Digital photos, prints and keepsakes may be purchased by clicking the link below. The “BigCountryPreps.com” watermark will be removed from all purchased photos.
Continue reading “PHOTO GALLERY: Eula Holiday Classic Day 1 (125 images)”
Category: Jim Ned Indians
PHOTO GALLERY: Evan Ren’s top 100 football photos for 2023
Digital photos, prints and keepsakes may be purchased by clicking the link below. The “BigCountryPreps.com” watermark will be removed from all purchased photos.
Continue reading “PHOTO GALLERY: Evan Ren’s top 100 football photos for 2023”
BIG COUNTRY PREPS PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Albany’s Hill takes this week’s award with big performance in regional title game
Big-time players come up with big-time performances in big games. And our Big Country Preps Player of the Week, Albany’s Adam Hill, is a big-time player.
Helping the Lions capture the Region II-2A DII title, Hill was a punisher out of the Lions’ backfield last Thursday in Iowa Park, rushing for 223 yards and four touchdowns on 29 carries in a 52-14 rout of a very good Collinsville team.
The Texas Tech-bound senior also caught a pair of passes for 31 yards and an additional touchdown as Albany improved to 14-0 on the year.
GAME STORY: Jim Ned girls cruise past Brownwood to kick off doubleheader sweep
TUSCOLA — Hosting a Brownwood squad that entered Tuesday’s nondistrict matchup with six wins in its first eight games, the Jim Ned Lady Indians showed why they’re the second-ranked team in Class 3A, riding a dominant all-around performance to a 61-13 victory at Bill Thornton Arena.
Coach Hunter Cooley’s team took control early and never relinquished it, following a 16-4 run through the first quarter with a 13-1 surge through the second to take a commanding 29-5 advantage. And the Lady Indians would only grow that lead after halftime.
The thorough victory improved Jim Ned to 7-1 on the year with its only loss coming by six points to Class 4A No. 2 Glen Rose at the Pug Parris Classic in Abilene.
TOURNAMENT CENTRAL: Big Country teams notch five wins on opening day of Pug Parris Classic
The 2023 edition of the Pug Parris Classic kicked off with a full slate of games on Thursday at McMurry University’s Kimbrell Arena and featured Big Country teams from Class 2A to Class 5A nearly all day long.
In addition to the six teams from the Big Country, this year’s three-day tournament features teams from as far away as Clint and El Paso.
Area teams posted a total of five wins as the Jim Ned Lady Indians swept their pool with a pair of wins, while Wylie, Cooper and Cisco added to the total.
BIG COUNTRY PREPS PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Hico’s Powell takes this week’s accolade
Big numbers are always great to have when we decide the winner of our Big Country Preps Player of the Week award. Solid numbers across multiple tasks are even better.
That was the case with this week’s spotlight player, Buck Powell, of Hico, who helped the Tigers to a 47-14 rout of Maud in the Class 2A DII bi-district round on Friday.
2023 BIG COUNTRY PREPS BOYS BASKETBALL PREVIEW: The area’s top teams in each class throughout the BCP coverage area
With a new season of boys high school basketball poised to begin, it’s time to take a look at what the Big Country will produce on the court.
Below you will find our top teams in each classification in the Big Country Preps coverage area, from Big Spring in the West, to Brock in the east and from Brady in the south to Munday in the north.
Our rankings of the top teams in each class are given, along with a season outlook, cataloguing our expectations for each club.
Here’s our preview. We’ll see you on the road.
BEST OF BCP WEDNESDAY NIGHT PODCAST: Jim Ned’s Hunter Cooley visits w/ Evan & Dan (original airdate 1-25-23)
NOTE: With Evan Ren suffering from severe bronchitis, BCP’s Wednesday Night podcast was cancelled. In the meantime we’ll repost one of our top podcasts.
