Category: Hamlin Pied Pipers

by Daniel Youngblood

Class 2A Bi-District Round Report: Hawley fends off Goldthwaite with dominant second half

REGION I-2A DIV. I

Hawley 34, Goldthwaite 20 — Trailing the Eagles 20-19 at halftime Thursday, the Bearcats finished the game with 15 unanswered points to fend off an upset bid and advance to the area round of the playoffs.

Hawley (9-2) outgained Goldthwaite by a 394-254 margin, getting 125 yards and three touchdowns passing from Rodey Hooper and 151 yards and one TD rushing from Xavier Rodela.

The Eagles (3-8) led by quarterback Jackson Patrick, who passed for 96 yards and a touchdown and rushed for a team high 68 yards on nine carries.

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by Brandon McAuliffe

COLUMN: Sepeda injury affects more than just players, coaches

BRECKENRIDGE — As sportswriters, we are blessed to be able to get to know high school athletes as their careers get started and then we get to watch them grow.

In the fall of 2017, when a Hamlin game was moved to McMurry University due to field conditions that September night, I was introduced to a pair of freshmen that the spotlight wasn’t too bright for — quarterback Braydin Warner and running back Jackson Sepeda.

That night, I could tell the duo was destined to do big things for coach Russell Lucas, the Pied Piper program and the community of Hamlin as a whole.

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by Brandon McAuliffe

GAME STORY: Hamlin starts march to Arlington with lopsided win over Olney

BRECKENRIDGE — The Hamlin Pied Pipers entered the Region II-2A Division II playoffs as the favorite to reach AT&T Stadium in December for a state championship game rematch with Mart.

Their road to a second consecutive title game appearance got a lot tougher on Thursday during a 44-6 bi-district win over Olney at Buckaroo Stadium, when senior running back Jackson Sepeda suffered a gruesome leg injury just seconds into the third quarter as he was tackled from behind on a short run.

Hamlin coach Russell Lucas didn’t have much of an update on his star’s condition after the game.

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by Evan Ren

Evan Ren’s regional football projections and bi-district picks

LAST WEEK: 26-4, .866
SEASON TOTAL: 377-81, .823

Week 12 of the football season is here. And you know what that means.

The horses are at the starting gate with a finish line set up in Arlington for the state championship games.

More than 97 percent of the teams won’t make it. And by the time Thanksgiving arrives, 75 percent of them will already be finished. Such is the magnitude of our postseason.

In the meantime, hundreds of teams from Class 1A through 4A have their dreams of reaching Jerry World still intact. Classes 5A and 6A will start their postseason journeys in mid December, after having their seasons delayed by COVID-19.

That said, it’s time to choose which of our Big Country entries have the best shot of conquering their regions. Who are the favorites? Who are the dark horses? An perhaps most importantly, where are the elephants in the room — the teams from outside of our area with the most potential to spoil the Big Country’s chances?

Let’s get started, shall we?

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by Daniel Youngblood

District 5-2A Div. II Week 11 Report: No. 2 Hamlin shuts out Lockney to claim title

Hamlin 22, Lockney 0 — The No. 2 Pied Pipers wrapped up a perfect regular season with their third shutout, turning away the previously unbeaten Longhorns (7-1, 2-1) in a de facto district title game.

Jackson Sepeda rushed for 158 yards and a touchdown, while Braydin Warner passed for 107 yards and two scores to lead Hamlin, which took a 15-0 into halftime.

The Pied Pipers, District 5’s champion, will take on District 6 No. 4 seed Olney (5-4, 2-2) in the opening round of the Class 2A Division II playoffs next week.

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by Daniel Youngblood

District 5-2A Div. II Week 10 Report: Lockney routs Roscoe to remain unbeaten

Lockney 54, Roscoe 20 — The Longhorns pounded out 499 yards of offense, 440 of those on the ground, to bury the Plowboys quickly in a lopsided victory.

Lockney (2-0 in district) built a 40-7 lead by halftime and cruised in the second half to its seventh consecutive win to start the season.

Lockney was led by back Nathan Ceniceros, who rushed for 237 yards and a couple of scores on 20 carries. Roscoe (0-9, 0-3) will wrap up its season next week at Crosbyton.

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by Daniel Youngblood

District 5-2A Div. II Week 9 Report: Jack Rabbits too much for Plowboys to handle

Ralls 76, Roscoe 6 — One of several games played on Thursday, this one was decided early, as the Jack Rabbits raced out to a 48-6 halftime lead and cruised from there to the lopsided victory.

Ralls (5-3, 1-1) took advantage of six Roscoe turnovers and used a strong running game to grind down the Plowboys (0-8,0-2). The Jack Rabbits finished with 295 rushing yards, getting solid production from Abraham Van Gundy (9-82, 1 TD rushing; 1 pick-six), Benjamin Njenga (6-67, 2 TDs) and Sergio Salinas (5-53, 2 TDs).

Roscoe’s only touchdown came late in the first quarter on a run that trimmed Ralls’ lead to 24-6.

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by Evan Ren

EVAN REN: Season of promise getting a bit frustrating for Lucas, Hamlin

Football coaches are by nature, organized, disciplined people. They have to be, or they’d never be able to compete with their peers, who are also organized, disciplined people. 

Because of that, they are ready to deal with every contingency. Or at least, every contingency that has existed before the year 2020. 

How to handle a rash of injuries? Check.

How to deal with a discipline issue? Check.

How to play a game in the mud? Check.

How to deal with a worldwide pandemic? Hmmm … We’re a little fuzzy on that one. And even the most experienced coaches in the Big Country are learning on the fly when it comes to dealing with it. 

