Here are the Big Country’s receiving leaders through Week 7:
Category: Merkel Badgers
DISTRICT 5-3A DIV. II WEEK 7 REPORT: Comanche rolls through Millsap; Merkel doubles up Dublin
Comanche 45, Millsap 28 — The Indians took care of the Bulldogs in three-score win, racing out to a 35-7 halftime lead to remove all intrigue early.
Comanche, which got a big rushing day from Sawyer Wilkerson (11-134, 3 TDs) extended its lead to 45-14 by the start of the fourth quarter to improve to 5-1 overall and 1-0 in district play.
FEATURE: Through unique experience, Merkel seniors are paving way for Lady Badgers volleyball program
You probably should make a point to remember the seven girls noted in the ensuing paragraph, because what they are accomplishing at Merkel High School this year is virtually unprecedented.
Sydnee Barnes, Jada O’Kelly, Kloe Pursley, Autumn Hammond, Avery Hollaway, Micah Hollaway and Avery Chacon are seniors on the Lady Badgers volleyball team, meaning the 2022 season represents their final time to play the sport in high school.
It is also their first.
Comanche (4-1) — The Indians were idle on Friday night. They’ll return to action next week with a home game against Millsap in the district opener for both teams.
DISTRICT 5-3A DIV. II WEEK 5 REPORT: Gaitan, Rasberry fuel Dublin past Florence
Dublin 34, Florence 23 — The Lions took care of business against the Buffaloes, outscoring FHS 21-14 in the second half to pull away for a two-score win.
Dublin (2-3) led 13-9 at halftime, before using a 14-0 run through the third quarter to create some distance. The Lions got a pair of touchdown passes from Kaden Gaitan to Dalan Rasberry, while Gaitan added a rushing score and Cameron Patton scored twice on the ground.
Florence, which finished with 355 total yards, was led by quarterback Ryland Carlile (10-24-1—139, 3 TDs), running back Jose Maldonado (36-164) and receiver Zakary Webb (8-85, 2 TDs.
DISTRICT 5-3A DIV. II WEEK 4 REPORT: Area teams go 0-4 in rough week for league
Bangs 28, Merkel 13 — The Dragons rushed for 230 yards in a workmanlike win over the Badgers, racing out to a 21-7 halftime lead and holding from there for the victory.
Guy Powell led the effort for Bangs, rushing for 150 yards and two touchdowns, while Kenny Cole passed for 89 yards and Hunter Newton received for 63.
Merkel, which fell to 1-3 with the loss, was paced on the offensive end by quarterback Joey Zink (10-17-2—151, 1 TD passing; 19-71 rushing) and receiver Maddox O’Malley (5-102, 1 TD receiving; 1-1-0—49, 1 TD passing).
BIG COUNTRY PREPS GAME OF THE WEEK: Brownwood entertains red hot Glen Rose (w/ Evan Ren’s Big Country picks)
LAST WEEK: 51-10, .836
SEASON TOTAL: 131-42, .757
Football picks are something I take pride in and it irritates me to no end when I stink it up. So let’s just say, I burned some midnight oil to get that situation corrected last week.
As a result, the column recovered with a solid .836 percentage in Week 3, salvaging my bruised ego after a disastrous Week 2 tally. In all, 51 of 61 area picks hit the mark last week, elevating my season’s record above 75 percent.
That’s more like it.
Week 4 in the meantime, presents a lineup of some of the most difficult area picks we’ve had this season — including an explosive Glen Rose team facing Brownwood in our BCP Game of the Week. Let’s dive in, shall we?
Here’s this week’s forecast:
DISTRICT 5-3A DIV. II WEEK 3 REPORT: Dublin edges Anson for first win; unbeaten Comanche tops Early
Dublin 24, Anson 21 — The Lions broke into the win column, outscoring the Tigers 10-7 in the second half to pull out a hard-fought win.
