Here are the Big Country’s receiving leaders through Week 10:
Albany 35, Cross Plains 0 — Leading 6-0 at halftime, the Lions outscored the Buffaloes 22-0 in the third quarter to turn a tight defensive ballgame into a rout and claim the outright district title in the regular season finale for Albany.
Albany (8-1, 5-0) rushed for 242 yards as a team, getting 132 yards from Jaheim Newton and 43 yards and two touchdowns from Coy Lefevre. Quarterback Barrett Beal, meanwhile, passed for 149 yards with a touchdown to Cole Chapman (4-87 receiving) and an interception.
Cross Plains, the No. 2 playoff seed out of this district, fell to 7-2 overall and 3-1 in league play heading into a scheduled game against Meridian next week.
Hico 17, Meridian 0 — The Tigers picked up a huge win for their playoff hopes, shutting out the Yellowjackets to snap a seven-game losing streak.
Putting together one scoring drive in each of the first three quarters, Hico (2-7, 1-3) increased a 14-0 halftime lead to 17 points by the start of the fourth quarter and closed things out from there.
Albany 61, Ranger 0 — The Lions raced out to a 34-0 first-quarter lead on the Bulldogs and coasted from there to their fourth consecutive shutout victory.
Albany (6-1, 3-0) rushed for 331 yards in the win, getting at least 50 yards and at least one touchdown from five players. Brooks Neece led all rushers with 84 yards and a score on just five carries, while Taren Farmer (9-79, 1 TD), Jaheim Newton (3-60, 1 TD), Isaiah Dockins (4-57, 2 TDs) and Coy Lefevre (1-51, 1 TD) all also had productive days.
Albany 55, Hico 0 — The Lions pitched their third consecutive shutout, following lopsided wins over Haskell (43-0) and Meridian (60-0) with another over Hico.
Albany (5-1, 2-0), which scored 28 first-quarter points on its way to a 42-0 halftime lead, finished the game with 511 yards — 350 rushing and 161 passing.
Coy Lefevre led the effort with 190 yards and five touchdowns on just nine carries, while Isaiah Dockins rushed for 86 yards and two scores on 11 attempts. Quarterback Barrett Beal was efficient in the passing game, hitting eight of 12 passes for 161 yards and a score against the Tigers (1-6, 0-2).
Albany 60, Meridian 0 — Leading 13-0 after a quarter, the eighth-ranked Lions exploded for 27 points in the second quarter to put the Yellowjackets away by halftime in the district opener for both squads.
Albany (4-1, 1-0) gained 380 of its 468 yards on the ground, rushing for six total touchdowns in the win. Jaheim Newton (10-133, 1 TDs) led all rushers, while Isaiah Dockins (10-94, 4 TDs) also had a big game.
Meridian, which fell to 2-3 overall and 0-1 in league play, finished the game with minus-49 total yards, rushing for negative-58 yards on 24 carries.
Cross Plains 41, Miles 12 — The Buffaloes put together one of their most complete performances of the year Friday, outgaining the Bulldogs 372-160 in a thorough victory.
Cason Allen rushed for 173 yards and a touchdown while Cody McWilliams added 163 yards and four scores to fuel Cross Plains, which led 21-0 by halftime.
The Buffs (4-1), who also got an efficient game from quarterback Justin Gresham (5-7-0—93, 1 TD), will have next week off before opening league play Oct. 9 at Hico.
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.
Albany 43, Haskell 0 — The Lions bounced back from last week’s loss to Hamlin with a strong showing Friday, racing out to a 29-0 halftime lead and cruising from there to a shutout win over their former district mates.
Albany outgained Haskell 467-6, getting 211 yards passing and two touchdowns from quarterback Barrett Beal and 147 yards and one TD rushing from Jaheim Newton.
The Lions, now 3-1, will look to build on this win next week when they travel to Anson to take on the 3-1 Tigers.
Each week here at Big Country Preps, we’ll post our picks for all of that week’s 11-man games, in addition to the results of Evan Ren’s Twitter polls for each matchup.
For those interested in voting, polls go up on Monday night each week and close Thursday morning.
Disagree with our picks or the Twitter consensus? Let us know in the comments section below.
Continue reading “Big Country Preps’ Pick ‘Em Panel (Week 4)” →
LAST WEEK: 42-9, .824
SEASON TOTAL: 116-35, .740
Week 4 arrives and I’m finally hitting my stride on pick accuracy.
It’s been an odd year thus far, both in terms of results and overall feel. It’s been tough to gauge.
Nonetheless, we’re hitting the road once again this Friday, with the Big Country Preps Game of the Week landing at Chesley Field in Cisco, where the Loboes (2-1) will play host to a Jim Ned club that is two divisions larger than they are.
Santo 27, Cumby 12 — Playing the area’s only Thursday game, the Wildcats rallied for 21 fourth-quarter points to pull away from the Trojans in a neutral site matchup at Rio Vista.
Case Procter, who had a hand in each of Santo’s first three touchdowns, sparked the comeback, hitting Andrew Sanders from 32 yards out to give the Wildcats a 14-12 lead early in the fourth quarter before making it an eight-point game with his second rushing touchdown of the contest.
Each week here at Big Country Preps, we’ll post our picks for all of that week’s 11-man games, in addition to the results of Evan Ren’s Twitter polls for each matchup.
For those interested in voting, polls go up on Monday night each week and close Thursday morning.
Disagree with our picks or the Twitter consensus? Let us know in the comments section below.
Continue reading “Big Country Preps’ Pick ‘Em Panel (Week 3)” →
Big Country Preps will publish area volleyball statistical leaders each Tuesday 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.
Santo 21, Valley Mills 7 — Quarterback Case Procter ran for 73 yards and two touchdowns and the SHS defense limited the Eagles to 130 yards of total offense Friday as the young Wildcats improved to 1-1 with a neutral site victory in Dublin.
Santo built a 14-7 halftime lead and shut out Valley Mills over the final two quarters to preserve the win.