Here are the Big Country’s receiving leaders through Week 9:
Category: Bangs Dragons
District 2-3A Div. II Week 9 Report: Dragons dominate Sonora, set up district showdown with Ballinger
Bangs 48, Sonora 14 — Ethan Cortez had one of his best nights as a first-year move-in, throwing for 243 yards and three scores and rushing for 97 yards and two more TDs to keep the Dragons (7-0, 3-0) in district title contention.
District 2-3A Div. II Week 8 Report: Dragons overcome slow start to rout Moore
Bangs 47, Ingram Moore 15 — Bangs overcame a slow start with big nights from Ethan Sanchez and Ethan Cortez to improve to 7-0 overall and 2-0 in district.
Leading 19-15 at the break, the Dragons blew the game open with 28 unanswered second-half points.
PHOTO GALLERY: Dublin at Bangs volleyball (30 images)
Photos may be purchased for $7 each by clicking on the small shopping cart emblem below the lower right corner of the gallery. The “BigCountryPreps.com” watermark will be removed from all purchased photos.
GAME STORY: Bangs defeats Dublin in four sets (by Seth LaRue, special to Big Country Preps).
The Bangs Lady Dragons handily defeated Dublin Lady Tuesday night in four sets: 25-5, 14-25, 25-12, 25-19. 
Skylar Hutchins, had 23 digs, with additional help from Halle Lance and Jacee Miller to lead Bangs. The Lady Dragons’ offensive front capitalized on the help, with a total of 29 kills as a team.
“My girls started out really strong and were ready to come out and beat Dublin.” Bangs coach Cheyanne Lovelady said. “They were indeed ready as some of the girls showed out in a big way tonight, most notably from the serve line.”
District 2-3A Div. II Week 7 Report: Dragons remain unbeaten with rout of Grape Creek
Bangs 62, San Angelo Grape Creek 0 — Ethan Cortez threw for 228 yards, rushed for 112 and accounted for five touchdowns to keep the Dragons (5-0, 1-0).
Ethan Sanchez had a huge night as well, rushing for 175 yards and four scores on only 12 carries.
FEATURE: Overall team speed has placed Bangs back on the Big Country map
BANGS — Not since 2013 has the Bangs football team won more than six games in a season. Nor have the Dragons won a single playoff game in that time span.
But this year’s 4-0 start, which includes a 39-15 win over area power Hawley on Friday, has Dragon fans hopeful that they’re about to see a breakout season.
The key ingredient to Bangs’ resurgence? Speed — lots of it. More speed than the club has had in years and more speed than many teams are capable of consistently defending against.
PHOTO GALLERY: Hawley-Bangs football (54 images)
Photos may be purchased for $7 each by clicking on the small shopping cart emblem below the lower right corner of the gallery. The “BigCountryPreps.com” watermark will be removed from all purchased photos.
BCP GAME OF THE WEEK: Bangs dominates Hawley to stay unbeaten
BANGS — Facing one of the biggest, strongest small-school teams in the area on Friday, there was some question if the Bangs Dragons could remain undefeated after squaring off with Hawley on Friday.
The Dragons (4-0) delivered the answer fairly quickly, dominating the Bearcats 39-15 in the Big Country Preps Game of the Week.
Ethan Cortez threw for 238 yards and rushed for 158 and two scores to lead Bangs, which took a 26-7 lead into locker room at the break. Ethan Sanchez led the Dragons in scoring, rushing for 95 yards and four touchdowns on 13 carries.
BIG COUNTRY PREPS GAME OF THE WEEK: Hawley tangles with upstart Dragons (w/ Evan Ren’s Big Country picks)
LAST WEEK: 36-12, .750
SEASON TOTAL: 152-47, .763
I have not been to Bangs for a Game of the Week since 2013 — the last time the Dragons posted more than six wins in a season and the last winning record they had prior to last year’s 6-5 mark.
