Like most followers of Texas high school football, Big Country Preps’ Evan Ren and Daniel Youngblood are big fans of Dave Campbell’s Texas Football magazine.
After receiving their copies on Monday, the duo used this week’s Capital Farm Credit Wednesday Night Podcast to discuss the publication’s projections on the area’s Class 1A-3A teams. In Part 2 next week, Evan and Daniel will discuss Texas Football’s forecast for the Big Country’s Big Schools.
“A day of worry is more exhausting than a week of work.” — John Lubbock
My business partner, Daniel Youngblood, is the king of not worrying.
I’ve never seen anything like it.
If NASA were to announce that an asteroid impact was imminent in 15 minutes and that Abilene would be at ground zero, anything beyond a shrug of the shoulders from Youngblood would surprise me. Of course, I wouldn’t be there to see it. I’d be 25 miles down the road with the accelerator smashed to the floor, one hand on the steering wheel and a rabbit’s foot in the other.
The recent turmoil in the world has put both of our natures on display — him letting it all roll off his back and me, well … being me.
If fate allows it, a return to normalcy is the objective here and the sooner the better. As the designated worrier at Big Country Preps, I’ve been on pins and needles throughout the COVID-19 pandemic and the massive social unrest created by the murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis. And let’s just call it what it was — a murder.
That said, I’m currently doing my best to steal a page from the Youngblood stress-free handbook and turning my attention from our tumultuous, viral-plagued world to something I can understand: football. That means that heading into the summer months, we’ll be diving headlong into our previews for the upcoming season.
Continue reading “EVAN REN: We’re pushing ahead at Big Country Preps — getting the the ball rolling”
Brady football coach/athletic director Shay Easterwood has placed a heavy priority on leadership and program culture since taking over the Bulldogs three years ago. Both of those things have come to the forefront in recent months as people across the country have been forced to work through the COVID-19 pandemic and protests of racial injustice following the death of George Floyd.
On Tuesday, Easterwood joined Big Country Preps’ Evan Ren and Daniel Youngblood to discuss the importance of leadership and positivity in trying times for this week’s Capital Farm Credit Wednesday Night Podcast.
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.
If you had asked members of the Breckenridge baseball team before the season where they wanted to be on June 4, they likely would have told you either
playing in or preparing for the Region I-3A championship series.
But after having a potential dream season cut short by the COVID-19 pandemic, Thursday’s exhibition doubleheader with Aledo served as a pretty nice consolation prize for the Buckaroos.
Hosting the Class 5A No. 12 Bearcats in an unsanctioned event put together by senior standout Owen Woodward’s father, Brad, the Bucks swept the twin bill 4-0 and 7-5 to put a bow as best they could on a campaign that may have ended in Round Rock under different circumstances.
And while it wasn’t the ending a senior-heavy Breckenridge squad was hoping for, getting one last opportunity to take the field together provided the close-knit Bucks a sense of closure they wouldn’t have otherwise felt.
In a world that has seemingly gone mad, I’ll take any dose of good news that I can find — even if it’s mundane.
The stock market inched up a half point? I’ll take it. We can go back to worrying about COVID-19? I’m all-in. The buildings in Abilene are still standing? That’s a check mark in the plus column.
So how do we get there?
How do we reestablish normality?
Aside from the obvious fact that we need to stop the ongoing mayhem that is plaguing our society, getting back to common things we all hold dear will set the foundation for healing. And I’m talking about the simplest of pleasures, from peaceful walks in the park, shopping in a mall, going to the movies or attending a sporting event.
In Texas, the latter cannot be overstated, especially when it comes to football.
Continue reading “EVAN REN: We can all use some good news and football can provide some of it”
Those who know me well know that I’m a “baseball guy” at heart.
I love football and basketball, but baseball’s my sport. It’s the one I played the longest and the one I follow most diligently now.
As a sportswriter, I enjoy covering all sports, but come springtime, there’s one I look forward to more than any other. And the baseball playoffs, in particular, have always held a special place in my heart.
