Here are the Big Country’s passing leaders through Week 1:
Category: Cross Plains Buffaloes
CAPITAL FARM CREDIT/BCP PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Dublin’s Chris Teten snags our first award of the school year
Prior to the season, we listed Dublin’s Chris Teten among our Top 10 area quarterbacks to watch in 2021. And he wasted no time in demonstrating why.
Only a junior, Teten threw for 310 yards and five scores in a 43-14 win over area rival De Leon to capture our first Capital Farm Credit/Big Country Preps Player of the Week award for the 2020-21 school year.
Hitting 16 of 26 throws, Teten threw a 69-yard TD pass on the first play from scrimmage, setting the tone for the rest of the evening. With the game in hand, he played a little more than a half before being taken out.
District 8-2A Div. II Week 1 Report: Santo rallies past Rio Vista in opener
Santo 14, Rio Vista 12 — Trailing 12-8 heading into the final quarter, the Wildcats got a five-yard touchdown run from Sam Henderson with a little more than eight minutes remaining in the game to earn a come-from-behind win over the Eagles.
Santo (1-0) was outgained 228-177 and lost the turnover battle 2-1, but the Wildcats were able to make the plays they needed down the stretch to get the victory.
The Wildcats, who rushed for 141 yards on 35 carries, were led by Jake Bryan (8-48 rushing), Hutson Thornton (3-43, 1 TD rushing; 1-36 receiving) and Henderson (7-37, 1 TD rushing). Rio Vista (0-1) gained all but 17 of its yards through the air.
BIG COUNTRY PREPS GAME OF THE WEEK: Stephenville play host to Sweetwater (w/ Evan Ren’s Big Country Picks)
LAST WEEK: 0-0, .000
SEASON TOTAL 0-0, .000
At last, here we are.
The 2021 football season has arrived, giving us a much-needed diversion every Friday night, in isolated spots all over Central Texas. As always, I will endeavor to pick the winner of all our area games, from Class 1A through Class 6A, with the top matchup serving as our Big Country Preps Game of the Week.
Our first spotlight game should come as no surprise, with long-time Hamlin coach Russell Lucas debuting as the head coach of the Sweetwater Mustangs — one of the most -storied programs in the Big Country.
Their opposition?
The Stephenville Yellow Jackets at Tarleton State’s Memorial Stadium.
With that, let’s dive into the picks, shall we?
BCP Football Preseason Position Rankings: Quarterbacks
After a week of highlighting area playmakers, we wrap up our eight-part preseason position rankings series with the Big Country’s best signal callers.
To complete our look at the area’s top players, we’ve ranked our top 10 quarterbacks with a list of others to watch in 2021.
We hope you enjoy this list and that you’ve enjoyed our position rankings as we get set to kickoff a new season.
BCP Football Preseason Position Rankings: Running Backs
As we wind down our eight-part preseason position rankings series, we arrive finally at the Big Country’s top ball-carriers.
After breaking down this year’s crop of receivers and tight ends Monday, we move now to the area’s top backs, ranking our top 10 with a list of others to watch in 2021. Don’t forget to check in Wednesday night when we conclude our series with the top 10 area quarterbacks.
We hope you enjoy tonight’s list and encourage you to check out the other position groups, which are linked below.
BCP Football Preseason Position Rankings: Wide Receivers/Tight Ends
We’re approaching the final stretch of our eight-part preseason position rankings series, and it’s time to look at the Big Country’s top pass-catchers.
After starting the offensive portion of our series Sunday with the linemen, we now shift our attention to the playmakers on the perimeter, ranking our top 10 wide receivers/tight ends with a list of others to watch in 2021.
We hope you enjoy our list and encourage you to check out the other position groups, which are linked below.
BCP Football Preseason Position Rankings: Offensive Linemen
With the defensive and special teams rankings behind us, it’s time to look at the area’s top offensive players. And we’ll start with the foundation of any productive offense: the offensive line.
For the fifth installment of our eight-part preseason position rankings series, we turn our attention to the trenches, ranking the Big Country’s top 10 offensive linemen with a list of others to watch in 2021.
We hope you enjoy reading through our rankings.
BCP Football Preseason Position Rankings: Kickers/Punters
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 10 kickers and top three 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 2021 season.
BCP Football Preseason Position Rankings: Defensive Backs
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 2021.
We hope you enjoy our list.
BCP Football Preseason Position Rankings: Linebackers
After taking a look at the Big Country’s top defensive linemen on Wednesday, it’s now time to examine those who will backing them in 2021.
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.
BCP Football Preseason Position Rankings: Defensive Linemen
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 2021.
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.
2021 DISTRICT PREDICTIONS: Evan and Daniel make their picks
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.
So dive in and study our take on the upcoming season, along with the more than 80 preseason stories we posted earlier today. Enjoy! We’ll see you on the road.
EVAN REN: The top area games worth traveling to in 2021
Every year, one of the things I look forward to most, is mapping out the upcoming football season — charting the games I believe will have the greatest impact.
First and foremost, it’s a preseason menu for area fans who enjoy driving to some of the Big Country’s best football games on a weekly basis. Call it a football roadmap of sorts.