That drought ends tomorrow, when I travel to BHS for an interesting showdown between the Dragons (3-0) and Class 2A Division I power Hawley (3-1).
Bangs has the better overall numbers, but Hawley has faced a slightly tougher overall schedule, making this pick a perplexing one.
District 2-3A Div. II Week 4 Report: Ballinger rallies to beat Clyde with two fourth-quarter TDs
Ballinger 21, Clyde 14 — Trailing 14-7 after three quarters, Ballinger rallied with two fourth-quarter touchdowns to improve to 4-0.
Carter Arrott scored on a 13-yard run with 9:36 to play to knot the game at 14. Shortly thereafter, Garrett Dixon scored on another 13-yard run at the 6:49 mark to put the Bearcats over the top.
Dylan Neuman led Clyde (1-3) with 75 yards passing, 109 yards rushing and one score.
Big Country Preps’ Pick ‘Em Panel (Week 4)
Each week here at Big Country Preps, we’ll post our picks for all of that week’s 11-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 and close Thursday morning.
Disagree with our picks or the Twitter consensus? Let us know in the comments section below.
Continue reading “Big Country Preps’ Pick ‘Em Panel (Week 4)”
BIG COUNTRY PREPS GAME OF THE WEEK: Jim Ned heads to Cisco for interclass showdown
LAST WEEK: 42-9, .824
SEASON TOTAL: 116-35, .740
Week 4 arrives and I’m finally hitting my stride on pick accuracy.
It’s been an odd year thus far, both in terms of results and overall feel. It’s been tough to gauge.
Nonetheless, we’re hitting the road once again this Friday, with the Big Country Preps Game of the Week landing at Chesley Field in Cisco, where the Loboes (2-1) will play host to a Jim Ned club that is two divisions larger than they are.
District 2-3A Div. II Week 3 Report: Bearcats cruise past Wolves
Ballinger 34, Colorado City 2 — Carter Arrott threw for 102 yards and two scores and Weston Rollwitz rushed for 127 yards on only three carries with one TD to lead Ballinger (3-0).
The Bearcats were never threatened after building a 27-0 halftime lead.
Colorado City (0-3) was led by Jake Connell, who threw for 83 yards and rushed for 55. The Wolves’ lone score came with 0:16 to play on a safety.
Big Country Preps’ Pick ‘Em Panel (Week 3)
Each week here at Big Country Preps, we’ll post our picks for all of that week’s 11-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 and close Thursday morning.
Disagree with our picks or the Twitter consensus? Let us know in the comments section below.
Continue reading “Big Country Preps’ Pick ‘Em Panel (Week 3)”
FEATURE: Bangs standout Jacee Miller cleared to return for Lady Dragons
Jacee Miller isn’t used to watching the action from afar.
The Bangs junior is a four-sport standout who has been on varsity since she began high school. Miller never leaves the floor for the Lady Dragons’ volleyball team.
But after snapping her fibula and tearing a ligament during a summer trip to the beach, the vocal Miller has been forced to do all her encouraging and observing from the sidelines.
“It’s a very different perspective,” Miller said. “Watching my team grow and watching its up and downs has helped me see what I can do when I come back.”
Big Country Volleyball Statistical Leaders (through Sept. 7)
Big Country Preps will publish area volleyball statistical leaders each Tuesday at 7 p.m.
This database will be continually updated for our subscribers throughout the remainder of the season, using only those statistics submitted by area coaches.
Teams that do not submit their statistics in a given week will not be listed when our stats are posted, but will be added to the lists below as they are received in the coming days.
District 2-3A Div. II Week 2 Report: Ballinger holds off stubborn Breckenridge
Ballinger 13, Breckenridge 0 — Ballinger struggled to overcome a stout Breckenridge defense, but two first-half touchdowns were enough to improve to 2-0.
Garrett Dixon supplied the game-winner at the 9:41 mark of the first quarter on a 4-yard run. He later found the end zone from 30 yards out at the 10:11 mark of the second quarter.