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.
Category: Brady Bulldogs
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.
BRADY FEATURE: First-time head coach Roberts excited to take over Bulldogs program
Jaron Roberts’ philosophy as a head coach is a pretty simple one. And it’s not unlike that of a lot of other successful mentors.
Roberts, who will be taking over at Brady this season, wants the Bulldogs to be the toughest, most physical and most aggressive team on the field each and every time they step on it.
Those adjectives could be used to describe all of the most successful teams he helped lead as an assistant at Wellington, Falls City, Merkel and Stamford, and as a head coach for the first time in his career, he wants them to be defining attributes of his program now.
2023 BRADY FOOTBALL PREVIEW: Young Brady squad hopes to extend playoff streak in Roberts’ first year
The Brady football team will have a new coach and a total of 13 first-year starters when it opens its season against Comanche on Aug. 25. But don’t expect that to change expectations for the Bulldogs, who have reached the playoffs each of the past four seasons.
Jaron Roberts, who was hired to replace Shay Easterwood in June, will inherit a roster that returns just 12 of 28 lettermen from last year’s 5-6 squad. But the first-time head coach, who previously served as an assistant at Wellington, Falls City, Merkel and Stamford, feels this group will be ready and able to compete in District 2-3A Division II.
Scenes from Big Country Preps Photo Tour Days 6
Day 6 of Big Country Preps’ 2023 Photo Tour is now in the books, with one more day of shooting yet to come from practice fields throughout the area.
Here are but a few of the images collected Friday and Saturday:
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COUNTDOWN TO TWO-A-DAYS: The Brady Bulldogs … 20 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 continue in Class 3A Division II with the Brady Bulldogs. On Wednesday we will take a look at the Early Longhorns, followed by the Wall Hawks on Thursday.
Continue reading “COUNTDOWN TO TWO-A-DAYS: The Brady Bulldogs … 20 days to two-a-days”
PHOTO GALLERY: Wall-Brady baseball bi-district playoff (95 images)
Digital photos, prints and keepsakes may be purchased by clicking the link below. The “BigCountryPreps.com” watermark will be removed from all purchased photos.
Continue reading “PHOTO GALLERY: Wall-Brady baseball bi-district playoff (95 images)”
GAME STORY: Hallmark shines, Wall bats explode late to down Brady 20-4 in series clincher
It took the Wall bats a couple of innings to get going Friday in Game 2 of its Region I-3A bi-district series against Brady, but once the Hawks finally got airborne, they soared.
Down 1-0 after two innings, WHS exploded for eight runs in the third and six in the fourth and fifth to pull away for a 20-4 win and a series sweep of the Bulldogs.
The lopsided affair, which followed a tight 5-4 win over the Bulldogs in Game 1, improved coach Jason Schniers team to 27-5-1 on the year and earned the Hawks an area-round matchup next week with the winner between Bowie and Peaster.
BIG COUNTRY PREPS PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Phillips takes yet another Player of the Week award
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.
And for the third time since last year, the CHS senior has captured our weekly accolade — this time with an armful of hardware.
In her latest performance, Phillips won four separate district championships and took silver in a fifth at the District 6-3A track meet.
BIG COUNTRY PREPS PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Albany’s Chapmans share this week’s award
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.
That was the case last week with the Albany Lions, who in sweeping Haskell (15-0) and Stamford (11-1) saw Cole and Tyler Chapman (non-siblings) post back-to-back no-hitters.
Cole, a senior, blanked Haskell in four innings of work in a mercy rule win, fanning six. Three days later, Tyler got into the act in a five-inning run-rule win with 12 Ks.
They now share our Big Country Preps Player of the Week award — another rarity.
“We were very proud of our pitchers last week,” Albany coach David Fairchild said. “Both pitchers were in control and in command of their pitches.”
BIG COUNTRY PREPS PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Bangs southpaw takes this week’s accolade
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.
