LAST WEEK: 41-10 .803
SEASON TOTAL: 367-108, .772
Football season doesn’t feel complete without at least one visit to Chesley Field in Cisco. And Friday night, the Big Country Preps Game of the Week will stop by for a crucial District 4-2A DI matchup between the Loboes (5-2, 1-1) and Hawley (7-0, 2-0).
For Hawley, a win here will keep open the possibility of an unbeaten regular season. For Cisco, a victory would signal the beginning of a climb back into area prominence.
Big Country Preps is publishing area volleyball statistical leaders each Tuesday at 7 p.m. roughout the regular season.
This database will be continually updated for our subscribers throughout the remainder of the season, using only those statistics submitted by area coaches.
With the Albany Lions winning last week’s district game with Winters by a score of 60-0, there were ample opportunities for the Lions to produce a Player of the Week-worthy performance.
They found one in senior Branson Beal, who rushed 11 times for 144 yards and five scores. He also caught a 46-yard TD pass to chart six touchdowns on the night.
“He might have the quickest feet of any (player) I have coached,” Albany coach Denney Faith said. “Combine that with great vision it makes him fun to watch.”
De Leon 55, Coleman 12 — Heston Jobe passed for 150 yards and two touchdowns and ran for 60 yards and another score, while Lane Couch ran for 110 yards and two TDs to lead the Bearcats to a lopsided win over the Bluecats.
Adan Salinas (8-60, 1 TD rushing) and Christian Gilder (3-24, 2 TDs) also found the end zone on the ground for De Leon (4-3, 2-0), which got receiving scores from Lane Cooper (4-51 receiving) and Brenner Wright (1-29).
COLEMAN — The past 6½ weeks have been incredibly tough on the Coleman Bluekatt volleyball team since it beat Rotan in straight sets in tournament play.
The Bluekatts had won just six sets over the course of a 17 match losing streak — losing a dozen of them in straight sets, including a 25-11, 25-13, 25-14 match against Bangs in District 5-2A play on Sept. 28.
With their hopes of snagging a playoff berth dangling by a thread, Coleman found itself trailing the Lady Dragons 24-20 in the opening set of the rematch on Tuesday night.
What followed from there was nothing short of remarkable as the Bluekatts scored the final six points of the opening set and rallied again late for a thrilling 26-24, 16-25, 19-25, 25-19, 16-14 win to move into a tie with De Leon for the fourth and final playoff spot — setting up a crucial home match on Friday night.
De Leon 56, Hico 0 — Heston Jobe passed for 251 yards and five touchdowns and added 110 yards on the ground to fuel the Bearcats to a lopsided win over the Tigers in the district opener for both teams.
Lane Couch also had a big game for De Leon (3-3, 1-0), rushing for 145 yards and two touchdowns and receiving for 54 yards, while Jake Cooper received for 52 yards and three scores.
LAST WEEK: 32-12, .809
SEASON TOTAL: 279-91, .757
Now it’s time to get down to business.
With most of the Big Country taking an open date last Friday as a prelude to district play, we now dive headfirst into the games that count the most.
District play opens tomorrow for most leagues in the area, the intensity of which is already tangible.
Can you feel it?
We’ll see you on the road.
Here’s this week’s area picks:
Florence 28, Hico 14 — The Tigers fell from the ranks of the unbeaten with a tough loss to the Buffaloes.
Hico ran for 289 yards and finished with 306 yards total, but the Tigers (4-1) found themselves down 28-0 in the final quarter before finally getting a pair of touchdown runs from Price Mullin.
Hawley’s Keagan Ables is no stranger to the Big Country Preps Player of the Week column — appearing among our top performers multiple times over the last three years.
However, his latest effort to help HHS defeat De Leon 54-21 on Friday, may rank as one of his best.
The Hawley senior connected on 16 of 32 passes for 441 yards and six touchdowns to help Hawley improve to 4-0 on the year.
Hico 46, Itasca 28 — Three Tigers players topped the 100-yard rushing mark as HHS piled up 472 yards on the ground as a team in a thorough win over the Wampus Cats.
