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Category: Ballinger Bearcats
Big Country Boys Basketball Statistical Leaders (through Jan. 25): Scoring, rebounding, assists, steals, FT Pct., pass deflections and blocks
Below are the current season statistical leaders for Big Country boys basketball through Jan. 25.
This database will be continually updated for our subscribers throughout the regular season, using only those statistics submitted by area coaches.
Big Country Girls Basketball Statistical Leaders (through Jan. 25): Scoring, rebounding, assists, steals, FT Pct., pass deflections and blocks
Below are the current season statistical leaders for Big Country girls basketball through Jan. 25.
This database will be continually updated for our subscribers throughout the regular season, using only those statistics submitted by area coaches.
Evan Ren’s 2023 True Grit Team: The toughest, hardest-working players in the Big Country!
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.
Welcome to Big Country Preps’ “True Grit” team — a collection of area players nominated by their head coaches and Big Country Preps staff, who exemplify the character traits football mentors want throughout their roster.
Big Country Boys Basketball Statistical Leaders (through Jan. 11): Scoring, rebounding, assists, steals, FT Pct., pass deflections and blocks
Below are the current season statistical leaders for Big Country boys basketball through Jan. 11.
This database will be continually updated for our subscribers throughout the regular season, using only those statistics submitted by area coaches.
Big Country Girls Basketball Statistical Leaders (through Jan. 11): Scoring, rebounding, assists, steals, FT Pct., pass deflections and blocks
Below are the current season statistical leaders for Big Country girls basketball through Jan. 11.
This database will be continually updated for our subscribers throughout the regular season, using only those statistics submitted by area coaches.
PHOTO GALLERY: Eula Holiday Classic Day 3 (242 images)
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Continue reading “PHOTO GALLERY: Eula Holiday Classic Day 3 (242 images)”
PHOTO GALLERY: Eula Holiday Classic Day 2 (164 images)
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PHOTO GALLERY: Ballinger-Coleman boys basketball (37 images)
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Continue reading “PHOTO GALLERY: Ballinger-Coleman boys basketball (37 images)”
TOURNAMENT ROUNDUP: Coleman fends off late Bearcat charge in Ballinger
BALLINGER — With 4:14 to play in the final game of the opening day of the Ballinger Bearcat Invitational, the Coleman boys basketball team had its hands full against the hosts at Joe Forester Gymnasium.
The Bluecats had seen Ballinger close a deficit of double digits in the fourth quarter to 54-51 before pulling away over the final three minutes for a 65-53 win on Thursday night.
Coleman was paced offensively by Hunter Lackey’s game-high 24 points as the senior knocked down 11 shots from the field in the win.
2023 BIG COUNTRY PREPS BOYS BASKETBALL PREVIEW: The area’s top teams in each class throughout the BCP coverage area
With a new season of boys high school basketball poised to begin, it’s time to take a look at what the Big Country will produce on the court.
Below you will find our top teams in each classification in the Big Country Preps coverage area, from Big Spring in the West, to Brock in the east and from Brady in the south to Munday in the north.
Our rankings of the top teams in each class are given, along with a season outlook, cataloguing our expectations for each club.
Here’s our preview. We’ll see you on the road.
DISTRICT 2-3A DIV. II WEEK 11 REPORT: Wall completes district sweep with win over Brady; Early takes second seed
Wall 68, Brady 0 — The Hawks (8-2, 5-0) piled up 302 yards on the ground to finish an unbeaten district title.
Nathan Pepper topped the stat sheet with 129 yards rushing and two scores. Wall will host Tornillo on Friday in the bi-district round at 6 p.m. in Wall.
Brady dropped to 3-7 and 0-3. The Bulldogs will face Alpine at 7 p.m. on Friday at Reagan County.
BIG COUNTRY PREPS GAME OF THE WEEK: Wylie, Cooper clash in burgeoning rivalry game
LAST WEEK: 47-5, .903
SEASON TOTAL: 438-91, .827
With the column hitting at more than 90 percent accuracy last week, we now close the regular season on the upswing and with something uncommon: A local Big Country Preps Game of the Week.
While our weekly picks column generally highlights the top area game outside of the Abilene city limits, this week seems to call for us to stay at home with rivals Wylie (6-3, 3-1) and Cooper (4-5, 3-1) fighting for sole possession of the No. 2 seed in District 2-5A Division II.
Big Country Volleyball Statistical Leaders (as submitted by area coaches through Oct. 31)
NOTE: This will be our final installment of Big Country Volleyball Statistical Leaders for the 2023 season
Big Country Preps is publishing area volleyball statistical leaders each Tuesday at 7 p.m. roughout the regular season.
