Category: Brownwood Lions

by Evan Ren

BCP GAME OF THE WEEK: Stephenville wins fourth straight matchup with Brownwood

BROWNWOOD  — On a Friday night where most of the football stadiums around the Big Country were silent, there was plenty of racket coming from Gordon Wood Stadium in the 83rd meeting between the Brownwood Lions and Stephenville Yellow Jackets. 

Much of it came on a handful of key plays from the Yellow Jackets in a 27-17 non-district win as many of the teams around the area enjoyed a bye week ahead of district play. 

Tristian Gentry had 122 yards receiving and one touchdown on only two catches to lead Stephenville (4-2), which rallied from 7-0 and 14-7 deficits on the way to handing Brownwood (5-1) its first loss of the year. 

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by Evan Ren

BIG COUNTRY PREPS GAME OF THE WEEK: Yellow Jackets head to Brownwood to face archrival

LAST WEEK: 46-12, .793
SEASON TOTAL: 229-61, .789

More often than not, Big Country Preps makes an appearance at the annual Stephenville-Brownwood matchup. Because more often than not, it produces a game worthy of one of Texas’ top rivalries. 

This year is no exception as Stephenville travels to famous Gordon Wood Stadium for the Big Country Preps Game of the Week. 

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by Evan Ren

BCP PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Abilene High QB Slack takes honor with six-TD performance

Photo by Chase Seabolt, HubCityPreps.com

Entering District 2-5A Division I play off back-to-back losses, the Abilene High football team needed a fast start and a strong performance on the road against Lubbock Monterey to get back on track and kick off its league schedule the right way.

Led by senior quarterback Dylan Slack, the Eagles got both, building a 49-7 halftime lead on their way to a 59-14 win over the Plainsmen.

Slack’s fingerprints were all over the win as he hit 15 of 20 passes for 217 yards and five touchdowns while adding another score on the ground — a performance worthy of this week’s Big Country Preps Player of the Week award.

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by Daniel Youngblood

DISTRICT 2-4A DIV. I WEEK 5 REPORT: Hall rushes for four touchdowns in thrilling win over Connally

Brownwood 31, Waco Connally 28 — Ike Hall rushed for 135 yards and four touchdowns while adding 85 yards passing to fuel the Lions to a come-from-behind win over the Cadets.

Behind the dual threat quarterback, Brownwood (5-0) built a 17-14 halftime lead and scored the first touchdown of the second half to take a 24-14 lead. But Connally roared back with back-to-back touchdown runs by Kiefer Sibley to go up 28-24 early the fourth quarter, before Hall’s final TD run served as the game-winner with 5:15 remaining. 

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by Yale Youngblood, Special to Big Country Preps

FEATURE: Brownwood kicker/punter Martinez a serious special teams weapon for Lions

As Brownwood attempts to go 5-0 to start the 2023 season while playing host to 3-1 Waco Connally at 7:30 p.m. Friday night at Gordon Wood Stadium, there’s a pretty good chance the most important Lion on the field won’t carry or catch the ball — or, even, make a single tackle.

If past is prologue, Junior Martinez looms as one of Brownwood’s premier weapons, and his presence Friday could help determine if the Lions’ next-to-last tune-up before District 2-4A Division I play begins goes the direction of its four predecessors. In wins over Wylie, Marble Falls, Burnet and Glen Rose, Brownwood has scored 168 points, 33 of which have come via PAT conversions or field goals by the celebrated senior kicker.

This year alone, Martinez has converted each of 21 point-after kicks and made four of five field goal tries, including a 52-yarder. His loan miss came from 44 yards out and was pushed just wide by a swirling wind.

But that’s not all Martinez has done to buoy Brownwood’s hopes for a long season this year. He also has averaged 40.3 yards per punt on 12 kicks, with a season-long boot of 52 yards and another punt that pinned the opponent inside the 5-yard line. And, even at 5-foot-9, 160 pounds, he has the leg to routinely turn his kickoffs into touchbacks.

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by Evan Ren

BIG COUNTRY PREPS GAME OF THE WEEK: Sweetwater plays host to Clyde in battle of unbeatens

LAST WEEK: 44-11, .800
SEASON TOTAL: 183-49, .788

Some weeks are just loaded with competitive area games and Week 5 of the 2023 season falls squarely into that category. 

This week’s menu features six or seven games that under normal circumstances, would qualify for our Big Country Preps Game of the Week. This forces us to push some great matchups aside to select our spotlight game. 

This week, we go with a battle of unbeatens — Class 3A Division I Clyde (4-0) at Class 4A Div. II Sweetwater (4-0) — at the famed Mustang Bowl at SHS. 

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by Daniel Youngblood

DISTRICT 2-4A DIV. I WEEK 4 REPORT: Hall returns to lead Brownwood past Glen Rose

Brownwood 46, Glen Rose 34 — Returning to the lineup after missing most of last week’s game due to injury, Ike Hall passed for 286 yards and two touchdowns and rushed for 178 yards and an additional score to help the Lions overcome three turnovers in a two-score win over the Tigers.

Brownwood (4-0), which outgained Glen Rose 555-370, also got 89 yards and a touchdown rushing from Jaylan Brown and a big receiving game from Marsello Hooker (2-128, 2 TDs). 

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by Evan Ren

BIG COUNTRY PREPS NOTEBOOK: Quick looks at Colorado City, Brownwood, Hico and Clyde

While their program is battling through a difficult rebuilding phase, the Colorado City Wolves and second-year coach Monty Leaf are learning to recognize key points along the way.

It hasn’t been easy. 

After pushing through last year’s 1-9 campaign, C-City opened at 0-2 with losses to good teams from Roscoe and New Home before breaking through with a 15-12 win at Christoval on Friday. And in many respects, it really was a breakthrough. 

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by Daniel Youngblood

DISTRICT 2-4A DIV. I WEEK 3 REPORT: Stacks leads Brownwood past Burnet to keep Lions undefeated

Brownwood 24, Burnet 10 — A shoulder injury to standout quarterback Ike Hall wasn’t enough to slow down the No. 7 Lions, who got a strong performance from backup Braeden Stacks in a two-touchdown win over the Bulldogs.

Entering the game in the second series, Stacks hit 12 of 15 passes for 144 yards and three touchdowns, helping Brownwood (3-0) rally from a 10-7 halftime deficit with 17 unanswered points in the second half.

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by Evan Ren

BIG COUNTRY PREPS PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Clyde quarterback takes the top spot with huge night

After two weeks, few teams are grabbing the attention of Big Country football fans more than the Clyde Bulldogs (2-0), who have opened with consecutive wins over Cisco and Eastland. 

And topping the list of last week’s area performers is Clyde senior quarterback Blake Carr, who posted some eye-popping numbers in last week’s 34-21 win at EHS. 

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by Daniel Youngblood

DISTRICT 2-4A DIV. I WEEK 2 REPORT: Big Spring breaks into win column; Brownwood stays hot

Big Spring 32, Lubbock High 21 — Gavin Padron passed for 411 yards and four touchdowns, hitting Zeyire Franklin five times for 187 yards and two scores, to fuel the Steers to a road win over the Westerners on Thursday.

Big Spring (1-1) piled up 476 yards of offense, getting 133 total yards from Kavien Ford (19-77 rushing; 5-56, 1 TD receiving) and solid receiving efforts from Jacob Cantu (5-59, 1 TD), Keyshaun Woodruff (2-57) and Jose Munoz (8-52).

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by Daniel Youngblood

DISTRICT 2-4A DIV. I WEEK 1 REPORT: Big Spring can’t hold against Pampa

Pampa 35, Big Spring 25 — The Steers led the Harvesters 25-21 at halftime, but they couldn’t hold on for the win as Pampa scored one touchdown in each of the final two quarters while keeping Big Spring off the board to rally in the second half.

A Yanez passed for 276 yards and two touchdowns — both to Keyshaun Woodruff (6-64 receiving) — while Zeyire Franklin had seven catches for 110 yards in the loss. The Harvesters, who finished with 453 yards of total offense, were paced by quarterback Brant Hill, who passed for 274 yards with three TD passes to Bryce Lynn (4-166 receiving).

