Category: Girls basketball

by Daniel Youngblood

GAME STORY: Abilene High girls hold off Cooper rally, score big district win over crosstown rival

Entering Friday’s Crosstown Showdown girls basketball matchup at Eagle Gym, both Abilene High and Cooper needed a win to avoid falling into an early 0-2 hole in the District 4-5A race. And for 32 minutes, both teams played with the urgency one might expect in such a situation.

But in the end, it was the homestanding Lady Eagles who came out on top, holding off a fourth-quarter rally by the Lady Cougars to pull out a gritty 43-34 victory over their rivals.

The win improved AHS to 11-7 overall while evening the Lady Eagles district record at 1-1 — a key development with No. 8 Lubbock Monterey set to visit on Tuesday.

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by Daniel Youngblood

BEST OF BCP WEDNESDAY NIGHT PODCAST: Stephenville’s Jason Hodges visits w/ Evan & Dan (original airdate 1-25-23)

NOTE: With Evan Ren and Daniel Youngblood in Arlington for Albany’s state title game against Mart, BCP’s Wednesday Night podcast was canceled. In the meantime we’ll repost one of our top podcasts. 

Stephenville girls coach Jason Hodges visits with Evan & Dan … original airdate 1-11-23

Continue reading “BEST OF BCP WEDNESDAY NIGHT PODCAST: Stephenville’s Jason Hodges visits w/ Evan & Dan (original airdate 1-25-23)” →

by Daniel Youngblood

GAME STORY: Wylie pulls away from feisty Abilene High squad late to open district play with win

The Wylie girls basketball team opened District 4-5A play with a solid home win over crosstown foe Abilene High on Tuesday, closing the game on a 28-14 run to stretch a two-point third-quarter lead to 59-43 by the time the final buzzer sounded.

The Lady Bulldogs, who led by as many as 15 points in the second quarter, found themselves in a dogfight early in the second half. But coach Duane Hopper’s squad answered every Lady Eagles run with one of its own to pull away in the fourth quarter for a comfortable win.

The victory improved Wylie to 10-6 on the season and got the Lady Bulldogs off to a strong start in what is sure to be a grueling district race.

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by Evan Ren

BIG COUNTRY PREPS PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Gordon senior Caitlyn Parsons snags this week’s award

It’s been a while since we’ve seen a Class 1A girls team from the outer reaches of our coverage area land our Big Country Preps Player of the Week award.  But Gordon’s Caitlyn Parsons put an end to the drought with a huge performance in the Mesquite Pit Classic in Poolville. 

Helping the Lady Longhorns to a 4-1 mark in the event, Parson tallied a combined 70 points, 50 boards, 16 steals, five assists, 11 blocks and one charge through five games to earn all-tournament honors and lead GHS to a third-place finish.  She also had 10 points in a loss to San Saba earlier in the week. 

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by Evan Ren

GAME STORY: Class 5A Lady Eagles use size, depth to rally for win at 3A Merkel

MERKEL — What had the early look of a rout, became a case study in the advantages large schools can have over smaller ones in Tuesday’s 56-45 win for the Abilene girls at Merkel. 

Samia Cooper scored 20 points and Taryn Moore added 10 to lead Abilene (9-6), which rallied from an early 13-point deficit with a combination of size and depth to hand the Lady Badgers (10-4) a loss on their home floor. 

Merkel, which led 11-0 by the 5:14 mark of the first quarter and 18-5 with 0:59 left in the period, was led by Brooklynn Fulfer with 18 points and Jaedyn Lee with 12. 

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by Evan Ren

BIG COUNTRY PREPS PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Albany’s Hill takes this week’s award with big performance in regional title game

Big-time players come up with big-time performances in big games.  And our Big Country Preps Player of the Week, Albany’s Adam Hill, is a big-time player. 

Helping the Lions capture the Region II-2A DII title, Hill was a punisher out of the Lions’ backfield last Thursday in Iowa Park, rushing for 223 yards and four touchdowns on 29 carries in a 52-14 rout of a very good Collinsville team. 

The Texas Tech-bound senior also caught a pair of passes for 31 yards and an additional touchdown as Albany improved to 14-0 on the year.  

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by Daniel Youngblood

GAME STORY: Jim Ned girls cruise past Brownwood to kick off doubleheader sweep

TUSCOLA — Hosting a Brownwood squad that entered Tuesday’s nondistrict matchup with six wins in its first eight games, the Jim Ned Lady Indians showed why they’re the second-ranked team in Class 3A, riding a dominant all-around performance to a 61-13 victory at Bill Thornton Arena.