Buck Powell led all rushers with 176 yards and a touchdown on just 14 carries, while Price Mullin added 109 yards and a score on 14 attempts and Kalder Halbrook had 101 yards and a TD on seven totes to go with five catches for 58 yards and a score.
LAST WEEK: 47-11, .810
SEASON TOTAL: 141-59, .705
After nosediving in Week 2 with one of the worst pick records I’ve ever had, the column rebounded in Week 3 with an .810 percentage to push my overall tally over .700 again.
As for this week’s Big Country Preps Game of the Week, Mr. Yale Youngblood will be on hand in Tolar to cover Comanche’s road game with the Rattlers in what should be a fun one.
I’ll be heading to Ballinger, where the Bearcats (3-0) will play host to Brady (2-1) in a battle of upstarts.
Let’s dive into this week’s picks:
De Leon 52, Valley Mills 27 — Lane Couch rushed for 204 yards and two touchdowns, while Heston Jobe had a big game on the ground and through the air to lift the Bearcats to a comfortable win over the Eagles.
Jobe passed for 159 yards and three touchdowns and rushed for 130 yards and two more scores to help De Leon (2-1) build a 40-14 lead by halftime. The junior quarterback had touchdown passes to Jake Cooper (5-51), Bryce Burkeen (1-40) and Max Jones (1-40) in the win.
LAST WEEK: 46-28, .621
SEASON TOTAL: 94-48, .661
Abysmal.
That’s about the only adjective that comes to mind when trying to describe my Big Country football picks, which are off to the single worst start through two weeks that I’ve ever experienced in 18 years of covering area football.
A percentage of .621 after two weeks of play is beatable by throwing darts, flipping coins, or even consulting with your local horoscope page. Yet here I sit, trying to dig myself out of the hole I’ve created. But enough of that, Glen Rose at Brownwood is our Big Country Preps Game of the Week, in a week filled with interesting matchups.
Let’s have a look at them:
Sometimes, the biggest stage creates the biggest performances.
And in the Big Country, the stage doesn’t get any bigger than the annual Abilene – Abilene Cooper matchup — one of the biggest rivalries in the state of Texas and arguably the biggest in our area (though you may get an argument from Brownwood-Stephenville).
Friday night with much of the city of Abilene paying attention, AHS quarterback Brayden Henry had a memorable night, hitting 15 of 19 throws for 216 yards passing and two TDs.
Ballinger 21, Christoval 0 — Cade Strube threw for 100 yards and two touchdowns and Aiden Pena piled up 183 yards on the ground to fuel the Bearcats to their second consecutive win to open the season.
Ballinger, which went 0-10 a year ago, scored one touchdown in each of the first three quarters and kept the Cougars off the board the entire game to continue their hot start to the 2024 campaign.
Ballinger 28, Merkel 10 — Kyson Weathers ran for one touchdown and threw for another to help the Bearcats snap a 10-game losing streak dating back to the start of the 2023 season.
Ballinger, which led 21-3 by halftime and stretched its lead to 28-3 before Merkel finally scored its only touchdown in the fourth quarter, also got rushing touchdowns from Aiden Pena and Jaylin Washington.
LAST WEEK: 0-0, .000
SEASON TOTAL: 00-00, .000
Week 1 is often loaded with difficult picks and 2024 is no exception.
Our first slate of games this year has a number of contests that could have qualified for the Big Country Preps Game of the Week. But we finally settled on Albany at Stamford for the spotlight.
The two-time defending state 2A DII state champions, minus several key players lost to graduation, facing a Stamford club bringing back most of its skill and a ton of speed.
Opening the 2023 season behind senior standout Jadin Jackson, Brayden Torres wasn’t expected to get a ton of snaps for Coleman as a sophomore. But an early-season injury to Jackson opened up an opportunity for the young quarterback — and he seized it.
Torres’ efforts in relief of the multi-year starter were enough to earn him the starting job permanently, allowing the multi-talented Jackson to impact games from multiple positions upon his return. The result of that configuration was a another successful season for the Bluecats, who finished 9-3 and reached the playoffs for the third consecutive year.
