TUSCOLA — It’s natural to expect a great deal from senior Jim Ned running back Xavier Wishert in 2021. Afterall, he was the Big Country Preps Player of the Year as a junior and the Defensive MVP in Jim Ned’s 3A DI state championship win over Hallettsville.
But can we expect significant improvement from what is already the area’s top player?
If Wishert has anything to say about it, we can.
TUSCOLA — Coming off a 14-1 season that saw them claim the Class 3A Division I state championship, the Jim Ned Indians are about to face the most dangerous opponent every title holder must contend with — complacency.
Finding a way to stay hungry. Finding a way to not be satisfied. Finding a way to improve. Those are the tasks at hand for fourth-year coach Matt Fanning, whose team has every reason to think it’s the best.
Football is just around the corner, and we at BigCountryPreps.com are committed to bringing you the information you need to prepare for your favorite team’s season.
We’ll be releasing our Big Country Preps Preseason Football Preview, the most comprehensive look at the upcoming Big Country football season anywhere, on Saturday, Aug. 14. But you won’t have to wait until then to sate your gridiron appetite.
Leading up to the first day of fall football practice on Aug. 2, we’ll be spotlighting each 11-man team in the area and posing some of the key questions they’ll face in 2021 as part of our annual “Countdown to Two-a-Days” series.
Today, we stay in Class 3A Division I with the Jim Ned Indians. On Friday, we will take a look at the Wall Hawks, followed by the Brock Eagles on Saturday.
With Evan and Dan taking a brief summer break, we present the Best of the Capital Farm Credit Wednesday Night Podcast.
Tonight: Jim Ned boys basketball coach Ryan Lewis speaks with Evan and Dan, Original airdate: April 7, 2021.
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LINK … GAME STORY: Jim Ned sees its season end with 3-1 Game 3 loss to Shallowater
MIDLAND — After watching his team suffer a season-ending 3-1 loss to Shallowater in Game 3 of their Region I-3A semifinal on Saturday, Jim Ned coach Ryan Lewis did what true educators do.
He turned the heartbreak into a teachable moment.
THIS WEEK: Colorado City coach Kara LeLeux joins the show. Evan and Dan examine last week’s playoff action in softball and baseball.
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LINK … GAME STORY: Jim Ned hangs on to edge Early 3-2
BROCK — In the old days, it may have called a white knuckler — a stressful situation where failure simply wasn’t an option.
Yet that’s what Jim Ned reliever Blaine Palmer faced with two outs and the bases loaded in the seventh inning — asked to protect a 3-2 lead over Early in a one-game 3A regional quarterfinal.
Palmer overcame an early rush of nerves and delivered a game-clinching strikeout of Early’s Riley Hill to send the Indians (30-0-1) to the Region I-3A semifinals where they will face either Shallowater or Denver City next week.
Early, which saw a solid performance by starting pitcher Caydon Laird go to waste, closed the season at 23-9. But not before putting a serious scare into the Indians in game’s final inning.
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LINK … GAME STORY: Jim Ned takes Bowie’s best shot, sweeps I-3A area series
GLEN ROSE — Bowie hit Jim Ned with four runs in the top of the first inning of Friday’s Region I-3A area championship series opener, a blow the Indians hadn’t faced all season long.
While shocking, the Indians rebounded nicely for a 10-5 win before finishing off the Jackrabbits with a 10-1 win on Saturday afternoon.
Jim Ned used solid pitching, outstanding defense and an opportunistic offense to sweep the series.
CHECK FOR LIVE UPDATES THROUGHOUT THE DAY AT BIGCOUNTRYPREPS.COM
Continue reading “LIVE: State Track and Field Meet medalists and Big Country Placings (DAY 1)”
Having already released our picks for the girls state track meet earlier this evening, we now present the boys event, using the same approach.
We’ll comb through each event involving a Big Country athlete (or athletes) and assess if they are favorites, dark horses or long shots to get on the medal stand.
Let’s not waste any time. Let’s dive in.
I don’t care who you are — even if you’re a non-fan when it comes to track and field.
The excitement of the state meet in Austin will capture your attention if you catch sight or sound of it. It’s inescapable.
And once per year, it is my pleasure to examine the multitude of Big Country athletes heading to Austin for the event and pick who we can expect to see on the medal stand from our area.
Let’s begin with the girls side, looking at each event in which a Big Country athlete has qualified for state.
As a sophomore in her first playoff action, leading a fourth-place team against a district champion, no one would have blamed Wylie pitcher Reese Farrar for having jitters in the opener of her team’s Region I-5A bi-district series against District 3-5A champ Amarillo High.
