Category: Eastland Mavericks

by Evan Ren

CAPITAL FARM CREDIT/BCP PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Sweetwater QB Holsey snags this week’s accolade

It’s never a surprise to see Sweetwater senior quarterback Leo Holsey among the top performers in our Capital Farm Credit/Big Country Preps Player of the Week column. 

Since his freshman year, the four-year starter has topped our weekly list multiple times, including this week after helping Sweetwater to a 61-37 win over Pecos on Friday. 

Holsey only threw 15 passes, but he connected on 12 of them for 364 yards and five touchdowns. He also rushed six times for 75 yards and two more scores, giving him a direct hand in 439 yards and seven TDs. 

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by Zach Duncan, Special to Big Country Preps

GAME STORY: Jacksboro edges Eastland 51-48 in wild District 5-3A DII clash

JACKSBORO — Eastland’s Judson Beard sliced through Jacksboro’s defense for a 57-yard touchdown Friday night with 2:34 left, propelling the Mavericks back into the lead.

But no advantage seemed to be safe in a District 5-3A Division II shootout at Tiger Stadium.

Jacksboro had just enough time to answer as quarterback Lando Belcher scored from four yards out with 42 seconds remaining, lifting the Tigers to a wild 51-48 victory.

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by Evan Ren

BIG COUNTRY PREPS GAME OF THE WEEK: Cisco to battle Coleman with top seed in the balance (w/ Evan Ren’s Big Country Picks)

LAST WEEK: 35-11, .760
SEASON TOTAL: 322-74, .813

This week’s Big Country Preps Game of the Week will send me south to historic Hufford Field in Coleman, where the Bluecats (6-0) will play host to perennial power Cisco (6-1) in what is essentially the District 4-2A Division I championship.

Opened way back in 1934, Hufford is one of the Big Country’s oldest and most unique venues and if you are looking for a game to go to on Friday, this one will not only offer some good football, but some nostalgia as well.

The immense rock wall surrounding the field was built in 1940 by the Works Progress Administration or WPA as the nation battled its way out of The Great Depression.

Hope to see you there.

Here are this week’s picks:  

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by Evan Ren

CAPITAL FARM CREDIT/BCP PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Jim Ned’s Wishert claims the top spot

It’s one thing to rush for more than 300 yards and three scores against a struggling program. We see that all the time from the area’s top running backs. 

But it’s an entirely different thing when those yards come against a solid team with a sturdy defense. That’s earning it the hard way.

Jim Ned’s Xavier Wishert, our Capital Farm Credit/Big Country Preps Player of the Week, took that route on Friday night when he charted 313 yards rushing and three scores on just 20 carries in a 37-20 road win over the Wall Hawks. 

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by Evan Ren

District 5-3A Div. II Week 8 Report: Mavericks surive scare from Comanche

Eastland 21, Comanche 20 — Eastland was fortunate to survive what was nearly the area’s top upset of the year, holding off winless Comanche by a single point.

Judson Beard rushed for 181 yards and two scores and caught three passes for 8 yards and another score to lead the Mavericks (3-4, 2-0)  which held off a late Comanche rally to get the win.

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by Evan Ren

BIG COUNTRY PREPS GAME OF THE WEEK: Roscoe travels to Ralls for crucial district game (w/ Evan Ren’s Big Country Picks)

LAST WEEK: 40-7, .851
SEASON TOTAL: 287-63, .820

Week 8? Are you kidding?

I ask the same question, or some variant of it virtually every year. We just finished with two-a-days. How can we possibly be this deep in the season so quickly?

Yet hear we are. A cold weather snap approaching. Thanksgiving right around the corner —as are the playoffs.

This week’s Game of the Week will see me traveling north to Ralls where the surprising Roscoe Plowboys, off to their best start in years, will be in a showdown for the district lead.

The column hit at 85 percent accuracy last week and is now up to 82 percent on the year. So we’ll see if we can keep the momentum going through the home stretch.

Let’s have a look at this week’s picks: 

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by Daniel Youngblood

Big Country Preps’ Pick ‘Em Panel vs. Twitter Polls (Week 8)

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.

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by Evan Ren

Big Country Volleyball Statistical Leaders (through Oct. 12)

Big Country Preps is publishing area volleyball statistical leaders each Tuesday at 7 p.m.

This database will be continually updated for our subscribers throughout the remainder of the season, using only those statistics submitted by area coaches.

We will continually update the database throughout the regular season.

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by Evan Ren

District 5-3A Div. II Week 7 Report: Eastland takes early district lead with win over Millsap

Eastland 48, Millsap 27 — Keaton Hicks and Cooper Wright combined for 218 yards passing and three touchdowns as Eastland started district play with a key win. 

Hicks and Wright also rushed for a combined 140 yards and two TDs, joined by Judson Beard, who rushed for 74 yards and two more scores. 

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by Evan Ren

BIG COUNTRY PREPS GAME OF WEEK: Unbeaten Early, Jim Ned clash in huge district opener (w/ Evan Ren’s Big Country Picks)

LAST WEEK: 39-4, .906
SEASON TOTAL: 247-56, .815

Gramps Ren is back in the groove, hitting over 90 percent of his picks a week ago, to push this column’s season percentage to .815 as we head into district play across the area.

Whether or not I can keep the momentum remains to be seen, entering what might be the toughest week of area picks I’ve seen this year, with multiple games that I would rate as near-tossups.

