“Damarrius Walker is a very talented young man,” Sweetwater coach Brian Hodnett said. “There isn’t much in track and field that he can’t do!
“We as a staff are excited to see how far he can go this year.”
So is the rest of the area as our Big Country Preps Player of the Week collects the award after scoring 44 points individually at the Hamlin Pied Piper Relays last week.
EARLY — It took nine innings and more than two hours to come to a conclusion, but Tuesday’s District 8-3A softball showdown between Early and Brock lived up to its expectations.
With the score knotted at 2-2, Early’s Teagan Lopez drove a pitch from Melanie Middleton over the fence in dead center to drive home Jordan Simmons with a game-winning two-run walk-off homer in a 4-2 victory at EHS.
With the win, Early (13-2, 3-0) takes possession of first place in the district race while Brock (8-10-1, 2-1) slips off the pace by a game.
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.
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Continue reading “PHOTO GALLERY: Brock-Childress boys basketball region championship (92 images)”
WOLFFORTH — Playing their third game this week to go to down to the final minute, the Brock Eagles finally ran out of late-game magic Saturday in a 56-55 overtime loss to Childress in the Region I-3A championship game.
After defeating Vernon 40-36 on Monday in a region quarterfinal matchup that was tied with just over two minutes remaining and getting a bucket just before the horn to win an overtime thriller over Shallowater in Friday’s region semifinals, BHS couldn’t get a buzzer-beating 3-pointer to fall against Childress on Saturday, seeing its season end one basket short of a state tournament berth for the second consecutive year.
The 10th-ranked Eagles closed their campaign at 29-10, while the No. 5 Bobcats (27-7) earned a trip to San Antonio next week, joining Hooks, No. 2 Hitchcock and No. 7 Lytle in the Class 3A state field.
After four months of intense and entertaining action, the high school boys basketball season is nearing its end. But for six teams in the Big Country Preps coverage area, the most important games remain in front of them.
With Brock in the Region I-3A tournament and five area Class 1A teams — Jayton, Benjamin, Munday, Huckabay and Gordon — spread across three regions, there’s still plenty of meaningful basketball to be played.
And with two more wins, any of those six could be headed to San Antonio next week for the state tournament.
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GRAHAM — Facing off in the Region I-3A quarterfinals with an athletic Vernon squad that had cruised through its first two playoff tests, the Brock boys basketball team knew it would get all the Lions had Monday at the Graham High School gymnasium.
But as it turned out, the 10th-ranked Eagles had just a little bit more.
After stretching a 23-20 halftime lead to eight points early in the fourth quarter, BHS saw Vernon rally to tie the game at 36 with just over two minutes remaining. But rather than panic as the tension and noise level rose, the Eagles responded with a game-closing 4-0 run to take a 40-36 win and advance to the Region I-3A tournament for the seventh consecutive year and 12th time since 2010.
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.
Courtesy of senior Alexcia Munoz, the Lady Steers are off to a 5-1 start, including a 4-0 mark from Munoz in last week’s Abilene Icebreaker tournament.
At 29-6 and ranked 14th in Class 3A heading into the playoffs, the Brock girls basketball team has a lot to like about its present.
After finishing second to No. 6 Peaster in District 8-3A, the Lady Eagles will open the postseason Monday night with a bi-district matchup against Wichita Falls City View (22-10) in hopes of making a run in a brutal Region I-3A bracket.
But as laser focused as BHS coach Alex Stephenson and his team are on accomplishing the goals they’ve set for this season, it’s hard not to peak ahead to a future that could be even brighter. With a nine-player roster that features three freshmen and three sophomores to go with their three seniors, the Lady Eagles have much to look forward to as well.
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Continue reading “PHOTO GALLERY: Peaster-Brock basketball doubleheader (86 images)”
BROCK — What began as an exciting evening for Brock boys and girls basketball on Saturday ended their archrival spoiling most of the potential fun.
Having two opportunities to throw the District 8-3A races into turmoil, Brock was dealt consecutive defeats in a varsity doubleheader, falling 73-30 in the girls game and 50-44 on the boys’ side.
Had the Brock girls won, the Lady Eagles would have forced a first-place tie with Peaster in District 8 with two games to go. Instead, the Lady Greyhounds locked up the district title by creating a two-game lead. They now own a tiebreaker over Brock, having won both meetings with BHS.