Coach Hunter Cooley’s team took control early and never relinquished it, following a 16-4 run through the first quarter with a 13-1 surge through the second to take a commanding 29-5 advantage. And the Lady Indians would only grow that lead after halftime.

The thorough victory improved Jim Ned to 7-1 on the year with its only loss coming by six points to Class 4A No. 2 Glen Rose at the Pug Parris Classic in Abilene.

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by Evan Ren

BIG COUNTRY PREPS PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Stephenville’s Butchee takes the top spot

We freely admit that more offensive players take our Big Country Preps Player of the Week than do defenders. 

But a great defensive performance can, indeed, take the top spot and that is the case with this week’s award winner: Stephenville sophomore linebacker, Hudson Butchee. 

With the Yellow Jackets squaring off with perennial power Celina in the Region II-4A DI semifinals, Butchee played like a man possessed in a 7-3 Stephenville win. 

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by Evan Ren

BIG COUNTRY PREPS PLAYER OF THE WEEK: With Windthorst vanquished, Ivan “The Terrible” hath seized thy weekly accolade

It’s always nice to see numbers that match a nickname. And in the case of our Big Country Preps Player of the Week, there’s no worries in that department. 

Roscoe junior running back Ivan “The Terrible” McCann takes the accolade for the week ending Nov. 18 after helping the Plowboys to a stunning 50-22 win over Windthorst in the 2A DI area round.  

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by Brandon McAuliffe

TOURNAMENT CENTRAL: Big Country teams notch five wins on opening day of Pug Parris Classic

The 2023 edition of the Pug Parris Classic kicked off with a full slate of games on Thursday at McMurry University’s Kimbrell Arena and featured Big Country teams from Class 2A to Class 5A nearly all day long.

In addition to the six teams from the Big Country, this year’s three-day tournament features teams from as far away as Clint and El Paso.

Area teams posted a total of five wins as the Jim Ned Lady Indians swept their pool with a pair of wins, while Wylie, Cooper and Cisco added to the total.

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Buck Powell
by Evan Ren

BIG COUNTRY PREPS PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Hico’s Powell takes this week’s accolade

Big numbers are always great to have when we decide the winner of our Big Country Preps Player of the Week award. Solid numbers across multiple tasks are even better. 

That was the case with this week’s spotlight player, Buck Powell, of Hico, who helped the Tigers to a 47-14 rout of Maud in the Class 2A DII bi-district round on Friday. 

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by Evan Ren

2023 BIG COUNTRY PREPS BOYS BASKETBALL PREVIEW: The area’s top teams in each class throughout the BCP coverage area

With a new season of boys high school basketball poised to begin, it’s time to take a look at what the Big Country will produce on the court.

Below you will find our top teams in each classification in the Big Country Preps coverage area, from Big Spring in the West, to Brock in the east and from Brady in the south to Munday in the north. 

Our rankings of the top teams in each class are given, along with a season outlook, cataloguing our expectations for each club. 

Here’s our preview. We’ll see you on the road.

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by Evan Ren

2023 BIG COUNTRY PREPS GIRLS BASKETBALL PREVIEW: The area’s top teams in each class throughout the BCP coverage area

Believe it or not, it’s time to gear up for a new season of high school girls basketball, which is getting underway throughout Texas.

Below, you will find our top teams in each classification in the Big Country Preps coverage area, which extends from Big Spring in the west, to Brock in the east, and from Brady in the south to Munday in the north. 

Our rankings of the top teams in each class are given, along with a season outlook, cataloguing our expectations for each club. So please, dive in and join us for the upcoming season.

Here’s our preview. We’ll see you on the road.

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by Daniel Youngblood

Big Country Preps Girls Basketball Position Rankings: Posts

After focusing on the top guards and forwards the Big Country has to offer the past two nights, it’s time to shift our attention to the paint.

For the final installment in our three-part position rankings series, we list our top-eight post players for the 2023-24 season.

We hope you’ve enjoyed reading through these rankings, and make sure to come back next week when we’ll feature the top boys basketball players in the Big Country.

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by Daniel Youngblood

Big Country Preps Girls Basketball Position Rankings: Forwards

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 2023-24.

We hope you enjoy our list.

