Clyde 61, TLCA 22 — Blake Carr threw for 172 yards and two scores and Austin Hastings rushed for 56 yards and two more touchdowns as Clyde (1-6, 1-1) earned the first win of the Danny Dudgeon era.
The Bulldogs quickly built a 47-14 lead by halftime, after which they were able to cruise to the finish line.
LAST WEEK: 40-7, .851
SEASON TOTAL: 287-63, .820
Week 8? Are you kidding?
I ask the same question, or some variant of it virtually every year. We just finished with two-a-days. How can we possibly be this deep in the season so quickly?
Yet hear we are. A cold weather snap approaching. Thanksgiving right around the corner —as are the playoffs.
This week’s Game of the Week will see me traveling north to Ralls where the surprising Roscoe Plowboys, off to their best start in years, will be in a showdown for the district lead.
The column hit at 85 percent accuracy last week and is now up to 82 percent on the year. So we’ll see if we can keep the momentum going through the home stretch.
Let’s have a look at this week’s picks:
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.
Digital photos, prints and keepsakes may be purchased by clicking on the “Buy on SmugMug” link below a selected photo. The “BigCountryPreps.com” watermark will be removed from all purchased photos.
Continue reading “PHOTO GALLERY: San Angelo TLCA-Jim Ned volleyball (46 images)”
TUSCOLA — The Jim Ned volleyball had no problem putting together sustained rallies and quick starts in a District 8-3A match with San Angelo TLCA on Tuesday at Bill Thornton Arena.
Those starts and rallies allowed the Lady Indians to pick up a key 25-17, 25-20, 26-24 win to improve to 17-10 overall and 5-2 in district.
Despite the sweep, Jim Ned coach Miranda Garcia saw plenty of things for her squad to improve on for the second half of district play as they look to keep pace with Clyde and Wall in challenging for a district championship.
Photos by Julie Guffey
TUSCOLA — A year ago, a young Jim Ned boys cross country team was thrilled to simply qualify for the state meet with a second-place regional finish. The Indians’ subsequent sixth-place finish at state was viewed as icing on top of the greatest season the program had ever known.
A year later, however, things have changed.
The 2021 Indians are not only aiming for a second straight trip to Round Rock, but this time around, the goal is to return home with some hardware around their necks.
Big Country Preps is publishing 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.
We will continually update the database throughout the regular season.
Who says defensive players can’t be the Player of the Week?
That’s certainly not true at Big Country Preps, where our Capital Farm Credit/BCP Player of the Week helped push Stephenville to a stunning 35-7 rout of perennial power Waco La Vega on Friday night.
Senior linebacker Reese Young takes our weekly accolade after charting an almost unbelievable 25 tackles to lead an SHS defensive effort that saw the Yellow Jackets hold La Vega to just 94 yards rushing on 44 carries.
Digital photos, prints and keepsakes may be purchased by clicking on the “Buy on SmugMug” link below a selected photo. The “BigCountryPreps.com” watermark will be removed from all purchased photos.
Continue reading “PHOTO GALLERY: Early-Jim Ned football (53 images)”
Breckenridge 44, Clyde 29 — Jerry Lawson rushed for 106 yards and four TDs and Anson Rodgers rushed for 143 yards and two more scores to lift Breckenridge to a tough road win in the district opener for both clubs.
Breckenridge never trailed, but never managed to completely shake Clyde, which rallied from a 32-14 deficit with two straight third quarter TDs to cut the gap to 32-29.
TUSCOLA — For the upstart Early Longhorns to have any shot at upsetting defending Class 3A DI state champion Jim Ned, they absolutely had to do two things: quickly seize the momentum and win the turnover battle.
Neither objective was met. On the contrary, it was Jim Ned which started strongly and closed with a 3-1 turnover ratio in a 48-7 win in the Big Country Preps Game of the Week.
