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-10 defensive backs and others to look out for in 2021.
We hope you enjoy our list.
After taking a look at the Big Country’s top defensive linemen on Wednesday, it’s now time to examine those who will backing them in 2021.
Continuing with Big Country Preps’ eight-part preseason position rankings series, here’s our top 10 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.
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 2021.
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 10 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.
Without further ado it is time for us to make our Big Country predictions, district-by-district.
This is the culmination of several weeks of research and two solid months of summertime labor, so we’re more than ready to post it.
Every year, one of the things I look forward to most, is mapping out the upcoming football season — charting the games I believe will have the greatest impact.
First and foremost, it’s a preseason menu for area fans who enjoy driving to some of the Big Country’s best football games on a weekly basis. Call it a football roadmap of sorts.
BIG SPRING — While the Big Spring offense was inconsistent at times in 2020, averaging 22.8 points per contest over nine games, the connection between quarterback Gabriel Baeza and his deep and talented receiving corps was a big bright spot for the Steers and coach Cannon McWilliams.
With Baeza back for his senior season and all but one of the team’s top five wideouts returning, the Steers could boast one of the best aerial attacks in the Big Country this fall.
A rare offense that passes to set up the run, Big Spring had five players chart at least 100 receiving yards last season. And the four of those who are back are hoping to take Big Spring to another level in 2021.
BIG SPRING — A 5-4 record and trip to the area round of the playoffs may not seem like much to some. But for the Big Spring Steers, those accomplishments in 2020 represented significant improvement.
In posting their first winning season since going 9-3 in 2014 and earning just their second playoff win since that same year, coach Cannon McWilliams’ Steers put a forgettable five-year stretch in the rearview and restored a sense of hope and optimism to the program.
Now, with 28 lettermen returning from that squad, including nine offensive and eight defensive starters, the goal and expectation is to take the next step forward.
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 Saturday, Aug. 14. 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 Aug. 2, we’ll be spotlighting each 11-man team in the area and posing some of the key questions they’ll face in 2021 as part of our annual “Countdown to Two-a-Days” series.
Today, we move to Class 4A Division I with the Big Spring Steers. On Wednesday, we will take a look at the Brownwood Lions, followed by the Stephenville Yellow Jackets on Thursday.
CHECK FOR LIVE UPDATES THROUGHOUT THE DAY AT BIGCOUNTRYPREPS.COM
Continue reading “LIVE: State Track and Field Meet medalists and Big Country Placings (DAY 1)”
Having already released our picks for the girls state track meet earlier this evening, we now present the boys event, using the same approach.
We’ll comb through each event involving a Big Country athlete (or athletes) and assess if they are favorites, dark horses or long shots to get on the medal stand.
Let’s not waste any time. Let’s dive in.
I don’t care who you are — even if you’re a non-fan when it comes to track and field.
The excitement of the state meet in Austin will capture your attention if you catch sight or sound of it. It’s inescapable.
And once per year, it is my pleasure to examine the multitude of Big Country athletes heading to Austin for the event and pick who we can expect to see on the medal stand from our area.
Let’s begin with the girls side, looking at each event in which a Big Country athlete has qualified for state.
Here are the area’s baseball statistical leaders through April 29:
Statistics are from throughout the Big Country Preps circulation area as submitted by coaches. These lists will be continually updated as we receive more submissions.
LUBBOCK — Big Country athletes accounted for 16 medals and clinched eight berths to the state track meet over the weekend at the Region I-4A meet Lowrey Field.
Area athletes claimed four gold medals, four silvers and eight bronzes during a strong all-around showing by the Big Country’s representatives Friday and Saturday.
Headlining the effort on the girls side was Stephenville sprinter Victoria Cameron, who swept the girls 100 and 200 meters, running the former in 12.12 seconds and the latter in a personal-best time of 24.81 to win the event by almost a second over Argyle’s Ja’Liyah Patterson (25.70).
On the boys side, the area’s gold medals came from Big Spring discus thrower Braxton Pearson (personal-best 160 feet, 1 inch) and Big Spring high jumper Kyler Seymore (personal-best 6-6).
Here are the area’s softball statistical leaders through April 22:
Statistics are from throughout the Big Country Preps circulation area as submitted by coaches as of April 22. These lists will be continually updated as we receive more submissions.
Here are the area’s baseball statistical leaders through April 22:
Statistics are from throughout the Big Country Preps circulation area as submitted by coaches as of April 22. These lists will be continually updated as we receive more submissions.
Here are the area’s baseball statistical leaders through April 15:
Statistics are from throughout the Big Country Preps circulation area as submitted by coaches as of April 15. These lists will be continually updated as we receive more submissions.
Here are the area’s softball statistical leaders through April 15:
Statistics are from throughout the Big Country Preps circulation area as submitted by coaches as of April 15. These lists will be continually updated as we receive more submissions.
Here are the area’s baseball statistical leaders through April 8:
Statistics are from throughout the Big Country Preps circulation area as submitted by coaches as of April 8. These lists will be continually updated as we receive more submissions.
Here are the area’s softball statistical leaders through April 8:
Statistics are from throughout the Big Country Preps circulation area as submitted by coaches as of April 8. These lists will be continually updated as we receive more submissions.
While scoring and rebounding garner much of the attention in basketball, there are other elements, crucial to success, that seldom grab headlines.
Behind the scenes is where character, effort and sacrifice set the foundation for teams to reach their full potential. And it is with our Big Country Preps Gym Rat Team that we salute the individuals who bring these elements to the table.
This team isn’t about who the best players are — though some of the area’s top players are on this list.
The Gym Rat Team is about outworking, outhustling and outgiving everyone around you, both on the floor and off. Hard-working, honest, selfless, tough, coachable kids are what we seek for this roster.
A Gym Rat Team member can be your best player or the last player off the bench. But the one thing all of them bring is an uncompromisingly good attitude.
It is for that reason that our Gym Rat Team is selected entirely by area coaches. And Big Country Preps is truly honored to present these individuals to you — the best “team players” (boys and girls) that the area had to offer during the 2020-21 season.
Players are listed in no particular order.
Enjoy.
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LINK … GAME STORY: Snyder rallies from 9-0 deficit to earn important win over Big Spring
SNYDER — From a coach’s perspective, there is a big difference between a 2-2 and 1-3 record in district play. And heading in to Tuesday’s matchup between Big Spring and Snyder at Moffett Field, each club was faced with a choice between both scenarios.
With both teams holding 1-2 district marks, the danger of heading into the second half of league play with a sub-.500 mark supplied the incentive. It resulted in a wild, come-from-behind 11-10 win for Snyder.
Jaden West was 2-for-4 with an RBI and Austin Escobedo delivered four innings of solid relief pitching to lead the Tigers (9-7, 2-2), who rallied from a 9-0 deficit to earn the win.
THIS WEEK: Longtime area basketball official Jeff Groban talks to Evan and Dan about the challenges of his profession