Here are the boys area track bests through March 29 (top 15 in each event):
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SAGINAW — Pearson Hearne scored 21 points and grabbed 11 rebounds to lead Cisco to a 54-45 win over Collinsville in the Region II-2A Division I championship game Friday night at Eagle Mountain High School.
The victory improved the Lady Loboes’ record to 35-2 and earned Cisco a trip to next week’s 2A DI state semifinal game against Panhandle at a neutral site. A victory there would propel the Lady Loboes into the state championship game at the Alamodome in San Antonio, with a chance to win the first state title in school history. Collinsville finished 34-4.
Hearne did most of the heavy lifting for the Lady Loboes in the first half, scoring nine points in the first quarter and seven more in the second. Her offense and a tenacious Cisco defense helped the team build a 34-25 lead at intermission.
When Cisco junior guard Carter Toof is on his game, there is little one can do to stop him. He’s going to get his point, whether you like it or not.
That was the case last week when Toof helped Cisco to a win over Abilene TLCA with 43 points, 14 rebounds and three assists. He followed that with 20 points, seven boards, four assists and three steals in a playoff warmup loss to Benjamin.
Below are the current season statistical leaders for Big Country boys basketball through Feb. 19. With the end of the regular season, this will be the FINAL boys basketball leaders we post this year.
This database has been continually updated for our subscribers throughout the regular season, using only those statistics submitted by area coaches.
Is your favorite team missing? If so, please pass along a friendly reminder to your coach to check his email for our weekly stats request. We’ll be happy to add them to our database after they arrive.
Below are the current season statistical leaders for Big Country girls basketball through Feb. 12. This will be our FINAL girls stat leaders for 2026.
This database has been continually updated for our subscribers throughout the regular season, using only those statistics submitted by area coaches.
Is your favorite team missing? If so, please pass along a friendly reminder to your coach to check his or her email for our weekly stats request. We’ll be happy to add them to our database after they arrive.
CISCO — With the playoffs being split into Division I and Division II, not all-late season basketball games have the high-stakes feel that they’ve had in the past.
That wasn’t the case on Tuesday night at Ray Saunders Gymnasium, where Stamford visited Cisco for a crucial District 10-2A matchup.
The hosts jumped out to a 14-point lead in the first half but couldn’t hold off a fourth-quarter rally as Stamford all but clinched the district runner-up spot with a 50-44 win.
Comanche senior J’Lee Salinas is no stranger to BCP accolades, having already won our Player of the Week award as well as being named to our All-Big Country Preps team.
Well, she’s done it again after helping Comanche sweep district mates Millsap and Peaster — taking our Player of the Week award for the week ending Feb. 7.
Salinas had a solid week with a double-double in a win against Millsap (83-27), finishing with 24 points,10 rebounds, four assists and six steals.
The boys basketball regular season is nearing its end, and district championship and playoff pictures across the area are coming into view.
Most leagues now have clear favorites in both their title and playoff races, but several remain unresolved with just two or three games left to play.
With just a couple of weeks of games remaining, let’s dive in and take a look at this week’s biggest games and last week’s most significant developments.
With weather postponements forcing Tolar to play three games last week, there was positive in an otherwise hectic week: It gave one of THS’ athletes the opportunity to showcase a remarkable run of consistency.
Tolar sophomore Atley Kolb takes our Big Country Preps Player of the Week award for the Week ending Jan. 31, after posting three straight double-doubles in as many days to help the Lady Rattlers in wins over Millsap (57-25), Eastland (59-25) and Breckenridge (74-19).
Kolb posted 10 points and 13 rebounds against Millsap; 21 points and 11 boards against Eastland and 12 points and 10 boards in the Breckenridge win.
Surprised — and in some cases, stressed out — faces could be seen in abundance Monday morning at Abilene’s Region 14 Education Services Center, where coaches from throughout the area and beyond gathered to learn their new district homes as part of the University Interscholastic League’s biennial realignment.
In what can best be described as a seismic shift in the Big Country football landscape, a majority of area schools were placed in unfamiliar environs — be that a new district with new foes or even a new region entirely.
The now venerated process by which the UIL releases the packet containing the new district alignments for football, basketball and volleyball is frequently compared by coaches to waking up on Christmas morning to find what presents await under the three. And on this day, in particular, few found the gifts they were expecting.
Last week’s winter storm made for a wild week of action, condensing a week’s worth of games into three day’s time. And the results were as unpredictable as you might expect given the circumstances.
We saw several district championship and playoff races shaken up by upsets and others take shape as the cream continued its rise to the top.
As we do here weekly, it’s time to take survey of the Big Country boys basketball landscape. We hope you enjoy this look at the biggest developments from last week and the biggest games this week’s slate has to offer.
