Category: Merkel Badgers

by Evan Ren

BIG COUNTRY PREPS PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Stephenville’s Cameron takes this week’s award

It’s always a great accomplishment to go to the state track meet in multiple events. But when it’s done in dominating fashion at the Class 4A level or above, you’re generally talking about a very special, gifted athlete. 

Our Big Country Preps Player of the Week, Victoria Cameron of Stephenville, falls directly into that category and she has the regional hardware to prove it. 

Taking four gold medals at the Region I-4A meet, Cameron scored 30 individual points while clinching four berths to the state meet. 

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by Daniel Youngblood

REGION I-3A TRACK MEET: Brock, Breck boys go 1-2 again; Big Country girls claim six individual golds

The Brock boys track teams clinched its third consecutive region championship Saturday at Abilene Christian University’s Elmer Gray Stadium, and for the second year in a row, the Eagles’ stiffest competition came from Breckenridge.  

Brock took first at the Region I-3A meet, tallying 70 team points over the two-day competition, while the Buckaroos finished with 55 points, edging third-place Vernon (54) for their second runner-up finish in as many years.

Those performances headlined a successful meet for area competitors, which saw athletes or relay teams from the Big Country Preps coverage area claim 26 total medals — 14 on the boys side and 12 on the girls. That list featured 15 automatic qualifying bids to the state meet May 11-13 in Austin, including 10 total gold medals. 

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by Evan Ren

BIG COUNTRY PREPS PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Sweetwater senior captures five medals and our award

“Damarrius Walker is a very talented young man,” Sweetwater coach Brian Hodnett said. “There isn’t much in track and field that he can’t do!

“We as a staff are excited to see how far he can go this year.”

So is the rest of the area as our Big Country Preps Player of the Week collects the award after scoring 44 points individually at the Hamlin Pied Piper Relays last week. 

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by Evan Ren

BIG COUNTRY PREPS PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Fincannon fires perfecto and no-hitter to take this week’s award

You know you’re on a roll when you throw a no-hitter and it’s your second-best performance of the week. 

That was the case for Hico junior pitcher Kiersten Fincannon, not only threw a no-hitter in a 24-0 win over Meridian, but also tossed a perfect game in a 22-0 rout of Itasca. 

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by Evan Ren

BIG COUNTRY PREPS PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Hamlin lefty takes this week’s award

Softball tournaments can distort the significance of pitching accomplishments due to inning caps or time limits, rendering perfect games or no-hitters into half-versions of their true selves. 

However, there is no denying that tournaments are work, especially for pitchers, and our Big Country Preps Player of the Week, Hamlin southpaw Zoe Moore, earned the accolade with a 4-0 record in the Wichita Falls Sunrise Optimist Tournament last week.

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by Evan Ren

GAME STORY: Merkel girls eliminate nervous Brady, 54-33

WINTERS — On paper, everything was on Brady’s side heading into Monday’s 54-33 loss to Merkel in the Class 3A girls bi-district round.

The second-seeded Lady Bulldogs had momentum, winning five of their last six games, while third-seeded Merkel was on a downswing, having lost three straight. 

There was just one problem: Merkel, which is housed in District 6 with the likes of No. 2 Jim Ned and No. 15 Wall, isn’t your run-of-the-mill third seed.  And the Lady Badgers quickly demonstrated that in a convincing win at Winters High School.

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by Brandon McAuliffe

GAME STORY: Wall sweeps Merkel in District 6-3A twin bill

The Merkel Lady Badgers entered Tuesday’s regular season finale knowing the stakes were clear: beat Wall and get a seeding game with the Lady Hawks or enter the postseason as the No. 3 seed out of District 6-3A.

Wall, meanwhile, knew that a win locked them into the No. 2 seed and would allow a week of rest before starting the postseason.

In the end, it was the Lady Hawks who used a strong defensive effort, including holding the Lady Badgers scoreless for more than 12 straight minutes in the first half, to take a 37-19 win at Badger Gym.

