Category: Clyde Bulldogs

by Brandon McAuliffe

GAME STORY: Clyde holds off late Jim Ned rally to end the regular season

TUSCOLA — With two runners on and two outs in the bottom of the seventh, Jim Ned’s Libbie Brnovak stepped to the plate with her squad trailing Clyde 5-1 in the District 6-3A regular season finale on Friday afternoon.

Brnovak ripped a shot into right-center that scored Makenzie Ince and Briana Jones, but she was thrown out at third base on a strong throw by Chasity Davis, and the Lady Bulldogs escaped with a 5-3 win to clinch third place outright.

The Lady Indians, meanwhile, tied for fourth place with Wall but still earned a playoff berth by virtue of their sweeping the Lady Hawks in the opening week of district play.

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by Evan Ren

BIG COUNTRY PREPS PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Phillips takes yet another Player of the Week award

Clyde’s Payton Phillips is no stranger to our Big Country Preps Player of the Week award. She’s no stranger to gold medals either. 

And for the third time since last year, the CHS senior has captured our weekly accolade — this time with an armful of hardware. 

In her latest performance, Phillips won four separate district championships and took silver in a fifth at the District 6-3A track meet. 

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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: Albany’s Chapmans share this week’s award

It’s not often that a Big Country baseball team charts two no-hitters in the same week. But when two pitchers with the same last name are charting the no-nos it’s about as common as the planets aligning. 

That was the case last week with the Albany Lions, who in sweeping Haskell (15-0) and Stamford (11-1) saw Cole and Tyler Chapman (non-siblings) post back-to-back no-hitters. 

Cole, a senior, blanked Haskell in four innings of work in a mercy rule win, fanning six.  Three days later, Tyler got into the act in a five-inning run-rule win with 12 Ks.

They now share our Big Country Preps Player of the Week award — another rarity.

“We were very proud of our pitchers last week,” Albany coach David Fairchild said. “Both pitchers were in control and in command of their pitches.” 

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by Yale Youngblood, Special to Big Country Preps

FEATURE: Multi-event star Phillips having super senior season for Clyde girls track team

She’s not faster than a speeding bullet, more powerful than a locomotive or able to leap tall buildings in a single bound.

Still …

Given the way the 2022-23 athletic season has transpired for Clyde’s Payton Phillips, it is fair to spice an analysis of her collective endeavors with pretty much any of your preferred “superlatives.”

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by Evan Ren

GAME STORY: Clyde blanks Wall 4-0 behind one-hitter from Bingham

CLYDE — In their uphill climb to snag a playoff spot in the District 6-3A race, the Clyde Lady Bulldogs could ill-afford a loss in Friday’s matchup with Wall at CHS. 

Clyde responded with a 4-0 win over the Lady Hawks behind a one-hit shutout from sophomore right-hander Kaycee Bingham — leaving the door open for CHS (16-8-1, 3-5) to reach postseason play.

The win avenged a 9-8 loss to Wall on the road on Tuesday that saw the Lady Bulldogs commit five errors. Friday’s rematch saw only one Clyde miscue behind Bingham, who coasted through most of the afternoon and retired the last 14 batters she faced in succession. 

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by Evan Ren

BIG COUNTRY PREPS PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Bangs southpaw takes this week’s accolade

Bangs southpaw Abby Wolf has thrown so many no-hitters this year, that the subject barely raises an eyebrow. But in consecutive district wins over Coleman and Christoval last week, the sophomore managed to create a stir. 

Missing a perfect game by one hit batsman in a 7-0 win over Coleman, she followed that with three perfect innings in a 15-0 route of Christoval. 

In other words, Wolf tossed nine complete hitless innings last week, along the way walking none and fanning 13. 

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by Evan Ren

BIG COUNTRY PREPS PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Sweetwater senior captures five medals and our award

“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. 

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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 Evan Ren

BIG COUNTRY PREPS PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Hamlin lefty takes this week’s award

Softball tournaments can distort the significance of pitching accomplishments due to inning caps or time limits, rendering perfect games or no-hitters into half-versions of their true selves. 

However, there is no denying that tournaments are work, especially for pitchers, and our Big Country Preps Player of the Week, Hamlin southpaw Zoe Moore, earned the accolade with a 4-0 record in the Wichita Falls Sunrise Optimist Tournament last week.

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by Evan Ren

BIG COUNTRY PREPS PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Big Spring senior chalks up four victories and our weekly award

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.

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by Brandon McAuliffe

GAME STORY: Albany upends Cisco, sets up district championship showdown with Hawley

ALBANY — Albany and Hawley both won state championships in football less than two months ago and are now set to square off for at least a share of the District 10-2A championship on Tuesday night.

The showdown comes after the Lions dominated Cisco 46-33 on Friday night, jumping out to a double-digit first quarter lead and never looking back.