Leading Cisco’s girls and boys basketball teams are hard-working coaches’ kids.
But it’s a unique situation in Eastland County for the Hearne and Kilpatrick families as both standouts play for the other’s father.
On a typical Tuesday night, boys coach Kevin Hearne can watch his senior daughter Pearson play for about three quarters before turning his full attention to the Loboes.
Mother Nature did her best to bring the high school basketball season to a standstill, sending a winter storm that put most Big Country teams on the shelf for a week. But the action around that unexpected break gives us plenty to talk about in this week’s look at the area boys basketball scene.
With a number of excellent (and meaningful) games last week and some big matchups slated for the next few days, the area district races remain as intriguing as ever.
Let’s go ahead now and take a look at the biggest games the area slate has to offer this week and some of the outcomes last week that helped shape the weeks to come.
You have to appreciate a player who can contribute big numbers in several different ways. And in the case of our Big Country Preps Player of the Week, such players have an advantage when it comes to taking down our weekly award.
This time around, it’s Cisco junior Owen Kilpatrick, who posted a triple-double in a 74-38 win over Abilene TLCA, finishing with 18 points, 21 rebounds and 12 assists.
Most high school football teams have that one player acknowledged by the coaching staff as the prime example of what a teammate should be.
He’s the guy who seldom misses any practice time and is a regular in the weight room. He’s early to arrive. He’s late to leave and takes pride in being coachable, though he seldom needs direction.
He always sets the right example for younger players. He doesn’t complain and, above all else, he’s tough enough to make all the aforementioned traits consistently possible.
Know someone like that? Here is where they are honored.
Here are our first-team selections for the 2025 All-Big Country Preps football team. For the rest of this year’s selections, click the links below.
Here are our second-team selections for the 2025 All-Big Country Preps football team. For the rest of this year’s selections, click the links below.
Here are our selections for the 2024 All-Big Country Preps Football Team (Third-Team roster). For the rest of this year’s selections, click the links below.
Here are our selections for the 2024 All-Big Country Preps Rising Stars Team — an honor reserved for the area’s top freshman and sophomore football players. For the rest of this year’s selections, click the links below.
Ysée Le Borgne may feel like a fish out of water living in Ballinger, Texas. After all, the 16-year-old foreign exchange student and native of Lille, France is more than 5,000 miles and (needless to say), a major cultural shift away from her hometown.
On the basketball court, however, the 6-foot sophomore guard is right at home — so much so that she earned our Big Country Preps Player of Week for the week ending Jan. 17 with a rare quadruple double.
Le Borgne, who opened the week with a 24-point, 14-rebound double-double in a loss to Colorado City, showed the potential for a “quad” that night with seven steals, six pass deflections and four blocks.
Three days later it happened in a 43-32 win over Coleman that saw Le Borne finish with 23 points, 12 boards, 10 steals and 10 pass deflections.
District races are heating up throughout the Big Country and the cream is quickly rising to the top in our area leagues.
Last week and helped provide some clarity in a number of district’s throughout the BCP coverage area, and this week will, no doubt, do the same.
Without further ado, let’s go ahead and dive into this week’s column and take a look at the biggest games on this week’s slate and some of the top results last week had to offer.
As we arrive in mid-January, this year’s playoff picture is beginning to take shape with multiple games throughout the area have a direct impact on seeding.
Tonight we take a look at some of those matchups, along with the top results from last week and the area’s biggest surprise.
There are memorable shooting nights. Then there are shooting nights one is unlikely to ever forget.
Wylie senior guard Swade Sipe had one of the latter on Friday night, with a 33-point effort in a 74-62 win over Brock.
During the course of this performance, Sipe was 11 of 11 from the field, 6 of 6 from 3-point range, 5 of 5 from two-point range and 5 of 6 from the foul line.
This explosive, nearly perfect effort against a very good 4A Brock team earns Sipe our Big Country Preps Player of the Week award, during a week when several players posted numbers good enough to claim the accolade.
With district play either underway or starting this week for all area boys basketball teams, it’s time to start taking a closer look at how our Big Country hoops races are shaping up.
And as we’ve done in the past, we’ll break down our top upcoming matchups, the top results from the previous week and the area’s biggest surprise right here each Sunday, starting with this column.
We hope you enjoy a look at this week in area boys basketball.
Nobody played a tougher schedule over the holidays than the Wall boys. And nobody had a bigger impact on their successful run through a brutal five-game stretch than 6-foot-7 big man Paxton Brake who takes our first Big Country Preps Player of the Week for 2026.