So I had little trouble empathizing with our area players and coaches about the premature ending of the 2020 season as a result of the COVID-19 outbreak. I was almost as heartbroken as they were when the University Interscholastic League pulled the plug on the season just a few weeks in.
There were so many things I was looking forward to watching and never got to see play out. And perhaps nothing climbed higher on that list than a Region I-3A playoff race that was shaping up to be one for the ages.
Continue reading “DANIEL YOUNGBLOOD: Region I-3A playoff race huge loss for this baseball junkie”
I’ve always held to a personal axiom that perspective is everything. True or not, how we view a situation becomes the truth in our minds.
There’s no escaping it and every one of us has our own perspective.
Well, the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent lockdown have changed my perspective in several ways on several different things. And for a middle-aged guy who is pretty well set in my ways, this is like the planets aligning.
I’ve managed to list my top 10 takeaways from lockdown, as they pertain to this website and what we’re trying to accomplish here.
Let’s dive in:
Continue reading “EVAN REN: 10 things I’ll take away from the COVID-19 pandemic”
The “What Might Have Been” feature series is Big Country Preps’ effort to celebrate area athletes who have seen their seasons affected by the COVID-19 outbreak. The series will continue through June 15. If you have a suggested story for the “What Might Have Been” series, please contact Big Country Preps at Evan.Ren@BigCountryPreps.com.
Since tearing the ACL in his right knee in a Sept. 6 football game at Comanche, Breckenridge senior Kooper Shook has been diligently working on rehabbing the injury 
in preparation for baseball.
That has often involved three 130-mile trips per week to Southlake for physical therapy while patiently waiting for his doctor’s approval for him to suit up and get on a baseball diamond.
Finally, the nod from his physician was only days away in March. The work he had put in would, at last, pay dividends.
Then it happened.
Shook, along with every other high school athlete in Texas was sidelined indefinitely by the University Interscholastic League’s COVID-19 lockdown. By April 17, the lockdown had evolved into an outright cancellation of spring sports across the state as a safety measure, leaving Shook with no opportunity to compete as a high school player ever again.
Breckenridge baseball coach Kevin Bartley had what may have been the best team in school history this season, but he and the Buckaroo faithful will never get to find out for sure thanks to the COVID-19 shutdown.
On Tuesday, Bartley took some time to chat with Big Country Preps’ Evan Ren and Daniel Youngblood about this team, what he felt it was capable of and what he told his 10 seniors when the UIL’s spring sport cancellation ended their careers prematurely for this week’s Capital Farm Credit Wednesday Night Podcast.
“Do not take life too seriously. You will never get out of it alive.”
— Elbert Hubbard
In a Tweet released earlier today, the University Interscholastic League announced that it is actively working to allow schools to begin limited summer strength and conditioning and marching band activities on June 8.
The mere sight of this announcement had me on the verge of challenging my 55-year-old frame to do a cartwheel for which it is ill-prepared to attempt. Because frankly, Texas without high school pigskin is like Texas without oxygen.
The thought of its absence has been too bitter to contemplate. And in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic, I’ve allowed myself to go down one rabbit hole after another — trying to discern information from disinformation, and political rhetoric from that which is concrete.
UIL is aware of Gov. Abbott’s May 18 announcement and is actively working with appropriate state officials to allow schools to begin limited summer strength & conditioning and marching band activities on June 8. Once finalized, details will be released to schools.
— Texas UIL (@uiltexas) May 19, 2020
Continue reading “EVAN REN: UIL announcement promising, but are we out of the woods just yet?”
“Appreciation is a wonderful thing: It makes what is excellent in others belong to us as well.”
— Voltaire
There’s a barbeque place near my home that I don’t like. In fact, I seldom go there — deliberately bypassing it whenever the BBQ craving hits me in favor of better choices.
But Friday, after two months of COVID-19 exile, I decided to make a quick run to bring home some brisket for the wife and I and elected to go to the very place I try to avoid because it was convenient.
Funny how one’s perspective can change while in isolation.
Abilene’s worst barbeque was suddenly good. In fact, it was beyond good. It was like freakin’ nirvana.