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by Daniel Youngblood

Big Country Preps Girls Basketball Position Rankings: Guards

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 2023-24 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.

We hope you enjoy reading through our selections.

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by Daniel Youngblood

GAME STORY: Allen’s big game fuels North to 74-56 win in FCA women’s basketball game

BROWNWOOD — With a collegiate career at Lubbock Christian University to look forward to, former Highland star Taylor Allen has a lot more basketball in her future. But the standout guard didn’t let one final chance to represent the Lady Hornets — and small-school players everywhere — go to waste.

Sharing the court with some of the best girls basketball talent the Big Country and Concho Valley have to offer in the Fellowship of Christian Athletes women’s basketball all-star game, Allen tallied a game-high 20 points and six assists to lead the North squad to a 74-56 victory and capture the event’s MVP award.

Allen’s performance, which came on an efficient 8-of-18 shooting, headlined a strong team effort that also saw Haskell’s Alyssa Stocks and Roscoe’s Cameron Greenwood reach double figures with 14 and 10 points, respectively.

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by Evan Ren

Evan Ren’s 2023 Gym Rat Team: The hardest-working players in the Big Country!

Following a basketball program on the surface can only provide one with so much insight. Behind the scenes, however, is where character is often measured. And it is with our Gym Rat Team that we wish to tip our caps to those individuals who exuded the most of it. 

This team isn’t about who the best players are, though some of the area’s top players did make this list. 

The Gym Rat team is about effort, discipline, toughness, coachability and selflessness — traits that coaches love above all else and that championship foundations are built upon.

It is for that reason that our Gym Rat team is selected entirely by area coaches, described in their own words. And Big Country Preps is absolutely honored to present these individuals to you — the best “team players” (boys and girls) that the area had to offer during the 2022-23 season.

Players are listed in no particular order. 

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by Daniel Youngblood

2023 All-Big Country Preps Girls Basketball Superlatives: Applin, Allen, Galvin, Crain and Gill nab honors

Here are our superlative award winners for the 2023 All-Big Country Preps girls basketball team. For the rest of this year’s girls and boys basketball selections, click the links below.

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by Daniel Youngblood

2023 All-Big Country Preps Girls Basketball Team: First-Team Roster

Here are our first-team selections for the 2023 All-Big Country Preps girls basketball team. For the rest of this year’s boys and girls basketball selections, click the links below.

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by Daniel Youngblood

2023 All-Big Country Preps Girls Basketball Team: Second-Team Roster

Here are our second-team selections for the 2023 All-Big Country Preps girls basketball team. For the rest of this year’s boys and girls basketball selections, click the links below.

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by Daniel Youngblood

2023 All-Big Country Preps Girls Basketball Team: Third-Team Roster (w/ honorable mention)

Here are our third-team selections for the 2023 All-Big Country Preps girls basketball team. For the rest of this year’s boys and girls basketball selections, click the links below.

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by Evan Ren

2023 All-Big Country Preps Girls Basketball Rising Stars Team: The top freshmen and sophomores in the area!

Here is our 2023 All-Big Country Preps girls basketball Rising Stars team, comprised of the top freshmen and sophomores in the area. For the rest of this year’s boys and girls basketball selections, click the links below.

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by Daniel Youngblood

GAME REPORT: Nazareth rallies past Huckabay girls for 30-20 win in Class 1A state title game

SAN ANTONIO — For two quarters, the Huckabay girls basketball team had the Nazareth Swiftettes right where it wanted them in the Class 1A state championship game Saturday morning at the Alamodome. But leading 14-9 at halftime, the Lady Indians went cold in the final 16 minutes of a tough 30-20 loss.

Nazareth used a 13-3 run through the third quarter to turn the halftime deficit into a five-point lead and held the Lady Indians to just three more points in the fourth to claim its 25th state title in its 31st state tournament appearance.

The loss ended Huckabay’s season at 40-3, denying the Lady Indians’ their first state championship. It was the second year in a row for coach Barry Gill’s squad to fall to the eventual state champion in San Antonio, after HHS lost to Ackerly Sands in the 2022 state semifinals.

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by Daniel Youngblood

GAME REPORT: Baccus, Huckabay girls too much for Irion County in Class 1A state semis

SAN ANTONIO — After returning all but two players from a squad that ended its season the Class 1A state semifinals last year, the top-ranked Huckabay girls basketball team entered that same round Thursday hoping to earn one more game in the Alamo City than it did a year ago.