Brake, a junior, scored a combined 70 points through the break, averaging 14 points, 9.2 boards and 3.2 assists to help the Hawks go 4-1 over the break with wins over Decatur, Lorena, Ponder and Sweetwater, along with a close loss to perennial power Brock.
Wall enters this week at 17-5 overall.
LUBBOCK — For most of the first half Friday, it appeared as though the Cisco Loboes and Stinnett West Texas Comanches were headed for an old-school thriller in the the Region I-2A Division I championship game at Lubbock Cooper’s Pirate Stadium.
But when momentum turned late in the second quarter, it did so sharply and for good, allowing still-undefeated West Texas to pull away for a 48-22 win and end the Loboes’ best season since 2014 at 12-2.
Led by senior quarterback Cayde Winters, whose bowling ball running style proved too much for the Cisco defense to handle over the course of four quarters, the Comanches rallied from first-half deficits of 7-0 and 14-8 to take a 24-14 lead into halftime. And they continued to pile on after the break, stretching their lead to 40-14 by the 8:55 mark of the final period to stamp out any hopes of a Loboes comeback.
LAST WEEK: 13-0, 1.000
SEASON TOTAL: 534-111, .828
As the calendar flips to December, we’re still plenty busy here at Big Country Preps, with 10 of our teams still alive with shots at a state title.
So with out further delay, let’s take a quick look at all of this week’s matchups.
I’ll see you on the road.
LAST WEEK: 21-7, .750
SEASON TOTAL: 521-111, .824

JIM NED (11-1) VS. PARADISE (11-1)
Similar schedules with similar results, but Paradise does hold a slight edge both offensively and defensively and outperformed the Indians against common opponent Breckenridge.
You have to love a great all-around performance and in the case of Brayden Henry, our Big Country Preps Player of the Week, his effort in last week’s 84-25 bi-district win over El Paso Bel Air was a record-setter.
Aside from going 6 of 7 through the air or 56 yards and one TD, he also rushed five times for 137 yards and three more scores.
Cisco 56, Olney 24 — Colby MciLroy threw for 143 yards and two TDs and Cody Gayle rushed for 96 yards and another score to help Cisco (9-1, 5-0) to a lopsided win over Olney.
Colbin Harrison was McilRoy’s top target, hauling in two catches for 89 yards and two scores.
Cisco improved to 9-1 with its ninth straight win over Clyde in Week 1.
Olney fell to 3-7 and 1-4.
Cisco 35, Anson 14 — Colby McIlroy rushed for 169 yards and one score and threw for 95 yards and another TD to lift Cisco to a district-clinching win over Anson.
Leading 21-14 at the break, the Loboes iced the game with a pair of unanswered touchdowns in the second half.
The Loboes improved to 8-1 and 4-0 with the win; Anson fell to 6-3 and 1-3.
When the 2025 season opened, most fervent followers of District 4-2A Division I football likely took a look at the Cisco starting lineup, noticed that a sophomore was pencilled in as the starting quarterback, and pegged the Loboes as a potential playoff team.
The “potential playoff team” part of the equation was a given, considering that, since 2020, the Loboes have made four postseason appearances and have twice earned 11 wins. In fact, Cisco playing quality football has become routine under coach Kevin Stennett and his predecessor and mentor Brent West.
But the “sophomore quarterback” aspect … Well, in a district that also includes perennial powers Hawley and Stamford, having to play a youngster in the most important position generally represents a big red flag — especially if you hope to win the league championship.
Fast forward to this Friday, when the Loboes will play host to Anson (6-2 overall, 1-2 in district) at 7 p.m. Cisco isn’t just hoping to hoist a big trophy; the Loboes can assure themselves of that achievement with a win. With victories already in hand over Hawley and Stamford, Cisco can clinch the title this week.
Anson 54, Olney 15 —
The Tigers snapped a two-game losing streak with a lopsided win at home over the Cubs.
Hunter Teichelman threw for 334 yards and five scores and added one rushing touchdown to pace Anson (6-2, 1-2) which put itself in an excellent position to earn a playoff spot with the win.
Alex Lozano (four catches, 136 yards, two TDs) and Malachi St. John (seven catches, 114 yards, two TDs) were Teichelman’s targets of choice.
ABILENE — While a venue change and an extended lightning delay forced the Cisco Loboes and Hawley Bearcats to make adjustments on their adjustments Friday at Wylie’s Hugh Sandifer Stadium, the Big Country Preps Game of the Week between the two squads lived up to the pregame hype surrounding the key District 4-2A Division I matchup.
After watching Hawley score 20 unanswered points to turn a 14-6 second-quarter deficit into a two-score lead heading into the fourth quarter, Cisco rallied with two touchdowns in the final period to claim a 29-26 win and take sole possession of the district lead in the process.