Jim Ned girls coach Hunter Cooley visits with Evan & Dan … original airdate 1-25-23
DISTRICT 3-3A DIV. I WEEK 11 REPORT: Clyde clinches district title; Jim Ned takes No. 2 seed; Vernon stops Bowie
Clyde 34, Breckenridge 14 — Blake Carr threw for 205 yards and three scores and rushed for 134 yards and another TD to help Clyde lock down the No. 1 seed.
The Bulldogs (9-1, 4-1) rolled up 465 yards in total offense and blew the game open with a 20-0 second half.
BIG COUNTRY PREPS GAME OF THE WEEK: Wylie, Cooper clash in burgeoning rivalry game
LAST WEEK: 47-5, .903
SEASON TOTAL: 438-91, .827
With the column hitting at more than 90 percent accuracy last week, we now close the regular season on the upswing and with something uncommon: A local Big Country Preps Game of the Week.
While our weekly picks column generally highlights the top area game outside of the Abilene city limits, this week seems to call for us to stay at home with rivals Wylie (6-3, 3-1) and Cooper (4-5, 3-1) fighting for sole possession of the No. 2 seed in District 2-5A Division II.
Big Country Volleyball Statistical Leaders (as submitted by area coaches through Oct. 31)
NOTE: This will be our final installment of Big Country Volleyball Statistical Leaders for the 2023 season
Big Country Preps is publishing area volleyball statistical leaders each Tuesday at 7 p.m. roughout the regular season.
This database will be continually updated for our subscribers throughout the remainder of the season, using only those statistics submitted by area coaches.
DISTRICT 3-3A DIV. I WEEK 10 REPORT: Jim Ned tops Vernon; Iowa Park upsets Clyde to force three-way tie for first
Jim Ned 36, Vernon 32— Brayden Shipman rushed for 241 yards and two scores, including a 63-yard run with 1:00 left in the game to set up the game-inning TD.
With the win, Jim Ned (7-2, 3-1) is now in a first-place tie with both Iowa Park (4-5, 3-1) and Clyde (8-1, 3-1) with one game left in the regular season.
BIG COUNTRY PREPS GAME OF THE WEEK: Bulldogs, Bearcats meet with district title in the balance
LAST WEEK: 44-7, .862
SEASON TOTAL: 391-86, .820
It really didn’t take long for people to start talking about the Hawley – Stamford matchup in 2023. In fact, this one was on our calendar as a possible Game of the Week before the season even started.
Who will win? That depends on who you speak with. Our Twitter poll is split virtually down the middle and even the computers see this one as a near tossup.
Stamford (7-0, 4-0 District 4-2A DII) enters this game scarcely challenged, rolling over the opposition by an average tally of 45-8. Hawley (6-2, 4-0), on the other hand, comes in with some battle scars after a brutal schedule featuring Jim Ned, Lubbock Roosevelt and Albany.
Big Country Volleyball Statistical Leaders (as submitted by area coaches through Oct. 24)
Big Country Preps is publishing area volleyball statistical leaders each Tuesday at 7 p.m. roughout the regular season.
This database will be continually updated for our subscribers throughout the remainder of the season, using only those statistics submitted by area coaches.
DISTRICT 3-3A DIV. I Week 9 Report: Clyde, Jim Ned, Vernon all notch victories
Clyde 48, Bowie 21 — The Bulldogs (8-0, 3-0) remained unbeaten, clinched a playoff spot and took another step toward a district title with a road win at Bowie.
Blake Carr threw for 260 yards and five scores and Fabian Gomez rushed for 97 yards and another TD to lift Clyde, which can clinch the district championship with a win at Iowa Park next week.
BIG COUNTRY PREPS GAME OF THE WEEK: Stephenville hosts China Spring (w/ Evan Ren’s Big Country Picks)
LAST WEEK: 40-8, .833
SEASON TOTAL: 347-79, .814
As Week 9 of the 2023Texas High School football season gets underway, there are multiple high-profile games that would qualify as our Big Country Preps Game of the Week.
But we’re settling for a rare Thursday night matchup at Tarleton State University where seventh-ranked 4A DI Stephenville (5-2, 1-0) will play host to fourth-ranked China Spring (6-2, 2-0) in a game will give the victor sole possession of first place in District 5.