Fueled by a 23-point effort by senior Rion Baccus, the Lady Indians accomplished exactly that with a workmanlike 47-35 win over Irion County.

Trailing 10-7 after a quarter, Huckabay outscored the the Lady Hornets in each of the final three periods to pull away for a 12-point win that pushed the Lady Indians into the Class 1A title game, where they’ll face off with state power Nazareth at 8:30 a.m. Saturday.

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by Daniel Youngblood

STATE PREVIEW: Experienced Huckabay girls looking for extended stay in San Antonio this time around

As Huckabay’s excursion to San Antonio for the girls basketball state tournament began to take shape earlier this week, Tuesday was, per coach Barry Gill, a “fun, stress-free” day.

The Lady Indians saw a good portion of the historic Texas city, including the picturesque San Antonio River Walk, on which the team snaked around town that evening by boat, reveling in the eclectic mix of light, sound and savory aromas that marked every turn of the rudder. Among many reasons the Alamo City has evolved into one of Texas’ more popular destinations, the river ranks near the top.

So, coincidentally, does the Huckabay girls program.

Gill has been at the school two years. The conclusion of both has included a trip to the Alamodome, where the state’s four best teams in each classification vie to determine which one hoists the championship trophy.

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by Evan Ren

BIG COUNTRY PREPS PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Big Spring senior chalks up four victories and our weekly award

It’s always a good sign early in the season when you’re getting good pitching against quality competition. And in the case of the Big Spring Lady Steers, the numbers in the circle thus far are downright encouraging. 

Courtesy of senior Alexcia Munoz, the Lady Steers are off to a 5-1 start, including a 4-0 mark from Munoz in last week’s Abilene Icebreaker tournament.

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by Evan Ren

GAME STORY: Holliday ends Jim Ned run in Region I-3A championship game

WOLFFORTH —While 6-foot-2 Holliday post Jalynn Bristow was projected to be major challenge for Jim Ned in Saturday’s Region 1-3A championship game, the Iowa State signee may have exceeded expectations. 

Pouring in 24 points (nearly half of her team’s total), Bristow led the Lady Eagles to a 53-40 win to eliminate Jim Ned and push Holliday to the UIL State Tournament. This, despite landing in second half foul trouble and being forced to sit out much of the fourth quarter on the bench. 

Jim Ned closed its season with a 35-2 mark, capped by its fifth straight appearance in a regional tournament. Emma Doran led the Lady Indians with 11 points; Lexi Wishert added nine. 

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by Daniel Youngblood

GAME STORY: Hermleigh can’t find offense late in heartbreaking loss to Irion County

SNYDER — After scoring the first nine points of the game, the 12th-ranked Hermleigh Lady Cardinals led Irion County for 28½ of the 32 minutes in their Region II-2A semifinal Friday at The Coliseum. But a late scoring drought for the Lady Cardinals opened a window, and the Lady Hornets flew through for a dramatic 36-33 win.

Hermleigh, which led 15-5 after a quarter and still held an eight-point lead (30-22) as late as the 4:15 mark of the third period, was outscored 14-3 over the final 12 minutes, resulting in a heartbreaking loss for coach Tommy Cross’ squad.

The Lady Cardinals’ only points of the fourth quarter came on a layup by senior Juli Munoz that gave HHS a 33-30 lead with about 6:45 to play in the game. But Irion County scored the final six points, escaping with the come-from-behind victory when Syreah Callaway’s game-tying 3-point attempt rimmed out just before the final buzzer.

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by Daniel Youngblood

GAME STORY: Slow start, missed opportunities cost Highland in tough OT loss to Veribest

SNYDER — The Highland girls basketball team rebounded from a slow start and bevy of missed opportunities in the first three quarters Friday to force overtime in its Region II-1A semifinal matchup with sixth-ranked Veribest. But the Lady Hornets couldn’t quite close the deal in a 36-31 loss to the Lady Falcons at The Coliseum.

HHS, which trailed 10-4 at the end the first quarter, missed a load of layups and went just 1 of 6 from the free-throw line in the first half, twice missing the front end of one-and-one situations. Despite this, the Lady Hornets found themselves up on two occasions in the fourth quarter — the last at 27-25 with just over a minute remaining.

But Veribest, which led for the vast majority of contest, evened things up with a pair of late free throws and outscored Highland 9-4 in overtime to end the Lady Hornets’ season at 30-8.