The victory, which improved CHS’ season record to 7-1, pushed the Loboes’ to 3-0 in league play — a game ahead of Hawley (5-3, 2-1) and Stamford (5-3, 2-1) with wins over both in their pocket.
Stamford 28, Anson 21 — Stamford entered this game as an underdog in the view of many, but left as the victor after forcing four Anson turnovers.
Limited to only 185 yards in total offense for the night, the Bulldogs (4-3, 1-1) still managed to build a 28-6 first-half lead before hanging on for the win.
Despite piling up 371 yards in total offense and outgaining Stamford by nearly 200 yards, Anson (5-2, 0-2) dropped its second straight game after a 5-0 start.
Hawley 32, Anson 26 — Aiden Romo threw for 214 yards and four scores to lead Hawley (4-2, 1-0) to a huge win over previously unbeaten Anson in the district opener for both clubs.
Hunter Teichelman led Anson (5-1, 0-1) with 314 yards passing and two scores.
Anson will face Stamford (3-3, 0-1) in a crucial matchup next Friday; Hawley will travel to Olney on the same evening.

CISCO — Entering Friday’s district opener with an explosive Stamford team, the Cisco Loboes knew they would have to control the football and keep the SHS offense off of the field to win.
Not only did they achieve that, but the Loboes also managed to hurt Stamford through the air in a 30-20 win in the Big Country Preps Game of the Week.
Colby McIlroy threw for 126 yards and one score and rushed for 62 yards and another TD to lead Cisco (5-1, 1-0 District 4-2A DI), which notched its fifth straight win following a season-opening loss to Clyde.
Olney 33, Crosbyton 0 — The Cubs (2-3) were the lone districts member to hit the field on Friday and came away with a win over struggling Crosbyton.
Tucker Cortinez threw for 343 yards and four scores to lead the Cubs.
The victory was the second in succession for Olney, which travels to Abilene TLCA next Friday.
Cisco 65, Frenship Memorial 13 — The Loboes rolled up 500 yards in total offense including 321 on the ground in a lopsided win over Memorial.
Noah Hernandez rushed for 108 yards and one score on four carries and Colby Mcilroy threw for 179 yards and three scores to led Cisco (4-1), which charted its fourth straight win.
Memorial dropped to 3-2.
Hawley 51, Merkel 34 — This was projected to be a shootout and those in attendance were treated to exactly that.
Jesse Nieto threw for 249 yards and five TDs to lift Hawley (2-1), which held off the Badgers after building a 37-13 third-quarter lead. Brycen
Stofel was another key contributor for Hawley with 170 yards rushing on 20 carries.
Stamford 33, De Leon 20 — Trailing 20-14 at the end of three quarters, Stamford rallied with 19 unanswered points in the fourth quarter to beat the Bearcats.
Mason Mueller threw for 213 yards and two scores and Brayden Jimenez rushed for 121 yards and another TD to lead the Bulldogs (1-1).
Heston Jobe led De Leon (1-1) with 140 yards passing; Lane Couch rushed for 118 and two scores.
Anson 49, Hamlin 6 — The Tigers rolled up 431 yards in total offense, including 377 yards through the air to hand Hamlin a lopsided loss.
Grayson Feagan was the top gun for Anson, throwing for 349 yards and five scores. Alexander Lozano and Malachi St. John were his top targets. Lozano finished with three catches for 106 yards and two touchdowns while St. John had nine catches for 99 yards and two more scores.
Got the truck started yet?
Ready to jump on one of those farm-to-market roads to watch high school football into the late hours on a Friday night?
You’re not alone.
And, as tradition would have it, I tip my cap to those of you who will be hitting the trails each week in search of pigskin. My method: a preseason menu of sorts.
Each week for the next 11 weeks, Big Country Preps will be searching for its Game of the Week, and we’re already looking ahead. We now present our preliminary list of Big Country Games worth traveling for, but keep in mind: the following list is subject to change as surprises and disappointments emerge.
And as we all know … surprises and disappointments always emerge.
So, without further delay, here is our list of Big Country games worth traveling for in 2025.
I’ll see you on the road.

CISCO —Show me an area coach who has a career record of 45-22 in five years with five straight playoff berths, five straight area round appearances, four regional semifinal appearances and three trips to regional title games.
You’d think you should be able to name a guy like that, or at least, not be surprised when you hear his name (Cisco’s Kevin Stennett) associated with the aforementioned record.
Now show me the area coaches who have outperformed him in that time span. Trust me, it’s a short list, yet many area fans outside of Cisco cannot name Stennett as the Loboes’ coach.