Xavier Wishert rushed for 215 yards and four scores on only 16 carries to lift Jim Ned (6-0, 1-0 District 3-3A DI) to a lopsided win in the district opener for both clubs.
LAST WEEK: 39-4, .906
SEASON TOTAL: 247-56, .815
Gramps Ren is back in the groove, hitting over 90 percent of his picks a week ago, to push this column’s season percentage to .815 as we head into district play across the area.
Whether or not I can keep the momentum remains to be seen, entering what might be the toughest week of area picks I’ve seen this year, with multiple games that I would rate as near-tossups.
This week’s Big Country Preps Game of the Week will see us heading to Tuscola where Jim Ned will begin its District 3-3A DI title defense against a red-hot, unbeaten team from Early.
Let’s have a look at this week’s picks …
Big Country Preps is publishing 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.
We will continually update the database throughout the regular season.
With the exception of Wall, every team in District 3-3A DI took Friday night off, enjoying their midseason bye before district play begins.
League play opens on Oct. 8 with a full slate of games.
Here’s a quick rundown of where each team is at this stage.
LAST WEEK: 45-6, .882
SEASON TOTAL: 208-52, .800
After a disastrous night of picking football games on Sept. 19 that saw his season percentage dip below .800, Gramps Ren has rebounded. Thank you, thank you.
Last Friday saw this column hit with more than 88 percent accuracy on games throughout the Big Country, pulling its season percentage to an even .800 as we hit the season’s midpoint.
This week I’ll be heading west — way West — to the very edge of our coverage area to get a first-hand look at the Big Spring Steers in their matchup with Littlefield in our Big Country Preps Game of the Week.
Let’s dive in to this week’s picks, shall we?
Digital photos, prints and keepsakes may be purchased by clicking on the “Buy on SmugMug” link below a selected photo. The “BigCountryPreps.com” watermark will be removed from all purchased photos.
Continue reading “PHOTO GALLERY: Clyde-Jim Ned volleyball (65 images)”
TUSCOLA — The Clyde volleyball team took sole possession of first place in the District 6-3A race on Tuesday, sweeping Jim Ned 25-13, 26-24, 25-19 at Bill Thornton Arena to improve to 3-0 in league play.
Entering the night tied with the Lady Indians atop the district standings, the Lady Bulldogs (23-11 overall) overcame a strong start by Jim Ned to pull away in Game 1 and rallied from game point in Game 2 to set up the sweep.
It was a key road victory for CHS, which now holds a one-match lead on both Jim Ned (14-10, 2-1) and Wall (25-10, 2-1) with matches against Brady and San Angelo TLCA to wrap up the first half of league play.
Continue reading “GAME STORY: Clyde volleyball sweeps Jim Ned to gain edge in District 6-3A race”
Digital photos, prints and keepsakes may be purchased by clicking on the “Buy on SmugMug” link below a selected photo. The “BigCountryPreps.com” watermark will be removed from all purchased photos.
Continue reading “PHOTO GALLERY: Jim Ned-Snyder football (70 images)”
Early 49, San Angelo Grape Creek 0 — Jaxyn Price threw for 222 yards and four TDs to keep Early (5-0) unbeaten at the season’s midpoint.
Tre Beam rushed for 115 yards and a score and Cale Ozuna added a pair of rushing touchdowns to lead the Longhorns, who will face Jim Ned (5-0) in a District 3-3A DI showdown on Oct. 8.
SNYDER — By night’s end Jim Ned’s 22-15 win at Snyder had become the game that both teams needed.
Defending Class 3A DI state champion Jim Ned needed another team besides Cisco to match them physically and push them into the fourth quarter. Upstart Snyder, after four straight routs over decidedly weaker teams, needed to solidify the fact that it is indeed, a good football team.
Both got their wish at Tiger Stadium on Friday when the Indians rallied from a 15-7 second half deficit to hand Snyder its first loss of the year. Xavier Wishert rushed for 200 yards and touchdown and Sergio Hernandez added a back-breaking pick-six in the fourth quarter to lead Jim Ned (5-0), which now heads into its bye week to prep for district play.