Picking who wins it may come down to throwing darts, but I do believe China Spring has one key advantage.
DISTRICT 3-3A DIV. I WEEK 8 REPORT: Buckaroos fall to Vernon; Iowa Park, Clyde both collect wins
Vernon 42, Breckenridge 20 — The Lions pounded out 388 yards rushing to hand Breckenridge a loss at Buckaroo Stadium.
Breckenridge, which hurt itself with three turnovers, was limited to 286 yards in total offense. Camden Escalon led the Bucks with 226 yards passing a two scores.
GAME STORY: Carr, stingy defense lead Clyde past Jim Ned in key 3-3A DI clash
CLYDE — In what was likely the main event in District 3-3A Division I play this year, Clyde quarterback Blake Carr delivered four huge haymakers to help lead the Bulldogs to a 29-14 win over rival Jim Ned before a capacity-plus crowd Friday night at Bulldog Stadium.
The dual-threat signal caller had scoring tosses of 40, 7 and 33 yards. And for good measure, his 33-yard scoring run with 21 seconds left sealed a big win for the hosts, who improved to 7-0 on the season and 2-0 in district play. The Indians fell to 5-2 and 1-1.
As big as Carr was for Clyde, he had to share hero honors on this night with a defense led by Braylon Gomez, Josh Hutton and Dai’Jon Booker. The Bulldogs held the Indians to 12 first downs, 234 yards for the game — and no points in the first half.
BIG COUNTRY PREPS GAME OF THE WEEK: Hico hosts Dawson with high playoff seeds in the balance (w/ Evan Ren’s Big Country Picks)
LAST WEEK: 41-7, .854
SEASON TOTAL: 307-71, .812
Big Country Preps makes a point of sharing the love and we look for opportunities to take our Game of the Week to as many different places that make sense each year.
Yet since our inaugural season in 2018, a rebuilding Hico football team missed our spotlight game for five straight seasons.
That drought ends this week when BCP visits Hico for the first time as the Tigers (5-2, 2-1 District 10-2A DII) host Dawson (5-1, 2-0) in a crucial matchup with high seed implications.
DISTRICT 3-3A DIV. I Week 7 Report: Jim Ned, Iowa Park and Clyde open district with wins
Jim Ned 34, Bowie 6 — Brayden Shipman rushed for 126 yards and one score and Dean Guffey threw for 84 yards and another TD to lift Jim Ned to a win over Bowie.
The Indians (5-1, 1-0) finished with a modest 256 yards in total offense.
Bowie fell to 1-5 and 0-1.
Big Country Volleyball Statistical Leaders (as submitted by area coaches through Oct. 3)
Big Country Preps is publishing area volleyball statistical leaders each Tuesday at 7 p.m. roughout the regular season.
This database will be continually updated for our subscribers throughout the remainder of the season, using only those statistics submitted by area coaches.
BIG COUNTRY PREPS GAME OF THE WEEK: Yellow Jackets head to Brownwood to face archrival
LAST WEEK: 46-12, .793
SEASON TOTAL: 229-61, .789
More often than not, Big Country Preps makes an appearance at the annual Stephenville-Brownwood matchup. Because more often than not, it produces a game worthy of one of Texas’ top rivalries.
This year is no exception as Stephenville travels to famous Gordon Wood Stadium for the Big Country Preps Game of the Week.
PHOTO GALLERY: Clyde-Jim Ned volleyball (72 images)
Digital photos, prints and keepsakes may be purchased by clicking the link below. The “BigCountryPreps.com” watermark will be removed from all purchased photos.
Continue reading “PHOTO GALLERY: Clyde-Jim Ned volleyball (72 images)”
GAME STORY: Clyde rights the ship in sweep of Jim Ned
TUSCOLA — When you’re coming off a bad match, sometimes all it takes to get back on track is playing a rival.