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by Daniel Youngblood

GAME STORY: Hall, Brownwood roar past Wylie for 35-21 season-opening win

Fueled by a strong defensive effort and a big game from quarterback Ike Hall, the Brownwood football team rolled into Abilene and secured a 35-21 season-opening win over Wylie on Friday at Hugh Sandifer Stadium.

Leading a young offense comprised otherwise entirely of first-year starters, Hall rushed for 163 yards, passed for 81 and accounted for three total touchdowns to help the Lions avenge last year’s 30-24 loss to the Bulldogs. 

Behind the quarterback’s heroics, BHS extended a 14-7 halftime lead to 28-7 by the opening minute of the fourth quarter. And when Wylie scored two touchdowns in a 69-second span to narrow that three-score deficit to a seven points with 4:37 remaining in the game, it was the dual-threat signal caller who put the game on ice, racing 66 yards on a second-and-6 play to stop the Bulldogs’ rally in its tracks.

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by Evan Ren

BROWNWOOD FEATURE: Hall the focal point of young Lion offense

BROWNWOOD —Perhaps no one player in entire Big Country has more on his plate coming into the 2023 season than Brownwood senior quarterback Ike Hall. 

As the Lions’ only returning offensive starter, Hall will not only be tasked with helping a completely rebuilt offense to jell, but he’ll be heavily leaned on for yardage production and vocal leadership. 

“You want to hold the reins back on Ike, because you want him to be available for district,” Brownwood coach Sammy Burnett said. “But it’s hard to hold an athlete like him back. When plays break down, we’re asking him to become an athlete.” 

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by Evan Ren

2023 BROWNWOOD FOOTBALL PREVIEW: Lions banking on Hall, veteran defense to succeed

 

BROWNWOOD — With only offensive starter returning from last season, the one player Brownwood coach Sammy Burnet would hope to have back would be quarterback Ike Hall. 

As luck would have it, that is precisely who will return in 2023 to run the Lions’ pistol attack — surrounded by a combo of fresh faces and older players who didn’t start offensively a year ago.  

Nonetheless there is plenty of reason for optimism in the Brownwood camp, with nine defensive starters, 17 lettermen and of course, Hall returning from last year’s 10-3 club. The Lions will also have several players from last year’s 9-1 JV squad promoted to add extra depth to what is expected to be a 40-man roster.

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by Daniel Youngblood

COUNTDOWN TO TWO-A-DAYS: The Brownwood Lions … five 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 4A Division I with the Brownwood Lions. On Thursday we will take a look at the Stephenville Yellow Jackets, followed by the Wylie Bulldogs on Friday.

Continue reading “COUNTDOWN TO TWO-A-DAYS: The Brownwood Lions … five days to two-a days” →

by Brandon McAuliffe

FEATURE: Former Early coach Sandford eager to return to high school dugout with Brownwood

Blake Sandford has been out of the high school coaching game for a few years since resigning from Early High School in 2019.

Earlier this week, though, he was named the new head baseball coach at Brownwood, replacing Brian Harris, who has taken an administration role within Brownwood ISD.

Sandford, who has spent the past two seasons working with Howard Payne’s baseball team, is eager to hit the ground running with a Lions squad that will feature stars Gavin Brandstetter and Logan Posey next year.

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by Evan Ren

BIG COUNTRY PREPS PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Jernigan takes our final award for 2022-23

Our final Big Country Preps Player of the Week for the 2022-23 school year could have gone any number of directions. 

We finally settled on Goldthwaite junior Lainey Jernigan, who swept both the girls 2A hurdles titles at the state meet last week. 

Jernigan won the 100 hurdles in 14.62 and the 300 hurdles in 44.12. And the good news for GHS fans is, she’s coming back to defend both crowns next year. 

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by Brandon McAuliffe

STATE TRACK ROUNDUP: Area Class 3A, 4A athletes claim 14 combined medals at state meet

Cover photo courtesy of Stephenville coach Kolt Kittley

AUSTIN —The UIL State Track and Field meet kicked off Thursday with Classes 3A and 4A competing at Mike Meyers Stadium on the campus of the University of Texas, and the Big Country had a fairly strong showing.