An additional consequence of the decision was the full season of experience Torres gained behind center, which both he and his coach feel will springboard him on to an even more successful campaign as a junior.
Over the past two years, the only thing separating the Coleman Bluecats from a potential run of district championships was a Tolar squad that won a combined 27 games in that span.
With the Rattlers making the move back to Class 3A Division II and off the Bluecats’ schedule, coach John Elder’s program will set its sights on the District 5-2A Division I title in 2024.
CHS, which brings back all but six of its 21 lettermen from last year’s 9-3 squad, has reason to believe that’s a reachable goal. But with all six of their 2023 graduates vacating two-way starting spots, the Bluecats will need some new faces to emerge around their core of returning playmakers to achieve it.
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. 21. 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 Aug. 5, we’ll be spotlighting each 11-man team in the area and posing some of the key questions they’ll face in 2024 as part of our annual “Countdown to Two-a-Days” series.
Today, we stay in Class 2A Division I with the Coleman Bluecats.
Continue reading “COUNTDOWN TO TWO-A-DAYS: The Coleman Bluecats … 27 days to two-a-days”
OTHER 2024 ALL-BIG COUNTRY PREPS TEAMS
Our All-Big Country Preps Softball and Baseball Teams, released Wednesday and Thursday, respectively, are in place to honor those who achieved the most on-field success in 2024. It is off the field, however, where character, grit, and work ethic are often measured. And it is with our Big Country Preps All-Hustle Team that we wish to honor those players, male and female, who were (simply put) the hardest-working, best teammates in the area this spring.
This team isn’t about who the best baseball and softball players were.
The All-Hustle team honors effort, discipline, toughness, coachability and selflessness — traits that coaches wish they had in every player and upon which championships are built.
It is for that reason that this team is largely selected by area coaches and described in their own words.
Big Country Preps is now honored to present these individuals to you — the best team players (boys and girls) that the the Big Country had to offer during the 2024 season.
The players below are listed in no particular order.
Digital photos, prints and keepsakes may be purchased by clicking the link below. The “BigCountryPreps.com” watermark will be removed from all purchased photos.
Continue reading “PHOTO GALLERY: 2024 State LineMAN Challenge (165 images)”
Digital photos, prints and keepsakes may be purchased by clicking the link below. The “BigCountryPreps.com” watermark will be removed from all purchased photos.
Continue reading “PHOTO GALLERY: Hawley 7-on-7 state qualifying tournament (29 images)”
Here are the recaps of the Big Country softball playoff results in the second round of the postseason: Continue reading “SOFTBALL PLAYOFF ROUNDUP: Despite weather, 12 area teams advance to third round with Bangs-Stamford outcome still pending”
AUSTIN — After area Class 3A and 4A competitors opened the UIL Track & Field State Meet with a combined 10 medals on Thursday, Big Country Preps athletes took partial ownership of the medal stand at Mike A. Meyers Stadium at the University of Texas on Friday in the Class 2A and 5A portions of the event.
Area athletes combined to claim 18 medals on the day, with Hico junior Kaylee Hunt joining Goldthwaite seniors Lainey Jernigan and Hope Hermesmeyer in a dominating performance.
The trio combined for six medals on the day as Goldthwaite, Stamford and Hico all posted top-five finishes in the 2A girls team competition.
CLYDE — The Haskell softball team scored early and often Tuesday, pounding out 18 hits in just four trips to the plate on their way to a 16-0 win over Coleman in a single-game Region I-2A playoff at the Hanner Sports Complex.
The Maidens got at least one hit from eight of their nine starters and had six players notch multi-hit games, while pitcher Paige Scheets was nothing short of dominant in a five-inning one-hitter.
The victory improved Haskell to 19-4 on the year and earned the Maidens a trip to the I-2A quarterfinals, where they’ll face off with the winner between Cisco and Miles next week.
Here are the area’s baseball statistical leaders through April 25.
Statistics are from throughout the Big Country Preps circulation area as submitted by coaches. These lists will be continually updated as we receive more submissions.
Here are the area’s baseball statistical leaders through April 18.
Statistics are from throughout the Big Country Preps circulation area as submitted by coaches. These lists will be continually updated as we receive more submissions.
Here are the area’s softball statistical leaders through April 18.
With the end of the regular season, this will be our FINAL softball leaders posting for 2024.
Statistics are from throughout the Big Country Preps circulation area as submitted by coaches. These lists will be continually updated as we receive more submissions.
At 4 p.m. on Friday, District 7-2A fans will be treated to the biggest game of the 2024 baseball season: the rematch between 8-2 Coleman and 8-2 Bangs on the Bluecats’ home field that will likely decide the league title.
The Colemen faithful are hoping — and probably expecting — that senior shortstop/pitcher Kaden Johnson will play a significant role in the outcome. That’s because Johnson might be having the best overall season of anyone in the region.
In this week’s Big Country Preps statistical leaders update, Johnson’s name was among the top five in each of the following categories: batting average (.583), on-base percentage (.643), doubles (12), triples (7), home runs (2), RBIs (27) and steals (19).
Here are the area’s softball statistical leaders through April 11.
Statistics are from throughout the Big Country Preps circulation area as submitted by coaches. These lists will be continually updated as we receive more submissions.
While we normally try to share the love in our Big Country Preps Player of the Week column, five district titles in one week isn’t easy to sidestep.
And while Wall’s Briggs Jones has already pulled down our award once this year, he earned a second with his showing at the District 6-3A meet in Clyde last week by sweeping the long jump (23-2), the triple jump (44-10.75), the 200 meters (21.92), the 100 meters (10.72) and assisting the 800 relay team to gold with a 1:29.68 split.
Here are the area’s baseball statistical leaders through April 4.
Statistics are from throughout the Big Country Preps circulation area as submitted by coaches. These lists will be continually updated as we receive more submissions.
Here are the area’s softball statistical leaders through April 4.
Statistics are from throughout the Big Country Preps circulation area as submitted by coaches. These lists will be continually updated as we receive more submissions.
Here are the area’s baseball statistical leaders through March 28.
Statistics are from throughout the Big Country Preps circulation area as submitted by coaches. These lists will be continually updated as we receive more submissions.
Here are the area’s softball statistical leaders through March 28.
Statistics are from throughout the Big Country Preps circulation area as submitted by coaches. These lists will be continually updated as we receive more submissions.
Scoring and rebounding is only part of the story when it comes to basketball. Behind the scenes and beyond the view of the public, is where character is often measured. And it is with our Big Country Preps Gym Rat Team that we salute the individuals who exude the most of it.
This team isn’t about who the best players are, though some of the area’s top players are on this list.
The Gym Rat team is about effort, discipline, toughness, coachability and selflessness — traits that coaches love above all else and upon which championship foundations are built.
It is for that reason that our Gym Rat team is selected entirely by area coaches, described in their own words. And Big Country Preps is absolutely honored to present these individuals to you — the best “team players” (boys and girls) that the area had to offer during the 2023-24 season.
Players are listed in no particular order.
Enjoy.
Here is our 2024 All-Big Country Preps boys basketball Rising Stars team, comprised of the top freshmen and sophomores in the area. For the rest of this year’s boys and girls basketball selections, click the links below.
Here is our 2024 All-Big Country Preps girls basketball Rising Stars team, comprised of the top freshmen and sophomores in the area. For the rest of this year’s boys and girls basketball selections, click the links below.
SWEETWATER — There were two things that the Coleman girls basketball team hoped wouldn’t come into play in their Region I-2A area round matchup with No. 5 New Home: depth and physicality.
Unfortunately for the Bluekatts, both wound up playing crucial roles as the Lady Leopards took a 39-24 win at Mustang Gym on Thursday night.
Even with the heartbreaking loss, Coleman coach Taylor Neal had nothing but praise for how her squad played.
Digital photos, prints and keepsakes may be purchased by clicking the link below. The “BigCountryPreps.com” watermark will be removed from all purchased photos.
Continue reading “PHOTO GALLERY: Coleman-New Home girls basketball playoff (49 images)”