Category: Goldthwaite Eagles

Briton Rice
by Evan Ren

BIG COUNTRY PREPS PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Tolar QB’s record-setting performance takes the top spot

It’s one thing to put up school-record numbers. It’s an entirely different thing to do it in only one half. 

With his team handing Eastland a 70-12 loss last week, Tolar quarterback Briton Rice put up a performance that the THS faithful may recollect years from now. 

Aside from hitting 11 of 18 passes for 282 yards, he connected on a school-record six TD passes. He also rushed for 17 yards and a seventh score to help the Rattlers improve to 4-3 and 3-1. 

“Briton connected on big plays for six passing touchdowns in the 1st half and a rushing TD on the first drive of the second half,” coach Blake Mouser said. He has 17 TDs to just two interceptions on the year while averaging over 200 yards passing a game.”

And get this: Rice’s entire performance was finished after the first drive of the second half. Beyond that, Mouser began playing his reserves. 

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by Mike Lee, Special to Big Country Preps

MIKE LEE’S WHERE ARE THEY NOW? Hardin-Simmons ‘Player of the Week’ trio all from Big Country

Note: If you know of a former Big Country Prep athlete now performing in college or professional sports, contact Mike Lee at michaellee7@att.net.

Ty Thompson

The Hardin-Simmons Cowboys swept the American Southwest Conference Player of the Week honors in football this week — and all three selections were former Big Country Preps athletes.

During HSU’s 58-0 win over the University of Fort Lauderdale last Saturday, Cowboys quarterback Ty Thompson, a sophomore from Graham, passed for 183 yards and three touchdowns. He was named the ASC Offensive Player of the Week after completing scoring passes of 40 yards and 5 yards to Jairdyn Anderson and 15 yards to Harison Brockway, who is also from Graham.

Thompson’s three touchdown passes came in the first quarter and staked HSU to a 21-0 first-quarter lead.

Thompson also rushed for 101 yards on eight carries, including a 51-yard touchdown run.

Through three official games this season, Thompson leads the Cowboys in rushing with 221 yards and three TDs. He also leads the team in passing with 694 yards and six TDs against one interception.

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by Evan Ren

BIG COUNTRY PREPS PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Roby’s Weatherly takes this week’s award

Even in an otherwise “quiet” week, six-man players find a way to make a lot of noise. 

With many of our teams enjoying an open week prior to district play, Knox City and Roby got into a knock-down drag-out six-man game, with the Greyhounds winning 86-80. 

So great was this game, that our Big Country Preps Player of the Week emerged from the losing side of this matchup, with Roby quarterback Eli Weatherly taking our Player of the Week award for the Week ending Oct. 3

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by Evan Ren

BIG COUNTRY PREPS PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Graham QB Corley takes this week’s top honor

A week ago, Graham senior quarterback Cooper Corley narrowly missed taking our Big Country Preps Player of the Week award.  
 
This time around, there was no stopping him.  

Corley, who led the Steers to a 48-21 win over Peaster, hit 16 of 27 throws for 307 yards and two TDs.  

He also rushed 12 times for 132 yards and four more scores and caught a 29-yard TD pass for seven touchdowns on the night.  

“Very rarely do you see a kid total 7 TDs in a night and score in three different ways,” Graham coach Clay McChristian said. “He scored at least one touchdown passing, rushing, and receiving.

“That is right at 1000 total yards and 13 TDs in the last two weeks against two quality opponents.” 

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by Evan Ren

DISTRICT 7-2A DII WEEK 4 REPORT: Stamford, Miles, Albany, Winters all score wins

Stamford 27, Cisco 7 — The Bulldogs stunned Cisco with a 21-0 second quarter and then held on to get the win on the road. 

Christopher McCan rushed for 110 yards, including a 90-yard TD run in the third quarter, and miles Follis threw for 216 yards and two scores to lead the Bulldogs (2-2). 

Cisco (2-2) was led by Colby McElroy, who rushed for 145 yards and threw for 117

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by Mike Lee, Special to Big Country Preps

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.

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Devan Wright
by Evan Ren

BIG COUNTRY PREPS PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Clyde’s Wright takes this week’s award

It’s still too early to say, but 2026 could be the year of the quarterback in the Big Country. At least it has been that way through three weeks, with Clyde senior Devan Wright taking our latest Big Country Player of the Week award after another eye-popping performance from an area signal caller. 

In the wake of Haskell’s Haegan Pinkerton winning our first two awards with two huge performances in Week 1 and Week 2, Wright followed those up with one of his own in a 57-21 win over Comanche on Friday. 

Helping Clyde improve to 3-0, Wright connected on 12 of 18 throws for 194 yards and four scores. He also rushed nine times for 116 yards and three more TDs, giving him a direct hand in seven touchdowns. 

