Brock 66, Burkburnett 7 — Bryer McDonald ran for 143 yards and three touchdowns and Holt Frazier threw for 259 yards and four scores to lead the Eagles to a runaway win over the Bulldogs.
Colt Matlock also went over the century mark receiving, finishing with three catches for 107 yards and two TDs for Brock (8-0, 3-0), which won the turnover battle 3-0 in a dominating effort.
MINERAL WELLS — After moving their District 3-4A Division II game up 24 hours anticipating bad weather on Friday, the Graham and Mineral Wells football teams were less than 10 minutes from kickoff at Ram Stadium on Thursday when Mother Nature showed up anyways.
Following the 32-minute lightning delay, Graham forced a three-and-out and scored in the first 1:57 as the Steers rolled to a 42-0 win, setting up a showdown with Brock on Halloween for the expected district championship.
Graham coach Clay McChristian was proud of how his team dealt with the unexpected shift in schedules this week.
Brock 55, Mineral Wells 7 — Holt Frazier passed for 334 yards and four touchdowns, and Colt Matlock received for 134 yards and two scores to lead the Eagles to a lopsided win over the Rams.
Dash Lindsey (8-85, 2 TDs rushing; 1-17, 1 TD receiving) and Bryer McDonald (8-72, 2 TDs) also had productive days for Brock (7-0, 2-0), which also got 60 yards and a TD receiving from Davis Lee.
Brock 41, Saginaw Eagle Mountain 13 — Holt Frazier threw for 257 yards and three touchdowns, and Bryer McDonald ran for 90 yards and two scores to lead the Eagles to a comfortable win over the Knights.
Charles Hibbler (2-96 receiving), Davis Lee (3-50) and Casen Christenson (4-38) all had receiving TDs for Brock (6-0, 1-0), which shut Eagle Mountain out in the second half after going to halftime up 28-13.
Brownwwood 62, Ingleside 0
The Lions (3-3) rolled up 548 yards in total offense to reach the .500 mark for the first time this year.
Trent Buffington rushed for 111 yards and two TDs while Carson Noe and Grant Gray threw two touchdown passes each to lead Brownwood, which had built a 55-0 lead by halftime.
Limited to only 36 total yards, Ingleside fell to 2-4.
As it turned out, the best game in the Big Country last week was Clyde’s dramatic 54-49 win over Muleshoe in the top shootout the area has seen thus far in 2025.
At the heart of all that mayhem was our Big Country Preps Player of the Week, CHS junior quarterback Devan Wright.
Graham 35, Lake Worth 10 — Leading just 14-10 at halftime, the Steers shut the Bullfrogs out over the final two quarters to pull away for a convincing win.
Graham, which got 186 yards and three touchdowns rushing from Colt Taylor in the victory, scored a pair of third-quarter TDs to increase its lead to 28-10 by the start of the final period and was never threatened again after that.
Brock 69, Fort Worth Southwest 0 — Holt Frazier passed for 258 yards and six touchdowns, and the Eagles defense pitched a shutout in a runaway win over the Raiders.
Colt Matlock (2-87 receiving) and Braden Ray (4-63) both had two receiving touchdowns apiece to lead Brock, while Davis Lee (2-43) and Charles Hibbler (3-37) also caught scoring passes.
ABILENE — It took the Graham volleyball team most of one game to find its footing Tuesday, but after withstanding a fast start by Abilene Christian, the Lady Blues stood tall for a 25-23, 25-17, 25-20 win at the ACS gym.
GHS found itself in an early 11-3 hole and still trailed 17-11 later in the first set, but a 13-3 run swung the momentum to the Lady Blues side and it never left after as coach Marci Faulk’s squad picked up the road sweep over the Lady Panthers.
The victory, Graham’s fifth in a row, improved the lady Blues to 24-5 on the year, while Abilene Christian fell to 15-11 with its first loss in six matches. Both teams play one more nondistrict match later this week before opening district play next Tuesday.
Graham 35, Whitesboro 7 — Jace Gill passed for 202 yards and a touchdown and ran for 72 yards and two more scores to fuel the Steers to a blowout win over the Bearcats.
Dylan Cox (8-41 rushing) also had two rushing touchdowns for Graham, which was led in receiving by Brodie Martin (3-57, 1 TD), Parker Hale (4-51) and Walker Bennett (2-48).
Brock 67, Lake Worth 7 — Holt Frazier passed for 195 yards and five touchdowns, hitting Colt Matlock three ties for 132 yards and three scores, to fuel the Eagles to a blowout win over the Bullfrogs.
