Here are the Big Country’s receiving leaders through Week 8:
Category: De Leon Bearcats
DISTRICT 5-2A DI WEEK 8 REPORT: Hawley, Anson, De Leon notch wins
Hawley 35, Cisco 31 — Jagger Wiley threw for 240 yards and three scores and the Hawley Bearcats rushed for 190 yards and two scores as a team to hand Cisco an upset loss.
Hawley improved to 3-4 and 1-1; Cisco slipped to 4-3 and 1-1.
GAME STORY: De Leon dominates Hico 49-7 as Tigers shoot themselves in the paw
DE LEON — Through six games, the Hico Tigers had played relatively clean football, building a 6-0 record against moderate competition as a tough district slate approached.
Unfortunately for the Tigers, they picked the wrong evening to chart 11 penalties for 110 yards to go with two costly turnovers in a 49-7 loss to powerhouse De Leon.
Lane Couch rushed for 103 yards and two scores and Hud Price threw for 235 yards and two more TDs to lead De Leon (6-1, 2-0 District 5-2A DI), which led from the 7:50 mark of the first quarter until the final whistle.
BIG COUNTRY PREPS PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Haskell’s Pinkerton takes the trifecta
After only seven weeks of football this season, Haskell senior quarterback Haegan Pinkerton has put his stamp on our Big Country Preps Player of the Week award for a third time.
Believe me, we’d prefer to share the love. But with Pinkerton’s numbers, the teen has begun to turn this thing into a game of Monopoly, and he’s wearing the top hat.
Pinkerton, who led the Indians to a 92-48 win over Munday, hit 13 of 14 passes for 264 yards and five touchdowns on Friday. But that’s only the beginning.
DISTRICT 5-2A DI WEEK 7 REPORT: Hico, Cisco and De Leon win openers
Hico 51, Abilene TLCA 6 — Tyler Rainwater rushed for 224 yards and three scores and threw for 154 yards and two more scores to lead the Tigers over TLCA.
Hico (6-0, 1-0) finished with 582 yards in total offense.
Anson (3-2) — The Tigers were idle on Friday night.
DISTRICT 5-2A DI WEEK 5 REPORT: Anson, Cisco, TLCA, De Leon, Hico all chart victories
Anson 43, Breckenridge 19 — Grayson Feagan threw for 245 yards and four scores and rushed for 118 yards and another TD to lead Anson (3-2) to a win over Breckenridge.
Levii Diaz was another big contributor, rushing for 110 yards and one score on nine carries.
DISTRICT 5-2A DI WEEK 4 REPORT: Anson, Hico earn wins; Cisco, Hawley fall
Anson 48, Haskell 44 — Haskell (2-2) was involved in its fourth straight shootout, this time falling a bit short.
To date, the Indians have yet to score fewer than 44 points in a game and have yet to allow fewer than 42.
Anson leveled off at 2-2 with the win.
GAME STORY: Goldthwaite Eagles corral De Leon’s high-flying offense in 24-13 decision
Photos by Terry Thompson
GOLDTHWAITE — It wasn’t so surprising that the Goldthwaite Eagles beat the De Leon Bearcats 24-13 on Friday night at Gary Proffitt Stadium. Both teams came in 3-0 and were expecting their toughest test of the young football season.
But it was surprising that Goldthwaite’s defense limited De Leon’s high-flying offense to 13 points and 305 total yards. The Bearcats came in averaging 46 points and 450 yards per game.
GAME STORY: Unbeaten De Leon passes major test, beating No. 6 Albany 42-7
DE LEON — The general thinking was we’d find out how good a football team the unbeaten De Leon Bearcats were when they played the tradition-rich Albany Lions on Friday night.
This just in. The Bearcats are good. Really good.
Lane Couch rushed for 215 yards and three touchdowns, quarterback Hud Price passed for two TDs, and De Leon’s defense continued to shut down opponents as the Bearcats beat the Albany Lions 42-7 at Bearcat Field.
PHOTO GALLERY: De Leon-Stamford football (50 images)
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DISTRICT 5-2A DI WEEK 2 REPORT: Hico, Cisco, Hawley, De Leon all victorious
Hico 31, Cross Plains 14 — Tyler Rainwater threw for 201 yards and rushed for 108 with two TDs to lead Hico (2-0) to a win over Cross Plains (1-1).
The Buffaloes were led by William Albrecht, who passed for 96 yards and rushed for 83.
GAME STORY: De Leon wins the ‘middle 8’ in dominant fashion to beat Stamford
STAMFORD — On paper, Friday night’s game between Stamford and De Leon looked like it would be an exciting matchup after both squads put up magnificent offensive performances to open the season.
Stamford sophomore quarterback Miles Follis was coming off a 363-yard passing effort (No. 3 in the Big Country Preps coverage area) and had favorite target Slayden Young (9-215 receiving) ready to build off a week that saw him finish with the second-most receiving yards and third-highest catch total in the area.
