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Category: Clyde Bulldogs
Scenes from Big Country Preps Photo Tour Day 1
Day 1 of Big Country Preps’ 2023 Photo Tour is now in the books, with seven more days of shooting yet to come from practice fields throughout the area.
Here are but a few of the images collected Monday:
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COUNTDOWN TO TWO-A-DAYS: The Clyde Bulldogs … 11 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 3A Division I with the Clyde Bulldogs. On Friday we will take a look at the Jim Ned Indians, followed by the Brock Eagles on Saturday.
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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.
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.
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.
PHOTO GALLERY: Region I-3A track meet (118 images)
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REGION I-3A TRACK MEET: Brock, Breck boys go 1-2 again; Big Country girls claim six individual golds
The Brock boys track teams clinched its third consecutive region championship Saturday at Abilene Christian University’s Elmer Gray Stadium, and for the second year in a row, the Eagles’ stiffest competition came from Breckenridge.
Brock took first at the Region I-3A meet, tallying 70 team points over the two-day competition, while the Buckaroos finished with 55 points, edging third-place Vernon (54) for their second runner-up finish in as many years.
Those performances headlined a successful meet for area competitors, which saw athletes or relay teams from the Big Country Preps coverage area claim 26 total medals — 14 on the boys side and 12 on the girls. That list featured 15 automatic qualifying bids to the state meet May 11-13 in Austin, including 10 total gold medals.
BIG COUNTRY PREPS PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Brock sophomore takes this week’s accolade with mercy rule no-hitter
A no-hitter alone is often enough to secure the Big Country Preps Player of the Week award. But when it’s backed by a solid offensive performance, it’s very difficult to get knocked off of the perch.
Brock sophomore Jesse Rusinek takes this week’s accolade after holding Eastland hitless in a 15-0 mercy rule win that saw him miss a perfect game by one walk. He fanned 12 in the process.
“He was dealin’ out there,” Brock coach Kobe Page said of the stuff Rusinek had in the Eastland game. “When he’s on, he’s pretty tough … just showing up, battling and moving the ball around the strike zone. He was ‘on.'”
PHOTO GALLERY: Clyde-Jim Ned softball (73 images)
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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.
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.
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.”
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.”
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.”
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
PHOTO GALLERY: Abilene Icebreaker Softball Tournament (241 images)
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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.
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.
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.
PHOTO GALLERY: Clyde-Ballinger girls basketball (48 images)
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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.
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.
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.
Big Country Preps Boys Basketball Position Rankings: Forwards
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.