WYLIE (4-4, 2-2) AT LUBBOCK COOPER (5-4, 2-3)
7 p.m. Friday, Pirate Stadium, Lubbock
Category: Local football
SIX-MAN LOOKAHEAD: Hermleigh-Ira, Aspermont-Jayton headline spooky slate of six-man action
With just two weeks remaining in the regular season, the stakes are rising across the state for many high school football teams, and that increased urgency makes for some excellent matchups this time of year.
That’s certainly the case on the area six-man scene, where Halloween night will feature a number of intriguing contests, headlined by co-Games of the Week between Hermleigh and Ira in Division I and Aspermont and Jayton in Division II.
It’s time now to talk about those matchups — and more — in this week’s “Six-Man Lookahead” column. We hope you enjoy this preview of Week 10 action and encourage you to check out our Six-Man/Class 1A Central page for more information on your favorite team(s).
REALIGNMENT CENTRAL: Snapshot Day numbers coming in for area schools
In order to account for new schools opening and in keeping the different classifications as balanced and competitive as possible, the University Interscholastic League goes through a realignment every other year.
It’s one of the highlights of what’s typically a slow football offseason, but it gets started before the current season has drawn to a close.
A multi-step process, realignment got under way on Friday with Snapshot Day. All UIL schools are required to turn in their enrollments on the day for the governing body to determine cutoff numbers for each classification and start drawing up the new districts.
Big Country Preps’ Pick ‘Em Panel (Week 10)
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 our weekly fan polls for each matchup.
For those interested in voting, polls go up on Sunday night each week and close Thursday evening.
Disagree with our picks or the fan poll consensus? Let us know in the comments section below.
BIG COUNTRY PREPS GAME OF THE WEEK: Red-hot Brownwood plays host to top-ranked Stephenville
LAST WEEK: 48-9, .842
SEASON TOTAL: 424-97, .810
Every so often, a game is so high-profile, it qualifies for the Big Country Preps Game of the Week, regardless of what people generally think will happen once the teams take the field.
This week’s matchup between age-old rivals Stephenville (8-0, 2-0 District 4-4A DI) at Brownwood (5-3, 2-0) falls into that category, with the two clubs essentially playing for a league title, though most people believe top-ranked SHS will win handily.
Keep in mind, there are a few extra factors worth taking note of, not the least of which is the fact that Brownwood has followed a 1-3 start with four straight wins. And if you want to stretch that out a bit, the Lions have followed an 0-2 start with five wins in their last six contests, including wins over good teams from Glen Rose, Lampasas and Burnet.
Brownwood is a home at Gordon Wood Stadium, and it’s held three of its last four opponents to 10 points or less.
Does that mean I’m leaning toward the red-hot Lions here?
No.
SIX-MAN REWIND: District races continue to take shape as regular season nears its end
Week 9 yielded several big results as area district races continue to take shape. Chief among those were Water Valley’s win over Robert Lee and Zephyr’s victory over Blanket in our Games of the Week.
Those two outcomes headlined an exciting week of action that set the stage for more pivotal matchups in the final two weeks of the regular season.
As we do every Monday, it’s time to take a look at the best and most meaningful of games from last week in our “Big Country Rewind.” We hope you enjoy this look back at the week that was and encourage you to check out our Six-Man/Class 1A Central page for up-to-date standings, results and upcoming matchups.
BIG COUNTRY PREPS PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Wall quarterback Landon York snags this week’s accolade
What more can be said about the performance of Wall senior Landon York last week other than it was a model of efficiency?
Our Big Country Preps Player of the Week shredded Grape Creek in a 48-0 district win to clinch the District 4-3A DII championship.
Along the way, York connected on 18 of 21 throws for 246 yards and get this: seven touchdowns. That means one out of every three throws resulted in points.
How good of a night did he have? How about a ridiculous quarterback rating of 294.1?