Quarterback Chris Teten passed for 244 yards and a touchdown while rushing for 60 yards and two additional scores to lead the effort for Dublin, which improved to 1-2 with the win. Severiano Ruiz (3-56, 1 TD) and Dalan Rasberry (5-54) were Teten’s top receiving targets, though seven Lions receivers caught passes.
Anson, which was outgained 341-304, was led in the loss by running back Tegen Saiz, who ran for 208 yards and two TDs on 29 carries.
DISTRICT 5-3A DIV. II WEEK 2 REPORT: Merkel, Comanche pick up impressive wins
Merkel 14, Stanton 0 — The Badgers bounced back from a season-opening loss to Clifton with a shutout win over the Buffaloes.
The game was scoreless until the opening minutes of the fourth quarter, when Joey Zink hit Maddox O’Malley with a long touchdown pass to put Merkel (1-1) up 8-0. The Badgers would add a second touchdown later to put the game out of reach.
Conner Willyerd had a big interception for MHS late in the third quarter, halting a potential scoring drive for Stanton and keeping the game scoreless into the final period.
District 5-3A Div. II Week 1 Report: Comanche runs past Brady in season opener
Comanche 49, Brady 7 — The Indians amassed 441 yards, 302 of those on the ground, in a lopsided win over Brady in the season opener for both teams Friday.
Led by sophomores Sawyer Wilkerson (12-103, 2 TDs) and Cayden Davis (7-94, 1 TD), Comanche (1-0) averaged 8.9 yards per carry, while quarterback Layden Welch (8-46 rushing) completed six of 10 passes for 137 yards with two touchdowns and an interception.
PHOTO GALLERY: Merkel-Clifton football (60 images)
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GAME STORY: Miscues prove costly as Merkel drops season opener to Clifton
CISCO — Missed opportunities and missed assignments were the story of the game Thursday for Merkel — and ultimately the reason the Badgers finished on the losing end of a 20-12 score in their season opener against Clifton in a neutral-site matchup at Chesley Field.
Despite being outgained 311-107 and being held to negative rushing yardage, MHS had chances to take control early and fight back into the game late. But on too many of those occasions, the Badgers saw an ill-timed miscue turn a promising opportunity into a missed one, resulting in a frustrating night for coach Will Kates and his players.
Including a pair of errant snaps that ended potential scoring chances, Merkel went backwards on 13 of its 40 plays, making sustaining drives difficult. And the Badgers’ inability to get Clifton’s run-based offense off the field in a timely manner — the Cubs rushed for 276 yards and had 15 first downs — put Kates’ squad in a tough spot once their counterparts recovered from a slow offensive start.
Big Country Preps Preseason Football Position Rankings: Quarterbacks
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 2022.
We hope you enjoy this list and that you’ve enjoyed our position rankings as we get set to kick off a new season.
Big Country Preps Preseason Football Position Rankings: Running Backs
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 2022. 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.
Big Country Preps Preseason Football Position Rankings: Wide Receivers/Tight Ends
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 Tuesday 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 2022.
We hope you enjoy our list and encourage you to check out the other position groups, which are linked below.
Big Country Preps Preseason Football Position Rankings: Offensive Linemen
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 2022.
We hope you enjoy reading through our rankings.
Big Country Preps Preseason Football Position Rankings: Kickers/Punters
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 eight kickers and top eight 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 2022 season.
Big Country Preps Preseason Football Position Rankings: Defensive Backs
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 2022.
We hope you enjoy our list.
Big Country Preps Preseason Football Position Rankings: Linebackers
After taking a look at the Big Country’s top defensive linemen on Saturday, it’s now time to examine those who will backing them in 2022.
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.
Big Country Preps Preseason Football Position Rankings: Defensive Linemen
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 2022.
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.
PHOTO GALLERY: Merkel-Sweetwater scrimmage (54 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.
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2022 DISTRICT PREDICTIONS: Evan and Daniel make their picks
Without further ado, it is time for us to make our Big Country predictions, district-by-district.