This database will be continually updated for our subscribers throughout the remainder of the season, using only those statistics submitted by area coaches.
DISTRICT 2-3A DIV. II WEEK 10 REPORT: Hawks clinch district title; Grape Creek upsets Brady; TLCA tops Ballinger
Wall 50, Early 6 — The Hawks locked up the district title behind 429 yards rushing as a team.
The Hawks used seven different ball carriers on the night, four of whom found the end zone. Garrett Guy, topped the stat sheet with 98 yards and one TD.
BIG COUNTRY PREPS GAME OF THE WEEK: Bulldogs, Bearcats meet with district title in the balance
LAST WEEK: 44-7, .862
SEASON TOTAL: 391-86, .820
It really didn’t take long for people to start talking about the Hawley – Stamford matchup in 2023. In fact, this one was on our calendar as a possible Game of the Week before the season even started.
Who will win? That depends on who you speak with. Our Twitter poll is split virtually down the middle and even the computers see this one as a near tossup.
Stamford (7-0, 4-0 District 4-2A DII) enters this game scarcely challenged, rolling over the opposition by an average tally of 45-8. Hawley (6-2, 4-0), on the other hand, comes in with some battle scars after a brutal schedule featuring Jim Ned, Lubbock Roosevelt and Albany.
Big Country Volleyball Statistical Leaders (as submitted by area coaches through Oct. 24)
Big Country Preps is publishing area volleyball statistical leaders each Tuesday at 7 p.m. roughout the regular season.
This database will be continually updated for our subscribers throughout the remainder of the season, using only those statistics submitted by area coaches.
DISTRICT 2-3A DIV. II Week 9 Report: Wall, Early retain district lead; Brady edges Ballinger
Wall 69, San Angelo TLCA 12 — Gunner Dillard threw for 194 yards and three scores and rushed for 51 yards and three more TDs to lead the Hawks in a rout of TLCA.
Wall (6-2, 3-0) raced out to a 55-0 halftime lead before putting things into cruise control.
BIG COUNTRY PREPS GAME OF THE WEEK: Stephenville hosts China Spring (w/ Evan Ren’s Big Country Picks)
LAST WEEK: 40-8, .833
SEASON TOTAL: 347-79, .814
As Week 9 of the 2023Texas High School football season gets underway, there are multiple high-profile games that would qualify as our Big Country Preps Game of the Week.
But we’re settling for a rare Thursday night matchup at Tarleton State University where seventh-ranked 4A DI Stephenville (5-2, 1-0) will play host to fourth-ranked China Spring (6-2, 2-0) in a game will give the victor sole possession of first place in District 5.
Picking who wins it may come down to throwing darts, but I do believe China Spring has one key advantage.
DISTRICT 2-3A DIV. II WEEK 8 REPORT: Wall, Early both improve to 2-0 in league play; TLCA routs Grape Creek
Wall 61, Ballinger 6 — The Hawks used 10 different ball carriers to produce 392 rushing yards in a win over their area rival.
Luke Kemp topped the stat chart with 104 yards rushing and two scores on only three carries for Wall, which improved to 5-2 and 2-0.
BIG COUNTRY PREPS GAME OF THE WEEK: Hico hosts Dawson with high playoff seeds in the balance (w/ Evan Ren’s Big Country Picks)
LAST WEEK: 41-7, .854
SEASON TOTAL: 307-71, .812
Big Country Preps makes a point of sharing the love and we look for opportunities to take our Game of the Week to as many different places that make sense each year.
Yet since our inaugural season in 2018, a rebuilding Hico football team missed our spotlight game for five straight seasons.
That drought ends this week when BCP visits Hico for the first time as the Tigers (5-2, 2-1 District 10-2A DII) host Dawson (5-1, 2-0) in a crucial matchup with high seed implications.
DISTRICT 2-3A DIV. II Week 7 Report: Wall, Brady and Early open district play victorious
Wall 67, San Angelo Grape Creek 0 — The Hawks (4-2, 1-0) pounded out 375 yards rushing to open district play with a win.
Wall used nine different ball carriers, with Nathan Pepper topping the stat sheet with 91 yards and three scores on seven carries.
BIG COUNTRY PREPS GAME OF THE WEEK: Clyde heads to Vernon for district-opening battle of unbeatens
LAST WEEK: 37-3, .925
SEASON TOTAL: 266-64, .806
Contrast in styles games make for excellent entertainment and are usually high on our list of potential Big Country Preps Games of the Week.