WEEK 10 FAN POLLS … Pick this week’s 11-man winners!
Each week here at Big Country Preps, we offer fans the chance to pick the winners of all games involving our local and area football teams. The results of these weekly polls, which will close at 5 p.m. each Thursday, will be included in our weekly Pick ‘Em Panel.
Here are the games for Week 10:
Continue reading “WEEK 10 FAN POLLS … Pick this week’s 11-man winners!”
DISTRICT 2-5A DIV. I WEEK 9 REPORT: Abilene High takes down Tascosa; Amarillo High, Caprock cruise to wins
Photo by Carter Pirtle, PressPassSports.com
Abilene High 24, Amarillo Tascosa 6 — The Eagles made three red-zone stops in the first half to take a 10-0 lead into halftime and scored two fourth-quarter touchdowns pull away for a three-score win over the Rebels to clinch at least a share of the district title.
Ethan Joyner ran for 94 yards and received for 33, while M’Aujehl Aboso received for 160 yards and two touchdowns to fuel Abilene High (7-2, 5-0), which also got a solid game from Brayden Henry (14-67 rushing, 5-6-0—86, 1 TD passing) in the win.
DISTRICT 2-5A DIV. II WEEK 9 REPORT: Abilene Cooper, Palo Duro separate selves from pack; LCP picks up key win
Abilene Cooper 53, Wichita Falls Legacy 24 — The Cougars ran for 287 yards as a team, getting 102 yards and two touchdowns rushing and 27 yards receiving from Peyton Ewing in a thorough win over the Leopards.
Cooper (6-3, 4-1), which also got productive days from Jaden Carrillo (10-15-0—106, 1 TD passing; 4-51, 1 TD rushing) and Markquel Sims (11-87, 1 TD rushing), raced out to a 22-0 second-quarter lead and closed the third quarter with three unanswered touchdowns to increase a 29-17 lead to 50-17 by the start of the fourth quarter.
GAME REPORT: Abilene High rides clutch stops, timely offense to gritty win at Amarillo Tascosa
Photos by Carter Pirtle, PressPassSports.com
AMARILLO — The Abilene High football team hit the road on a mission Friday, looking to clinch at least a share of the District 2-5A Division I title and lock up a home playoff game with a win over a tough Amarillo Tascosa team that came in riding a three-game district winning streak itself.
After waiting out a lightning delay that pushed the start the game back more than an hour and a half, the Eagles accomplished all of those things, grinding out a 24-6 win at Dick Bivins Stadium to improve to 7-2 overall and 4-0 in 2-5A DI action.
Leading 10-0 at halftime after holding the Rebels to zero points on three red zone trips in the first half and 10-6 after three quarters following Tascosa’s only touchdown of the game, Abilene High put together a pair of fourth-quarter scoring drives to seal the victory and set up a big regular-season finale at home against Lubbock Monterey next week.
SIX-MAN LOOKAHEAD: Robert Lee-Water Valley, Zephyr-Blanket headline strong area slate in Week 9
Week 9 is here, and with it come two of the most highly anticipated matchups of the year, as Robert Lee and Water Valley are set to clash in a battle of ranked unbeatens in District 8-1A Division I and Zephyr and Blanket are scheduled to meet with District 13-1A Division II supremacy on the line.
The threat of inclement weather pushed several of the area’s other high-profile matchups to Thursday — the scores from which can be found on our Six-Man/Class 1A Central page — but there’s still plenty of upcoming action to talk about in this week’s “Six-Man Lookahead.”
Let’s stop wasting time and do that now as we dive into the best games Friday’s slate has to offer.
GAME STORY: Fast start, strong third quarter fuel Cooper to blowout win over Wichita Falls Legacy
The Cooper football team didn’t start the week expecting to play a Thursday night game, but you wouldn’t have known that by the way the Cougars executed in a 53-24 home win over Wichita Legacy.
