Here are the standings for all boys basketball districts involving Big Country schools through Feb. 8 (with Friday’s results, Tuesday’s schedule):
Category: Brownwood Lions
CAPITAL FARM CREDIT/BCP PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Stephenville’s Withers takes this week’s accolade
When you shoot 73.5 percent from the floor, you don’t have to shoot very often to create impressive numbers.
That was the case with our Capital Farm Credit Big Country Preps Player of the Week, Landri Withers of Stephenville, who tallied 39 total points in wins over Gatesville (73-55) and Brownwood (45-27). The Honeybees (20-2) clinched the District 6-4A title with the Brownwood win, during which Withers tallied 23 points.
She closed the week with a combined seven rebounds, 12 pass deflections and three steals.
PHOTO GALLERY: Brownwood-Stephenville girls basketball (35 images)
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LINK … GAME STORY: Stephenville uses lockdown defensive effort to beat rival Brownwood
GAME STORY: Stephenville girls use lockdown defensive effort to top rival Brownwood
STEPHENVILLE — With sole possession of the District 6-4A championship at stake against archrival Brownwood on Friday, the Stephenville Honeybees relied on an old friend to bring the title home in the regular season finale for both clubs.
Clinging to a 14-12 halftime lead, SHS used its tight man-to-man defense to pressure the Lady Lions into a third-quarter goose egg. The resulting 14-0 run through the period proved to be the turning point in a 45-27 win for the Honeybees (20-2, 7-1), giving them a seat atop the league standings.
Landri Withers poured in 23 points while Mya Wilson and Alee McClendon added 11 and nine respectively to lift Stephenville, which took advantage of Tuesday’s upset of second-place Glen Rose by Lampasas to snag the title.
SIGNING DAY: Eastland’s Morton headlines this year’s Big Country recruiting crop
With National signing Day officially in the books, it’s time to take a quick look at this year’s Big Country signees — the most notable of which is Eastland quarterback Behren Morton, who has inked a Letter of Intent with Texas Tech.
Wall offensive lineman Tate Williams (Baylor) and Cash Jones of Brock (Georgia) were the area’s only other players to sign with power conferences.
Angelo State was among the busiest of the area’s bigger universities, snagging Tyler Simpson of Blanket, Logan Glover of San Saba and Kason Phillips of Stephenville.
BIG COUNTRY PREPS 2020 MAX EFFORT TEAM: The hardest-working volleyball players in the Big Country
Our All-Big Country Preps Volleyball team, released today, is in place to honor those who achieved the most on-court success in 2020. It is off the court, however, where character, grit and work ethic are often measured. And it is with our Big Country Preps Max Effort Team that we wish to honor those players who were the hardest-working, best teammates in the area this fall.
This team isn’t about who the best volleyball players were.
The Max Effort team honors hustle, discipline, toughness, coachability and selflessness — traits that coaches wish every player had.
BIG COUNTRY PREPS PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Cisco’s Edgar is the top dog
The Cisco Loboes may have only played one game last week (beating Hamlin 76-41). But senior guard Layne Edgar made the most of it.
Scoring 39 points with a 5-of-9 tally from 3-point range, he narrowly missed a monstrous triple-double, finishing with nine rebounds and eight assists.
In his spare time, he collected six steals in a truly dominating performance worthy of our Big Country Preps Player of the Week award for the Week ending Jan. 16.
All-Big Country Preps Superlatives: Wishert, Morton, Dillingham and Fanning take top honors
Here are our superlative award winners for the 2020 All-Big Country Preps football team. For the rest of this year’s selections, click the links below.
All-Big Country Preps Football Team: First-Team Roster
Here are our first-team selections for the 2020 All-Big Country Preps football team. For the rest of this year’s selections, click the links below.
All-Big Country Preps Football Team: Second-Team Roster
Here are our second-team selections for the 2020 All-Big Country Preps football team. For the rest of this year’s selections, click the links below.
All-Big Country Preps Football Team: Third-Team Roster (w/ honorable mention)
Here are our third-team selections for the 2020 All-Big Country Preps football team. For the rest of this year’s selections, click the links below.
BIG COUNTRY PREPS PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Dublin’s Escobar takes the top spot
He’s been consistently pouring in points since the season’s outset. So it’s not a surprise that Dublin senior guard Daniel Escobar has taken our first Big Country Preps Player of the Week award for 2021.
Helping the Lions to wins over Eastland (69-42) and Millsap (79-43), Escobar finished the week with a total of 63 points through the two games, including a 38-point night in the Eastland win.
But scoring was only a portion of his overall contribution.
PHOTO GALLERY: Brandon McAuliffe’s top 100 football photos for 2020
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.
PHOTO GALLERY: Daniel Youngblood’s top 100 football photos for 2020
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.
CAPITAL FARM CREDIT/BCP PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Abilene High duo Ramirez, Dotson share award
Facing an explosive El Paso Eastwood offense in the opening round of the Region I-6A Division II playoffs, the Abilene High Eagles knew they’d need to move the ball and score if they hoped to earn their first postseason win since 2016.
That’s where junior quarterback Abel Ramirez and senior running back Phonzo Dotson came in.
Taking turns leading an AHS offensive explosion, this duo helped the Eagles rack up 569 yards of total offense in a 42-35 win over the Troopers. And in the process, the pair has earned the Capital Farm Credit/Big Country Preps Player of the Week award for the week ending Dec. 12.
Evan Ren’s regional football projections and bi-district picks
LAST WEEK: 26-4, .866
SEASON TOTAL: 377-81, .823
Week 12 of the football season is here. And you know what that means.
The horses are at the starting gate with a finish line set up in Arlington for the state championship games.
More than 97 percent of the teams won’t make it. And by the time Thanksgiving arrives, 75 percent of them will already be finished. Such is the magnitude of our postseason.
In the meantime, hundreds of teams from Class 1A through 4A have their dreams of reaching Jerry World still intact. Classes 5A and 6A will start their postseason journeys in mid December, after having their seasons delayed by COVID-19.
That said, it’s time to choose which of our Big Country entries have the best shot of conquering their regions. Who are the favorites? Who are the dark horses? An perhaps most importantly, where are the elephants in the room — the teams from outside of our area with the most potential to spoil the Big Country’s chances?
Let’s get started, shall we?
BCP Girls Basketball Position Rankings: Guards
With the girls basketball season underway, it’s time to take a look at the players who will be making the biggest impact during the 2020-21 season.
For the first installment in a three-part series that will cover all positions, 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 season.
As with any such list, these rankings are subjective. We hope you enjoy reading through our selections.
Big Country football playoff pairings, results
Here are the updated Big Country football playoff pairings, results:
Continue reading “Big Country football playoff pairings, results”
District 5-4A Div. I Week 11 Report: Short-handed Brownwood closes with loss to La Vega
Waco La Vega 62, Brownwood 6 — For a complete report, please read Brandon McAuliffe’s game story.
The outcome of this game guaranteed the Pirates (7-2, 4-1) the No. 2 playoff seed in this district and locked the Lions (4-5, 2-2) into the fourth seed.
Brownwood was scheduled to play Midlothian Heritage on Saturday, but that game was canceled because it would have no impact on playoff seeding.
La Vega will open the playoffs against District 6 No. 3 seed Fort Worth Western Hills (), while BHS will play its bi-district game against Distirct 6 champion Kennedale ().
GAME STORY: No. 10 Waco La Vega cruises past Brownwood
WACO — In a very rare Monday night game, the Brownwood Lions hit the road to face No. 10 Waco La Vega in a game that had been rescheduled from earlier in the year when the Lions were forced to shut down due to COVID-19.
With Royshad Henderson, Khyren Deal and Zach Bond all out with injuries, the Lions were forced to turn to a healthy dose of sophomores on both sides of the ball against a senior laden Pirates squad and the young Lions learned a valuable lesson in the 62-6 loss at Willie Williams Stadium.
With the loss, the Lions find themselves locked into the District 5-4A Division I fourth seed and a bi-district matchup with Kennedale. That game will be played November 13 at 7:30 p.m. at Kennedale.