Levi Dean (5-100, 1 TD), Bryer McDonald (5-83, 1 TD) and Dash Lindsey (8-74, 1 TD) all added nice rushing days for Brock (2-0), which finished with 561 yards of total offense.
Brock 52, Decatur 31 — Bryer McDonald and Dash Lindsey both topped 120 yards rushing and Holt Frazier passed for 194 yards and four scores to fuel BHS to a three-touchdown win over Decatur.
Colt Matlock was Frazier’s favorite target in the passing game, hauling in eight passes for 140 yards and three TDs, while Braeden Ray also had a receiving score.
Got the truck started yet?
Ready to jump on one of those farm-to-market roads to watch high school football into the late hours on a Friday night?
You’re not alone.
And, as tradition would have it, I tip my cap to those of you who will be hitting the trails each week in search of pigskin. My method: a preseason menu of sorts.
Each week for the next 11 weeks, Big Country Preps will be searching for its Game of the Week, and we’re already looking ahead. We now present our preliminary list of Big Country Games worth traveling for, but keep in mind: the following list is subject to change as surprises and disappointments emerge.
And as we all know … surprises and disappointments always emerge.
So, without further delay, here is our list of Big Country games worth traveling for in 2025.
I’ll see you on the road.
From the outside looking in, Graham’s decision to move Jace Gill from receiver to quarterback to replace multi-year standout Ty Thompson might look like a red flag.
If you didn’t know any better, you might misdiagnose that development as a sign of poor program depth at the most high profile position on the football field.
But make no mistake, that would be a misdiagnosis.
While the speedy Gill was previously an explosive utility player for the Steers, rushing for a combined 778 yards and eight touchdowns and receiving for 542 yards and four more scores from 2022-2024, he is a quarterback by trade. And in returning to his natural position, the senior is continuing — not breaking — a lineage of excellent quarterback play at GHS dating back to Case McCoy’s arrival in 2006.
After graduating 26 seniors from last year’s 12-2 squad, the Graham Steers understand that they’ll be a popular pick by many to take a step backward in 2025.
But don’t expect coach Clay McChristian or his squad to embrace or endorse such a forecast.
While Graham will be significantly younger and less experienced that it was a year ago, returning just one offensive and three defensive starters among its 17 lettermen, the Steers have every intention of upholding a tradition that has yielded 16 consecutive playoff appearances and eight double digit-win seasons over that span. So when they say they’ve adopted the phrase “Doubt us” as their motto for the season, you can do so at your own risk.
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. 20. 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. 4, we’ll be spotlighting each 11-man team in the area and posing some of the key questions they’ll face in 2025 as part of our annual “Countdown to Two-a-Days” series.
Today, we take a look at the Graham Steers.
OTHER 2025 ALL-BIG COUNTRY PREPS TEAMS
Our All-Big Country Preps Softball and Baseball Teams, released Saturday and Sunday, respectively, are in place to honor those who achieved the most on-field success in 2025. It is off the field, however, where character, grit, and work ethic are often measured. And it is with our Big Country Preps All-Hustle Team that we wish to honor those players, male and female, who were (simply put) the hardest-working, best teammates in the area this spring.
This team isn’t about who the best baseball and softball players were.
The All-Hustle team honors effort, discipline, toughness, coachability and selflessness — traits that coaches wish they had in every player and upon which championships are built.
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 2025 season.
The players below are listed in no particular order.
Here are our first-team selections for the 2025 All-Big Country Preps baseball team. For the rest of this year’s selections, click the links below.
Here are our second-team selections for the 2025 All-Big Country Preps baseball team. For the rest of this year’s selections, click the links below.
Ladies and gentlemen, we are proud to release our 2025 All-Big Country Preps baseball teams.
Here, you will find our Rising Stars Team honoring the top freshmen and sophomores in the Big Country.
For the rest of this year’s baseball selections, please click the links below.
Here are our first-team selections for the 2025 All-Big Country Preps softball team. For the rest of this year’s selections, click the links below.
Here are our second-team selections for the 2025 All-Big Country Preps softball team. For the rest of this year’s selections, click the links below.
Ladies and gentlemen, we are proud to release our 2025 All-Big Country Preps Softball teams.
Here, you will find our Rising Stars Team honoring the top freshmen and sophomores in the Big Country.
For the rest of this year’s softball selections, please click the links below.
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: Brock-Graham baseball region championship playoff (70 images)”
STEPHENVILLE — Facing off with a familiar opponent in a one-game playoff for the Region I-4A Division II championship and trip to the state semifinals, Brock coach Koby Page was a bundle of nerves heading into Thursday’s matchup with Graham at the Tarleton Baseball Complex.