Playing a night earlier than scheduled due to thunderstorms forecasted for the area on Friday, the Cougars raced out to a 22-0 second-quarter lead and never let up in a thorough victory at Shotwell Stadium.
The win improved coach Aaron Roan’s squad to 6-3 on the year and 4-1 in District 2-5A Division II play, setting up a showdown with Amarillo Palo Duro (7-1, 4-0) for the league’s top playoff seed on Nov. 6, following the Cougars’ open date in Week 10.
Big Country Preps’ Pick ‘Em Panel (Week 9)
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 our weekly fan polls for each matchup.
For those interested in voting, polls go up on Sunday night each week and close Thursday evening.
Disagree with our picks or the fan poll consensus? Let us know in the comments section below.
BIG COUNTRY PREPS GAME OF THE WEEK: Loboes, Bearcats square off with district lead on the line
LAST WEEK: 41-9, .805
SEASON TOTAL: 376-88, .810
Week 9 has arrived and with it, our Big Country Preps Game of the Week, with Cisco (6-1, 2-0 District 4-2A DI) visiting Hawley (5-2, 2-0).
And yes, there is plenty at stake.
The winner will be in sole possession of first place in the District 4-2A DI race and will be the odds-on favorite to take the No. 1 seed.
The starting time of this matchup has been bumped to 6 p.m. due to a storm expected to move into the area, with the possibility of it being shifted to Wylie if conditions at Hawley become too sloppy.
SIX-MAN REWIND: Ira topples Westbrook, Perrin-Whitt holds off Bryson in action packed Week 8
A common knock on six-man football is that it doesn’t yield many upsets or tight margins. Well, Week 8’s most high-profile games featured both.
Not only did we see Ira score what have been the upset of the year over Westbrook in our “Six-Man Lookahead” Game of the Week, we also got a 72-70 barn-burner between Perrin-Whitt and Bryson that saw the Pirates hold off one of the season’s most exciting comebacks.
It’s time now to relive those games — and more — in this week’s “Six-Man Rewind” column. We hope you enjoy this look back at Week 8 and encourage you to check out our Six-Man/Class 1A Central page for more information on your favorite team(s).
BIG COUNTRY PREPS PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Forsan’s Hayden Bowlin takes the top spot
Forsan senior Hayden Bowlin had a career night last Friday and picked up our Big Country Preps Player of the Week award in the process.
To begin with, the FHS QB rushed for 280 yards and five scores in last week’s 60-27 win over Colorado City. Aside from that, he threw for 59 yards, he returned a punt 75 yards for a sixth TD and had a 34-yard kickoff return to give him 389 all-purpose yards and 36 of FHS’ points.
WEEK 9 FAN POLLS … Pick this week’s 11-man winners!
Each week here at Big Country Preps, we offer fans the chance to pick the winners of all games involving our local and area football teams. The results of these weekly polls, which will close at 5 p.m. each Thursday, will be included in our weekly Pick ‘Em Panel.
Here are the games for Week 9:
Continue reading “WEEK 9 FAN POLLS … Pick this week’s 11-man winners!”
DISTRICT 2-5A DIV. I WEEK 8 REPORT: Abilene High crushes LHS; Tascosa runs over Monterey
Abilene High 73, Lubbock High 0 — The Eagles outgained the Westerners 445-32 and got three non-offensive touchdowns, including a pair of fumble return scores for nose guard Jayden Starks in a blowout win on homecoming.
Tristan Beal passed for 169 yards and a touchdown, Brayden Henry had scores passing and rushing, and Ethan Joyner () and Josh Castillo () both went over 100 total yards in the win, which saw Abilene High (6-2, 4-0) build a 59-0 lead by halftime.
DISTRICT 2-5A DIV. II WEEK 8 REPORT: Cooper outlasts Plainview; Memorial routs Wylie; Palo Duro rallies past LCP
Abilene Cooper 56, Plainview 43 — Jaden Carrillo accounted for 380 total yards and five total touchdowns to fuel the Cougars to a two-touchdown road win over the Bulldogs.
