LAST WEEK: 54-14, .794
SEASON TOTAL: 54-14, .794
Hitting nearly 80 percent accuracy in Week 1 is considerably better than the .705 I stumbled out of the gate with last year.
Hopefully, it will be a good omen.
This week, the Crosstown Showdown between Abilene and Cooper shares the spotlight Stephenville opening the gate of its new football digs — named after the architect of the SHS dynasty, Art Briles.
Here’s this week’s forecast. I’ll see you on the road.
The first week of the six-man football season is in the books, and it delivered a number of outstanding performances from area teams and individuals.
After previewing the Week 1 slate in our “Six-Man Lookahead” column, it’s time time to recap some of the best of those.
We hope you enjoy taking a look back at the week that was in Big Country six-man football and encourage you to check out our new “Six-Man/Class 1A Central” page for more information on your favorite six-man teams.
Photo provided by Randy Day
Milestones catch our eye when selecting our Big Country Preps Player of the Week, as do great weekly performances. But when both occur at the same time, you can rest assured that player will be in the running for the top spot.
This week the spotlight goes to Comanche senior outside hitter J’Lee Salinas, who not only helped the Maidens to the Heart of Texas Tournament Championship in Brownwood, but she also hit the 500-kill milestone in process.
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 2:
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: Abilene High-San Angelo Central football (66 images)”
Abilene High 42, San Angelo Central 14 — Brayden Henry ran for 176 yards and two touchdowns while also adding a punt return score for the Eagles in a season-opening blowout of the Bobcats.
Ethan Joyner also ran for 75 yards and a TD for AHS, which used a 65-yard fumble return score by Jayden Starks to erase an early 7-0 deficit before scoring 28 unanswered points over the middle two quarters.
Wylie 25, Brownwood 0 — Julius Laine ran for 126 yards and a touchdown on 23 carries, and the Bulldogs defense played 48 minutes of excellent football in a shutout win over the Lions.
Wylie held Brownwood to just 72 yards of total offense and forced a pair of turnovers to help the Bulldogs offense take an 11-0 lead into halftime and expand it after the break.
AZLE — The Cooper football team got off to a running start Friday … literally.
The Cougars piled up 316 yards on the ground, averaging 6.7 yards per rush attempt, and never trailed in a thorough 49-25 win over Azle.
After opening the scoring with just over three minutes remaining in the first quarter, CHS extended a 22-7 halftime lead to three scores by the 10:39 mark of the third and held on from there to secure its first season-opening win since 2020.
The Wylie defense opened 2025 in midseason form Friday, limiting the Brownwood to just 72 yards of total offense in a resounding 25-0 victory at Hugh Sandifer Stadium.
Taking advantage of a Lions offense breaking in a new I-formation-based scheme under first-year coach Jeryl Brixey, the Bulldogs recorded five sacks and 10 tackles for loss while forcing a pair of turnovers in the shutout.
The Wylie offense, meanwhile, did just enough against a game BHS defense to keep the Lions at arm’s length throughout the night, scoring a touchdown in each of the final two quarters to put the game away after taking an 11-0 lead into halftime.
After seeing his junior year end with a torn ACL last October, Abilene High quarterback Brayden Henry returned to the field on Friday night at Shotwell Stadium and led the No. 9-ranked Eagles to a 42-21 win over San Angelo Central in the season opener for both squads.
Henry ran for a pair of touchdowns and added the go-ahead score with a second quarter-punt return for a touchdown as he accounted for 283 total yards in the win.
The senior was excited to be back on the field and having the ability to play a pivotal role in the win.
It’s hard to believe, but the 2025 high school football season is officially upon us.
In fact, for a number of our area six-man programs — including defending state champs Gordon (Division I) and Jayton (Division II) — it has already begun.
But even after a hefty Thursday slate, the scores from which can be found on our Six-Man/Class 1A Central page, there’s plenty of six-man football still to look forward to this week.
As we did last year, we’re going to break down the biggest area matchups weekly in this column. So let’s go ahead and dive in with the biggest games of Week 1.
Continue reading “SIX-MAN LOOKAHEAD: ACS-Jonesboro, May-Whiteface headline season-opening slate”
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.
LAST WEEK: 0-0, .000
SEASON TOTAL: 0-0, .000
I can scarcely believe it, but it’s that time again — time to begin taking a weekly look at high school football games in our area, making my choice for BCP Game of the Week and doing my level best to pick the winners.
Last year (after a dreadful start), this column hit with more than an 80 percent accuracy for the season. But I’d rather not be forced to overcome the early handicap again.
Enough small talk.
Let’s dive into the 2025 season, shall we?
After a week of highlighting area playmakers, we wrap up our eight-part preseason position rankings series with the Big Country’s best signal callers.
To complete our look at the area’s top players, we’ve ranked our top 10 quarterbacks with a list of others to watch in 2025.
We hope you enjoy this list and that you’ve enjoyed our position rankings as we get set to kick off a new season.