I suspect that’s the way it’s going to be with virtually everything I had taken for granted before the lockdown. And I’m already experiencing some of it.
Continue reading “EVAN REN: Virus may teach us some appreciation (for a while)”
The “What Might Have Been” feature series is Big Country Preps’ effort to celebrate area athletes who have seen their seasons affected by the COVID-19 outbreak. The series will continue through June 15. If you have a suggested story for the “What Might Have Been” series, please contact Big Country Preps at Evan.Ren@BigCountryPreps.com.
Throughout the statewide COVID-19 interscholastic lockdown, Breckenridge baseball coach Kevin Bartley quietly waited and tried to maintain a positive frame of mind.
It was important for him to do so, in order for him to convince his players to do the exact same thing.
Then the other shoe dropped.
With Friday’s announcement by the University Interscholastic League that all spring sports seasons have been cancelled due to the pandemic, Bartley was faced with the fact that what may have been the best Breckenridge baseball team in 30 years would never have the chance to prove it.
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.
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.
After leading his team to state tournament appearances in 2017 and 2019, Albany baseball coach David Fairchild may have had his best squad yet this season. But after starting 7-0, the second-ranked Lions had their season shut down by the COVID-19 outbreak.
On Tuesday, Fairchild joined Big Country Preps’ Evan Ren and Daniel Youngblood for the Capital Farm Credit Wednesday Night Podcast to talk about this year’s team, how he’s handling the COVID-19 shutdown and what he’s hoping will happen over the next couple of months.
Scoring and rebounding is only part of the story when it comes to basketball. Behind the scenes and beyond the view of the public, is where character is often measured. And it is with our Big Country Preps Gym Rat Team that we salute the individuals who exude the most of it.
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 effort, discipline, toughness, coachability and selflessness — traits that coaches love above all else and that championship foundations are built upon.
It is for that reason that our Gym Rat team is selected entirely by area coaches, described in their own words. And Big Country Preps is absolutely honored to present these individuals to you — the best “team players” (boys and girls) that the area had to offer during the 2019-20 season.
Players are listed in no particular order.
Enjoy.
Here are our superlative award winners for the 2020 All-Big Country Preps boys basketball team. For the rest of this year’s selections, click the links below.
Here are our first-team selections for the 2020 All-Big Country Preps boys basketball team. For the rest of this year’s boys and girls basketball selections, click the links below.
Here are our second-team selections for the 2020 All-Big Country Preps boys basketball team. For the rest of this year’s boys and girls basketball selections, click the links below.
Here are our third-team selections for the 2020 All-Big Country Preps boys basketball team. For the rest of this year’s boys and girls basketball selections, click the links below.
Here are our superlative award winners for the 2020 All-Big Country Preps girls basketball team. For the rest of this year’s selections, click the links below.
Here are our third-team selections for the 2020 All-Big Country Preps girls basketball team. For the rest of this year’s boys and girls basketball selections, click the links below.
Here are our third-team selections for the 2020 All-Big Country Preps girls basketball team. For the rest of this year’s boys and girls basketball selections, click the links below.
Here are our third-team selections for the 2020 All-Big Country Preps girls basketball team. For the rest of this year’s boys and girls basketball selections, click the links below.
Casey Pearce, a 1993 Breckenridge alum, was named as the head football coach and athletic director at BHS during a school board meeting on Friday.
Pearce, the long-time defensive coordinator at Longview, will replace former coach Casey Hubble, who resigned in February to take the coaching position at Canton.
Pearce, who played football at Breckenridge under his father, Bill Pearce, has been a notable part of the success at Longview.
During his tenure as defensive coordinator at LHS, the Loboes reached three state championsip games, including a Class 6A DII state title in 2018.
After recognizing the Big Country’s top pitchers, catchers, infielders and outfielders, we wrap up our baseball position rankings series with the area’s multi-position standouts.
For the final installment in our five-part series, we take a look at the top utility players, ranking our top-six with others to watch in 2020.
We hope you’ve enjoyed reading through these lists and are as excited as we are that baseball season is underway.