The senior quarterback passed for 203 yards and two TDs and ran for 177 yards and three more scores, while Peyton Ewing (18-134, 2 TDs rushing) and Zaylon Johnson (8-127, 2 TDs receiving) also had big games for Cooper (5-3, 3-1).
PHOTO GALLERY: Wichita Falls Memorial-Wylie football (49 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: Wichita Falls Memorial-Wylie football (49 images)”
GAME REPORT: Carrillo shines again as Cooper pulls away late for 56-43 win at Plainview
PLAINVIEW — Jaden Carrillo passed for 203 yards and two touchdowns and ran for 177 yards and three more scores to lead Cooper to a 56-43 win over Plainview on Friday at Greg Sherwood Memorial Stadium.
Peyton Ewing added 134 yards and two touchdowns on the ground, and Zaylon Johnson received for 127 yards and two scores as the Cougars used a 28-point fourth quarter to break open a game that was tied after each of the first three periods.
The wild victory improved Cooper to 5-3 overall and 3-1 in District 2-5A Division II play, keeping coach Aaron Roan’s squad within a half-game of league leader Amarillo Palo Duro (6-1, 3-0) with two games to play.
GAME STORY: Abilene High rumbles to 73-0 homecoming win over Lubbock High
Facing off with an overmatched opponent in front of a homecoming crowd, the Abilene High Eagles were about as dominant as a team could be Friday, scoring 59 points in the opening half of a 73-0 win over Lubbock High at Shotwell Stadium.
AHS followed a 28-point first quarter with 31 more points in the second, while holding the Westerners to minus-25 first-half yards defensively on 29 plays — three of which ended in turnovers.
With a running clock in the second half, coach Mike Fullen’s squad finished off the shutout after halftime, turning a fourth takeaway into its third non-offensive touchdown to improve to 6-2 on the year and 4-0 in District 2-5A Division I play.
GAME STORY: Wichita Falls Memorial offense tops 500 yards in big win over Wylie
Wylie entered Friday night’s District 2-5A Division II game against Wichita Falls Memorial at Hugh Sandifer Stadium with the potential to be part of a three-way tie for the district championship in a few weeks as the league has featured shocking results on a weekly basis.
After a 45-14 loss to the Mavericks, the Bulldogs are now headed into their open week trying to find answers while knowing that a trip to the playoffs isn’t nearly the guarantee that it seemed to be Friday morning.
With Amarillo Palo Duro rallying past Lubbock Cooper and Abilene Cooper pulling away from Plainview on Friday, the Bulldogs (4-4 overall, 2-2 district) find themselves in third place in a massive logjam in the postseason race.
Plainview, Wichita Falls Legacy and Memorial are all tied for fourth place at 1-2 in district while the Lubbock Cooper is now 1-3.
FEATURE: First-year Cooper QB Carrillo far more than just an athlete taking snaps
When Jaden Carrillo was tabbed to be Cooper’s starting quarterback in the preseason, beating out fellow seniors Johnathon Rico and Jared Clancy for the role, it was likely eyebrow-raising news for some.
That’s because for most of his time as a Cougar, the speedy playmaker was catching passes, not throwing them.
Carrillo cut his teeth as a varsity football player at the slot receiver position, amassing 71 receptions for 657 yards and five touchdowns across his sophomore and junior seasons. But the senior three-sport standout has always thought of himself as a quarterback — and given the chance to man the position in his final high school season, he’s showing others exactly why.
SIX-MAN LOOKAHEAD: Westbrook-Ira game headlines Week 8 slate as district races heat up
We’ve reached Week 8, and playoff races are starting to take shape in our area six-man districts.
While most of our best matchups are still to come, this week’s slate, which is headlined by a marquee District 7-1A Division I clash between No. 8 Westbrook and fellow toughie Ira, has its share of intriguing games.
