After recognizing the top defensive players throughout the Big Country over the past three days, it’s time to honor the specialists.
We continue our eight-part preseason position rankings series by naming our top eight kickers and top eight punters to watch this fall.
We hope you enjoy this list and that you have enjoyed our position rankings as we get set to kickoff the 2022 season.
After starting with the linemen and linebackers, we turn to the defensive backfield to complete our look at the top defenders in the Big Country.
For the third installment in our eight-part preseason position rankings series, we shift our focus to the secondary, giving our list of the area’s top-10 defensive backs and others to look out for in 2022.
We hope you enjoy our list.
After taking a look at the Big Country’s top defensive linemen on Saturday, it’s now time to examine those who will backing them in 2022.
Continuing with Big Country Preps’ eight-part preseason position rankings series, here’s our top 10 linebackers to watch this fall, as well as a list of the others we’re expecting big things from.
We hope you enjoy our list.
With the start of football season around the corner, it’s time to take a look at the players who will be making the biggest impact in 2022.
For the first installment in an eight-part series that will cover all position groups, we’ll be taking a look at the area’s top defensive linemen, ranking our top 10 with a list of others to watch this fall.
As with any such list, these rankings are subjective. We hope you enjoy reading through them.
Without further ado, it is time for us to make our Big Country predictions, district-by-district.
This is the culmination of several weeks of research and two solid months of summertime labor, so we’re more than ready to post it.
New Colorado City coach Monty Leaf has West Texas football in his blood.
The son of longtime coach Buster Leaf, who spent the bulk of his 24-year head coaching career in Lubbock and the surrounding area, Monty has a greater appreciation and familiarity than most with football in this region.
So when he had the chance to move from Eustace, where he went 7-12 over two seasons, to Colorado City, the younger Coach Leaf couldn’t pass up the opportunity.
Despite the Wolves’ recent struggles — they’ve won just one game in the last three seasons — Leaf sees his newest challenge as exactly that: an opportunity. And he plans to tackle it with an infectious energy and optimism that he hopes will rub off on his players over time.
First-year Colorado City football coach Monty Leaf knows the Wolves’ record the past three years. He just doesn’t see any value in discussing it or what role it plays in assessing his team’s chances of competing this season.
Ultimately, he said, it won’t be the past that dictates whether or not C-City is successful in 2022. It will be the decisions made and level of execution in the present and future.
And even though the players he’s inheriting have yet to experience winning football on a personal level, he’s seen plenty to like in his short time on campus.
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. 17. 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. 1, we’ll be spotlighting each 11-man team in the area and posing some of the key questions they’ll face in 2022 as part of our annual “Countdown to Two-a-Days” series.
We stay in Class 2A Division I with the Colorado City Wolves. On Sunday we will take a look at the Hawley Bearcats, followed by the Stamford Bulldogs on Monday.
Continue reading “COUNTDOWN TO TWO-A-DAYS: Colorado City Wolves”
OTHER 2022 ALL-BIG COUNTRY PREPS TEAMS
Character, grit and work ethic aren’t seen in a box score. And it is with our Big Country Preps All-Hustle Team that we wish to honor those players (male and female) who exemplify those qualities.
The All-Hustle team isn’t about who the best baseball and softball players were. It honors the best teammates.
It is here where effort, discipline and coachability — traits that coaches wish they had in every player and upon which championships are built — are honored.
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 Big Country had to offer during the 2022 baseball and softball seasons.
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: Hamlin-Colorado City regional semifinal Game 1 (37 images)”
It took 33 combined hits, five doubles, a triple, three homeruns, six errors and nearly two hours and 45 minutes to finally decide it.
But by night’s end, the Hamlin Lady Pipers prevailed in Game 1 of a Region I-2A semifinal with Colorado City, outlasting the Lady Wolves 18-11 in a slugfest at Abilene Christian University.
Samantha Gonzalez was 3 for 5 with a homer and four RBIs and Emalee Duniven was 3 for 4 with a double and four runs scored to lead Hamlin (22-6), which can close out the series with a win in Game 2 on Saturday at 11 a.m. in Snyder. Game 3, if needed, will begin 30 minutes after Game 2.
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: Colorado City-Hamilton baseball playoff (26 images)”
Back-to-back shutouts.
Under normal circumstances, that’s enough to capture the Capital Farm Credit/BCP Player of the Week award.
But when one of the shutouts is a no-hitter, that’s a rock-solid insurance policy.
In a week loaded with top-flight performances, Big Country Preps would have had a difficult time choosing the Capital Farm Credit Player of the Week.