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by Evan Ren

GAME REPORT: Youthful Stephenville falls to Canyon in Region I-4A semfinals

LUBBOCK — With only two seniors and two juniors surrounded by a host of sophomores and freshmen, few were expecting to see the Stephenville Honey Bees in this year’s Region I-4A semifinals.

Nonetheless, Stephenville was at Lubbock Christian University on Friday taking on No. 4 Canyon. But as fate would have it, the ‘Bees were finally toppled, 49-31 to close a remarkable 32-5 campain. 

Sydnee Winfrey and Jaylee Moss dropped in 11 points apiece and Shaylin Schulte added eight more to lead Canyon (32-3), which advances to face top-ranked Glen Rose for the regional title. 

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by Evan Ren

GAME STORY: Jim Ned eliminates Idalou, advances to Region I-3A title game

WOLFFORTH — A slow start, a hostile crowd and regional semifinal pressure were all in a day’s work for the Jim Ned Lady Indians, who overcame all three handicaps to eliminate Idalou 47-33 on Friday at Frenship High School’s Tiger Pit. 

Lexi Wishert had 17 points, including three 3-pointers and Ashlynn Galvin added 10 more to lead Jim Ned (32-1), which now advances to face Holliday (31-3) in the Region I-3A title game on Saturday at 1 p.m.  

Idalou was led by Logan Heard with 15 points and Maddie Holmes with seven. The Lady Cats finished their season at 25-13.

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by Evan Ren

BIG COUNTRY GIRLS BASKETBALL REGIONAL PREVIEW: Seven area teams head to regionals

There are two constants when speaking about the girls basketball regional tournaments from the Big Country perspective.

First, we are almost guaranteed to have representation at the regional level — partly due to talent and partly due to the sheer volume of teams the Big Country houses (nearly 80).  And secondly, surviving beyond this point is usually a crapshoot, with one monstrous team after another blocking the road to San Antonio. 

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by Evan Ren

GAME STORY: Stephenville eliminates Estacado, advances to Region I-4A semifinals

CLYDE — Outgunned athletically, both in terms of size and quickness by Lubbock Estacado, the Stephenville Honey Bees had to fall back on an old standby to win Tuesday’s Region I-4A quarterfinal: team defense. 

Though it took the better part of four quarters to achieve it, 10th-ranked Stephenville finally put the Lady Matadors in their rearview mirror, topping Estacado 55-43 at the Clyde High School gym. 

Mya Wilson scored 21 points and Lillie Skiles added 11 more to lead Stephenville (32-4), which now advances to the Region I-4A semifinals at Lubbock Christian University where they will face fourth-ranked Canyon (31-3) on Friday at 6:30 p.m. 

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by Brandon McAuliffe

GAME STORY: Hermleigh girls outlast Eula in regional quarterfinal thriller

TUSCOLA — Tuesday night marked the third straight year that the Eula and Hermleigh girls basketball teams have met in the playoffs with a berth in the regional tournament on the line.

After the Lady Cardinals won the first two matchups 44-41 and 54-39 at Wylie’s Bulldog Gym, the series shifted to Jim Ned’s Bill Thornton Arena as the Lady Pirates looked to break the streak.

For the third straight year, though, the Lady Cardinals broke Eula’s heart, this time with a 49-46 win in an instant classic.

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by Brandon McAuliffe

GAME STORY: Jim Ned turns away Ballinger, advances to fifth straight regional tournament

WINTERS — With a spot in the Region I-3A tournament on the line on Monday night at Blizzard Gym, the Jim Ned and Ballinger girls basketball teams squared off for the third time this season.

The Lady Indians were seeking their fifth straight berth in the regional tournament while the Lady Cats were in the regional quarterfinals for the first time since 2008.

Despite a strong defensive first half, the Lady Cats struggled to score offensively, and Jim Ned’s offense came to life in the second half to propel the Lady Indians to a 53-18 win and an 8 p.m. date with Idalou on Friday at Wolfforth Frenship.

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by Evan Ren

BIG COUNTRY PREPS PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Hawley’s O’Shields takes this week’s award

While Hawley’s Kason O’Shields is better known for his prowess on a football field, the HHS senior is actually a remarkable all-around athlete who is capable of having an impact in a variety of different sports. 

This week is a prime example of that, as O’Shields takes our Big Country Preps Player of the Week award for the week ending February 18. 

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