On the other sideline, the Bearcats had Lane Couch, who had 14 carries for 351 yards in De Leon’s season opener.
When the two squads took to the field at Bill Anderson Stadium, though, it was all Bearcats as De Leon steamrolled Stamford for a 57-7 win.
BIG COUNTRY PREPS PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Haskell QB takes the first award of the school year with an insane effort
Before Haskell senior quarterback Haegen Pinkerton arrived at HHS as a freshman, the name of Pinkerton was something I associated with the famous detective agency.
I now associate it with statistical insanity, and you should associate it with the Big Country Preps Player of the Week.
Pinkerton, who was behind center in Haskell’s 80-62 loss to Stamford, had one of the biggest nights I can recollect in a losing effort, accounting for seven touchdowns on Friday.
Hitting 15 of 22 throws for 193 yards, three of Pinkerton’s deliveries went for scores. But it was on the ground where he did most of his damage, rushing 29 times for 290 yards and four touchdowns to help keep the Indians competitive.
DISTRICT 5-2A DI WEEK 1 REPORT: Abilene TLCA snaps 28-game losing streak; Hico, De Leon both notch wins
Abilene TLCA 46, Baird 20 — First-year coach Webb Murphy’s Eagles snapped a 28-game losing streak that dated back to Sept. 8 of 2023 with a win over Baird.
BHS took a step up from the six-man ranks to challenge the Eagles but fell victim to QB Tyler Johnston, who hit 10 of 12 throws for 195 yards and three scores. He also rushed 15 times for 62 yards.
Senior Dashawn Polk had a big day as well, catching three passes for 44 yards and two scores and rushing for 124 yards and two TDs.
GAME STORY: De Leon dominates in season opener with San Saba
Photos by Mike Lee
DE LEON – There were a couple of explanations for why De Leon junior Lane Couch basically sprinted untouched four times on long-distance touchdown runs of 46, 76, 78 and 62 yards during the Bearcats’ 40-7 season-opening football win over the San Saba Armadillos on Friday night.
One was obvious, and Couch – who finished with an eye-opening 348 yards on a modest 14 carries – explained.
“It didn’t matter if we ran left or right, the O-line was opening holes that you could drive a truck through. I mean every time,” Couch said. “Our O-line did a great job of preparing. They work their tails off, and they don’t get much recognition.”
Big Country Preps Preseason Football 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 15 quarterbacks with a list of others to watch in 2026.
We hope you enjoy this list and that you’ve enjoyed our position rankings as we get set to kick off a new season.
Big Country Preps Preseason Football 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 earlier today, we move now to the area’s top backs, ranking our top 15 with a list of others to watch in 2026. Don’t forget to check in tomorrow when we conclude our series with the top 10 area quarterbacks.
We hope you enjoy this list and encourage you to check out the other position groups, which are linked below.
Big Country Preps Preseason Football 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 receivers.
After starting the offensive portion of our series with the linemen, we now shift our attention to the playmakers on the perimeter, ranking our top 15 wideouts/tight ends with a list of others to watch in 2026.
We hope you enjoy our list and encourage you to check out the other position groups, which are linked below.
Big Country Preps Preseason Football 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 15 offensive linemen with a list of others to watch in 2026.
We hope you enjoy reading through our rankings.
Big Country Preps Preseason Football 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 2026 season.
Big Country Preps Preseason Football 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 15 defensive backs and others to look out for in 2026.
We hope you enjoy our list.
Big Country Preps Preseason Football Position Rankings: Linebackers
After taking a look at the Big Country’s top defensive linemen last night, it’s now time to examine those who will backing them in 2026.
Continuing with Big Country Preps’ eight-part preseason position rankings series, here’s our top 15 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.
Big Country Preps Preseason Football 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 2026.
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 15 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.
Continue reading “Big Country Preps Preseason Football Position Rankings: Defensive Linemen”
2026 DISTRICT PREDICTIONS: Evan and Daniel make their picks
The time has arrived for us to make our Big Country predictions, district-by-district.
Several weeks of research and two solid months of summertime labor have gone into this, so we’re more than ready to post it.
With that please 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!
DE LEON FEATURE: De Leon’s Garza, Heinz ready to lead the way in trenches
Game Photo by Tedra Zmeskal
A football team is typically as good as the foundation it’s built on.
That foundation for the De Leon Bearcats can be found in the trenches as senior stalwarts Eli Garza and Gage Heinz have provided productivity and dependability for multiple seasons.
Heinz excels on the defensive side as a tackle. After making 76 tackles and two sacks as a junior, he was voted 5-2A Division I’s Defensive Lineman of the Year.
Meanwhile Garza, who started at right tackle as a freshman, has spent the past two seasons as De Leon’s left tackle, earning first-team all-district honors both ways as a sophomore and junior.