Here are the Big Country’s receiving leaders through Week 8:
Category: Hamlin Pied Pipers
DISTRICT 7-2A DII WEEK 8 REPORT: Goldthwaite, Stamford, Hamlin all score victories
Goldthwaite 56, Albany 0 — The Eagles (8-0, 4-0) rolled up 456 yards in total offense to remain unbeaten.
Landry Sanderson rushed for 232 yards and five scores to lead Goldthwaite, which held Albany to an eye-popping minus-16 yards rushing.
DISTRICT 7-2A DII WEEK 7 REPORT: Goldthwaite, Stamford on collision course
Goldthwaite 63, Hamlin 0 — The Eagles raced out to a 49-0 first-half lead before cruising home for their seventh straight win against no losses.
GHS (7-0, 3-0) finished with 436 yards in total offense; Hamlin (2-5, 0-3) totaled only 29 yards on the night.
DISTRICT 7-2A DII WEEK 6 REPORT: Goldthwaite, Stamford, Albany all notch district wins
Goldthwaite 61, Miles 0 — The Eagles (6-0, 2-0) continued to roll with 473 yards in balanced total offense, with 232 yards rushing and 241 passing.
Hayes Greenway threw four TD passes and Landry Sanderson rushed for 126 yards and two scores to lead Goldthwaite.
Miles slipped to 2-4 and 0-2.
DISTRICT 7-2A DII WEEK 5 REPORT: Goldthwaite improves to 5-0 with win
Goldthwaite 69, Winters 0 — The Eagles remained unbeaten by holding Winters to minus-14 yards in total offense.
Owen Campbell rushed for 57 yards and two scores and Hayes Greenway threw for 47 yards, rushed for 26 and accounted for two TDs to lead Goldthwaite (5-0, 1-0).
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
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.
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.
DISTRICT 7-2A DII WEEK 2 REPORT: Goldthwaite, Miles, Albany all notch wins
Goldthwaite 48, Granger 0 — The Eagles (2-0) remained unbeaten with a blowout win at Granger.
Hayess Greenway threw for 261 yards and three TDs and rushed for 115 to lead Goldthwaite, which will face archrival San Saba (1-1) next week.
Granger fell to 1-1.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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”
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!
HAMLIN FEATURE: Senior LB Holden a playmaker on the field, leader off it for young Pipers
While Rowdy Holden’s 2025 defensive statistics were head-turning in and of themselves, they probably didn’t do justice to what the now-senior linebacker means to the Hamlin Pied Pipers.
We’ll share them, anyway, because … well … these are the kind of numbers from which legends are born.
In 11 games during which Hamlin went 8-3 and advanced to the Class 2A Division II playoffs, Holden recorded 145½ tackles. Of those, 23 came in the backfield before opponents could even reach the line of scrimmage. He also forced four fumbles, broke up three passes and pressured the quarterback into sacks or hurried throws 12 times.
2026 HAMLIN FOOTBALL PREVIEW: Pied Pipers hoping to build on recent success despite graduation losses
Following an 8-3 season during which Hamlin made the playoffs for the second consecutive year, the Pipers will try to ride a wave of momentum into the 2026 football season. But to match or exceed the exploits of their predecessors, the latest version of Pipers will likely have to see a number of new players evolve into heroes this fall.
Hamlin returns just 11 lettermen, which means a good number of starters this season — particularly at the skill positions — haven’t taken many meaningful snaps under the Friday night lights. The good news is that the new front-line players are already blending nicely with the proven leaders, giving coach Jason Botos reason for optimism when the Piper open the season on Aug. 28 hosting Crosbyton.
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.
- Superlative Award Winners (Pitcher of the Year, Offensive Player of the Year, etc.)
- All-Big Country Preps Second-Team Baseball Selections (w/ honorable mention)
- All-Big Country Preps Rising Stars Team (the best freshman and sophomores in the area!)
- Big Country Preps All-Hustle Team (to be released Monday night)
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.
- Superlative Award Winners (Pitcher of the Year, Offensive Player of the Year, etc.)
- All-Big Country Preps First-Team Baseball Selections
- All-Big Country Preps Rising Stars Team (the best freshman and sophomores in the area!)
- Big Country Preps All-Hustle Team (to be released Monday night)
2026 Big Country Preps Rising Stars Baseball Team: The top sophomores and freshmen in the area
Ladies and gentlemen, we are proud to release our 2026 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.
- Superlative Award Winners (Pitcher of the Year, Offensive Player of the Year, etc.)
- All-Big Country Preps First-Team Baseball Selections
- All-Big Country Preps Second-Team Baseball Selections (w/ honorable mention)
- Big Country Preps All-Hustle Team (to be released Monday night)
2026 All-Big Country Preps Softball Team: First-team Roster
Here are our first-team selections for the 2026 All-Big Country Preps softball team. For the rest of this year’s selections, click the links below.
- Superlative Award Winners (Pitcher of the Year, Offensive Player of the Year, etc.)
- All-Big Country Preps Second-Team Softball Selections (w/ honorable mention)
- All-Big Country Preps Rising Stars Team (the best freshman and sophomores in the area!)
- Big Country Preps All-Hustle Team (To be released Monday night)
2026 All-Big Country Preps Softball Team: Second-team Roster (w/ honorable mention)
Here are our second-team selections for the 2026 All-Big Country Preps softball team. For the rest of this year’s selections, click the links below.
- Superlative Award Winners (Pitcher of the Year, Offensive Player of the Year, etc.)
- All-Big Country Preps First-Team Softball Selections
- All-Big Country Preps Rising Stars Team (the best freshman and sophomores in the area!)
- Big Country Preps All-Hustle Team (To be released Monday night)