After highlighting the top pitchers and catchers on the Big Country softball scene the past two nights, it’s time to turn our attention to the field.
For the third installment in our five-part position rankings series, we list our top-10 infielders in the area for the 2020 season.
We hope you enjoy reading through our rankings.
With the area girls heading into the area round of the playoffs and the boys settling their final tiebreakers to determine seeding, it’s time for Evan and Daniel to take a good look around the area.
All the top favorites, all the top surprises and what they’re up against will be this week’s topic of conversation.
HASKELL — It was viewed by some as a going-away party, marking the final night of basketball in Haskell’s Tee Pee, with struggling Cross Plains serving as
the sacrificial lamb.
Someone forgot to give the Buffaloes the memo.
Instead, Tuesday’s District 8-2A matchup saw the Buffs crash the party and nearly send the Tee Pee (opened in 1956) off on a losing note. Haskell hung on for a 50-46 win, but not before Cross Plains rallied from deficits of 15-8 in the first half and 40-23 in the second.
Cutter Medford scored 21 points and Landry Olson added 11 more to lead Haskell (13-19, 7-3), which saw a 17-point third-quarter lead whittled to five by the 2:05 mark of the fourth.
Casen Conlee and Caleb Hernandez led the way for Cross Plains, which finished its season at 6-20 and 2-8.
After kicking off our softball position rankings series with the pitchers on Monday, we now shift our attention to their battery mates.
For the second installment in our five-part series, we rank the area’s top-10 catchers to watch out for in 2020.
We hope you enjoy our list.
With softball season kicking off this week, it’s time to learn the names of or be reintroduced to the players you’ll be reading about throughout the 2020 campaign.
For the first installment in a five-part series that will cover all position groups on the area softball scene, we’ll be taking a look at the Big Country’s top pitchers, ranking our top 10 with a list of others to watch this fall.
We hope you enjoy reading through our list.
It’s hard to believe, but we have reached the final scheduled date of the boys basketball regular season. After Tuesday, all that will separate us from the playoffs are a handful of seeding games and coin flips.
But while most Big Country districts have already crowned their champions, plenty of intrigue remains heading into this final night of district games.
Without further ado, let’s take a look at this week’s top matchups and outcomes last week’s key results.
In his four years as Ballinger’s boys basketball coach, Jamal Anene has built the Bearcats into a consistent playoff team. The same is true this year of BHS, which enters a big game Friday against San Angelo TLCA at 23-8 overall and 8-2 in District 4-3A.
Earlier this week, Anene took a few minutes to chat with Big Country Preps’ Evan Ren and Daniel Youngblood about this season, his goals for the program and his unique background for the Capital Farm Credit Wednesday Night Podcast.
Also in this episode, Evan and Daniel discuss the end of the girls basketball regular season and some of the biggest storylines in the final week of boys district games.
HASKELL — Since 1956, the Haskell boys and girls basketball teams have been housed in what has often been described as the noisiest venue in the entire Big Country.
Known unofficially in some circles as “The Teepee,” the Haskell gym, with its angled walls at the baseline and pitched roof, does bear some resemblance to the conical tents once used by Native American tribes of the Great Plains.
The sound inside, however, is closer to that of a 747 at takeoff than a powwow.
Those days are rapidly coming to a close and by next week, the facility will have hosted its last varsity game.
Big Country Preps publishes area boys and girls basketball statistical leaders each Thursday at 7 p.m.
This database will be continually updated for our subscribers throughout the remainder of the season, using only those statistics submitted by area coaches.
Teams that do not submit their statistics in a given week will not be listed when our stats are posted, but will be added to the lists below as they are received in the coming days.
Big Country Preps publishes area boys and girls basketball statistical leaders each Thursday at 7 p.m.
This database will be continually updated for our subscribers throughout the remainder of the season, using only those statistics submitted by area coaches.
Teams that do not submit their statistics in a given week will not be listed when our stats are posted, but will be added to the lists below as they are received in the coming days.
ABILENE — The University Interscholastic league released its new athletic districts for the 2020-21 and 2021-22 school years on Monday.
As always, a sizable contingent of area coaches was on hand at the Region 14 Education Service Center to receive their information packets and arrange for any last-second schedule changes that were forced by realignment.
Perhaps the biggest stunner was a move north by Class 2A Division I power San Saba, which has been shifted to the new District 4 with Cisco, Coleman, De Leon, Goldthwaite and Winters.
Big Country Preps publishes area boys and girls basketball statistical leaders each Thursday at 7 p.m.
This database will be continually updated for our subscribers throughout the remainder of the season, using only those statistics submitted by area coaches.
Teams that do not submit their statistics in a given week will not be listed when our stats are posted, but will be added to the lists below as they are received in the coming days.
Big Country Preps publishes area boys and girls basketball statistical leaders each Thursday at 7 p.m.
This database will be continually updated for our subscribers throughout the remainder of the season, using only those statistics submitted by area coaches.
Teams that do not submit their statistics in a given week will not be listed when our stats are posted, but will be added to the lists below as they are received in the coming days.
The Haskell Maidens — one of the Big Country’s most consistent girls basketball programs over the last decade — have won 20 consecutive games this season, including their first five District 8-2A games by an average of 37 points.
The Maidens, 23-3 overall and 5-0 in district after Friday’s 53-32 win at Albany, are seeking their sixth consecutive district championship. Haskell was ranked No. 9 in last week’s Texas Association of Basketball Coaches Class 2A poll.
There are multiple reasons for this season’s success under new head coach Michael Skelton, but high on the list is the performance of sisters Landry Hanson and Delaney — or Laney — Hanson. Landry, a 5-foot-8 senior guard, is averaging 15.1 points, 6.5 rebounds and 4.2 steals. Laney, a 5-11 sophomore forward, is averaging 15.5 points, 8.4 rebounds and 4.4 steals.
Big Country Preps publishes area boys and girls basketball statistical leaders each Thursday at 7 p.m.
This database will be continually updated for our subscribers throughout the remainder of the season, using only those statistics submitted by area coaches.
Teams that do not submit their statistics in a given week will not be listed when our stats are posted, but will be added to the lists below as they are received in the coming days.
Big Country Preps publishes area boys and girls basketball statistical leaders each Thursday at 7 p.m.
This database will be continually updated for our subscribers throughout the remainder of the season, using only those statistics submitted by area coaches.
Teams that do not submit their statistics in a given week will not be listed when our stats are posted, but will be added to the lists below as they are received in the coming days.
Under longtime boys basketball coach Josh Fostel, the Eula Pirates have been among the best and most consistent Class 1A programs in the state. And EHS, which reached the state semifinals in 2007 before winning the state championship in 2011, has another strong team this year, sitting at 19-6 after routing Moran on Tuesday.
Earlier this week, Fostel took a few minutes to chat with Big Country Preps’ Evan Ren and Daniel Youngblood about this year’s team, its 62-56 upset of Class 4A Brownwood last week and the program he’s built for this week’s Capital Farm Credit Wednesday Night Podcast.
Also in this episode, Evan and Daniel discuss some of the biggest boys and and girls basketball storylines of the season so far.
STAMFORD — A pair of old area rivals took turns whipping each other on Friday as Haskell and Stamford split a varsity doubleheader at SHS.
The Haskell girls opened the evening with a 62-38 win, after which the Stamford boys got some payback, dropping the Indians 72-37 in the nightcap.
Landry and Delaney Hanson scored 13 points each and Melody Martinez added 12 more to pace the 11th-ranked Haskell girls (21-3, 3-0), who took advantage of Stamford foul trouble to put the Lady Bulldogs away in the fourth quarter.
Each Thursday at 7 p.m., Big Country Preps will publish area boys basketball statistical leaders.
This database will be continually updated for our subscribers throughout the remainder of the season, using only those statistics submitted by area coaches.
Teams that do not submit their statistics in a given week will not be listed when our stats are posted, but will be added to the lists below as they are received in the coming days.
Each Thursday at 7 p.m., Big Country Preps will publish area girls basketball statistical leaders.
This database will be continually updated for our subscribers throughout the remainder of the season, using only those statistics submitted by area coaches.
Teams that do not submit their statistics in a given week will not be listed when our stats are posted, but will be added to the lists below as they are received in the coming days.