This week’s Big Country Preps Game of the Week will see us heading to Tuscola where Jim Ned will begin its District 3-3A DI title defense against a red-hot, unbeaten team from Early.

Let’s have a look at this week’s picks …

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by Evan Ren

Big Country Volleyball Statistical Leaders (through Oct. 5)

Big Country Preps is publishing area volleyball statistical leaders each Tuesday at 7 p.m.

This database will be continually updated for our subscribers throughout the remainder of the season, using only those statistics submitted by area coaches.

We will continually update the database throughout the regular season.

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by Evan Ren

CAPITAL FARM CREDIT/BCP PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Sweetwater QB Holsey takes the spotlight

A quick look at the box score from Sweetwater’s 70-54 win over Eastland and one just knew that the Capital Farm Credit/Big Country Preps Player of the Week was located somewhere in that massive pile of numbers. 

SHS quarterback Leo Holsey emerged as the top man, hitting 17 of 19 throws for 434 yards and six touchdowns.

Add his 101 yards rushing on 15 carries with three more scores and the choice was made easy — even on a night with 1,277 yards in combined total offense between the two teams. 

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by Evan Ren

District 5-3A Div. II Week 6 Report: Mavericks fall in shootout in the Mustang Bowl

Sweetwater 70, Eastland 54 — With most of the district enjoying a bye week, the Eastland Mavericks found themselves involved In one of the most explosive games the area has seen in the last five years, Sweetwater outlasted EHS in a slugfest at the Mustang Bowl, that believe it or not, ended at a surprisingly early 9 :50 p.m. 

Leo Holsey threw for 434 yards and six scores and rushed for three more TDs to lead Sweetwater, which levelled off at 3-3 with the win. 

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by Evan Ren

BIG COUNTRY PREPS GAME OF THE WEEK: Steers plays host to Littlefield, Gramps Ren rebounds (w/ Evan Ren’s Big Country Picks)

LAST WEEK: 45-6, .882
SEASON TOTAL: 208-52, .800

After a disastrous night of picking football games on Sept. 19 that saw his season percentage dip below .800, Gramps Ren has rebounded. Thank you, thank you. 

Last Friday saw this column hit with more than 88 percent accuracy on games throughout the Big Country, pulling its season percentage to an even .800 as we hit the season’s midpoint. 

This week I’ll be heading west — way West — to the very edge of our coverage area to get a first-hand look at the Big Spring Steers in their matchup with Littlefield in our Big Country Preps Game of the Week. 

Let’s dive in to this week’s picks, shall we? 

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by Evan Ren

BIG COUNTRY PREPS GAME OF THE WEEK: Jim Ned, Snyder clash in battle of unbeatens (w/ Evan Ren’s Big Country picks)

LAST WEEK: 36-16, .692
OVERALL: 163-46, .779

After four straight weeks of picking 80 percent or better, the USS Ren ran aground last Friday, bottoming out with a season-low .692 percentage and dropping my season tally to .779.

I generally like to be above 80 percent by midseason, so last Friday served as a wakeup call. Actually, it was more of a gut punch. But I’ll get over it.

This week’s Big Country Preps Game of the Week will see me traveling to Snyder, where the unbeaten Class 4A Tigers will play host to 3A DI state champion Jim Ned in what should be an absolutely electric atmosphere. 

You all set? Let’s dive in to this week’s picks. 

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by Evan Ren

Big Country Volleyball Statistical Leaders (through Sept. 21)

Big Country Preps is publishing area volleyball statistical leaders each Tuesday at 7 p.m.

This database will be continually updated for our subscribers throughout the remainder of the season, using only those statistics submitted by area coaches.

We will continually update the database throughout the regular season.

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by Evan Ren

District 5-3A Div. II Week 4 Report: Mavs earn first win of the season

Eastland 28, Breckenridge 19 — Judson Beard rushed for 123 yards and two scores and Keaton Hicks threw for 116 yards and another touchdown to help Eastland (1-3) collect its first win of the year. 

The Mavs led 21-19 in the fourth quarter when Hicks hit Jared Cruz with a 32-yard TD strike to provide Eastland with a two-score cushion.

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by Evan Ren

Big Country Volleyball Statistical Leaders (through Sept. 14)

Big Country Preps is publishing area volleyball statistical leaders each Tuesday at 7 p.m.

This database will be continually updated for our subscribers throughout the remainder of the season, using only those statistics submitted by area coaches.

We will continually update the database throughout the regular season.

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by Evan Ren

BIG COUNTRY PREPS GAME OF THE WEEK: Brady cancels, Ren goes scrambling (w/ Evan Ren’s Big Country Picks)

LAST WEEK: 42-9, .823
SEASON TOTAL: 85-21, .801

I was very much looking forward to our Big Country Preps Game of the Week – Coleman (2-0) at Brady (2-0). Unfortunately, COVID intervened by midweek, forcing a cancellation of the contest.

On a positive note, there are several other quality games throughout the area for us to focus on, and (taking a bow) the column is already hitting over 80 percent on picks and we’re only in Week 3.

Numbers of that sort are generally reserved for Weeks 7-10, so I’m feeling pressure to keep the early momentum going.

In the absence of our Game of the Week, I’ll be heading to Cross Plains on Friday, where Haskell will be paying a visit to the Buffaloes (COVID allowing, of course).

Let’s dive in to this week’s picks:

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