Missing a perfect game by one hit batsman in a 7-0 win over Coleman, she followed that with three perfect innings in a 15-0 route of Christoval.
In other words, Wolf tossed nine complete hitless innings last week, along the way walking none and fanning 13.
BIG COUNTRY PREPS PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Fincannon fires perfecto and no-hitter to take this week’s award
You know you’re on a roll when you throw a no-hitter and it’s your second-best performance of the week.
That was the case for Hico junior pitcher Kiersten Fincannon, not only threw a no-hitter in a 24-0 win over Meridian, but also tossed a perfect game in a 22-0 rout of Itasca.
GAME STORY: Athletic Vernon too much for Brady in area round
ANSON — The Brady boys basketball team pulled off one of the biggest upsets in the state in the opening round of the postseason with a 42-37 win over District 6-3A champion San Angelo TLCA on Tuesday night.
It left many people wondering what the Bulldogs would do as an encore, especially since they were playing with house money when taking on No. 25 Vernon on Friday at Anson’s Tiger Gymnasium.
Another upset was not in the cards for the Bulldogs, who were held scoreless until midway through the second quarter as Vernon ran away with a 67-36 win.
PHOTO GALLERY: Brady-Vernon boys basketball playoff (45 images)
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PHOTO GALLERY: Merkel-Brady girls basketball bi-district playoff (56 images)
Digital photos, prints and keepsakes may be purchased by clicking the link below. The “BigCountryPreps.com” watermark will be removed from all purchased photos.
Continue reading “PHOTO GALLERY: Merkel-Brady girls basketball bi-district playoff (56 images)”
GAME STORY: Merkel girls eliminate nervous Brady, 54-33
WINTERS — On paper, everything was on Brady’s side heading into Monday’s 54-33 loss to Merkel in the Class 3A girls bi-district round.
The second-seeded Lady Bulldogs had momentum, winning five of their last six games, while third-seeded Merkel was on a downswing, having lost three straight.
There was just one problem: Merkel, which is housed in District 6 with the likes of No. 2 Jim Ned and No. 15 Wall, isn’t your run-of-the-mill third seed. And the Lady Badgers quickly demonstrated that in a convincing win at Winters High School.
BIG COUNTRY PREPS PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Coleman’s Smith takes this week’s award
With our recent bad weather pushing an extra game into last week for the Coleman Bluecats, it gave senior guard Braxton Smith three chances to pile up big numbers.
And he did exactly that.
Our Big Country Preps Player of the Week opened with 19 points and nine steals in a win over Bangs last Monday. He followed that with 13 points, eight assists and 10 steals in a near-triple double in a win over Winters.
BIG COUNTRY PREPS PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Benjamin’s Rigdon on an unbelievable scoring pace
He entered last week as the leading scorer in the entire Big Country, putting up more than 37 points per game. So few will be surprised to hear that Benamin’s Grayson Ridgon has put up yet another performance worthy of our Big Country Preps Player of the Week Award.
Yet last week’s numbers were big, even by his standards.
Helping the Mustangs to consecutive routs of Harrold (100-36) and Crowell (93-53), the sophomore guard poured in 50 and 51 points respectively and even found time to snag a head-turning 20 rebounds in the Crowell win.
BIG COUNTRY PREPS PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Cisco’s Landenberger catches fire, takes this week’s award
If you haven’t heard of Cisco’s Gavin Landenberger yet, that’s understandable. He and his talented brother, Aiden, were move-ins from Mississippi late last year and weren’t eligible to play varsity ball at CHS.
Now freely able to play, the siblings are making up for lost time and Gavin is currently making enough noise to draw attention from the entire area.
Named as our Big Country Preps Player of the Week, the senior guard absolutely went off last week, beginning with a 28-point night in a win over Albany. He followed that three days later with 32 points in a come-from-behind win at Stamford. The latter saw him hit four straight-3-pointers in an 18-point third quarter.