We all know a football player who almost never misses any practice time and practically lives in the weight room. He’s always early to arrive and late to leave. He’s coachable, but seldom needs direction because he always pays attention.
You know who I’m talking about.
The guy who sets a good example for young players. The guy who never complains and, first and foremost, is tough mentally and physically. He may not be the best player on a team (though some of them are). But he’s definitely the guy who gets the most out of the talent he’s given.
Welcome to the 2019 “True Grit” team — the one place in the Big Country where guys who fall into this category are recognized for it.
After a two-week holiday break, Big Country Preps’ Evan Ren and Daniel Youngblood return to the Capital Farm Credit Wednesday Night Podcast to discuss the All-Big Country Preps football teams, released Wednesday.
Also in this episode, Evan and Daniel speak briefly on the Big Country hoops scene.
Continue to check back at BigCountryPreps.com each Wednesday night at 7 p.m. when Evan and Dan discuss the current happenings in Big Country High School sports — often with an interesting sports figure from around the area.
You can also peruse our BCP Podcast archive, which features dozens of our previous shows with prominent coaches and Big Country media fixtures.
Inquiries regarding these podcasts may be directed to Evan Ren at Evan.Ren@BigCountryPreps.com.
If you have a suggested topic of conversation or a recommended guest, don’t hesitate to contact us!
Here are our first-team selections for the 2019 All-Big Country Preps football team. For the rest of this year’s selections, click the links below.
Here are our first-team selections for the 2019 All-Big Country Preps football team. For the rest of this year’s selections, click the links below.
Here are our first-team selections for the 2019 All-Big Country Preps football team. For the rest of this year’s selections, click the links below.
Photos may be purchased for $7 each by clicking on the small shopping cart emblem below the lower right corner of the gallery. Our company watermark “BigCountryPreps.com” will be removed from all purchased photos.
HASKELL — To say that first-year Haskell girls basketball coach Michael Skelton has a tough act to follow might be the understatement of the 2019-20 season.
Replacing former coach Blake Eddleman, who stepped down in the spring, Skelton inherited a program that had won six district titles over a seven-year span, reaching the regional quarterfinals three times and the regional semis once. The Maidens were 178-41 under Eddleman, leaving a bit of a pressure cooker for whomever was chosen to keep that success going.
Skelton, a Jayton native who was coaching in Slocum last season, wanted the Haskell gig and all the expectations that went with it.
EULA — A varsity basketball doubleheader between Haskell and Eula yielded a split result on Tuesday at Eula Pirate Gymnasium with the Haskell girls rallying to taking the opener 45-37 and the Eula boys winning 56-41 in the nightcap.
Early on, the EHS girls were well on their way to setting up a doubleheader sweep when they built a 30-20 lead with a big third quarter. But Haskell answered with a 15-0 run, beginning with a 3-pointer from Emma Roewe with 0:12 left in the period. The Maidens then opened final quarter with 12 straight points to take the lead for good.
After a rough first week of the high school football playoffs, the Big Country has just 12 teams remaining.
Forgoing a guest this week to dive into the bi-district results and area-round matchups, Big Country Preps’ Evan Ren and and Daniel say goodbye to the teams that fell in their playoff opener and discuss the postseason future of those still playing.
Continue to check back at BigCountryPreps.com each Wednesday night at 7 p.m. when Evan and Dan discuss the current happenings in Big Country High School sports — often with an interesting sports figure from around the area.
You can also peruse our BCP Podcast archive, which features dozens of our previous shows with prominent coaches and Big Country media fixtures.
Inquiries regarding these podcasts may be directed to Evan Ren at Evan.Ren@BigCountryPreps.com.
If you have a suggested topic of conversation or a recommended guest, don’t hesitate to contact us!
LAST WEEK: 34-7, .829
OVERALL: 431-83, .839
I say the same thing at this point every season.
We no longer have a Game of the Week. Once the playoffs start, they’re all the Game of the Week. We’ll only be limited by how many games we can get to and Big Country Preps will endeavor to get to as many as possible.
Nonetheless, some games warrant a close inspection as we head into the bi-district round. So here’s a quick peek at the five games we view as the most intriguing heading into this week’s action, with the remainder of my postseason picks listed below.