If she did, she did a darn good job of hiding it.
All the right-hander did was pitch a six-inning no-hitter with 10 strikeouts to lead the Lady Bulldogs to a 10-0 victory in Game 1 and set the tone for a big series sweep, earning our Capital Farm Credit/Big Country Preps Player of the Week honor in the process.
Here are the area’s baseball statistical leaders through April 29:
Statistics are from throughout the Big Country Preps circulation area as submitted by coaches. These lists will be continually updated as we receive more submissions.
In a week filled with unforgettable moments, several of our nominees handed in by area coaches could justifiably be called our Capital Farm Credit/BCP Player of the Week.
We finally settled on Clyde sophomore Payton Phillips, who stunned attendees at the Region I-3A meet by taking gold in both the long jump (18 feet, 6 inches) and the 100 hurdles (15.12) — breaking school records that were 25 and 15 years old, respectively.
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LINK … GAME STORY: Clyde, Wall enjoy double gold on Day one of Region I-3A meet
Here are the area’s softball statistical leaders through April 22:
Statistics are from throughout the Big Country Preps circulation area as submitted by coaches as of April 22. These lists will be continually updated as we receive more submissions.
Here are the area’s baseball statistical leaders through April 22:
Statistics are from throughout the Big Country Preps circulation area as submitted by coaches as of April 22. These lists will be continually updated as we receive more submissions.
His favorite sport was on hiatus. His freshman track season was on the verge of being canceled before it even really began.
But that didn’t keep Jim Ned’s Chris Saling from pounding the asphalt once a week, timer in hand.
When the UIL halted athletics last spring because of COVID, Saling still made it out to the track on days the Indians had meets scheduled. He detailed his progress in the 400, 800 and 3,200 meters by recording his times and sending them to coach Dustin Todd.
Here are the area’s baseball statistical leaders through April 15:
Statistics are from throughout the Big Country Preps circulation area as submitted by coaches as of April 15. These lists will be continually updated as we receive more submissions.
Here are the area’s softball statistical leaders through April 15:
Statistics are from throughout the Big Country Preps circulation area as submitted by coaches as of April 15. These lists will be continually updated as we receive more submissions.
TUSCOLA — If one is to criticize Jim Ned softball coach Erica Jones about anything, not caring wouldn’t be it. You can also scratch a lack of intensity, focus and work ethic from the list of possibilities.
Having worked several of Jones’ games over the last 15 years through her highly successful (and lengthy) tenure at Clyde and a pair of seasons at Anson, I’m as qualified as anyone to offer an accurate viewpoint.
I’ve seen her teams win. I’ve seen her teams lose — the latter of which almost always comes with a glint of tears in her eyes.
This lady hates losing and after all these years, she’s still not very good at it. But then again, no true competitor is, or wants to be.
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LINK … GAME STORY: Ballinger softballers hang on for crucial win at Jim Ned
TUCSCOLA — It took the better part of a month for Ballinger to get a second shot at Jim Ned, following a 10-8 loss to the Lady Indians
way back on March 13 at home.
On Friday, however, the Lady Cats utilized a huge start, some timely hitting and a handful of Jim Ned mistakes to get a measure of revenge in a 13-9 win.
Alina Pena was 2 for 4 with a triple and four RBIs and went the distance in the circle to lead Ballinger (12-7, 7-3), which held off a Jim Ned rally after taking an early 8-0 lead.
Jim Ned (13-7, 7-2) was led by starting pitcher Libbie Brnovack, who as 2 for 4 with a homer and two RBIs. The Lady Indians rallied with seven runs over the last four innings only to fall short.
Here are the area’s baseball statistical leaders through April 8:
Statistics are from throughout the Big Country Preps circulation area as submitted by coaches as of April 8. These lists will be continually updated as we receive more submissions.
Here are the area’s softball statistical leaders through April 8:
Statistics are from throughout the Big Country Preps circulation area as submitted by coaches as of April 8. These lists will be continually updated as we receive more submissions.
CLYDE — In what’s become a rather predictable outcome, the Jim Ned baseball team rode a masterful Tuesday night pitching performance for a 10-0 run-rule shortened win over Clyde at Bulldog Field in District 6-3A action.
Having already seen a perfect game and no-hitter thrown by the Indians on Tuesday nights this season, Jim Ned saw Tate Yardley spin a two-hitter with six strikeouts as they improved to 18-0-1 this year and 7-0 in district.
Yardley faced a three-ball count with just three batters as he turned those into a strikeout, walk and ground out.