Category: Ballinger Bearcats

by Evan Ren

BIG COUNTRY PREPS PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Wylie guard quartet share this week’s honor

With four guards capable of leading them in scoring on a given night, the Wylie Lady Bulldogs are blessed with a diverse offensive attack. 

But that level of balance and unselfishness does come with one small downside. When it comes time to recognize those players for their accomplishments, it can be hard to differentiate between them and determine which is most deserving of being honored.

So this week, we abdicate that duty and honor all four — seniors Morgan Travis, Emma Melton and Makinlee Bacon and sophomore Caroline Steadman — as our Big Country Preps Player of the Week for the week ending Jan. 23.

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by Evan Ren

BIG COUNTRY PREPS 2020 MAX EFFORT TEAM: The hardest-working volleyball players in the Big Country

Our All-Big Country Preps Volleyball team, released today, is in place to honor those who achieved the most on-court success in 2020. It is off the court, however, where character, grit and work ethic are often measured. And it is with our Big Country Preps Max Effort Team that we wish to honor those players who were the hardest-working, best teammates in the area this fall. 

This team isn’t about who the best volleyball players were.

The Max Effort team honors hustle, discipline, toughness, coachability and selflessness — traits that coaches wish every player had.

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by Brandon McAuliffe

GAME STORY: Jim Ned sweeps Ballinger as boys rally for OT win

TUSCOLA — The Jim Ned boys basketball team didn’t take a lead on Ballinger until early in the fourth quarter on Friday night at Bill Thornton Arena, and then was forced into overtime, but came away with a key 51-47 win in District 6-3A action.

Kaden Davis led a trio of Indians in double-digits with 15 points, while Xavier Wishert and Ben Eshelman added 14 and 13, respectively.

Jonathan Delgado had a game-high 29 points for the Bearcats, who went 0-for-4 from the free-throw line in the game.

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by Evan Ren

BIG COUNTRY PREPS PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Cisco’s Edgar is the top dog

The Cisco Loboes may have only played one game last week (beating Hamlin 76-41). But senior guard Layne Edgar made the most of it.

Scoring 39 points with a 5-of-9 tally from 3-point range, he narrowly missed a monstrous triple-double, finishing with nine rebounds and eight assists.

In his spare time, he collected six steals in a truly dominating performance worthy of our Big Country Preps Player of the Week award for the Week ending Jan. 16.

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by Evan Ren

Evan Ren’s 2020 True Grit Team: The toughest, hardest-working players in the Big Country!

Most of us know a football player who lives in the weight room, who’s always dependable and who always does what his coaches ask him. He always puts the team first. He’s early to arrive and late to leave. And he seldom needs direction because he always pays attention. 

You know the type. But you seldom hear about them, since there is no specific category to put them in and the media doesn’t recognize these qualities.

This is the guy who always sets a good example. He doesn’t complain and above all else, is tough mentally and physically. He’s not necessarily the best player on his team (though some are). But he’s definitely the guy who gets the most out of whatever talent he was born with.

Welcome to the 2020 “True Grit” team — the one place in the Big Country where guys who fall into this category are recognized for it.

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by Evan Ren

BIG COUNTRY PREPS PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Dublin’s Escobar takes the top spot

He’s been consistently pouring in points since the season’s outset. So it’s not a surprise that Dublin senior guard Daniel Escobar has taken our first Big Country Preps Player of the Week award for 2021. 

Helping the Lions to wins over Eastland (69-42) and Millsap (79-43), Escobar finished the week with a total of 63 points through the two games, including a 38-point night in the Eastland win. 

But scoring was only a portion of his overall contribution. 

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by Daniel Youngblood

GAME STORY: Unbeaten Ballinger boys heat up in second half to cruise past Clyde

CLYDE — The Ballinger boys basketball team kept its perfect record intact Saturday, using a 20-8 run through the third quarter to a turn a six-point halftime lead into a comfortable road win over the Clyde Bulldogs.

Using intense pressure defense, the Bearcats (13-0 overall) turned Clyde over with regularity and converted those takeaways into points on the other end to rout the Bulldogs 53-34 and improve to 2-0 in District 6-3A play. 