But Stephenville pole vaulter Ben Kirbo made the decision easy by accomplishing something which hasn’t been done by a Stephenville track athlete in nearly three decades.
It’s difficult to top back-to-back shutouts when searching for a Player of the Week, especially when one of the vanquished is a solid team from a higher classification.
That was the case last week for Colorado City softball pitcher Kaci Rivera, who held both Big Spring (7-0) and Borden County (6-0) to a goose egg, with 23 strikeouts in 14 innings of work.
Our Capital Farm Credit/BCP Player of the Week allowed only five total hits in the two games, to go with two walks.
“Kaci has really started to show her dominance on the mound,” coach Krysten Marr said. “She is a fierce competitor on both sides of the ball and we are excited to see how she does going into district play.”
Here are the updated Big Country boys basketball playoff pairings, results through March 5:
Continue reading “Big Country boys basketball playoff pairings, results (March 5)”
Below are the final regular season statistical leaders for Big Country boys basketball in 2022.
This database has been continually updated for our subscribers throughout the season, using only those statistics submitted by area coaches.
Each Thursday night, Big Country Preps will publish area boys and girls basketball statistical leaders.
This database will be continually updated for our subscribers throughout the remainder of the season, using only those statistics submitted by area coaches.
Teams that do not submit their statistics in a given week will not be listed when our stats are posted, but will be added to the lists below as they are received in the coming days.
While icy road conditions may have changed the UIL’s method of delivering the news, the results of its biennial realignment still offered the usual mix of surprises on Thursday.
Held via live feed over the internet, area coaches learned their fate on the web.
Topping the list of stunners for area teams would be the shift of Brownwood from its centralized home in District 5-4A DI to the far west in District 2. There, the Lions will join Big Spring, Lubbock Estacado, San Angelo Lake View and Andrews — the last of which will produce a 480-mile round trip.
What appeared to be a slow year for the Big Country on the signing front quickly blossomed into something memorable in 2022.
With National Signing Day taking place on Wednesday, the Big Country Preps coverage area finished with multiple Division I signees, including several on the gridiron.
Each Thursday night, Big Country Preps will publish area boys and girls basketball statistical leaders.
This database will be continually updated for our subscribers throughout the remainder of the season, using only those statistics submitted by area coaches.
Teams that do not submit their statistics in a given week will not be listed when our stats are posted, but will be added to the lists below as they are received in the coming days.
Each Thursday night, Big Country Preps will publish area boys and girls basketball statistical leaders.
This database will be continually updated for our subscribers throughout the remainder of the season, using only those statistics submitted by area coaches.
Teams that do not submit their statistics in a given week will not be listed when our stats are posted, but will be added to the lists below as they are received in the coming days.
Evan and Dan go over the 2021 All-Big Country Preps Football Team, plus Player of the Year, Offensive and Defensive MVPs, Coach of the Year and more!
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, takes pride in being coachable but seldom needs direction.
He always sets the right example for younger players. He doesn’t gripe and, above all else, he’s tough enough to make all the aforementioned traits possible.
Know someone like that? Here is where they are honored.
Welcome to Big Country Preps’ “True Grit” team — a collection of area players nominated by their head coaches, who exemplify the character traits football mentors want throughout their roster.
Not all of them are great players. In fact, many of them will never play a down of college football. But every single one of them is making the most of their high school football experience and has helped those around them do the same.
We are absolutely honored to present these young men to you — the toughest, hardest-working football players the Big Country had to offer in 2021.
While our All-Big Country Preps Volleyball team is in place to honor those who achieved the most on-court success, our “Max Effort” team is something much more uncommon.
This is a special accolade, which has nothing to do with talent or stats.
It is here where character, grit and work ethic — traits that coaches wish every player had — are recognized. It is here where we honor the best teammates and best citizens that area volleyball has to offer.
It is for that reason that this team is selected by area coaches and described in their own words.
Big Country Preps is now honored to present these individuals to you — the hardest-working, toughest volleyball players in the Big Country. Ladies and gentlemen: Our 2021 Big Country Preps Max Effort Team.
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.
Haskell 37, Stamford 20 —Haskell overcame four turnovers to chalk up its second straight win and secure the No. 3 seed in district.
The Indians rushed for 219 yards as a team while limiting Stamford to 195 yards in total offense.
Haskell 35, Anson 18 —Carter Rankin threw for 207 yards and two scores and added a rushing TD to lead Haskell (3-6, 1-3) to a crucial district win at Anson which throws the possible playoff scenarios into complete turmoil.
With the score tied at 7-7 at the break, Haskell took the game over with a 28-8 run through the second half.