The Brock boys faced a similar situation: down a game to Peaster with a chance to grab a piece of first place. They are now trailing the Greyhounds by two games with four games remaining with the tiebreaker in Peaster’s favor. Therefore, Peaster would have to lose three of its final four games to open the door for the Eagles — a highly unlikely scenario for a team which will enter next week at 23-5 and 10-0 in district play.
A limited number of minutes, if the numbers compute correctly, can figure strongly in our selection of Player of the Week.
That is the case with this week’s winner, Gavin Landenberger of Cisco, who opened the week with 29 points, five boards, three assists, and five steals in a win over Haskell last Tuesday.
However, what sealed the deal for the senior guard, was a 20-point, four-rebound, five-assist and five-steal game he charted in a win over Hamlin — numbers he posted in only 18 minutes of playing time.
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Continue reading “PHOTO GALLERY: Brock-Franklin football (80 images)”
For large portions of Thursday’s Class 3A Division I state championship game Thursday, it appeared the contest would serve as a microcosm of Brock’s season.
The Eagles missed some opportunities early and fell behind before halftime only to claw their way back into the game and give themselves a chance at the ultimate prize at the end.
Unfortunately for BHS, this story didn’t have a fairytale ending.
After rallying twice to tie Franklin at 7 and 14, the Eagles watched Lions kicker Cort Lowry drill a 20-yard field goal as time expired to give his team a 17-14 win. Instead of coming all the way back from an 0-4 start to close the season with 12 straight wins and a state championship, Brock had to settle for a second consecutive state runner-up finish.
ARLINGTON — A handful of costly Brock mistakes was enough to tip the balance in Franklin’s favor on Thursday night as the Lions won the 3A Division I state championship and their second straight title overall, 17-14 at AT&T Stadium.
Jayden Jackson rushed for 148 yards and one score to lead Franklin (16-0), which took advantage of a 3-1 turnover ratio to win its 32nd straight game over a two-year span. This includes the 3A DII title a year ago.
With the score knotted at 14-14 with 5:54 left to play, the Lions pushed 65 yards in 15 plays to the Brock 3 yard-line where Cort Lowry booted a 20-yard field goal as time expired to lift Franklin to the win.
LAST WEEK: 3-0, 1.000
SEASON TOTAL: 540-120, .818
Far be it from me to point out that this column has been absolutely on fire throughout postseason play.
Actually, I will point it out.
Over the last three weeks alone, pick accuracy has seen marks of 11-1, 8-0 and 3-0 for an overall pick record of 22-1 (.956) during that span. And with six-man teams returning from a one-week hiatus, there are five state championship games involving six teams from our coverage area left to pick.
Albany, Hawley, Brock, Westbrook, Benjamin and Loraine have all retained a pulse into Week 17. Not too shabby.
It’s been a great year, a lot of fun and it’s difficult to believe it all ends this week.
Here’s the final forecast for the 2022 season:
FRISCO — Running back Reid Watkins slashed and dashed for 136 yards and two touchdowns and made a late-game interception on defense to lead Brock to a 21-10 win over Malakoff in a Class 3A Division I state semifinal game Thursday night at the Ford Center.
En route, the game’s primary hero also led the Eagles back toward Arlington, where they will play for a state championship for the second year in a row next week, against defending state champion Franklin, which throttled Edna 41-13.
“Primary” is the key word in the preceding paragraph. Watkins’ stellar performance off the bench was one of many offensive highlights for Brock, which won for the 11th straight time after starting the season 0-4. The Eagles’ starter at running back, Brett Tutter, added 81 rushing yards, and steady quarterback Tyler Moody completed six of 11 passes for 55 yards and ran for the Eagles’ other touchdown.
LAST WEEK: 8-0, 1.000
SEASON TOTAL: 537-120, .817
The Big Country Preps coverage area took a few hits last week, with Wylie, Wall and Cisco all seeing their seasons end in the regional championship round.
However, six of our teams remain active heading into this week, half of which are six-man teams (Loraine, Benjamin and Westbrook) that have already qualified for state and are taking this week off.
The other half are 3A DI Brock, 2A DI Hawley and 2A DII Albany, all of which advanced to this week’s state semifinals.
As for pick accuracy, the column is on fire, going 8-0 last week and 11-1 the week before for a 19-1 mark (.950) over a two-week span.
Alright, enough said, let’s dive in.
Here’s this week’s forecast:
Consistency and versatility always score big in our Big Country Preps Player of the Week column.
Add a few extras to your stat sheet and play well over several games and you’ll generally end up at or near the top of our weekly list.
That is precisely why Comanche sophomore guard Kinsey Glasgow has earned our Player of the Week award for the Week ending December 3.
