Wall junior Briggs Jones may be on the verge of a major breakout season in area track and field.
Our Big Country Player of the Week not only won five medals at the coveted Angelo State Spring Break meet, but he broke two solo school records and helped break a third. It seldom gets much better than that.
Aside from setting school marks in the long jump at 23-9.5 (for gold) and the triple jump at 45-2 (for gold), Jones was part of the 800 relay team’s silver medal performance of 1:28.49 — another Wall school mark.
It may be a little too early to label Anson freshman softball pitcher Kayme Elrod as a star in the making. But our Big Country Preps Player of the Week is off to a pretty good start.
Merkel senior Kooper Darby picked the right time to post the best all-around game of his high school career. 
Big numbers are always great to have when we decide the winner of our Big Country Preps Player of the Week award. Solid numbers across multiple tasks are even better. 
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. 
Brownwood 28, Andrews 14 — Ike Hall ran for 193 yards and two touchdowns and Levi Pearson added 106 yards and a pair of rushing scores to fuel the Lions to a win over the Mustangs in their final game of the regular season.
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. 
Every now and then, the biggest performances come at precisely the right time. And in the case of our Big Country Preps Player of the Week, that couldn’t be more true than it is now. 
Big Spring 63, San Angelo Lake View 43 — Kavien Ford rushed for 374 yards and seven touchdowns to help the Steers snap a five-game losing streak with a comfortable win over the Chiefs.
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.
Contrast in styles games make for excellent entertainment and are usually high on our list of potential Big Country Preps Games of the Week. 
After two weeks, few teams are grabbing the attention of Big Country football fans more than the Clyde Bulldogs (2-0), who have opened with consecutive wins over Cisco and Eastland. 
It’s always a great accomplishment to go to the state track meet in multiple events. But when it’s done in dominating fashion at the Class 4A level or above, you’re generally talking about a very special, gifted athlete. 
A no-hitter alone is often enough to secure the Big Country Preps Player of the Week award. But when it’s backed by a solid offensive performance, it’s very difficult to get knocked off of the perch. 
Clyde’s Payton Phillips is no stranger to our Big Country Preps Player of the Week award. She’s no stranger to gold medals either. 
It’s difficult to trump a no-hitter, though Snyder’s Ava Aviles came close last week. 
It’s not often that a Big Country baseball team charts two no-hitters in the same week. But when two pitchers with the same last name are charting the no-nos it’s about as common as the planets aligning. 
Bangs southpaw Abby Wolf has thrown so many no-hitters this year, that the subject barely raises an eyebrow. But in consecutive district wins over Coleman and Christoval last week, the sophomore managed to create a stir. 
You know you’re on a roll when you throw a no-hitter and it’s your second-best performance of the week. 
It’s always a good sign early in the season when you’re getting good pitching against quality competition. And in the case of the Big Spring Lady Steers, the numbers in the circle thus far are downright encouraging. 