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by Evan Ren

CAPITAL FARM CREDIT WEDNESDAY NIGHT PODCAST: Cisco’s Kevin Stennett joins the show talks about CHS’ upcoming regional semifinal with Hawley

VIDEO PODCAST NO. 11: Cisco coach Kevin Stennett joins the show and to talk about his experience at CHS and this week’s regional semifinal clash with Hawley.  Evan Ren and Daniel Youngblood examine this week’s regional semifinal pairings.

Top games of this week discussed: All playoff pairings involving Big Country teams from Class 1A-4A this week are mentioned. 

Top games of last week discussed: Sweetwater vs. Celina, Hawley vs. Sundown, Albany vs. Ralls, Wall vs. Bushland, Brock vs. Denver City, Jim Ned vs. Dalhart, San Saba vs. Panhandle.

 

 

 

by Evan Ren

Class 3A Area Round Report: Jim Ned rolls through Dalhart, earns shot at Brock

REGION I-3A DIV. I 

Jim Ned 31, Dalhart 14 — Xavier Wishert had a game-high 131 yards rushing and two scores on 25 carries to lead lead Jim Ned to its first regional semifinal in 16 years.

The Indians built a 24-0 halftime lead before holding on for the win. Tate Yardley led Jim Ned through the air with 200 yards on 13-of-16 passing. 

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by Daniel Youngblood

BCP Boys Basketball Position Rankings: Guards

With boys basketball season upon us, it’s time to shine a spotlight on some of the players we’ll be writing and you’ll be reading about throughout the 2020-21 season.

For the first installment in a three-part series that will cover all positions on the area boys basketball scene, we’ll be taking a look at the Big Country’s top guards, ranking our top 10 with a list of others to watch this fall.

We hope you enjoy reading through our list.

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by Daniel Youngblood

Class 3A Bi-District Round Report: Jim Ned rallies past Paradise, moves on to area round

REGION I-3A DIV. I

Jim Ned 21, Paradise 18 — Trailing 10-7 after three quarters, the Indians outscored the Panthers 14-8 over the final period to rally for the victory Friday.

A Xavier Wishert rushing touchdown early in the fourth quarter was followed a Tate Yardley touchdown pass to give Jim Ned (9-1) a 21-10 lead and the Indians held on from there to escape with the win.

Wishert rushed for 177 yards and two scores in the victory, while Yardley passed for 116 yards a the one TD to Austin Martin. Zach Henderson led the Indians in receiving with three catches for 48 yards.

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by Evan Ren

Evan Ren’s regional football projections and bi-district picks

LAST WEEK: 26-4, .866
SEASON TOTAL: 377-81, .823

Week 12 of the football season is here. And you know what that means.

The horses are at the starting gate with a finish line set up in Arlington for the state championship games.

More than 97 percent of the teams won’t make it. And by the time Thanksgiving arrives, 75 percent of them will already be finished. Such is the magnitude of our postseason.

In the meantime, hundreds of teams from Class 1A through 4A have their dreams of reaching Jerry World still intact. Classes 5A and 6A will start their postseason journeys in mid December, after having their seasons delayed by COVID-19.

That said, it’s time to choose which of our Big Country entries have the best shot of conquering their regions. Who are the favorites? Who are the dark horses? An perhaps most importantly, where are the elephants in the room — the teams from outside of our area with the most potential to spoil the Big Country’s chances?

Let’s get started, shall we?

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by Evan Ren

CAPITAL FARM CREDIT/BCP PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Sanchez takes award with unbelievable game

Every few years, someone will deliver a performance that goes beyond exceptional, great, unbelievable or whatever adjective you choose to attach to it.

Bangs’ senior running back Ethan Sanchez is the latest entry into this rare category, taking our Capital Farm Credit/Big Country Preps Player of the Week after leading the Dragons to a 76-23 win over Brady to help lock up a No. 2 playoff seed. 

The numbers speak for themselves: 14 carries, 440 yards, seven TDs. I’ll say it again: 14 carries, 440 yards, seven TDs. This included scoring runs of 61, 41, 55, 61, 60, 50 and 55 yards. His average per carry: 31.4 yards. And no, this isn’t at the six-man level, where such numbers aren’t unheard of. This was two classifications up in Class 3A DII.

Bangs improved to 8-1 and 4-2 while wrapping up a No. 2 seed in District 2.

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