CROSS PLAINS FEATURE: Undersized D-lineman Conlee knows one speed
CROSS PLAINS — At 5-foot-8 and 180 pounds, Cross Plains junior Riley Conlee isn’t built like your prototypical defensive lineman.
And truth be told, if he had his way, he might be toting the football and running sprints with the track team in addition to chasing down ball-carriers in the backfield.
But the Buffaloes’ diminutive disrupter is so good at what he does, his niche seems more like a calling. And you’d be hard pressed to find a Big Country player of any size that makes a bigger impact on a game — or his team — than Conlee does.
2021 CROSS PLAINS FOOTBALL PREVIEW: Speedy Buffs poised for another strong campaign
CROSS PLAINS — Coming off their fifth consecutive winning season, marking the longest stretch of sustained success in program history, the Cross Plains Buffaloes appear poised to extend that streak this fall.
With 11 lettermen returning from last year’s 8-3 squad, including seven starters on both sides of the football, coach Daniel Purvis’ 2021 team looks a lot like the ones that posted a combined 36-20 record from 2016-2020.
While there are still some significant questions to answer — chief among them, who will man the quarterback position — the Buffs are confident they’ll put another formidable club on the field. And if things break right, they feel this could be the year they finally break through a second-round playoff barrier that has existed since the program’s inception in 1924.
COUNTDOWN TO TWO-A-DAYS: Cross Plains Buffaloes
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 Saturday, Aug. 14. 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. 2, we’ll be spotlighting each 11-man team in the area and posing some of the key questions they’ll face in 2021 as part of our annual “Countdown to Two-a-Days” series.
We continue in Class 2A Division II with the Cross Plains Buffaloes. On Sunday we will take a look at the Hico Tigers, followed by the Santo Wildcats on Monday.
PHOTO GALLERY: Eula-Cross Plains baseball playoff (50 images)
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LINK … GAME STORY: Fast start propels Eula to 7-5 win over Cross Plains in series opener
GAME STORY: Fast start propels Eula to 7-5 win over Cross Plains in series opener
A big first inning put Eula up 4-0 and the Pirates never trailed after that in handing Cross Plains a 7-5 loss in Game 1 of a best-of-three Region I-1A bi-district baseball series Thursday at Abilene Cooper’s Cougar Field.
EHS took advantage of two hits and three Cross Plains errors during that first inning, which staked starter Paxton Rock to an advantage he’d never relinquish in earning a complete-game win.
The victory gives the Pirates a chance to close out the series on Friday when the two teams return to Cougar Field at 4 p.m. for Game 2. Game 3, if necessary, would be played 30 minutes after the conclusion of the second game.
LIVE: State Track and Field Meet medalists and Big Country Placings (DAY 1)
CHECK FOR LIVE UPDATES THROUGHOUT THE DAY AT BIGCOUNTRYPREPS.COM
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EVAN REN: Handicapping the boys state track meet.
Having already released our picks for the girls state track meet earlier this evening, we now present the boys event, using the same approach.
We’ll comb through each event involving a Big Country athlete (or athletes) and assess if they are favorites, dark horses or long shots to get on the medal stand.
Let’s not waste any time. Let’s dive in.
EVAN REN: Picking the favorites, dark horses and longshots at the girls state track meet
I don’t care who you are — even if you’re a non-fan when it comes to track and field.
The excitement of the state meet in Austin will capture your attention if you catch sight or sound of it. It’s inescapable.
And once per year, it is my pleasure to examine the multitude of Big Country athletes heading to Austin for the event and pick who we can expect to see on the medal stand from our area.
Let’s begin with the girls side, looking at each event in which a Big Country athlete has qualified for state.
Big Country baseball statistical leaders for 2021 (through April 29)
Here are the area’s baseball statistical leaders through April 29:
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.
CAPITAL FARM CREDIT/BCP PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Clyde’s Phillips earns this week’s spotlight
In a week filled with unforgettable moments, several of our nominees handed in by area coaches could justifiably be called our Capital Farm Credit/BCP Player of the Week.
We finally settled on Clyde sophomore Payton Phillips, who stunned attendees at the Region I-3A meet by taking gold in both the long jump (18 feet, 6 inches) and the 100 hurdles (15.12) — breaking school records that were 25 and 15 years old, respectively.
Big Country softball statistical leaders (through April 22)
Here are the area’s softball statistical leaders through April 22:
Statistics are from throughout the Big Country Preps circulation area as submitted by coaches as of April 22. These lists will be continually updated as we receive more submissions.
Big Country baseball statistical leaders (through April 22)
Here are the area’s baseball statistical leaders through April 22:
Statistics are from throughout the Big Country Preps circulation area as submitted by coaches as of April 22. These lists will be continually updated as we receive more submissions.
Big Country Baseball statistical leaders (April 15)
Here are the area’s baseball statistical leaders through April 15:
Statistics are from throughout the Big Country Preps circulation area as submitted by coaches as of April 15. These lists will be continually updated as we receive more submissions.
Big Country Softball statistical leaders (April 15)
Here are the area’s softball statistical leaders through April 15:
Statistics are from throughout the Big Country Preps circulation area as submitted by coaches as of April 15. These lists will be continually updated as we receive more submissions.