BIG COUNTRY PREPS PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Comanche QB snags this week’s accolade
With standout running back Sawyer Wilkerson getting much of the media attention in 2022, the Comanche Indians have been receiving efficient, under-publicized play from the quarterback spot through much of a 10-1 record.
Last week was perhaps the best example of that, with junior signal caller Layden Welch torching Henrietta with an 11 of 16 passing performance for 248 yards and five TDs in a 69-27 win.
But that’s just the beginning.
Welch also rushed 11 times for 65 yards and two scores. He gathered five solo tackles, four assisted stops, forced a fumble and deflected a pass to help CHS advance to the area round.
CLASS 3A BI-DISTRICT REPORT: Jim Ned wins eighth straight; Brock, Early Comanche, Wall advance to area round
REGION I-3A DIV. I
Jim Ned 41, Pilot Point 0 — Troy Doran rushed for 174 yards and two scores to lead Jim Ned to an easy first round win over Pilot Point.
The Indians rolled up 479 yards in total offense en route to the win, overcoming a 3-1 turnover disparity in the process. Leading 14-0 at the break, Jim Ned blew the game open with 27 unanswered points in the second half.
Big Country Preps Boys Basketball Position Rankings: Posts
After highlighting the Big Country’s top guards and forwards the past two nights, we now take a look at the area’s best big men.
For the final installment in our three-part boys basketball position rankings series, we rank the Big Country’s top 10 post players.
We hope you’ve enjoyed reading through our rankings, and make sure to check back for all our boys and girls basketball coverage this season.
Big Country Preps Boys Basketball Position Rankings: Forwards
After kicking off our boys basketball position rankings series on Tuesday with the guards, we now shift our attention to the forwards.
For the second installment in our three-part series, we rank the area’s top-10 players at that position for 2022-23.
We hope you enjoy our list.
Big Country Preps Boys Basketball Position Rankings: Guards
With boys basketball season beginning this week, it’s time to shine a spotlight on some of the players you’ll be reading about throughout the 2022-23 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 winter.
We hope you enjoy reading through our list.
DISTRICT 2-3A DIV. II WEEK 11 REPORT: Wall clinches district title; Early takes No. 2 seed; Ballinger closes with a victory
Wall 54, Brady 10 — The Hawks locked up the district title with a big win at Brady, rushing for 309 yard via committee.
Seven different Wall ball carriers saw action, with four of them reaching the end zone.
Big Country Preps Girls Basketball Position Rankings: Posts
After focusing on the top guards and forwards the Big Country has to offer the past two nights, it’s time to shift our attention to the paint.
For the final installment in our three-part position rankings series, we list our top-10 post players for the 2022-23 season.
We hope you’ve enjoyed reading through these rankings, and make sure to come back next week when we’ll feature the top boys basketball players in the Big Country.
Big Country Preps Girls Basketball Position Rankings: Forwards
After kicking off our girls basketball position rankings series with the guards on Tuesday, we now turn our attention to the forwards.
For the second installment in our three-part series, we rank the area’s top 10 players at that position with some others to watch for in 2022-23.
We hope you enjoy our list.
Big Country Preps Girls Basketball Position Rankings: Guards
With the girls basketball season upon us, it’s time to take a look at the local and area players who will be making the biggest impact for their teams during the 2022-23 season.
For the first installment in a three-part series that will cover all positions, we’ll be focusing on the Big Country’s top guards, ranking our top 10 with a list of others to watch this season.
As with any such list, these rankings are subjective. We hope you enjoy reading through our selections.
DISTRICT 2-3A DIV. II WEEK 10 REPORT: Hawks take sole possession of first place with win over Early; Brady escapes Grape Creek
Wall 10, Early 7 — Gunnar Dillard rushed for 167 yards and on 32 carries and Nathan Pepper rushed for 88 yards and one TD to lead Wall to a difficult win over Early.
The Hawks (8-1, 4-0) now has sole possession of first place with the win, but must defeat Brady (5-4, 3-1) next week to lock up the district title.