As we wind down our eight-part preseason position rankings series, we arrive finally at the Big Country’s top ball-carriers.
After breaking down this year’s crop of receivers and tight ends earlier today, we move now to the area’s top backs, ranking our top 10 with a list of others to watch in 2025. Don’t forget to check in Thursday when we conclude our series with the top 10 area quarterbacks.
We hope you enjoy tonight’s list and encourage you to check out the other position groups, which are linked below.
We’re approaching the final stretch of our eight-part preseason position rankings series, and it’s time to look at the Big Country’s top receivers.
After starting the offensive portion of our series with the linemen, we now shift our attention to the playmakers on the perimeter, ranking our top 10 wideouts/tight ends with a list of others to watch in 2025.
We hope you enjoy our list and encourage you to check out the other position groups, which are linked below.
With the defensive and special teams rankings behind us, it’s time to look at the area’s top offensive players. And we’ll start with the foundation of any productive offense: the offensive line.
For the fifth installment of our eight-part preseason position rankings series, we turn our attention to the trenches, ranking the Big Country’s top 10 offensive linemen with a list of others to watch in 2025.
We hope you enjoy reading through our rankings.
After recognizing the top defensive players throughout the Big Country over the past three days, it’s time to honor the specialists.
We continue our eight-part preseason position rankings series by naming our top 10 kickers and punters to watch this fall.
We hope you enjoy this list and that you have enjoyed our position rankings as we get set to kickoff the 2025 season.
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 1:
After starting with the linemen and linebackers, we turn to the defensive backfield to complete our look at the top defenders in the Big Country.
For the third installment in our eight-part preseason position rankings series, we shift our focus to the secondary, giving our list of the area’s top-10 defensive backs and others to look out for in 2025.
We hope you enjoy our list.
After taking a look at the Big Country’s top defensive linemen last night, it’s now time to examine those who will backing them in 2025.
Continuing with Big Country Preps’ eight-part preseason position rankings series, here’s our top 10 linebackers to watch this fall, as well as a list of the others we’re expecting big things from.
We hope you enjoy our list.
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: Abilene High-Wylie football scrimmage (32 images)”
With the start of football season around the corner, it’s time to take a look at the players who will be making the biggest impact in 2025.
For the first installment in an eight-part series that will cover all position groups, we’ll be taking a look at the area’s top defensive linemen, ranking our top 10 with a list of others to watch this fall.
As with any such list, these rankings are subjective. We hope you enjoy reading through them.
Continue reading “Big Country Preps Preseason Football Position Rankings: Defensive Linemen”
The time has arrived for us to make our Big Country predictions, district-by-district.
Several weeks of research and two solid months of summertime labor have gone into this, so we’re more than ready to post it.
With that please dive in and study our take on the upcoming season, along with the more than 80 preseason stories we posted earlier today. Enjoy! We’ll see you on the road!
Got the truck started yet?
Ready to jump on one of those farm-to-market roads to watch high school football into the late hours on a Friday night?
You’re not alone.
And, as tradition would have it, I tip my cap to those of you who will be hitting the trails each week in search of pigskin. My method: a preseason menu of sorts.
Each week for the next 11 weeks, Big Country Preps will be searching for its Game of the Week, and we’re already looking ahead. We now present our preliminary list of Big Country Games worth traveling for, but keep in mind: the following list is subject to change as surprises and disappointments emerge.
And as we all know … surprises and disappointments always emerge.
So, without further delay, here is our list of Big Country games worth traveling for in 2025.
I’ll see you on the road.
Over the years, it has not been uncommon for the Abilene High defensive staff to turn undersized players with big hearts and high motors into outstanding linebackers or safeties.
Few players in AHS history have fit that profile better than senior outside linebacker Trae Shaw.
Standing just 5-foot-8 and weighing in at 165 pounds, Shaw isn’t your prototypical linebacker by any stretch of the imagination. But he fits the overachieving Eagle prototype to a T, and coach Mike Fullen, who was a longtime defensive coordinator before taking over the program in 2019, has no problem whatsoever working with players like that.
Last year, Abilene High overcame the growing pains of a youthful defense to go 8-4 and claim a shared championship in District 2-5A Division I.
This season, with that defense mostly intact and many of the offensive weapons that helped them average 47.8 points per game a year ago, the Eagles are hoping to put an even stronger product on the field.
AHS coach Mike Fullen, who has led his team to the playoffs each of the past five years, including district title runs the last two, isn’t getting real specific in his projections for this team. But the team’s general goals and expectations are proof enough of the confidence the Eagles take into the year.
A year ago, Julius Laine was well on his way to his first 1,000-yard rushing season when a non-contact injury to his right knee ended his junior year prematurely.
It was a devastating blow for the 6-foot-1, 225-pound running back, marking his second ACL tear in a four-year span.
But if you were expecting the now-Wylie senior to be bitter about his poor injury luck — or to dwell on the negative all — you would be wrong. Laine’s focus is forward, not back, and with his knee fully healed, he has every intention of making his fourth varsity season his best to date.