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by Evan Ren

BIG COUNTRY PREPS PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Eula’s Gray tops 1,500-point mark, claims this week’s award.

Eula’s Clayton Gray, our Big Country Preps Player of the Week for the week ending Feb. 4, earned the accolade on two fronts. Not only did he post big numbers in consecutive wins over Moran and Rising Star, but he also reached an impressive milestone in the process. 

To begin with, the junior guard chalked up 29 points, six boards and four blocks in a win over Moran. He also tallied 43 points, eight boards and four steals in a win over Rising Star.

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by Evan Ren

GAME STORY: Merkel, Clyde split varsity doubleheader with back-to-back convincing wins

CLYDE — With an icy rain falling outside, the Merkel and Clyde varsity basketball teams met for an early doubleheader on Tuesday in an effort to stay ahead of the weather and stay and ahead of each other in the District 6-3A standings. 

The twin bill produced a split result, with the Merkel girls opening the afternoon with a 51-36 win over their host to remain in contention for a high playoff seed. The Clyde boys returned the favor in Game 2, handing the Badgers a 63-26 loss to cripple MHS’ playoff chances. 

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by Evan Ren

GAME STORY: Jim Ned sweeps important varsity doubleheader at Merkel

MERKEL —With first place in the balance on both sides of Tuesday’s varsity doubleheader in Merkel, the Jim Ned girls and boys basketball teams walked into one of the toughest places to play in the Big Country and walked out with a convincing two-game sweep. 

The Jim Ned girls (23-1, 6-0 District 6-3A) took the opener in dominating fashion, beating Merkel 52-21. Shortly thereafter, the Jim Ned boys took the nightcap with a 52-38 win to improve to 15-10 and 4-0. 

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by Evan Ren

BIG COUNTRY PREPS PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Comanche QB snags this week’s accolade

With standout running back Sawyer Wilkerson getting much of the media attention in 2022, the Comanche Indians have been receiving efficient, under-publicized play from the quarterback spot through much of a 10-1 record. 

Last week was perhaps the best example of that, with junior signal caller Layden Welch torching Henrietta with an 11 of 16 passing performance for 248 yards and five TDs in a 69-27 win. 

But that’s just the beginning. 

Welch also rushed 11 times for 65 yards and two scores. He gathered five solo tackles, four assisted stops, forced a fumble and deflected a pass to help CHS advance to the area round. 

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by Evan Ren

CLASS 3A BI-DISTRICT REPORT: Jim Ned wins eighth straight; Brock, Early Comanche, Wall advance to area round

REGION I-3A DIV. I 

Jim Ned 41, Pilot Point 0 — Troy Doran rushed for 174 yards and two scores to lead Jim Ned to an easy first round win over Pilot Point. 

The Indians rolled up 479 yards in total offense en route to the win, overcoming a 3-1 turnover disparity in the process.  Leading 14-0 at the break, Jim Ned blew the game open with 27 unanswered points in the second half. 

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by Daniel Youngblood

Big Country Preps Boys Basketball Position Rankings: Posts

After highlighting the Big Country’s top guards and forwards the past two nights, we now take a look at the area’s best big men.

For the final installment in our three-part boys basketball position rankings series, we rank the Big Country’s top 10 post players.

We hope you’ve enjoyed reading through our rankings, and make sure to check back for all our boys and girls basketball coverage this season.

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by Daniel Youngblood

Big Country Preps Boys Basketball Position Rankings: Guards

With boys basketball season beginning this week, it’s time to shine a spotlight on some of the players you’ll be reading about throughout the 2022-23 season.

For the first installment in a three-part series that will cover all positions on the area boys basketball scene, we’ll be taking a look at the Big Country’s top guards, ranking our top 10 with a list of others to watch this winter.

We hope you enjoy reading through our list.

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by Daniel Youngblood

DISTRICT 5-3A DIV. II WEEK 11 REPORT: Comanche routs Eastland to finish perfect run through league play

Comanche 49, Eastland 7 — The Indians wrapped up a perfect run through district play with a blowout win over the Mavericks, rushing for 285 yards in the victory.