LAST WEEK: 36-16, .692
OVERALL: 163-46, .779
After four straight weeks of picking 80 percent or better, the USS Ren ran aground last Friday, bottoming out with a season-low .692 percentage and dropping my season tally to .779.
I generally like to be above 80 percent by midseason, so last Friday served as a wakeup call. Actually, it was more of a gut punch. But I’ll get over it.
This week’s Big Country Preps Game of the Week will see me traveling to Snyder, where the unbeaten Class 4A Tigers will play host to 3A DI state champion Jim Ned in what should be an absolutely electric atmosphere.
You all set? Let’s dive in to this week’s picks.
Big Country Preps is publishing 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.
We will continually update the database throughout the regular season.
When you combine our two key factors in selecting our Capital Farm Credit/BCP Player of the Week — quality of numbers and level of difficulty — nobody outperformed Stephenville quarterback Ryder Lambert last week in SHS’ 37-7 rout of Class 5A Abilene Wylie.
Lambert connected on 22 of 28 throws for 458 yards and five scores to help push the Yellow Jackets to 4-0.
Just four weeks in and the ‘Jackets are looking like they could win Texas’ most difficult 4A district (5-4A DI), despite having road dates with Waco La Vega and Midlothian Heritage.
Digital photos, prints and keepsakes may be purchased by clicking on the “Buy on SmugMug” link below a selected photo. The “BigCountryPreps.com” watermark will be removed from all purchased photos.
Continue reading “PHOTO GALLERY: Cisco-Jim Ned football (57 images)”
TUSCOLA — Xavier Wishert ran for 175 yards and two scores while Tate Yardley added a pair of touchdowns as Class 3A Division I’s top-ranked Jim Ned held off a rally from 2A Division I’s No. 5 Cisco 28-14 on Friday night at Indian Stadium.
It wasn’t just Wishert’s legs that made a difference on Friday night and he was quick to credit a few of his teammates.
Yardley, Braden Lewis and Blaine Palmer have been inseparable no matter the season — spring, summer, fall or winter. The trio is always putting in work whether on the football field or as members of Jim Ned’s powerful baseball team as the primary members of its starting rotation.
The camaraderie that those three have built playing catch was something Wishert said makes his job easier and coach Matt Fanning said makes the Indians offense that much harder to stop.
LAST WEEK: 36-16, .692
OVERALL: 163-46, .779
After four straight weeks of picking 80 percent or better, the USS Ren ran aground last Friday, bottoming out with a season-low .692 percentage and dropping my season tally to .779.
Big Country Preps is publishing 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.
We will continually update the database throughout the regular season.
Cisco 28, Breckenridge 27 — The Loboes (3-0) needed overtime to put away Breckenridge in a thriller at Chesley Field.
Hunter Long scored on an 8-yard TD run in OT and followed it with a two-point conversion run to put the Loboes over the top.
Breckenridge played a turnover-free game while picking off two Cisco passes to nearly pull off one of the biggest upsets of the young season.
LAST WEEK: 42-9, .823
SEASON TOTAL: 85-21, .801
I was very much looking forward to our Big Country Preps Game of the Week – Coleman (2-0) at Brady (2-0). Unfortunately, COVID intervened by midweek, forcing a cancellation of the contest.
On a positive note, there are several other quality games throughout the area for us to focus on, and (taking a bow) the column is already hitting over 80 percent on picks and we’re only in Week 3.
Numbers of that sort are generally reserved for Weeks 7-10, so I’m feeling pressure to keep the early momentum going.
In the absence of our Game of the Week, I’ll be heading to Cross Plains on Friday, where Haskell will be paying a visit to the Buffaloes (COVID allowing, of course).
Let’s dive in to this week’s picks: