Brock 77, Bridgeport 0 — Holt Frazier completed all nine of his pass attempts for 204 yards and three touchdowns, while his teammates combined for 308 yards and seven touchdowns rushing in a runaway win over the Bulls.
Levi Dean (6-109, 2 TDs) and Bryer McDonald (7-98, 3 TDs) led the ground assault for Brock (6-1, 2-0), which also got 112 yards and two touchdowns receiving from Casen Christenson in the victory.
Photos by Kael Duncan
MINERAL WELLS — Graham made the most of its limited possessions Friday night in its district matchup against Mineral Wells.
Quarterback Cooper Corley threw three touchdown passes and the Steers took advantage of three Rams turnovers to claim a 29-7 victory in the Big Country Preps Game of the Week.
While a highly anticipated showdown looms against Brock in two weeks, Graham jumped out to a 22-point lead in the first half and coasted in the battle of unbeatens.
Graham improved to 7-0 overall and 2-0 in District 4-4A Division II play, while Mineral Wells (6-1 on the year) fell to 1-1 in league action.
LAST WEEK: 54-11, .831
SEASON TOTAL: 351-99, .780
Our Big Country Preps Game of the Week travels to Mineral Wells for the first time since we absorbed the Rams into our coverage area.
And why not? With unbeaten Graham coming to town to face the 6-0 Rams, this is one of the biggest games to take place at Mineral Wells in a number of years.
Zach Duncan will be on hand to deliver the game story for BCP in an atmosphere that should be electric.
Here’s this week’s forecast:
Mineral Wells 27, Iowa Park 24 — Jordan Johnson ran for two touchdowns, and Javon Johnson passed for one TD and ran for another to lift the Rams to a thrilling win over the Hawks.
Mineral Wells (6-0, 1-0) raced out to a 20-9 halftime lead and held off a second-comeback by Iowa Park, which narrowed a 27-17 deficit to 27-24 by the first minute of the final period.
Brock 72, Burkburnett 7 — Bryer McDonald ran for 106 yards and a pair of touchdowns, and Holt Frazier passed for 127 yards and two scores to lead the Eagles to a blowout win over the Bulldogs in the district opener for both teams.
Frazier went 7 for 8 through the air, hitting Casen Christenson four times for 80 yards and a TD. Christenson also threw a 65-yard touchdown pass to Asher Allen (2-73 receiving) as the Eagles improved to 4-1 on the year and 1-0.
Note: If you know of a former Big Country Prep athlete now performing in college or professional sports, contact Mike Lee at michaellee7@att.net.
Most athletes covered in this column are former Big Country athletes that moved on to college sports. The average sports fan lost track and finds out what happened to them. Hence, the name “Where Are They Now.”
If you’re a sports fan, you likely know where Case Keenum is now. The former Wylie quarterback was the talk of the entire NFL after elevating from Chicago’s No. 3 quarterback to the starter and leading the Bears to a 27-7 win over the Philadelphia Eagles on Monday Night Football.
The question fans may have about Keenum is “How did he get to where he is now?”
The 38-year-old Keenum hadn’t played in an NFL game since 2023 — a span of 1,009 days. But he showed no rust, completing 24 of 34 passes for 247 yards and two touchdowns against the Eagles. He also scored on a 1-yard run — his first NFL rushing touchdown since 2019.
Graham 48, Peaster 21 — Cooper Corley passed for 278 yards and touchdowns and ran for a team-high 132 yards and four scores to lead the undefeated Steers to a blowout win over the Greyhounds.
Dylan Cox added 120 yards on the ground for Graham (5-0), which also got a big day from Brodie Martin (6-147, 2 TDs receiving; 1-1-0—29, 1 TD passing) in increasing a 20-14 halftime lead to 27 points by game’s end.
Graham 64, Brownwood 9 — Cooper Corley passed for 367 yards and a pair of touchdowns while running for 125 yards and four more scores to lead the Steers to a lopsided win over the Lions.
Behind the dual-threat quarterback and the receiving trio of Brodie Martin (3-103), Bryce Martin (4-92) and Parker Hale (4-78, 1 TD), Graham (4-0) piled up 692 yards of total offense in the victory.