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by Evan Ren

DISTRICT 7-2A DII WEEK 3 REPORT: Goldthwaite, Hamlin both notch wins

Goldthwaite 35, San Saba 17 — The Armadillos came to play against their heavily favored archrivals and held a 10-7 lead after one quarter. 

But after Goldthwaite took command with a pair of second-quarter touchdowns, the Eagles maintained the upper hand for the rest of the evening. 

Goldthwaite improved to 3-0; San Saba fell to 1-2. 

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by Mike Lee, Special to Big Country Preps

MIKE LEE’S WHERE ARE THEY NOW? Rigdon still making plays in college for Arizona State

NOTE: If you know of a former Big Country Prep athlete now performing in college or professional sports, contact Mike Lee at michaellee7@att.net. 

Rigdon accepts his Offensive MVP trophy following Benjamin’s 2022 victory over Loraine for the 1A DII state title.

Grayson Rigdon is listed as the No. 3 running back on the Arizona State football depth chart, but the former Strawn-Benjamin High School player scored two long-distance touchdowns in the Sun Devils’ 70-7 season-opening win over Morgan State last Saturday.

The 5-foot-11 sophomore scored on receptions of 54 and 56 yards. On both touchdowns, quarterback Cutter Boley threw to Rigdon coming out of the backfield, and he used his running skills to turn the short receptions into long touchdowns.

Rigdon’s first touchdown extended ASU’s lead to 35-7 early in the second quarter. His second score made it 56-7 early in the third quarter.

In addition to the two receptions for 110 yards, Rigdon finished Saturday’s game with four carries for 22 yards rushing and one kickoff return for 18 yards.

The Sun Devils play at No. 10-ranked Texas A&M at 11 a.m. Saturday on ABC-TV.

As an ASU freshman last season, Rigdon played on special teams in six games. He also had two carries and one reception in the Sun Devils’ Sun Bowl loss to Duke.

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by Evan Ren

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. 

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by Evan Ren

DISTRICT 7-2A DII WEEK 1 REPORT: Goldthwaite, Cross Plains, Stamford and Hamlin earn first-week wins

 

Goldthwaite 59, Junction 27
Goldthwaite dominated Junction, outgaining JHS 502-220, including 283 yards rushing. 

Haynes Greenway led GHS, with 219 yards passing and three scores.

Landry Sanderson was the top ground gainer for Goldthwaite with 132 yards and four TDs on 22 carries. 

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by Daniel Youngblood

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.

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by Daniel Youngblood

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.

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by Daniel Youngblood

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.   

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by Daniel Youngblood

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.

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by Daniel Youngblood

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.

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by Daniel Youngblood

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.

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by Daniel Youngblood

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.

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by Daniel Youngblood

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” →

by Daniel Youngblood

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!

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by Mike Lee, Special to Big Country Preps

GOLDTHWAITE FEATURE: Football serves as getaway for Goldthwaite linebacker

Photos by Terry Thompson

Walt Thompson is not a typical high school football player.

In addition to being a third-year starter at middle linebacker for the Goldthwaite Eagles with 206 tackles the previous two seasons, Thompson is better known in his hometown as a two-time UIL Class 2A state champion medalist in golf.

Thompson won state in golf as a freshman in 2024 and as a sophomore in 2025. He took the Goldthwaite team with him to state last spring, but Thompson finished eighth in the 2026 medalist standings.

Golf is his sport of the future as Thompson is considering collegiate offers from NCAA Division II Lubbock Christian University and NAIA Texas A&M-Texarkana.

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by Mike Lee, Special to Big Country Preps

2026 GOLDTHWAITE FOOTBALL PREVIEW: Headline: Eagles are finally grown up and ready to fly

Andy Howard has been through four challenging seasons as head coach of the Goldthwaite Eagles. From an 0-10 finish in his first season (2022) to initially low attendance for summer conditioning, Howards and his Eagles have faced their share of adversity.

But in the last two seasons, the Eagles made progress – even with young rosters. They finished 7-5 in 2024 and 8-4 in 2025. It marked Goldthwaite’s first seasons with back-to-back playoff wins since 2012-13.

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by Daniel Youngblood

2026 All-Big Country Preps Baseball Team: First-Team Roster

Here are our second-team selections for the 2026 All-Big Country Preps baseball team. For the rest of this year’s selections, click the links below.

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by Daniel Youngblood

2026 All-Big Country Preps Baseball Team: Second-Team Roster (w/ honorable mention)

Here are our second-team selections for the 2026 All-Big Country Preps baseball team. For the rest of this year’s selections, click the links below.

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