 80 preseason stories we posted earlier today. Enjoy! We’ll see you on the road!
BALLINGER FEATURE: Headline: 6-foot-4 Kresta gives Bearcats a tall receiving target
Photos courtesy of Hunter Kresta
Hunter Kresta represents a microcosm for why the Ballinger Bearcats have higher hopes this football season after finishing 3-7 last year.
Kresta is one of 15 seniors on the Bearcats roster. The seniors have enjoyed success in multiple sports at all levels. Last year’s 3-7 showing in football had much to do with injuries, with four starters being lost for the season.
“Most of the seniors, we’ve been together since the seventh grade,” Kresta said. “We’ve played together, had some fun and improved through the years. Our goal is to win district this year.
“This is my third year on the varsity, and I feel a lot more confident.”
2026 BALLINGER FOOTBALL PREVIEW: Headline: Bearcats hope to avoid injuries in 2026
The short answer for why Ballinger slipped to 3-7 last year and lost all five of its district games by an average of 41.8 points is injuries. The Bearcats lost four starters with season-ending injuries and were down to their third-team quarterback.
“To get back to where we want to be, we have to first stay healthy,” second-year Ballinger football head coach Bryan Gayoso said. “It’s tough when you lose four starters to injuries at the Class 2A level. We learned some life lessons about trying to overcome obstacles last year.
“Injuries aside, we have to get better at what we do.”
Ballinger has posted a 9-32 record over the last four seasons. The Bearcats haven’t finished with a winning record or won a playoff game since 2021.
But there is immediate hope for this season.
2026 All-Big Country Preps Baseball Team: First-Team Roster
Here are our second-team selections for the 2026 All-Big Country Preps baseball team. For the rest of this year’s selections, click the links below.
- Superlative Award Winners (Pitcher of the Year, Offensive Player of the Year, etc.)
- All-Big Country Preps Second-Team Baseball Selections (w/ honorable mention)
- All-Big Country Preps Rising Stars Team (the best freshman and sophomores in the area!)
- Big Country Preps All-Hustle Team (to be released Monday night)
2026 All-Big Country Preps Baseball Team: Second-Team Roster (w/ honorable mention)
Here are our second-team selections for the 2026 All-Big Country Preps baseball team. For the rest of this year’s selections, click the links below.
- Superlative Award Winners (Pitcher of the Year, Offensive Player of the Year, etc.)
- All-Big Country Preps First-Team Baseball Selections
- All-Big Country Preps Rising Stars Team (the best freshman and sophomores in the area!)
- Big Country Preps All-Hustle Team (to be released Monday night)
2026 Big Country Preps Rising Stars Baseball Team: The top sophomores and freshmen in the area
Ladies and gentlemen, we are proud to release our 2026 All-Big Country Preps baseball teams.
Here, you will find our Rising Stars Team honoring the top freshmen and sophomores in the Big Country.
For the rest of this year’s baseball selections, please click the links below.
- Superlative Award Winners (Pitcher of the Year, Offensive Player of the Year, etc.)
- All-Big Country Preps First-Team Baseball Selections
- All-Big Country Preps Second-Team Baseball Selections (w/ honorable mention)
- Big Country Preps All-Hustle Team (to be released Monday night)
2026 All-Big Country Preps Softball Team: First-team Roster
Here are our first-team selections for the 2026 All-Big Country Preps softball team. For the rest of this year’s selections, click the links below.
- Superlative Award Winners (Pitcher of the Year, Offensive Player of the Year, etc.)
- All-Big Country Preps Second-Team Softball Selections (w/ honorable mention)
- All-Big Country Preps Rising Stars Team (the best freshman and sophomores in the area!)
- Big Country Preps All-Hustle Team (To be released Monday night)
2026 All-Big Country Preps Softball Team: Second-team Roster (w/ honorable mention)
Here are our second-team selections for the 2026 All-Big Country Preps softball team. For the rest of this year’s selections, click the links below.
- Superlative Award Winners (Pitcher of the Year, Offensive Player of the Year, etc.)
- All-Big Country Preps First-Team Softball Selections
- All-Big Country Preps Rising Stars Team (the best freshman and sophomores in the area!)
- Big Country Preps All-Hustle Team (To be released Monday night)
2026 Big Country Preps Rising Stars Softball Team: The top sophomores and freshmen in the area
Ladies and gentlemen, we are proud to release our 2026 All-Big Country Preps Softball teams.
Here, you will find our Rising Stars Team honoring the top freshmen and sophomores in the Big Country.
For the rest of this year’s softball selections, please click the links below.
- Superlative Award Winners (Pitcher of the Year, Offensive Player of the Year, etc.)
- All-Big Country Preps First-Team Softball Selections
- All-Big Country Preps Second-Team Softball Selections
- Big Country Preps All-Hustle Team (To be released Monday night)
REGION I-2A TRACK MEET: Bangs boys, Coleman girls score area’s highest team finishes
CANYON — Big Country Region II athletes had a long way to travel for their regional track meet — competing at West Texas A&M University in Canyon on Friday and Saturday.
Bangs was the top team finisher for the area, finishing fourth with 39 points — 28 behind regional champion Abernathy.
Coleman was the top area finisher in the girls meet with a third-place 52 points — 49 points behind a dominant performance by regional champion Panhandle.