If his Eagles shared that nervousness, they didn’t show it, using a three-run third inning to take a lead that ace Evan O’Connor would protect the rest of the way in a 7-0 victory over their District 6-4A rival.
The win, which was punctuated by a second three-run outburst in the top of the seventh, earns Brock another week of baseball against the winner of the Region II-4A Div. II championship series between Carthage and Longview Spring Hill.
Here are the area’s baseball statistical leaders through May 1.
Statistics are from throughout the Big Country Preps circulation area as submitted by coaches. These lists will be continually updated as we receive more submissions.
If your favorite team is missing, please give your head coach a friendly reminder to check his email for our weekly stat request or send Evan Ren a note at Evan.Ren@BigCountryPreps.com.
Here are the area’s softball statistical leaders through April 24:
Statistics are from throughout the Big Country Preps circulation area as submitted by coaches. These lists will be continually updated as we receive more submissions.
If your favorite team is missing, please give your head coach a friendly reminder to check his or her email for our weekly stat request or send Evan Ren a note at Evan.Ren@BigCountryPreps.com.
Here are the area’s baseball statistical leaders through April 24.
Statistics are from throughout the Big Country Preps circulation area as submitted by coaches. These lists will be continually updated as we receive more submissions.
If your favorite team is missing, please give your head coach a friendly reminder to check his email for our weekly stat request or send Evan Ren a note at Evan.Ren@BigCountryPreps.com.
LUBBOCK — The Brownwood girls won a team title and Stephenville finished second behind Canyon on the boys side over the weekend to headline a strong effort by programs and athletes from the Big Country Preps coverage area at the Region I-4A track meet.
The Lady Lions earned 113 points to run away from the competition at Lowrey Field, topping second-place Canyon by 38 points and third-place Canyon Randall by 53. The Stephenville boys, meanwhile, finished with 76 points to fall 15 shy of Canyon for the team championship.
Those efforts highlighted a successful meet that saw area athletes claim 23 total medals — 13 on the girls side and 10 on the boys.
The best way to describe the area meet performance of our Big Country Preps Player of the Week (Wall’s Briggs Jones) is to simply let his coach, Craig Slaughter do the talking.
“He ran a blistering 10.41 to set a school record and win the 100 meters,” Slaughter said. “He broke his long jump record with a jump of 23-11.5. I only let him jump twice because he was running out of room in the pit and I need that dude cranked up this week.
“Then he destroyed his triple jump record with a jump of 48-7.25
While scoring and rebounding garner much of the attention in basketball, there are other elements, crucial to success that seldom grab headlines.
Behind the scenes is where character, effort and sacrifice set the foundation for teams to reach their full potential. And it is with our Big Country Preps Gym Rat Team that we salute the individuals who bring these elements to the table.
This team isn’t about who the best players are — though some of the area’s top players are on this list.
The Gym Rat Team is about outworking, outhustling and outgiving everyone around you, both on the floor and off. Hard-working, honest, selfless, tough, coachable kids are what we seek for this roster.
A Gym Rat Team member can be your best player or the last player off the bench. But the one thing all of them bring is an uncompromisingly good attitude.
It is for that reason that our Gym Rat Team is selected entirely by area coaches. And Big Country Preps is truly honored to present these individuals to you — the best “team players” (boys and girls) that the area had to offer during the 2024-25 season.
Players are listed in no particular order.
Enjoy.
Here are the area’s softball statistical leaders through March 27:
Statistics are from throughout the Big Country Preps circulation area as submitted by coaches. These lists will be continually updated as we receive more submissions.
If your favorite team is missing, please give your head coach a friendly reminder to check his or her email for our weekly stat request or send Evan Ren a note at Evan.Ren@BigCountryPreps.com.
Here are the area’s baseball statistical leaders through March 27.
Statistics are from throughout the Big Country Preps circulation area as submitted by coaches. These lists will be continually updated as we receive more submissions.
If your favorite team is missing, please give your head coach a friendly reminder to check his email for our weekly stat request or send Evan Ren a note at Evan.Ren@BigCountryPreps.com.
20Here are the area’s baseball statistical leaders through March 20.
Statistics are from throughout the Big Country Preps circulation area as submitted by coaches. These lists will be continually updated as we receive more submissions.
If your favorite team is missing, please give your head coach a friendly reminder to check his email for our weekly stat request or send Evan Ren a note at Evan.Ren@BigCountryPreps.com.