Friday we have such a matchup when Clyde (5-0) travels to Vernon (5-0) in the District 3-3A DI opener for both clubs. Clyde and its power spread offense capable of running or throwing the ball well, against a run-based multiple attack used by Vernon that seems almost out of the 1950s.
Both clubs are good at what they do. Both are physical and both are fully aware of how important this league opener is. In fact, this may end up ranking as one of the more physical Games of the Week we’ll see in 2023.
DISTRICT 2-3A DIV. II WEEK 6 REPORT: Hawks fall to Mason with the rest of the district taking a bye week
Mason 14, Wall 7 — An anticipated trench war materialized at the Puncher Dome with Mason holding off Wall by a score.
The Hawks (3-2) were limited to an uncharacteristic 251 yards in total offense by Mason, which improved to 6-0 on the year.
Gunner Dillard led Wall with 136 yards passing, 40 yards rushing and the team’s lone TD.
BIG COUNTRY PREPS GAME OF THE WEEK: Yellow Jackets head to Brownwood to face archrival
LAST WEEK: 46-12, .793
SEASON TOTAL: 229-61, .789
More often than not, Big Country Preps makes an appearance at the annual Stephenville-Brownwood matchup. Because more often than not, it produces a game worthy of one of Texas’ top rivalries.
This year is no exception as Stephenville travels to famous Gordon Wood Stadium for the Big Country Preps Game of the Week.
DISTRICT 2-3A DIV. II Week 5 report: TLCA blanks Stanton, but the remainder of the district falls in Week 5
San Angelo TLCA 41, Stanton 0 — The Eagles were the lone team in District 2-3A DII to notch a victory in Week 5.
Limiting Stanton to only 260 yards in total offense, TLCA forced four SHS turnovers and controlled from beginning to end.
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.
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
DISTRICT 2-3A DIV. II WEEK 3 REPORT: Bangs notches first win; Comanche dominates Early
Bangs 42, Grape Creek 6 — Kenny Cole threw for 201 yards and three scores and Ethan Ethridge accounted for 243 yards rushing/receiving and two TDs to lift the Dragons.
Bangs (1-2) notched the first win of the Jason Cole era with the victory.
DISTRICT 2-3A DIV. II WEEK 2 REPORT: Wall outmuscles Cisco, 27-10
Wall 27, Cisco 10 — The Hawks used a workmanlike effort on the ground, pounding out 312 yards rushing with nine different ball carriers to hand Cisco (0-2) its second straight loss.
Nathan Pepper rushed for a game-high 91 yards on 13 carries with one TD and Hagyn Barbee chipped in 49 yards rushing and two TDs on only two carries to lead Wall (2-0), which limited Cisco to 177 total yards.
DISTRICT 2-3A DIV. II WEEK 1 REPORT: QB Dillard leads Wall past Eastland
Wall 35, Eastland 10 — Gunner Dillard threw for 119 yards and two scores and rushed 20 times for 95 yards and two more scores to lead Wall to a win over Eastland on Friday.
The Hawks (1-0), who led 21-10 at the break, finished with 319 yards in total offense. They will face Cisco (0-1) on the road in Week 2.
EVAN REN: Don’t judge Ballinger until the storm passes
BALLINGER — I never understood how or why we began judging high school coaches on wins alone. It’s as if that mindset gradually trickled down from the pro ranks (where it’s justifiable) to college athletics (where I grudgingly understand it) to secondary school, where it starts to look silly.
That’s right, silly.
Nonetheless, since my arrival in the Big Country in 2006, I’ve seen good coaches let go, because someone didn’t think they had won enough. I’ve seen coaches earn the first playoff wins at their schools in decades, only to be shown the door when someone thought the bar had been raised. And in many cases, I’ve seen the purpose of high school athletics forgotten entirely.
Let’s hope the community of Ballinger escapes all of the above.
2023 BALLINGER FOOTBALL PREVIEW: Ballinger hoping to show improvement despite brutal schedule
BALLINGER — The good news for Ballinger in 2023, is that the Bearcats have 7 starters back on both sides of the ball among 17 lettermen and a roster approaching 30 players — far better numbers than a year ago.
The bad news is, their schedule is something you may expect to see for a defending regional champion, rather than a young, rebuilding program coming off a 1-9 season.
Scenes from Big Country Preps Photo Tour Day 4
Day 4 of Big Country Preps’ 2023 Photo Tour is now in the books, with three more days of shooting yet to come from practice fields throughout the area.
Here are but a few of the images collected Thursday:
Continue reading “Scenes from Big Country Preps Photo Tour Day 4”
COUNTDOWN TO TWO-A-DAYS: The Ballinger Bearcats … 21 days to two-a-days
Football is just around the corner, and we at BigCountryPreps.com are committed to bringing you the information you need to prepare for your favorite team’s season.