For Day 4 of our five-part baseball position rankings series, we focus our binoculars on the outfield grass.
After highlighting the Big Country’s top pitchers, catchers and infielders earlier this week, we now do the same with the area’s best outfielders, ranking our top 10 with others to watch in 2020.
We hope you enjoy our list.
After ranking the top pitchers and catchers on the Big Country baseball scene the past two nights, we now turn our attention to the infield.
For the third installment in our five-part position rankings series, we list our top-10 infielders in the area with a list of others to watch in 2020.
We hope you enjoy reading through our rankings.
After opening our baseball position rankings series with the pitchers on Monday, it’s time to shift our attention to their battery mates.
For the second installment in our five-part series, we celebrate the Big Country’s top catchers, ranking our top 10 with a list of others to watch in 2020.
We hope you enjoy our list.
After kicking off the spring sports season with our softball position rankings last week, it’s time to turn our attention to the the baseball field and the names we’ll be hearing and reading about throughout the 2020 campaign.
For the first installment in a five-part series that will cover all position groups on the area baseball scene, we’ll be taking a look at the Big Country’s top pitchers, ranking our top 10 with a list of others to watch this fall.
We hope you enjoy reading through our list.
With the area girls heading into the area round of the playoffs and the boys settling their final tiebreakers to determine seeding, it’s time for Evan and Daniel to take a good look around the area.
All the top favorites, all the top surprises and what they’re up against will be this week’s topic of conversation.
In his four years as Ballinger’s boys basketball coach, Jamal Anene has built the Bearcats into a consistent playoff team. The same is true this year of BHS, which enters a big game Friday against San Angelo TLCA at 23-8 overall and 8-2 in District 4-3A.
Earlier this week, Anene took a few minutes to chat with Big Country Preps’ Evan Ren and Daniel Youngblood about this season, his goals for the program and his unique background for the Capital Farm Credit Wednesday Night Podcast.
Also in this episode, Evan and Daniel discuss the end of the girls basketball regular season and some of the biggest storylines in the final week of boys district games.
BROCK — The Breckenridge Buckaroos arrived in Brock ready to play on Tuesday, with a No. 2 seed in the playoffs in the balance.
They left in third place, after seeing a strong early effort was gradually whittled away by a Brock inside game for which they had no solution in a 58-41 win for the Eagles.
Brock’s win in the boys game capped a two-game varsity sweep for the Eagles, who also took the girls game 68-20 before the boys took the floor.
Nathan Jones scored 15 points and Zane Cook added 12 more to pace Brock (24-9, 10-2), which holds a one-game lead on Breckenridge for the No. 2 seed in district with two games to play, along with a tie-breaker by virtue of a season sweep of the Buckaroos.
BRECKENRIDGE — He has quietly become the top scorer in the Big Country, at least from the perspective of most area fans.
But make no mistake, opposing coaches are keenly aware of Breckenridge senior guard Aaryn Medina, and have utilized virtually every known method to slow him down, to no avail.
Medina, who tops the area scoring chart with a 23.7 point-per-game average, may not be on your personal radar screen. Having missed much of last basketball season with a broken tibia suffered during football, his name seldom surfaced in media circles. And even after he did return, he was less than 100 percent while still recovering from the injury.
He is also notably efficient. So efficient, in fact, that he is taking a rather inconspicuous 15 shots per game — far fewer shots than most top scorers would take over the course of 32 minutes.
Big Country Preps publishes area boys and girls basketball statistical leaders each Thursday 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.
Big Country Preps publishes area boys and girls basketball statistical leaders each Thursday 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.
ABILENE — The University Interscholastic league released its new athletic districts for the 2020-21 and 2021-22 school years on Monday.
As always, a sizable contingent of area coaches was on hand at the Region 14 Education Service Center to receive their information packets and arrange for any last-second schedule changes that were forced by realignment.
Perhaps the biggest stunner was a move north by Class 2A Division I power San Saba, which has been shifted to the new District 4 with Cisco, Coleman, De Leon, Goldthwaite and Winters.
Big Country Preps publishes area boys and girls basketball statistical leaders each Thursday 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.