Coming off their second district championship in three seasons, with an average of nine wins per year over that span, the Wylie Bulldogs have reestablished the expectation level set under former coach Hugh Sandifer, who led the WHS to 24 consecutive playoff seasons from 1994 to 2017 with 14 district championships in that stretch.
After a rocky start to their time as a Class 5A program, which saw them go 10-28 from 2018 to 2021, the Bulldogs are back under coach Clay Martin to expecting success perennially regardless of graduation losses and roster turnover.
So while some might take note of the 44 lettermen lost from last year’s 9-2 team or the fact that Wylie returns just five offensive and two defensive starters, the Bulldogs themselves are focused on competing once again at the top of District 2-5A Division II and making a playoff run after.
As a three-star recruit who has already committed to play Division I football at the University of Texas-El Paso, Dycin Davis has a big future ahead of him.
But entering his fourth year as a starting defensive end for the Cooper Cougars, his sole focus at present is on … well … the present.
Davis, a 6-foot-3, 235-pound wrecking ball off the edge for coach Aaron Roan’s squad, has but two goals as he prepares for his final high school season — to relish the time he has left with his South Side brothers and to help CHS to its first winning season in his four years on campus.
The 2024 season was a unique one for the Cooper Cougars.
After struggling to a 1-6 start, including an 0-3 stretch to kick off District 2-5A Division II play, the Coogs closed the regular season with three consecutive wins to extend their playoff streak to 18 seasons.
With 24 lettermen back from that 4-7 squad, including seven offensive and four defensive starters, coach Aaron Roan and his team are hoping to ride the momentum of that late-season surge to a faster start in 2025. And if they can, the eighth year Cooper mentor feels his Cougars could play a larger role in the district race as well.
Steven Ward’s second year leading the Abilene TLCA program has some promise but looks like it will be another year of tough learning experiences and growth from young players.
The Eagles have 20 returning lettermen from a year ago, with nine starters back on both sides of the football.
One thing that TLCA will be looking at this year is how well does the roster react to having a new offensive and defensive coordinator.
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. 20. 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. 4, we’ll be spotlighting each 11-man team in the area and posing some of the key questions they’ll face in 2025 as part of our annual “Countdown to Two-a-Days” series.
Today, we take a look at the Cooper Cougars.
Abilene High seniors Bryson Perez and Dristian Payne were key parts of the Eagle football program over the past four years and the pair will both continue their playing careers on the north side of town after making their college commitments official to Hardin-Simmons University on Tuesday afternoon.
AHS coach Mike Fullen was effusive in his praise of what the pair brought to the Abilene High program over the past four seasons and said that he’s excited to watch them progress.
Tye Briscoe — and those who have followed his decorated baseball career — have known where he was going to play his college ball for going on three years now. On Wednesday, the talented pitcher and outfielder got to make it official.
Flanked by football players Sutton Peck (Abilene Christian University), Andre Gjerpe (Morehead State University) and Keegan Anderson (Independence College), who also locked in their college choices during Wylie’s Wednesday afternoon Signing Day ceremony, Briscoe signed with the University of Arkansas, making good on the commitment he made to the Razorbacks on Aug. 25, 2022.
And though there was little mystery or suspense to his recruitment process, the fire-balling and power-hitting lefty was happy to put pen to paper in front of friends, family and supporters at Bulldog Gym.
Coming off a huge senior season as a rare two-way player for Cooper, Zavian Alexander announced Wednesday afternoon that he’ll be taking his talents to Central Texas for the next stage of his football journey.
Joined by CHS softballers Maddie Fry (Hardin-Simmons University) and Emma Ruiz (Nelson University) at a Signing Day ceremony at Cougar Gym, Alexander made his college decision official by confirming his commitment to the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor.
Alexander’s pledge to the Division III national power in Belton comes after putting up the second-most productive season ever by a Cooper receiver on his way to earning first-team all-District 2-5A Division II and second-team All-Big Country Preps recognition.
For the past three years, Jerrod Turner has been casting an imposing shadow from his spot as one of the bookends of the Abilene High offensive line.
On Wednesday afternoon, the 6-foot-5, 240-pound left tackle made official his intentions to take that shadow a few miles south for the next few years.
Turner, a second-team all-District 2-5A Division I and honorable mention All-Big Country Preps pick as a senior, committed to McMurry University during a Signing Day ceremony at the Chuck Moser Fieldhouse, pledging to continue a football journey that saw him help pave the way for some of the Eagles’ most explosive offenses in recent memory the past two seasons.
National Signing Day is typically a busy one in the Big Country Preps’ coverage area and 2025 was no exception with several players inking and/or confirming their commitments to play at the next level.
At various signing ceremonies held throughout the area, athletes celebrated their final choices to pursue a degree while competing collegiately.
Here are our first-team selections for the 2024 All-Big Country Preps football team. For the rest of this year’s selections, click the links below.
Here are our second-team selections for the 2024 All-Big Country Preps football team. For the rest of this year’s selections, click the links below.