It can also help when you aren’t playing up to your capabilities for your coach to yell at you a little bit.
Both of those happened at Bill Thornton Arena on Tuesday night as Clyde used a 13-3 run to close out the first set and take a 25-23, 25-21, 25-15 win over Jim Ned in a tense District 6-3A matchup.
DISTRICT 3-3A DIV. I Week 5 report: Buckaroos hold on to top Benbrook, Eastland shocks Jim Ned
Breckenridge 36, Benbrook 28 — The Buckaroos allowed more than 400 yards in total offense to Benbrook, but survived a shootout on the road.
Two turnovers, forced by the Breckenridge defense, were a key, along with 243 passing yards, to give the Buckaroos (3-2) their third straight win after an 0-2 start.
BIG COUNTRY PREPS GAME OF THE WEEK: Sweetwater plays host to Clyde in battle of unbeatens
LAST WEEK: 44-11, .800
SEASON TOTAL: 183-49, .788
Some weeks are just loaded with competitive area games and Week 5 of the 2023 season falls squarely into that category.
This week’s menu features six or seven games that under normal circumstances, would qualify for our Big Country Preps Game of the Week. This forces us to push some great matchups aside to select our spotlight game.
This week, we go with a battle of unbeatens — Class 3A Division I Clyde (4-0) at Class 4A Div. II Sweetwater (4-0) — at the famed Mustang Bowl at SHS.
BIG COUNTRY PREPS NOTEBOOK: Fanning eclipses McCoy; Jackson shall return; De Leon rebounds
TUSCOLA — Jim Ned coach Matt Fanning is one of those guys who barely flinches when someone mentions his accomplishments. So it should come as no surprise that he had to be told early in the season that he was approaching the school record for career wins by a football coach.
That milestone fell in Friday’s 38-12 win over Rockdale, which allowed Fanning to surpass Brad McCoy on the all-time Jim Ned win list with a 54-13 overall record.
DISTRICT 3-3A DIV. I WEEK 4 REPORT: Fanning passes McCoy, Bucks stop Eastland; Clyde remains unbeaten
Jim Ned 38, Rockdale 12 — Dean Guffey threw for 201 yards and two scores and Aiden Ellis rushed for 150 yards and another TD to keep Jim Ned (4-0) unbeaten.
The Indians rushed for 314 yards as a team while accumulating 515 yards in total offense.
Rockdale dropped to 1-3.
With the win, Jim Ned coach Matt Fanning (54-13) became the winningest football coach in Jim Ned football history, passing former Coach Brad McCoy (53-19).
DISTRICT 3-3A DIV. I WEEK 3 REPORT: Buckaroos break into win column on night when district goes 5-0
Breckenridge 41, Cisco 6 — Breckenridge (1-2) earned its first win of the year after forcing five Cisco turnovers.
The Buckaroos, who threw for 218 yards and rushed for 137, built a 27-6 halftime lead and were never threatened after that.
BCP GAME OF THE WEEK: Indians hang on to top Wall in classic Game of the Week
TUSCOLA — What had the early look of a Jim Ned rout got turned on its head by the visiting Wall Hawks on Friday night. And by evening’s end, the Indians needed some late heroics to escape with a 17-14 overtime win in a classic Big Country Preps Game of the Week.
Brayden Shipman rushed for 145 yards and two scores and Jackson Crane provided a game-clinching interception to lift Jim Ned (3-0), which overcame 11 drive-stalling penalties to remain unbeaten.
Following a go-ahead 36-yard field goal by Eric Welch in its overtime possession, Jim Ned gained the game-winning stop on Wall’s first play of the extra period when Crane jumped a comeback route and stepped in front of a Gunner Dillard pass to seal the win with a pick.
DISTRICT 3-3A DIV. I WEEK 2 REPORT: Carr has big night in win over Eastland
Clyde 34, Eastland 21 — Clyde rolled up 441 yards in total offense and shut Eastland out after the break to improve to 2-0.