The closest finish determining who would be on and off the podium came in the Class 3A girls 800 meter run where Ballinger’s Addison Martin ran the race in  2 minutes, 17.522 seconds, edging Holliday freshman Kenli Atwood by a microscopic 0.007 seconds after diving through the finish line in her final event of a storied career.

Martin’s podium finish, where she was just one-tenth of a second off what had been the top qualification mark, was one of 14 medal-worthy performances for area athletes.

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by Evan Ren

BIG COUNTRY PREPS PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Wylie’s Farrar, Moore pitch way to shared honor

Coming off a bi-district sweep of Plainview in which Reese Farrar and Rylee Moore both pitched five-inning one-hitters, it was going to be difficult for Wylie’s co-aces to repeat that performance against El Paso Parkland in the area round.

And yet, they did.

Farrar pitched her second one-hitter of the playoffs while Moore tossed a five-inning no-hitter to fuel the Lady Bulldogs past the Lady Matadors 20-1 and 10-0 and into the Region I-4A quarterfinals, where WHS (30-6) will face off with 36-1 El Paso Hanks this week.

In the process, coach Heather Collier’s dynamic pitching duo claimed our penultimate Big Country Preps Player of the Year award of the 2022-23 school year.

Continue reading “BIG COUNTRY PREPS PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Wylie’s Farrar, Moore pitch way to shared honor” →

by Evan Ren

BIG COUNTRY PREPS PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Stephenville’s Cameron takes this week’s award

It’s always a great accomplishment to go to the state track meet in multiple events. But when it’s done in dominating fashion at the Class 4A level or above, you’re generally talking about a very special, gifted athlete. 

Our Big Country Preps Player of the Week, Victoria Cameron of Stephenville, falls directly into that category and she has the regional hardware to prove it. 

Taking four gold medals at the Region I-4A meet, Cameron scored 30 individual points while clinching four berths to the state meet. 

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by Daniel Youngblood

REGION I-4A TRACK RECAP: Stephenville’s Cameron, Brister headline strong showing for area athletes

LUBBOCK — Big Country athletes combined to claim 18 medals and clinch 13 automatic berths to the state track meet at the Region I-4A meet over the weekend at Lowrey Field. 

The area accounted for 11 gold medals, two silvers and five bronzes as Stephenville and Sweetwater claimed top-five team finishes on the girls side and Stephenville and Brownwood finished in the top 10 in boys competition.

Stephenville’s Victoria Cameron headlined the meet for the Big Country girls contingent, leaving Lubbock with four gold medals, while Stephenville’s Creece Brister won both throwing events on the boys side.

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by Brandon McAuliffe

GAME STORY: Walls’ two homers launch Brownwood into second round

Leave no doubt.

That’s what the Brownwood softball team wanted to do after a late rally on Thursday gave it a 1-0 series lead over Levelland.

Friday afternoon, Chloe Walls left no doubt, as her bat propelled the Lady Lions to a 12-0 win over the Lady Loboes at Cougar Diamond and a sweep of the Region I-4A bi-district series.

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by Brandon McAuliffe

GAME STORY: Posey, Brandstetter help Lions clinch No. 2 seed with Glen Rose bashing

BROWNWOOD — Logan Posey is the first person to admit that he’s struggled at the plate for the Brownwood baseball team this season.

The junior catcher’s slump was so prolonged that the Lions had used their designated hitter for him in seven consecutive games while he worked on his swing.

Inserted back into the batting lineup on Tuesday, Posey had a home run, a double, two walks and three RBIs to help Brownwood clinch the No. 2 seed out of District 6-4A with a 10-0 win over Glen Rose at Morris Southall Field.

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by Zach Duncan, Special to Big Country Preps

FEATURE: Young, tight-knit Brownwood softball team excited to make playoff return

At the end of every practice and game, Brownwood’s softball team breaks out shouting the word “family.” 

First-year head coach Cherita Munguia believes that mantra has been an important one for a squad that often starts five sophomores and a freshman. 

“They love each other fiercely and play like a family,” Munguia said. “They’re extremely hungry, are super coachable and have an energy that’s unmatched. It’s been a really exciting journey.” 