Without further adieu, let’s go ahead and jump into this week’s “Lookahead.” We hope you enjoy this preview of the week’s action and encourage you to check out our Six-Man/Class 1A Central page for more information on your favorite team(s).
Big Country Preps’ Pick ‘Em Panel (Week 8)
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 our weekly fan polls for each matchup.
For those interested in voting, polls go up on Sunday night each week and close Thursday evening.
Disagree with our picks or the fan poll consensus? Let us know in the comments section below.
BIG COUNTRY PREPS GAME OF THE WEEK: Bangs takes on Hico in our spotlight matchup
LAST WEEK: 53-7, .883
SEASON TOTAL: 335-79, .809
Week 8.
Can you believe it? I can’t, but every year it’s the same story. Two-a-days end, you blink and it’s Thanksgiving.
At any rate, Friday night will see us venturing to Hico for our Big Country Preps Game of the Week, with the Bangs Dragons (4-2, 1-0) facing the Tigers (4-2, 0-1) on the road in an important District 5-2A DI showdown that will almost certainly play a huge role in playoff seeding.
SIX-MAN REWIND: Area teams start separating themselves as district play begins for most area leagues
With Week 7 came the opening of district play for most six-man teams in the Big Country Preps coverage area. And we already have some separation being created in a number of area leagues.
Included in those is District 13-1A Division II, which saw Blanket down Gustine 57-12 in our our “Big Country Lookahead” Game of the Week.
But that was one of many interesting results we’ll be discussing in this week’s “Big Country Rewind” column. We hope you enjoy this look back at Week 7 and encourage you to check out our Six-Man/Class 1A Central page for more information on your favorite team(s).
BIG COUNTRY PREPS PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Cooper’s Carillo takes this week’s award
Slowly but surely, the Cooper Cougars have emerged as one of the most explosive teams in the Big Country. And in its latest exploit, CHS rolled up 517 yards in total offense in a 66-16 win over Lubbock Cooper.
At the top of the stat sheet: Cooper quarterback Jaden Carrillo, who hit 18 of 27 throws for 263 yards and six touchdowns. He also rushed 11 times for 80 yards and another score to help the Cougars improve to 4-3 overall and 2-1 in District 2-5A DII.
His six TD passes tied a school record held by Zac Allen and Clayton Nicholas.
WEEK 8 FAN POLLS … Pick this week’s 11-man winners!
Each week here at Big Country Preps, we offer fans the chance to pick the winners of all games involving our local and area football teams. The results of these weekly polls, which will close at 5 p.m. each Thursday, will be included in our weekly Pick ‘Em Panel.
Here are the games for Week 8:
DISTRICT 2-5A DIV. I WEEK 7 REPORT: Abilene High, Amarillo High and Lubbock Monterey pick up wins
Photos by Susanna Jackson, HubCityPreps.com
Abilene High 35, Lubbock Coronado 6 — The Eagles ran for 258 yards, getting 178 of those and two touchdowns from Ethan Joyner, to cruise to a workmanlike win over the Mustangs.
Symanni Strahan also had a big game for Abilene High (5-2, 3-0), rushing for 36 yards and two touchdowns while adding a third TD receiving, as the Eagles bu8ilt a 21-6 lead by halftime.
DISTRICT 2-5A DIV. II WEEK 7 REPORT: Cooper blasts LCP; Palo Duro outlasts Wylie; Legacy upsets Plainview
Abilene Cooper 66, Lubbock Cooper 16 — Jaden Carrillo passed for 273 yards and a school record-tying six touchdowns while adding 80 yards and another score rushing to lead the Cougars to a blowout win over the Pirates.
Zaylon Johnson was Carrillo’s favorite target in the passing game, hauling in seven passes for 140 yards and four touchdowns, while Jace Johnson and Donovan Wilkerson also had TD catches for the Coogs (4-3, 2-1).