Category: Haskell Indians

by Yale Youngblood, Special to Big Country Preps

FEATURE: Haskell offensive line paving way for one of state’s most explosive attacks

It’s not a stretch to say that the Haskell football team has had a big offensive year so far. To wit: In running their record to 5-2 overall and 3-0 in District 6-2A Division II play, the Indians have averaged more than 60 points per game. 

Even in their two losses, to perennial playoff teams Stamford and Anson, they tallied 62 and 44.

All of those are colossal numbers, for sure. Anyone who watched the team prepare for the 2026 season in August saw them coming — assuming they took a close look at the collection of players preparing to pave the way to the endzone.

Haskell has one of the best Class 2A offensive line in this region — and many others. It is certainly one of the strongest, having improved its maximum weight lifting numbers from the end of last fall to the spring by 600 pounds. 

In turn, that group is figuratively carrying the Indians toward the playoffs for a second straight year.

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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 Evan Ren

BIG COUNTRY PREPS PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Haskell’s Pinkerton takes the trifecta

After only seven weeks of football this season, Haskell senior quarterback Haegan Pinkerton has put his stamp on our Big Country Preps Player of the Week award for a third time.

Believe me, we’d prefer to share the love. But with Pinkerton’s numbers, the teen has begun to turn this thing into a game of Monopoly, and he’s wearing the top hat. 

Pinkerton, who led the Indians to a 92-48 win over Munday, hit 13 of 14 passes for 264 yards and five touchdowns on Friday. But that’s only the beginning. 

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by Evan Ren

DISTRICT 6-2A DII WEEK 7 REPORT: Haskell, Seymour, Windthorst fighting for title

Haskell 92, Munday 48 — Haskell’s insane level of offensive production continued in an important district win over Munday. 

Haegan Pinkerton threw for 264 yards and five TDs and rushed for 179 yards and three more scores to lift the Indians (4-2, 2-0) who are in the thick of the district title chase. 

Munday fell to 5-2 and 1-2.

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by Evan Ren

DISTRICT 6-2A DII WEEK 6 REPORT: Haskell, Petrolia, Seymour all victorious

Haskell 60, Electra 6 — Haskell had its best defensive performance of the year and rushed for 266 yards as a team to dump Electra. 

Haskell raced out to a 52-0 lead in the first half before putting things into cruise control. 

Haegan Pinkerton topped the stat sheet with 121 yards passing and four TDs as the Indians improved to 3-2 and 1-0. 

Electra fell to 0-5 and 0-2. 

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by Evan Ren

DISTRICT 6-2A DII WEEK 5 REPORT: Seymour, Windthorst, Munday post wins in week 5

Seymour 56, Electra 6 — Keaton Anderson threw for 141 yards and two scores and Demarcus Smith rushed for 108 yards and another TD as Seymour improved to 3-2 with its second straight win. 

The Panthers (3-2, 1-0) will play host to Munday (5-0, 1-0) in an important district matchup on Friday.

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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

BIG COUNTRY PREPS GAME OF THE WEEK: Haskell rallies from two-score deficit in fourth quarter to edge Santo in Big Country classic

Haskell’s Haegen Pinkerton delivers a third-quarter pass in Friday’s 44-42 win at Santo

SANTO — Imagine an early September non-district game that was so intense, so emotional, that there were tears shed by multiple players in its aftermath. 

As multiple Santo players wept following a 44-42 loss to Haskell in the Big Country Preps Game of the Week, a group of jubilant Indians were dumping a cooler of ice water on the head of Haskell coach Creighton Henderson — almost as if their victory had come in Arlington instead of at W.A. Lewis Field. 

But following a game that had produced six lead changes to go with a third-quarter tie, the emotional scene seemed to fit the circumstances, though nothing was really gained or lost prior to the onset of district play. 

Haskell’s Haegen Pinkerton, who has already won the Big Country Preps Player of the Week award twice this season, again put in a huge performance with 217 yards rushing, 157 yards passing and a direct hand in five touchdowns to lead Haskell (2-1) which entered Friday’s game with a slight chip on its shoulder. 

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by Evan Ren

BIG COUNTRY PREPS GAME OF THE WEEK: Unbeaten Santo to face one of the area’s top weapons (w/ Evan Ren’s Big Country picks)

LAST WEEK: 55-15, .785
SEASON TOTAL: 110-34, .763

Out Big Country Preps Game of the Week pairs what might be the area’s most improved team (Santo, 2-0) against one its top offensive weapons in Haskell QB Haegen Pinkerton, who with 544 yards rushing and 434 yards passing, has already won our Big Country Preps Player of the Week award twice this season. 

The Indians are a modest 1-1 on the year, but have already put up 124 points with Pinkerton accounting for 978 yards in total offense. Nonetheless, Santo has allowed just 13 total points in wins over Chilton and Dublin, and if they get their flexbone offense rolling, can effectively keep Pinkerton and company off of the field. 

That, will be the key element in keeping the Indians at bay, but Pinkerton will get his share of big plays. 
Regardless, the Wildcats will get the higher number of defensive stops and improve to 3-0. 

PICK: Santo by 10

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by Evan Ren

BIG COUNTRY PREPS PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Pinkerton takes his second award in as many weeks

We prefer to not have the same athlete win our Big Country Preps Player of the Week award in successive weeks, given that it is our aim to share the love. But every now and then, the numbers simply make that impossible. 

So here we have it: Haskell’s Haegen Pinkerton has won our accolade twice in as many weeks, and deservedly so after leading the Indians to a 62-44 win at Bangs on Friday. 

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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 6-2A DII WEEK 1 REPORT: Stamford outlasts Haskell unforgettable shootout

Stamford 80, Haskell 62 — The Bulldogs outlasted Haskell in a shootout for the ages. 

Miles Follis threw for 324 yards and four scores and Brenham Walker rushed for 134 yards and a TD to lead Stamford (1-0). 

Haskell was led by Haegan Pinkerton with 339 yards rushing and four TDs. He also threw for 176 yards and three more scores. 

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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 Evan Ren

HASKELL FEATURE: Senior linebacker a key element to Indian defense heading into 2026

GAME PHOTOS PROVIDED BY KRISTI GIBSON

HASKELL — At 5-11 and 185 pounds, He’s not the biggest linebacker in the area, not by a long shot.  Nor is he the fastest, with a solid-but-not-blazing 40 time of 4.7. 

There is, however, one thing you can be certain of: If Haskell’s Beaux Shaginaw gets his hands on someone: they’re going down.  

Now entering his senior season with the Indians, Shaginaw is coming off an eye-popping junior campaign that saw him chart 167 tackles, nine tackles for loss and three forced fumbles. 

“He’s the anchor on our defense,” Haskell coach Creighton Henderson said. “He led the team and led the area in tackles. He’s a guy who’s always around the ball, he’s really hard to block and he’s always getting in there and hitting someone in the face.”

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