Here are the Big Country’s receiving leaders through Week 11:
Category: Cross Plains Buffaloes
Big Country football playoff pairings, results
Here are the updated Big Country football playoff pairings, results:
Continue reading “Big Country football playoff pairings, results”
District 8-2A Div. II Week 11 Report: Hico can’t complete rally in nondistrict loss to Gruver
Gruver 40, Hico 29 — The only team in this district in action after picking up a nondistrict game in Week 11, the Tigers couldn’t complete a second-half rally in a competitive loss to the Greyhounds.
Hico (3-8, 2-3) trailed 20-15 at halftime and twice trimmed two-score leads to single digits in the second half — at 26-23 midway through the third quarter and 34-29 early in the fourth — but that was as close as it would get to the lead after halftime.
Angel Gonzalez passed for 198 yards and one touchdown and rushed for 147 yards and two scores to lead the Tigers, who wrapped up the No. 4 playoff seed out of this district with their Oct. 22 win over Meridian. They’ll open the postseason next week against District 7 champion Windthorst (9-1, 4-0).
District 8-2A Div. II Week 10 Report: Albany pulls away from Cross Plains for title
Albany 35, Cross Plains 0 — Leading 6-0 at halftime, the Lions outscored the Buffaloes 22-0 in the third quarter to turn a tight defensive ballgame into a rout and claim the outright district title in the regular season finale for Albany.
Albany (8-1, 5-0) rushed for 242 yards as a team, getting 132 yards from Jaheim Newton and 43 yards and two touchdowns from Coy Lefevre. Quarterback Barrett Beal, meanwhile, passed for 149 yards with a touchdown to Cole Chapman (4-87 receiving) and an interception.
Cross Plains, the No. 2 playoff seed out of this district, fell to 7-2 overall and 3-1 in league play heading into a scheduled game against Meridian next week.
District 8-2A Div. II Week 9 Report: Hico boosts playoff hopes with shutout of Meridian
Hico 17, Meridian 0 — The Tigers picked up a huge win for their playoff hopes, shutting out the Yellowjackets to snap a seven-game losing streak.
Putting together one scoring drive in each of the first three quarters, Hico (2-7, 1-3) increased a 14-0 halftime lead to 17 points by the start of the fourth quarter and closed things out from there.
District 8-2A Div. II Week 8 Report: Albany blanks Ranger for fourth straight shutout
Albany 61, Ranger 0 — The Lions raced out to a 34-0 first-quarter lead on the Bulldogs and coasted from there to their fourth consecutive shutout victory.
Albany (6-1, 3-0) rushed for 331 yards in the win, getting at least 50 yards and at least one touchdown from five players. Brooks Neece led all rushers with 84 yards and a score on just five carries, while Taren Farmer (9-79, 1 TD), Jaheim Newton (3-60, 1 TD), Isaiah Dockins (4-57, 2 TDs) and Coy Lefevre (1-51, 1 TD) all also had productive days.
FEATURE: Cross Plains’ McWilliams the last in a long line of hard workers from the same family
CROSS PLAINS — During his nine-year tenure at Cross Plains as both a track and football coach, Daniel Purvis has openly displayed an affinity for tough, hard-working, blue-collar types.
One family in particular — the McWilliamses — has not only typified the type of players Purvis wants on his team, but they have, through four siblings, spanned the entirety of his coaching career with the Buffaloes.
The last of the McWilliams boys to venture through Purvis’ program, 17-year-old senior Cody, is currently sitting atop the Buffaloes’ rushing statistics — a fact that for Purvis, comes as no surprise.
PHOTO GALLERY: Santo-Cross Plains football (50 images)
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GAME STORY: Cross Plains defense dominates in 27-14 win over Santo
CROSS PLAINS — Friday night’s clash between Cross Plains and Santo was destined to be a District 8-2A Division II semifinal of sorts with the winner being in good position for a showdown against Albany later this year for the district championship.
Coach Daniel Purvis’ Buffaloes squad was up to the challenge, forcing eight turnovers on its way to a 27-14 win at Buffalo Stadium.
With the win, Cross Plains improved to 6-1 on the year and 2-0 in district play. Santo, meanwhile, fell to 4-3 overall and 1-1 in district.
District 8-2A Div. II Week 7 Report: Albany continues roll with third straight shutout
Albany 55, Hico 0 — The Lions pitched their third consecutive shutout, following lopsided wins over Haskell (43-0) and Meridian (60-0) with another over Hico.