Blake Carr was 10 of 20 for 237 yards and two scores and rushed for 167 yards and two more TDs to lead Clyde, which closed with 442 yards in total offense.
GAME STORY: Jim Ned impressive in road win over eighth-ranked Holliday
HOLLIDAY – It took Jim Ned the final three minutes of the first half to turn a deficit against Holliday into a comfortable lead.
Turnovers helped the Indians gain a halftime advantage at Eagle Stadium, and a pair of third-quarter interceptions paved the way for Jim Ned to slam the door on Holliday for a 40-22 victory Friday night.
It was another quality win for the Indians (2-0), who were 0-2 at this point a year ago. It also snapped Holliday’s 30-game regular season winning streak.
PHOTO GALLERY: Hawley-Jim Ned football (39 images)
Digital photos, prints and keepsakes may be purchased by clicking the link below. The “BigCountryPreps.com” watermark will be removed from all purchased photos.
Continue reading “PHOTO GALLERY: Hawley-Jim Ned football (39 images)”
DISTRICT 3-3A DIV. I WEEK 1 REPORT: QB Carr leads Clyde to two-score win over Cisco
Clyde 40, Cisco 28 — Blake Carr threw for 319 yards and three touchdowns and rushed for 97 yards and another score to lead Clyde to a win over Cisco.
The Bulldogs closed with 483 yards in total offense with senior receiver Daijon Booker accounting for 218 yards of it on seven receptions.
BCP GAME OF THE WEEK: Jim Ned dominates Hawley 34-12 in season opener
TUSCOLA — Jim Ned may not have appeared diversified in its season-opening rout of Hawley on Friday. But the Indians didn’t really have to be — opting instead to spend much of the night running between the tackles in a punishing 34-12 win over the defending 2A DI state champions in the Big Country Preps Game of the Week.
Brayden Shipman rushed for 169 yards and two scores to top a 300-yard Jim Ned ground attack and Gray Beasley added 216 combined yards of rushing and passing to lead the Indians (1-0), who took control of the game midway through the second quarter at Indian Stadium.
JIM NED FEATURE: Offensive line again the key to Jim Ned success
TUSCOLA — At no point since Jim Ned began playing football in 1957, have the Indians had a better six-year run than they are currently enjoying, with a combined 59-16 record, including a 3A DI state title in 2020.
And all along, the Indians have been propelled by one solid offensive line after another, with no fewer than nine of their linemen going on to play collegiately. It has, in a short period of time, become a trademark of sorts. And at least on paper, it appears to be a Jim Ned strength again in 2023.
2023 JIM NED FOOTBALL PREVIEW: Indians hoping advantages in size, depth result in banner season
TUSCOLA —One year ago, a Jim Ned team that would eventually finish 8-4, struggled out of the gate with an 0-3 start, missing several starters due to injuries.
A year later, that difficult stretch is paying some dividends in the form of uncommon depth and experience.
Entering 2023 Jim Ned not only brings back eight offensive and seven defensive starters, but 23 letterman from last year’s club which went two rounds deep in the Class 3A DI playoffs. Further, the Indians are expected to suit up as many as 38 varsity players in what is looking like a season of promise.
Scenes from Big Country Preps Photo Tour Day 3
Day 3 of Big Country Preps’ 2023 Photo Tour is now in the books, with five more days of shooting yet to come from practice fields throughout the area.
Here are but a few of the images collected Wednesday:
Continue reading “Scenes from Big Country Preps Photo Tour Day 3”
COUNTDOWN TO TWO-A-DAYS: The Jim Ned Indians … 10 days to two-a-days
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 Wednesday, Aug. 16. 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 July 31, we’ll be spotlighting each 11-man team in the area and posing some of the key questions they’ll face in 2023 as part of our annual “Countdown to Two-a-Days” series.
We continue in Class 3A Division I with the Jim Ned Indians. On Saturday we will take a look at the Brock Eagles, followed by the Snyder Tigers on Sunday.