It sets up a game with major playoff implications as the eventual runner-up between Hawley (12-4, 10-1) and Albany (13-3, 9-2) would face Class 2A’s top-ranked team, Lipan, in the second round of the playoffs. While the Bearcats lead the Lions by a game in the district standings, an AHS win would secure coach Ryder Peacock’s team the No. 1 playoff seed by virtue of its 51-48 win on Jan. 20.

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by Evan Ren

GAME STORY: Merkel, Clyde split varsity doubleheader with back-to-back convincing wins

CLYDE — With an icy rain falling outside, the Merkel and Clyde varsity basketball teams met for an early doubleheader on Tuesday in an effort to stay ahead of the weather and stay and ahead of each other in the District 6-3A standings. 

The twin bill produced a split result, with the Merkel girls opening the afternoon with a 51-36 win over their host to remain in contention for a high playoff seed. The Clyde boys returned the favor in Game 2, handing the Badgers a 63-26 loss to cripple MHS’ playoff chances. 

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by Evan Ren

BIG COUNTRY PREPS PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Cisco’s Landenberger catches fire, takes this week’s award

 If you haven’t heard of Cisco’s Gavin Landenberger yet, that’s understandable. He and his talented brother, Aiden, were move-ins from Mississippi late last year and weren’t eligible to play varsity ball at CHS. 

Now freely able to play, the siblings are making up for lost time and Gavin is currently making enough noise to draw attention from the entire area. 

Named as our Big Country Preps Player of the Week, the senior guard absolutely went off last week, beginning with a 28-point night in a win over Albany. He followed that three days later with 32 points in a come-from-behind win at Stamford.  The latter saw him hit four straight-3-pointers in an 18-point third quarter. 

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by Brandon McAuliffe

GAME STORY: Martin nets career milestone as Ballinger routs Clyde to open district

BALLINGER — Ballinger senior point guard Addison Martin entered Tuesday’s District 6-3A opener against Clyde at Joe Forester Gymnasium thinking that she was roughly 40 points away from hitting 1,000 for her career.

The four-sport star was shocked when coach Kinzee Willis called timeout after she recorded a steal and layup midway through the second quarter for her sixth point of the night when she saw the Ballinger student body unfurl a 1,000 point banner and four golden balloons signifying the achievement while cheerleaders shot off confetti in the bleachers.

It was a celebratory achievement that carried over to the court as the Lady Cats recorded a 55-32 win as they honored their point guard.

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by Evan Ren

BIG COUNTRY PREPS PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Munday’s Bowman takes our final accolade of the year

NOTE: This will be our final Player of the Week column for 2022. It will return on Monday, Jan. 9. 

It’s always a significant accomplishment to chart a double-double. But when one averages a double-double over the course of five straight games, you begin to put a blip on the area radar screen.

Munday senior Jaxon Bowman did precisely that last week, helping the Moguls to a 5-0 record and the tournament championship at Blackwell. Aside from averaging 11.2 points per game, the senior grabbed a whopping 13 boards per contest to along with a combined 12 steals as Munday improved to 12-2.

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by Daniel Youngblood

Big Country Preps Boys Basketball Position Rankings: Posts

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.

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by Daniel Youngblood

Big Country Preps Boys Basketball Position Rankings: Guards

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.

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by Daniel Youngblood

BIG COUNTRY PREPS PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Wylie safety Wright takes top honors with three fourth-quarter picks

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.

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by Evan Ren

DISTRICT 3-3A DIV. I WEEK 11 REPORT: Breck earns No. 2 seed; Jim Ned clinches title, Vernon earns playoff spot

Breckenridge 50, Clyde 20 — The Buckaroos  used a balanced attack of 226 yards passing and 234 yards rushing close the regular season with a win. 

Breckenridge led 28-6 at the break and 39-6 heading into the final stanza before coasting to the finish line. 

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by Daniel Youngblood

Big Country Preps Girls Basketball Position Rankings: Posts

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.

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by Daniel Youngblood

Big Country Preps Girls Basketball Position Rankings: Forwards

After kicking off our girls basketball position rankings series with the guards on Tuesday, we now turn 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 with some others to watch for in 2022-23.

We hope you enjoy our list.

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by Daniel Youngblood

Big Country Preps Girls Basketball Position Rankings: Guards

With the girls basketball season upon us, it’s time to take a look at the local and area players who will be making the biggest impact for their teams during the 2022-23 season.

For the first installment in a three-part series that will cover all positions, we’ll be focusing on 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.

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by Evan Ren

DISTRICT 3-3A DIV. I WEEK 9 REPORT: Jim Ned takes league lead with win at Breckenridge, Iowa Park stuns Vernon, Clyde falls

Jim Ned 32, Breckenridge 25 — Troy Doran rushed for 182 yards and a score and the Jim Ned defense forced two costly Breckenridge turnovers to secure a huge win on the road.

With standout Breckenridge two-way player Jerry Lawson out with an injury, the Indians too full advantage of his absence on both sides of the ball. 

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