Albany (5-1, 2-0), which scored 28 first-quarter points on its way to a 42-0 halftime lead, finished the game with 511 yards — 350 rushing and 161 passing.
Coy Lefevre led the effort with 190 yards and five touchdowns on just nine carries, while Isaiah Dockins rushed for 86 yards and two scores on 11 attempts. Quarterback Barrett Beal was efficient in the passing game, hitting eight of 12 passes for 161 yards and a score against the Tigers (1-6, 0-2).
District 8-2A Div. II Week 6 Report: Albany routs Meridian to open league play
Albany 60, Meridian 0 — Leading 13-0 after a quarter, the eighth-ranked Lions exploded for 27 points in the second quarter to put the Yellowjackets away by halftime in the district opener for both squads.
Albany (4-1, 1-0) gained 380 of its 468 yards on the ground, rushing for six total touchdowns in the win. Jaheim Newton (10-133, 1 TDs) led all rushers, while Isaiah Dockins (10-94, 4 TDs) also had a big game.
Meridian, which fell to 2-3 overall and 0-1 in league play, finished the game with minus-49 total yards, rushing for negative-58 yards on 24 carries.
BIG COUNTRY PREPS FEATURE: Cross Plains sophomore a rising star in the 1A Cross Country scene
CROSS PLAINS — Five months ago, Cross Plains’ Katie Goins was looking at a promising freshman track season in ruins. 
Having already broken the school record in the 200 meters at 26.6 as a ninth grader, to go with a 59.0 split with a potentially state-bound 400 relay team, Goins had to sit things out with everyone else due to COVID-19.
She is now making up for lost time — so much so, that she, within the span of a few months, has become one of the area’s top distance runners at any high school level.
District 8-2A Div. II Week 5 Report: Cross Plains dominates Miles
Cross Plains 41, Miles 12 — The Buffaloes put together one of their most complete performances of the year Friday, outgaining the Bulldogs 372-160 in a thorough victory.
Cason Allen rushed for 173 yards and a touchdown while Cody McWilliams added 163 yards and four scores to fuel Cross Plains, which led 21-0 by halftime.
The Buffs (4-1), who also got an efficient game from quarterback Justin Gresham (5-7-0—93, 1 TD), will have next week off before opening league play Oct. 9 at Hico.
BIG COUNTRY PREPS GAME OF THE WEEK: Hawley tangles with upstart Dragons (w/ Evan Ren’s Big Country picks)
LAST WEEK: 36-12, .750
SEASON TOTAL: 152-47, .763
I have not been to Bangs for a Game of the Week since 2013 — the last time the Dragons posted more than six wins in a season and the last winning record they had prior to last year’s 6-5 mark.
That drought ends tomorrow, when I travel to BHS for an interesting showdown between the Dragons (3-0) and Class 2A Division I power Hawley (3-1).
Bangs has the better overall numbers, but Hawley has faced a slightly tougher overall schedule, making this pick a perplexing one.
District 8-2A Div. II Week 4 Report: Albany bounces back to shut out Haskell
Albany 43, Haskell 0 — The Lions bounced back from last week’s loss to Hamlin with a strong showing Friday, racing out to a 29-0 halftime lead and cruising from there to a shutout win over their former district mates.
Albany outgained Haskell 467-6, getting 211 yards passing and two touchdowns from quarterback Barrett Beal and 147 yards and one TD rushing from Jaheim Newton.
The Lions, now 3-1, will look to build on this win next week when they travel to Anson to take on the 3-1 Tigers.
Big Country Preps’ Pick ‘Em Panel (Week 4)
Each week here at Big Country Preps, we’ll post our picks for all of that week’s 11-man games, in addition to the results of Evan Ren’s Twitter polls for each matchup.
For those interested in voting, polls go up on Monday night each week and close Thursday morning.
Disagree with our picks or the Twitter consensus? Let us know in the comments section below.
Continue reading “Big Country Preps’ Pick ‘Em Panel (Week 4)”
BIG COUNTRY PREPS GAME OF THE WEEK: Jim Ned heads to Cisco for interclass showdown
LAST WEEK: 42-9, .824
SEASON TOTAL: 116-35, .740
Week 4 arrives and I’m finally hitting my stride on pick accuracy.
It’s been an odd year thus far, both in terms of results and overall feel. It’s been tough to gauge.
Nonetheless, we’re hitting the road once again this Friday, with the Big Country Preps Game of the Week landing at Chesley Field in Cisco, where the Loboes (2-1) will play host to a Jim Ned club that is two divisions larger than they are.