Continue reading “COUNTDOWN TO TWO-A-DAYS: The Jim Ned Indians … 10 days to two-a-days”
PHOTO GALLERY: 2023 State LineMAN Championships (133 photos)
Digital photos, prints and keepsakes may be purchased by clicking the link below. The “BigCountryPreps.com” watermark will be removed from all purchased photos.
Continue reading “PHOTO GALLERY: 2023 State LineMAN Championships (133 photos)”
PHOTO GALLERY: Jim Ned-Holliday baseball area round playoff (76 images)
Digital photos, prints and keepsakes may be purchased by clicking the link below. The “BigCountryPreps.com” watermark will be removed from all purchased photos.
Continue reading “PHOTO GALLERY: Jim Ned-Holliday baseball area round playoff (76 images)”
GAME STORY: Jim Ned can’t cash in on enough opportunities in Game 1 loss to Holliday
A rocky fourth inning in the field and a number of missed opportunities at the plate were enough to do in Jim Ned in a 9-5 loss to Holliday on Thursday in Game 1 of a best-of-three Region I-3A area-round series at Abilene Christian High School.
Trailing 7-0 after the Eagles broke open a close game with a five-run fourth, the Indians rallied for four runs in the home half of that inning and another in the sixth to pull within two at 7-5. But that was as close as coach Mario Estrada’s team would get due in large part to leaving nine runners on base and having another thrown out at the plate.
With the loss, the Indians (25-6) will now have to take a pair from Holliday (30-4) when the series resumes at 5 p.m. Friday at Iowa Park.
STATE TRACK ROUNDUP: Area Class 3A, 4A athletes claim 14 combined medals at state meet
Cover photo courtesy of Stephenville coach Kolt Kittley
AUSTIN —The UIL State Track and Field meet kicked off Thursday with Classes 3A and 4A competing at Mike Meyers Stadium on the campus of the University of Texas, and the Big Country had a fairly strong showing.
The closest finish determining who would be on and off the podium came in the Class 3A girls 800 meter run where Ballinger’s Addison Martin ran the race in 2 minutes, 17.522 seconds, edging Holliday freshman Kenli Atwood by a microscopic 0.007 seconds after diving through the finish line in her final event of a storied career.
Martin’s podium finish, where she was just one-tenth of a second off what had been the top qualification mark, was one of 14 medal-worthy performances for area athletes.
PHOTO GALLERY: Jim Ned-Ingram Moore baseball bi-district playoff (62 images)
Digital photos, prints and keepsakes may be purchased by clicking the link below. The “BigCountryPreps.com” watermark will be removed from all purchased photos.
Continue reading “PHOTO GALLERY: Jim Ned-Ingram Moore baseball bi-district playoff (62 images)”
GAME STORY: Doran settles in, Jim Ned run-rules Ingram Moore to close out bi-district sweep
The Jim Ned baseball team rallied from an early 2-0 hole with 12 unanswered runs Friday to score a 12-2 victory over Ingram Moore and complete a sweep of its Region I-3A bi-district series at Abilene Cooper’s Cougar Field.
The Indians got a six-inning three-hitter from Troy Doran and took advantage of six walks and six Warrior errors to close out Moore a day after claiming a 9-4 win in Game 1.
The victory improved Jim Ned to 25-5 and earned coach Mario Estrada’s squad an area-round date next week with District 7-3A champion Holliday, which defeated Breckenridge 8-1 and 7-6 in its bi-district series.
PHOTO GALLERY: Jim Ned-Wall baseball home-and-series (57 images)
Digital photos, prints and keepsakes may be purchased by clicking the link below. The “BigCountryPreps.com” watermark will be removed from all purchased photos.
Continue reading “PHOTO GALLERY: Jim Ned-Wall baseball home-and-series (57 images)”
PHOTO GALLERY: Region I-3A track meet (118 images)
Digital photos, prints and keepsakes may be purchased by clicking the link below. The “BigCountryPreps.com” watermark will be removed from all purchased photos.
Continue reading “PHOTO GALLERY: Region I-3A track meet (118 images)”