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by Evan Ren

GAME STORY: Stephenville softball avenges loss to Brownwood with win at BHS

BROWNWOOD — Just three days after a 4-2 home-field loss to archrival Brownwood, the Stephenville Honey Bees came to BHS on Friday seeking a little payback in a District 6-4A rematch.

Mission accomplished. 

Helped by a gritty pitching performance from Presley Gaitain and a three-run third inning, the Honey Bees (15-11, 3-3) held on for a 5-3 win, keeping them in solid contention for a No. 2 playoff seed. 

Making multiple switches to her batting order, Stephenville coach Kady Crow threw caution to the wind prior to gametime and the gamble paid off. 

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by Evan Ren

BIG COUNTRY PREPS PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Snyder baseballer edges Snyder softballer for top spot

It’s difficult to trump a no-hitter, though Snyder’s Ava Aviles came close last week. 

Aviles, who threw back-to-back two-hitters for Snyder softball, is our first runner-up to her classmate, Player of the Week Ty Davis and his first career no-hitter. 

Davis earned a 13-2 five-inning win over Levelland last week, holding LHS hitless in the mercy rule win, finishing with five strikeouts. 

“Ty has continued to improve on the mound and has given us some excellent innings this season, none bigger than last Tuesday with his no-hit performance,” Snyder coach Shane Stewart said. ” I am proud of him and looking forward to watching him mature as a pitcher and a young man.”

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by Evan Ren

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. 

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by Staff Report

GAME REPORT: Coyotes dine on Brownwood miscues

ABILENE – The Wichita Falls Coyotes ran the football on the Brownwood Lions like no other team this season during Friday night’s rain-soaked Class 4A Division I regional semifinal game. As a result, the heavily favored Lions’ season ended with a 41-19 loss to the upstart Coyotes at Wildcat Stadium.

Cameron Gould, a two-way ironman at linebacker and running back, rushed for 158 yards and five touchdowns as the Coyotes, who were 3-3 at one point this season, improved to 9-4 and advanced to the state quarterfinals for the first time since 2013. Wichita Falls will face District 4-4A DI rival Decatur for the Region I championship at 7 p.m. next Friday, Dec. 2, at Collins Stadium in Denton.

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by Evan Ren

BIG COUNTRY PREPS PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Wylie QB Long leads another thrilling comeback to claim award

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.

Continue reading “BIG COUNTRY PREPS PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Wylie QB Long leads another thrilling comeback to claim award” →

by Daniel Youngblood

CLASS 4A/5A AREA ROUND REPORT: Anna ends Yellow Jackets’ season with one-point win

REGION II-4A DIV. I

Anna 33, Stephenville 32 — The Yellow Jackets saw their season come to an end with a heartbreaking loss to the Coyotes in the area round, falling in a game that saw six lead changes, including four in the second half.

After falling behind 14-3 after the first quarter, Stephenville (9-3) rallied to pull within 20-17 at halftime before taking a 24-20 in the third quarter. Anna regained the lead at 26-24 by the end of the third quarter, and the teams traded touchdowns in the fourth, with the Coyotes erasing a 36-32 deficit with the final touchdown with about six minutes remaining in the game.

Continue reading “CLASS 4A/5A AREA ROUND REPORT: Anna ends Yellow Jackets’ season with one-point win” →

by Evan Ren

GAME STORY: Brownwood eliminates Canyon in windy, cold, wet area final

MIDLAND — With sub-freezing temperatures, a strong wind and a misty rain falling, conditions for Friday’s Region I-4A area round game between Brownwood and Canyon didn’t promise much for the highlight reel. 

By the end of the evening, however, Brownwood had combined a handful of big offensive plays with a smothering defensive effort to eliminate injury-plagued Canyon 31-10. 

Konlyn Anderson rushed for 113 yards and two scores and Ike Hall rushed for 102 more and two more TDs to lead Brownwood (10-2), which advances to face Wichita Falls High at 7 p.m. on Friday at Abilene Christian University. 

Canyon, which was forced into using multiple reserve quarterbacks in a variety of rolls due to injuries to its top two signal callers, finished the season at 10-2. The Eagles were led by Noah Sanchez, who threw for 119 yards and one score. 

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