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.
EASTLAND — To say that Eastland senior nose guard Jesus Lopez isn’t the prototype for the position could be viewed as a gross understatement. He’s not the 6-foot, 300-pound ship’s anchor that coach’s dream of planting in front of an opposing center.
In fact, he’s not even close to it.
What he is, at 5-7, 165 pounds, is an anomaly — and a stunningly effective, all-district anomaly, at that.
“We were kind of skeptical with it at first,” said Eastland coach James Morton of last season’s decision to move Lopez to the nose position. “We were playing him at linebacker and we needed someone to play hard and get after it and Jesus was the guy who kept coming up in our conversations.
“So we ended up making that move with him. It was a good move for him and it was a good move for our team too.”
EASTLAND — The good news for the Eastland Mavericks in 2022 is that a sturdy group of young players is moving its way through the program.
The bad news is, experience will be in short supply — at least, in the early going.
A total of only 12 returning lettermen are back from last year’s 6-6 team. Among them: six offensive and six defensive starters, including a veteran offensive line that may be good enough to buy the young Mavericks some time.
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 3A Division II with the Eastland Mavericks. On Thursday we will take a look at the Merkel Badgers followed by the Breckenridge Buckaroos on Friday.
Continue reading “COUNTDOWN TO TWO-A-DAYS: Eastland Mavericks”
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: Millsap-Eastland baseball (25 images)”
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.
CAPITAL FARM CREDIT WEDNESDAY NIGHT PODCAST: Area coaches join the show to talk realignment.
More often than not, our Capital Farm Credit/BCP Player of the Week has led a winning effort of some sort. But we do make exceptions, and this week’s accolade is an example of that.
In last week’s 69-68 loss to Huckabay, Strawn freshman (yes, freshman) Grayson “Chaka” Rigdon put forth an absolutely show-stopping performance, dropping 54 points on HHS to go with 14 rebounds, two assists and three steals. This came on the heels of a 24-point, 10-rebound night he had in a 64-41 loss to Lingleville.
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.
Jim Ned 49, Muleshoe 20 — Jim Ned rolled up 525 yards in total offense to corral the Mules.
Xavier Wishert rushed for 312 yards on 34 carries and Tate Yardley threw for 128 yards and two more TDs to lead the Indians (12-0), who advance to face Brock in the Region I-3A DI semifinals next week.
Leading 7-6 after the first quarter, Jim Ned secured the upper hand with consecutive second-quarter TDs — an 8-yard run by Wishert at the 11:56 mark, followed by a 15-yard TD pass from Yardley to Wishert at 5:27.
Early 43, Pilot Point 21 — Tre Beam rushed for 214 yards and one touchdown and Jaxyn Price threw for 118 yards and three TDs to lead Early to a stunning win over favored Pilot Point.
The Longhorns used a 29-0 first quarter to gain an upper hand which they never relinquished.
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.
Eastland 40, Dublin 39 — Keaton Hicks scored on a game-tying 1-yard run in the fourth-quarter and Jared Cruz booted the go-ahead extra point as Eastland prevailed in a seesaw battle at Dublin.
Hicks led the Mavericks with 111 yards passing and one score and 84 yards rushing and two more scores as EHS locked up the district title.
After kicking off our girls basketball position rankings series with the guards on Tuesday, we now turn our attention to the forwards.
For the second installment in our three-part series, we rank the area’s top 10 players at that position with some others to watch for in 2021-22.
We hope you enjoy our list.
With the girls basketball season upon us, it’s time to take a look at the local and area players who will be making the biggest impact for their teams during the 2021-22 season.
For the first installment in a three-part series that will cover all positions, we’ll be focusing on the Big Country’s top guards, ranking our top 10 with a list of others to watch this season.
As with any such list, these rankings are subjective. We hope you enjoy reading through our selections.
Eastland 45, Merkel 21 — Keaton Hicks and Cooper Wright combined for 257 yards passing and two TDs to help Eastland improve to 4-5 overall and 3-1 in district play.
Isaiah Burns led Merkel with 112 yards rushing and a score. Joey Zink added 75 yards passing, including a pair of TD strikes.