There’s been no lack of frustration for coaches all over the area. But at this juncture, no area team has more to lose, or more reason to go completely bananas over this subject than the second-ranked Hamlin Pied Pipers, who are once again a strong state title contender in Class 2A Division II. 

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by Daniel Youngblood

District 5-2A Div. II Week 8 Report: No. 2 Hamlin takes care of Roscoe in COVID-altered week

Hamlin 49, Roscoe 13 — Braydin Warner passed for two touchdowns and rushed for two more to lead the second-ranked Pied Pipers to a runaway victory over the Plowboys in a game that was pushed up due to COVID-related cancellations by the other three teams in this league.

Hamlin (7-0, 2-0) led 35-0 at halftime and increased that lead to 49 points in the third quarter before Roscoe (0-7, 0-1) added a pair of fourth-quarter touchdowns to avoid the shutout. 

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by Daniel Youngblood

District 5-2A Div. II Week 7 Report: No. 2 Hamlin takes care of Ralls in league opener

Hamlin 42, Ralls 22 — Braydin Warner passed for 255 yards and two touchdowns, and Jackson Sepeda rushed for 158 yards and three scores to lift the second-ranked Pied Pipers to a district-opening win over the Jack Rabbits.

Hamlin, now 6-0 overall and 1-0 in league play, led 14-0 at halftime and increased its advantage to 28-8 by the end of the third quarter to put away Ralls (5-2, 0-1).

The Pied Pipers outgained the Jack Rabbits 483-304, getting 158 yards and a touchdown receiving from Cutter Martin in addition to the production Warner and Sepeda provided.

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by Zach Duncan, Special to Big Country Preps

GAME STORY: No. 2 Hamlin shuts out fourth-ranked Windthorst, remains unbeaten

WINDTHORST — Second-ranked Hamlin finally had to play four quarters Friday night.  

After stonewalling No. 4 Windthorst multiple times in the red zone, the Pied Pipers walked away with a hard-earned 14-0 road victory.  

Hamlin’s defense enters District 5-2A Division II action having allowed only three touchdowns in five games, but this one was different because there was little room for error in a showdown of regional favorites.  

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by Daniel Youngblood

District 5-2A Div. II Week 6 Report: Roscoe can’t keep up with Seagraves

Seagraves 32, Roscoe 6 — The Plowboys couldn’t break into the win column Friday, falling to 0-6 on the year with a lopsided loss to the Eagles.

Seagraves, which outgained Roscoe 295-154, led 20-0 by halftime and added another touchdown in the third quarter before the Plowboys finally got on the board late in that period.

Zharion Smith led the way offensively for the Eagles, rushing for 172 yards and three touchdowns, while the SHS defense limited Roscoe to just 53 yards rushing.

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by Daniel Youngblood

District 5-2A Div. II Week 5 Report: Roscoe can’t keep up with New Home

New Home 46, Roscoe 12 — The Plowboys’ struggles to begin the season continued Friday when they were outscored 28-6 in the fourth quarter of a 32-point loss to the Leopards.

Roscoe (0-5) trailed New Home 18-0 at halftime and trimmed that to 12 points by the start of the fourth quarter, but the Leopards (4-1) scored the first two touchdowns of the final period to put the game away.

The Plowboys, who have been outscored by a combined score of 227-32 this season, will try to put things together in their final nondistrict game against the Seagraves Eagles (1-4).

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by Evan Ren

BIG COUNTRY PREPS GAME OF THE WEEK: Hawley tangles with upstart Dragons (w/ Evan Ren’s Big Country picks)

LAST WEEK: 36-12, .750
SEASON TOTAL: 152-47, .763

I have not been to Bangs for a Game of the Week since 2013 — the last time the Dragons posted more than six wins in a season and the last winning record they had prior to last year’s 6-5 mark.

That drought ends tomorrow, when I travel to BHS for an interesting showdown between the Dragons (3-0) and Class 2A Division I power Hawley (3-1).

Bangs has the better overall numbers, but Hawley has faced a slightly tougher overall schedule, making this pick a perplexing one.

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by Evan Ren

BIG COUNTRY PREPS PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Snyder defensive specialist snags this week’s award

Benitez photo courtesy of Kassi Westermann

While a libero seldom gets as much attention as volleyball’s glamour positions up front, there are times when these defensive specialists make themselves so valuable they can’t be ignored, even in a losing effort.

That was the case last week with Snyder junior Abby Benitez in a pair of dual matches against Monahans and Odessa Permian on Tuesday, followed by another against Jim Ned and Denver City on Saturday.  The Lady Tigers didn’t register a single win, but Benitez’s hustle was astonishing enough to earn her our Big Country Preps Player of the Week award for  the week ending Sept. 19.

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by Daniel Youngblood

District 5-2A Div. II Week 4 Report: No. 2 Hamlin steamrolls Anson, moves to 4-0

Braydin Warner

Hamlin 48, Anson 6 — The second-ranked Pied Pipers continued their dominating start to the season, blasting a previously unbeaten opponent for the third consecutive week.

Coming off impressive victories over Hawley (35-6) and Albany (42-6), Hamlin outgained Anson 408-176 on Friday, building a 41-6 advantage by halftime.

Quarterback Braydin Warner passed for 243 yards and three touchdowns, while Jackson Sepeda rushed for 132 yards and four scores to help the Pipers improve to 4-0 on the year.

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by Evan Ren

District 3-2A Div. I Week 4Report: Buffs win thriller at McCamey to even record at 2-2

Chris Mendez

Forsan 31, McCamey 30 — Forsan (2-2) picked up its second straight win behind 312 team rushing yards.
 
 Chris Mendez led FHS with 166 yards and one score on 20 carries. Nat Hernandez charted 105 yards and three TDs on 19 touches.

McCamey fell to 2-1 on the year.  

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