This is the culmination of several weeks of research and two solid months of summertime labor, so we’re more than ready to post it.
So 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.
MERKEL FEATURE: MHS looking for “Hogs” to clear a path to postseason play
MERKEL — If the Merkel Badgers are to take a step forward in 2022, it might come with a heavy porcine influence.
Sporting a large, experienced offensive line affectionately known as “The Hogs,” Merkel is hoping to get a consistent, dominating push up front in 2022 — good enough to push the Badgers straight into the playoffs.
“I’ve always called my offensive line “the Hogs,” second-year coach Will Kates said. “We just embrace playing in the slop, getting nasty and getting muddy.
“That’s just our mentality up front.”
2022 MERKEL FOOTBALL PREVIEW: Overlooked Badgers could be the surprise team in the area for 2022
MERKEL — If one checks the preseason prognostications for Texas high school football, the Merkel Badgers do not figure prominently in many of them. In fact, the Badgers are scarcely making a blip on the radar screen and have become a popular choice for last place.
And that, as far as second-year coach Will Kates is concerned, is just fine and dandy. You see, the Badgers were far more competitive than last year’s 4-6 record would indicate. They have 12 of 22 starters back from last year, including seven on the offensive side, their starting quarterback and a solid offensive line.
They’re also in the second year of Kates’ system, meaning more reps in practice (due to a lower need for instruction) and fewer mental mistakes on the field. The odds that they will field a better club than a year ago look promising, and only slight improvement last year would have resulted in a playoff berth.
Being underestimated, only fuels their fire.
PHOTO GALLERY: Merkel-Trent volleyball (33 images)
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FEATURE: Volleyball makes triumphant return to Merkel
MERKEL — In 1967, the Merkel volleyball team lost in the state semifinals before knocking off Kemp in a three-set thriller to finish in third place in Class B in the program’s lone state tournament appearance.
Just 19 years later, the program was disbanded, leaving the town and community with no teams to support all week prior to the football games on Friday nights.
Tuesday night at Badger Gymnasium, that history was changed.
COUNTDOWN TO TWO-A-DAYS: Merkel Badgers
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. 17. 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. 1, we’ll be spotlighting each 11-man team in the area and posing some of the key questions they’ll face in 2022 as part of our annual “Countdown to Two-a-Days” series.
We stay in Class 3A Division II with the Merkel Badgers. On Friday we will take a look at the Breckenridge Buckaroos followed by the Clyde Bulldogs on Saturday.
Evan Ren’s 2022 BCP Baseball/Softball All-Hustle Team: The hardest-working players in the area!
OTHER 2022 ALL-BIG COUNTRY PREPS TEAMS
- All-Big Country Preps Baseball Superlative Award Winners (Pitcher of the Year, Offensive Player of the Year, etc.)
- All-Big Country Preps First-Team Baseball Selections
- All-Big Country Preps Second-Team Baseball Selections
- All-Big Country Preps Softball Superlative Award Winners (Pitcher of the Year, Offensive Player of the Year, etc.)
- All-Big Country Preps First-Team Softball Selections
- All-Big Country Preps Second-Team Softball Selections (plus honorable mention)
- Big Country Preps Rising Stars Team (area’s top Sophomores and Freshmen!)
Character, grit and work ethic aren’t seen in a box score. And it is with our Big Country Preps All-Hustle Team that we wish to honor those players (male and female) who exemplify those qualities.
The All-Hustle team isn’t about who the best baseball and softball players were. It honors the best teammates.
It is here where effort, discipline and coachability — traits that coaches wish they had in every player and upon which championships are built — are honored.
It is for that reason that this team is largely selected by area coaches and described in their own words.
Big Country Preps is now honored to present these individuals to you — the best team players (boys and girls) that the Big Country had to offer during the 2022 baseball and softball seasons.
The players below are listed in no particular order.