Comanche (9-1, 5-0), which led 29-0 by halftime and took a 35-0 lead into the fourth quarter, got 194 yards and two touchdowns rushing from standout sophomore Sawyer Wilkerson, while quarterback Layden Welch passed for 100 yards and one touchdown and ran for 80 yards and two more scores.

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by Daniel Youngblood

Big Country Preps Girls Basketball Position Rankings: Posts

After focusing on the top guards and forwards the Big Country has to offer the past two nights, it’s time to shift our attention to the paint.

For the final installment in our three-part position rankings series, we list our top-10 post players for the 2022-23 season.

We hope you’ve enjoyed reading through these rankings, and make sure to come back next week when we’ll feature the top boys basketball players in the Big Country.

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by Daniel Youngblood

Big Country Preps Girls Basketball Position Rankings: Forwards

After kicking off our girls basketball position rankings series with the guards on Tuesday, we now turn our attention to the forwards.

For the second installment in our three-part series, we rank the area’s top 10 players at that position with some others to watch for in 2022-23.

We hope you enjoy our list.

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by Daniel Youngblood

Big Country Preps Girls Basketball Position Rankings: Guards

With the girls basketball season upon us, it’s time to take a look at the local and area players who will be making the biggest impact for their teams during the 2022-23 season.

For the first installment in a three-part series that will cover all positions, we’ll be focusing on the Big Country’s top guards, ranking our top 10 with a list of others to watch this season.

As with any such list, these rankings are subjective. We hope you enjoy reading through our selections.

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by Daniel Youngblood

DISTRICT 5-3A DIV. II WEEK 10 REPORT: Comanche routs Merkel to clinch at least share of league title

Comanche 49, Merkel 14 — The Indians wrapped up at least a share of their first district championship since 2018, rushing for 404 yards and gaining 510 yards total in a blowout win over the Badgers.

Leading 7-6 after one quarter, Comanche (8-1, 4-0) outscored Merkel 28-8 over the middle two quarters to pull away.

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by Daniel Youngblood

DISTRICT 5-3A DIV. II WEEK 9 REPORT: Comanche stays perfect in league play with big win over Dublin

Comanche 77, Dublin 7 — The Indians strengthened their grip on the district lead, improving to 3-0 in league play with their fourth consecutive victory.

Comanche (7-1 overall) abused the Lions for 512 rushing yards, getting 310 yards and four touchdowns rushing from Sawyer Wilkerson on just 11 carries. Cayden Davis (4-78), Ezequiel Medrano (6-43) and Layden Welch (2-15) also had rushing scores, while Welch hit all four of his pass attempts for 140 yards and two touchdowns.

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by Evan Ren

FEATURE: Oznick a genuine bright spot during rebuilding year for young EHS club

Photos courtesy of Kristin Oznick

EASTLAND — Jay Oznick is barely making a blip on the media radar screen. The Eastland junior receiver, like the rest of his teammates, has been working to improve through the day-to-day challenge of a rebuilding season.

So attention has been scarce for Oznick, who has quietly put together one of the best seasons in the area, despite missing one full game and half of another with an injury.

With only a handful of seniors seeing significant playing time, the 2022 Mavericks are at the shallow end of the experience pool, with several sophomores thrust into key roles. 

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by Daniel Youngblood

DISTRICT 5-3A DIV. II WEEK 8 REPORT: Comanche, Merkel earn wins to stay unbeaten in league play

Comanche 53, Jacksboro 33 — The Indians abused the Tigers on the ground, rushing for 349 yards and six touchdowns on their way to a 20-point win.

Sawyer Wilkerson fueled the effort, rushing for 272 yards and four scores to help Comanche (6-1, 2-0) to a 36-11 halftime lead. Quarterback Layden Welch also had a big game, hitting 10 of 12 passes for 211 yards and a touchdown while rushing for 28 yards and two more TDs.

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