Mineral Wells 41, Andrews 7 — Jordan Johnson ran for 146 yards and three touchdowns, and Javon Johnson passed for 193 yards and a score to fuel the Rams to blowout win over the Mustangs.
Mineral Wells, which improve to 3-0 with the win, ran for 302 of its 494 yards, also getting a big rushing day from Aleck Gonzales (14-111, 1 TD), while Barron Burkhall received for 123 yards and a score.
Mineral Wells 24, Pilot Point 19 — Aleck Gonzales ran for 132 yards and two touchdowns and Slade Evans ran for 98 yards and a TD to lead the Rams to a thrilling win over the Bearcats a game dubbed Worrell War 1.
Pitting Mineral Wells coach Cody Worrell against his dad, Pilot Point head man Chad Worrell, the game saw the Rams increase a 7-0 halftime lead to 17-6 in the third quarter and 24-12 in the fourth before holding on for the victory.
Brock 42, Springtown 20 — Holt Frazier passed for 232 yards and three touchdowns, and Bryer McDonald ran for 95 yards and three scores to fuel the Eagles to a three-touchdown win over the Porcupines.
Sophomores Casen Christenson (7-103, 1 TD) and Jett Kerr (3-93, 1 TD) both had productive receiving days for Brock, which used a 21-point second quarter to take a 28-6 lead into halftime.
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 15 quarterbacks with a list of others to watch in 2026.
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 15 with a list of others to watch in 2026. Don’t forget to check in tomorrow when we conclude our series with the top 10 area quarterbacks.
We hope you enjoy this 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 15 wideouts/tight ends with a list of others to watch in 2026.
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 15 offensive linemen with a list of others to watch in 2026.
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 top three 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 2026 season.
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 15 defensive backs and others to look out for in 2026.
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 2026.
Continuing with Big Country Preps’ eight-part preseason position rankings series, here’s our top 15 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.
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 2026.
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 15 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!
When discussing the 2026 season, fourth-year Mineral Wells coach Cody Worrell doesn’t mince words or sugar coat the situation his team’s finds itself in.
After graduating the bulk of their playmakers from last year’s 4-7 squad, the Rams will need an experienced offensive line group to be a significant strength from the start of the season to if they hope to reach the playoffs for a third straight year and improve upon last year’s results.
Fortunately, the likelihood of that happening is very strong given both the track record and cohesiveness of that group. So when Worrell says that unit will need to be the “heart and soul of the team,” he does so knowing — not hoping — that that’s likely already the case.
On the surface, Mineral Wells’ 4-7 record in 2025 may not seem like much. But it was enough to earn a frequently short-handed Rams team consecutive playoff berths for the second time since 2018 and just the fourth time since the mid-1990s.
Should coach Cody Worrell’s team return to the postseason this fall — a major goal for the coach and his team — it would mark just the second time in program history that MWHS reached the playoffs in three consecutive years.
To achieve that, the Rams will need some playmakers to emerge after graduating the bulk of their skill talent in May. But Worrell is hoping an experienced line group will provide a strong foundation to build upon as his less experienced skill players grown into their new roles.
Here are our second-team selections for the 2026 All-Big Country Preps baseball team. For the rest of this year’s selections, click the links below.
Here are our second-team selections for the 2026 All-Big Country Preps baseball team. For the rest of this year’s selections, click the links below.
Ladies and gentlemen, we are proud to release our 2026 All-Big Country Preps baseball teams.
Here, you will find our Rising Stars Team honoring the top freshmen and sophomores in the Big Country.
For the rest of this year’s baseball selections, please click the links below.
Here are our first-team selections for the 2026 All-Big Country Preps softball team. For the rest of this year’s selections, click the links below.
Here are our second-team selections for the 2026 All-Big Country Preps softball team. For the rest of this year’s selections, click the links below.
Ladies and gentlemen, we are proud to release our 2026 All-Big Country Preps Softball teams.
Here, you will find our Rising Stars Team honoring the top freshmen and sophomores in the Big Country.
For the rest of this year’s softball selections, please click the links below.