DENTON — Brock was down three to its fiercest District 4-3A Division I rival, Whitesboro, with just under seven minutes left in Thursday’s Region I-3A DI championship game. Prior to that point, the Eagles had mustered all of seven rushing yards in the first half, fumbled away a second-quarter, fourth-down try and winced agonizingly as an errant snap sailed 25 yards behind the line of scrimmage to thwart a promising first-half possession.
Meanwhile, Whitesboro had just taken the lead when receiver Jace Sanders sneaked his way to the sideline uncovered on a fourth and goal play — from the 22-yard line, no less — to seize momentum and threaten to avenge a 39-35 loss to the Eagles earlier this season.
In other words, Brock had the Bearcats right where it wanted them.
LAST WEEK: 11-1, .916
SEASON TOTAL: 529-120, .815
As December football arrives so will nine — count’em, nine — Big Country Preps teams retain a playoff pulse and are still hopeful of winning a state championship.
Wylie, Brock, Wall, Cisco, Hawley, Albany, Westbrook, Benjamin and Loraine will all take the field this week.
Not too shabby.
Also doing pretty well: this column, which hit with 91-percent accuracy last week despite a difficult slate of games to pick.
That said, let’s dive into this week’s games.
Here’s this week’s forecast:
Having fought his way through a mid-season injury, Albany quarterback Cole Chapman is back in form.
Our Big Country Preps Player of the Week was the dual threat we’ve grown accustomed to seeing on Saturday, leading the Lions (11-2) to a 35-18 whipping of formerly unbeaten Wink in the Region II-2A Division II semifinals.
VERNON — With 7:39 remaining in the second quarter of Friday’s Region I-3A DI semifinal between Brock and Bushland, the outcome for the Eagles was looking bleak.
Bushland was not only leading, it was dominating Brock 27-7, courtesy of two TD passes and a scoring run from Falcon quarterback Dawson Jaco.
What nobody knew, however, was that Bushland had scored its final point. And Brock, like the waters of a tsunami receding prior to impact, was about to unleash something unbelievable.
With the Wylie football team’s season on the line, facing a 40-30 deficit with less than six minutes remaining, the Bulldogs needed an epic comeback to rally past Colleyville Heritage on Friday at Grapevine’s Mustang-Panther Stadium.
Fortunately for coach Clay Martin’s squad, their senior quarterback has made a habit of leading those this year.
After throwing just his sixth interception on a fourth-down play midway through the final quarter, KJ Long was given new life when his defense forced and recovered a quick fumble. He made the most of it by leading a pair of quick scoring drives — the last to put the Bulldogs 43-40 with three seconds left on the clock — to fuel his team to a wild 50-40 area-round win and earn this week’s Big Country Preps Player of the Week award.
SWEETWATER — What had the appearance of a shootout early on turned into a rout on Thursday night as Brock overpowered Muleshoe in a Class 3A DI area round game at the Mustang Bowl.
Carson Finney caught two touchdown passes and intercepted three others and Brett Tutter rushed for 153 yards and three scores to lead Brock (8-4), which won its eighth straight game after an 0-4 start.
With both clubs trading two early touchdowns apiece in the first nine minutes of play and Brock clinging to a 15-13 lead, the Eagles blew the game open with 35 unanswered points and were never threatened beyond that point. The Eagles now advance to face the winner of Bushland (11-0) and Jim Ned (8-3) in the Region I-3A quarterfinals.
Muleshoe (8-4) was led by Nathan Martens, who threw for 132 yards and two scores.
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.
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.
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.
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.
If it’s true that big-time players make big-time plays in big moments, few had a stronger claim to that “big-time” title this past week than Wylie sophomore Hayden Wright.
The Bulldogs free safety not only came through with three interceptions in his team’s 20-10 District 2-5A Division I title-clinching win over crosstown rival Cooper, he recorded all three picks in the fourth quarter as Wylie was trying to hold off a late Cougar rally.
For that effort, which saw him snatch his fourth, fifth and sixth interceptions of the season, the young playmaker has been named the Big Country Preps Player of the Week for the week ending Nov. 5.
Brock 48, Pilot Point 0 — The Eagles closed out the regular season in style, blasting the Bearcats to wrap up a perfect run through District 4-3A DI.
Brock outgained Pilot Point 488-44, using a 21-point second quarter to take a 28-0 lead into halftime. From there, the Eagles tacked on 13 more points in the third period and seven in the fourth to improve to 6-4 overall and 6-0 in league play.
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.