We’ll be releasing our Big Country Preps Preseason Football Preview, the most comprehensive look at the upcoming Big Country football season anywhere, on Wednesday, Aug. 16. But you won’t have to wait until then to sate your gridiron appetite.
Leading up to the first day of fall football practice on July 31, we’ll be spotlighting each 11-man team in the area and posing some of the key questions they’ll face in 2023 as part of our annual “Countdown to Two-a-Days” series.
We move to Class 3A Division II with the Ballinger Bearcats. On Tuesday we will take a look at the Brady Bulldogs, followed by the Early Longhorns on Wednesday.
Continue reading “COUNTDOWN TO TWO-A-DAYS: The Ballinger Bearcats … 21 days to two-a-days”
BIG COUNTRY PREPS PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Jernigan takes our final award for 2022-23
Our final Big Country Preps Player of the Week for the 2022-23 school year could have gone any number of directions.
We finally settled on Goldthwaite junior Lainey Jernigan, who swept both the girls 2A hurdles titles at the state meet last week.
Jernigan won the 100 hurdles in 14.62 and the 300 hurdles in 44.12. And the good news for GHS fans is, she’s coming back to defend both crowns next year.
STATE TRACK ROUNDUP: Area Class 3A, 4A athletes claim 14 combined medals at state meet
Cover photo courtesy of Stephenville coach Kolt Kittley
AUSTIN —The UIL State Track and Field meet kicked off Thursday with Classes 3A and 4A competing at Mike Meyers Stadium on the campus of the University of Texas, and the Big Country had a fairly strong showing.
The closest finish determining who would be on and off the podium came in the Class 3A girls 800 meter run where Ballinger’s Addison Martin ran the race in 2 minutes, 17.522 seconds, edging Holliday freshman Kenli Atwood by a microscopic 0.007 seconds after diving through the finish line in her final event of a storied career.
Martin’s podium finish, where she was just one-tenth of a second off what had been the top qualification mark, was one of 14 medal-worthy performances for area athletes.
PHOTO GALLERY: Region I-3A track meet (118 images)
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REGION I-3A TRACK MEET: Brock, Breck boys go 1-2 again; Big Country girls claim six individual golds
The Brock boys track teams clinched its third consecutive region championship Saturday at Abilene Christian University’s Elmer Gray Stadium, and for the second year in a row, the Eagles’ stiffest competition came from Breckenridge.
Brock took first at the Region I-3A meet, tallying 70 team points over the two-day competition, while the Buckaroos finished with 55 points, edging third-place Vernon (54) for their second runner-up finish in as many years.
Those performances headlined a successful meet for area competitors, which saw athletes or relay teams from the Big Country Preps coverage area claim 26 total medals — 14 on the boys side and 12 on the girls. That list featured 15 automatic qualifying bids to the state meet May 11-13 in Austin, including 10 total gold medals.
PHOTO GALLERY: Abilene Icebreaker Softball Tournament (241 images)
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PHOTO GALLERY: Jim Ned-Ballinger girls basketball region quarterfinal playoff (29 photos)
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GAME STORY: Jim Ned turns away Ballinger, advances to fifth straight regional tournament
WINTERS — With a spot in the Region I-3A tournament on the line on Monday night at Blizzard Gym, the Jim Ned and Ballinger girls basketball teams squared off for the third time this season.
The Lady Indians were seeking their fifth straight berth in the regional tournament while the Lady Cats were in the regional quarterfinals for the first time since 2008.
Despite a strong defensive first half, the Lady Cats struggled to score offensively, and Jim Ned’s offense came to life in the second half to propel the Lady Indians to a 53-18 win and an 8 p.m. date with Idalou on Friday at Wolfforth Frenship.
PHOTO GALLERY: Clyde-Ballinger girls basketball (48 images)
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GAME STORY: Martin nets career milestone as Ballinger routs Clyde to open district
BALLINGER — Ballinger senior point guard Addison Martin entered Tuesday’s District 6-3A opener against Clyde at Joe Forester Gymnasium thinking that she was roughly 40 points away from hitting 1,000 for her career.
The four-sport star was shocked when coach Kinzee Willis called timeout after she recorded a steal and layup midway through the second quarter for her sixth point of the night when she saw the Ballinger student body unfurl a 1,000 point banner and four golden balloons signifying the achievement while cheerleaders shot off confetti in the bleachers.
It was a celebratory achievement that carried over to the court as the Lady Cats recorded a 55-32 win as they honored their point guard.
