With the defensive and special teams rankings behind us, it’s time to look at the area’s offensive standouts. And we’ll start where any productive offense begins: on the line.
For the fifth installment of our eight-part preseason position rankings series, we turn our attention to the big boys, ranking the Big Country’s top-10 offensive linemen with a list of others to watch in 2019.
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 five 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 2019 season.
After starting with the linemen and linebackers, we turn to the secondary 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 key on the defensive backs, giving our list of the area’s top-10 players and others to look out for in 2019.
We hope you enjoy our list.
After taking a look at the area’s top defensive linemen on Wednesday, it’s now time to examine those who will backing them in 2019.
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.
With the 2019 high school football season now less than two weeks away, Big Country Preps’ Evan Ren and Daniel Youngblood have decided to utilize this week’s Capital Farm Credit Wednesday Night Podcast to break down every 11-man district race and dive deeper into their predictions for the upcoming season.
In this episode, Evan and Daniel share who they think will win each district and why, and go into deeper detail why they picked they teams they did to advance to the playoffs.
Continue to check back at BigCountryPreps.com each Wednesday night at 7 p.m. when Evan and Dan discuss the current happenings in Big Country High School sports — often with an interesting sports figure from around the area.
You can also peruse our BCP Podcast archive, which features dozens of our previous shows with prominent coaches and Big Country media fixtures.
Inquiries regarding these podcasts may be directed to Evan Ren at Evan.Ren@BigCountryPreps.com.
If you have a suggested topic of conversation or a recommended guest, don’t hesitate to contact us!
With football season fast approaching, it’s time to take a look at the players who will be making the biggest waves in 2019.
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.
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.
Last year, in his first season as an 11-man football player, Cameron Thornton provided a much-needed rushing threat to Munday’s flexbone offense.
This season, with the Moguls set to transition back to their familiar spread look, Thornton’s ready to show he has what it takes to be a more complete quarterback.
Thornton rushed for 921 yards and five touchdowns for an 0-10 MHS squad in 2018, but he never got much chance to showcase his arm in the Moguls’ run-based scheme. That will change this fall in what could be one of the more pass-heavy offenses coach Patrick Corcoran has ever had, and the former Rotan Yellowhammer spreadback couldn’t be more eager for the opportunity.
Competing at the Class 2A level with a 1A enrollment, Munday coach Patrick Corcoran knows better than most the role
numbers play in a high school program’s success.
When the Moguls have had the bodies to compete, they’ve done so at an extraordinarily high level — posting a 120-51 record since 2005 with state titles in 2007 and 2012 and a state runner-up finish in 2011.
Unfortunately, there’s a flip side to that, as Munday experienced during a tough 0-10 campaign in 2018. And with just 13 lettermen back from that squad, including four starters on both sides of the ball, the Moguls could be in for another rebuilding year.
On the heels of announcing our first-ever Big Country Preps Girls Athlete of the Year, it’s now time to announce our first boys winner.
Again, our Athlete of the Year and subsequent “Super Dozen” represent the Big Country Athletes who contributed the most to their athletic programs — most often over a broad range of disciplines.
So, at this time, Big Country Preps proudly announces its Boys Athlete of the Year: Kevin Yeager of De Leon.
An Athlete of the Year award for the Big Country has been a long time coming, and Big Country Preps is officially ending the wait.
What better way to end our first school year than by honoring our top all-around athletes. By that, we mean those athletes who competed at a high level over a broad range of disciplines and had the biggest overall impact on their athletic programs (as nominated by area athletic directors).
So without further ado, we proudly announce our first Big Country Preps Girls Athlete of the Year: Anna Masonheimer of Eula.
From start to finish, Masonheimer was a key contributor to Eula’s athletic success during the 2018-19 school year, beginning with her helping the EHS cross country team reach the regional meet.
She was the MVP of Eula’s district champion basketball team, earning all state honors from both the Texas Association of Basketball coaches and the Texas Girls Coaches Association. But she was just getting started at that point.
Football is fast approaching, 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 Friday, Aug. 16. But you won’t have to wait until then to sate your gridiron appetite.
Starting today and running through the first day of fall football practice on Aug. 5, we’ll be spotlighting each 11-man team in the area and posing some of the key questions they’ll face in 2019 as part of our “Countdown to Two-a-Days” series.
We start in Class 2A with the Munday Moguls. Sunday we will take a quick look at the Roscoe Plowboys, followed by the Cross Plains Buffaloes on Monday.
Here are our superlative award winners for the inaugural All-Big Country Preps softball team. For the rest of this year’s selections, click the links below.
Here are our first-team selections for the inaugural 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 inaugural All-Big Country Preps softball team. For the rest of this year’s selections, click the links below.
Prior to the release of our All-Big Country Preps softball and baseball teams on Friday and Saturday, Evan Ren and Daniel Youngblood will review the 2018-19 school year throughout this week and the top athletic stories produced by the area in football, boys and girls basketball, baseball and softball.
I’ve got a soft spot in my heart for fastpitch softball — I admit it.
A long time ago, it was common for men to play the game. My dad played it. I played it. So I still thoroughly enjoy getting to as many girls softball games as possible — just to see some fastpitch again.
So, it is with pleasure that I review the the 2019 season — the top teams, the top games, the top surprises and the clubs that are about to make a splash in 2020.
That said, it’s time to dive in.
Continue reading “2018-19 IN REVIEW: Softball (w/ two photo galleries)”
With Baird’s decision this week to join the six-man football ranks, which follows a trend set in recent years by fellow Big Country Class 1A schools Rotan, Gorman, Bronte and Roby, the Bears will be entering a whole new world this fall.
On this week’s Capital Farm Credit Wednesday Night Podcast, Big Country Preps’ Evan Ren and Daniel Youngblood explore that transition from all angles.
Also in this week’s episode, Evan and Daniel take a look back at the 2018-19 athletic year and discuss some of their highlights from the football, boys and girls basketball, baseball and softball seasons.
Prior to the release of our All-Big Country Preps softball and baseball teams on Friday and Saturday, Evan Ren and Daniel Youngblood will review the 2018-19 school year throughout this week and the top athletic stories produced by the area in football, boys and girls basketball, baseball and softball.
Any season that ends with two teams in the state tournament is a successful one, so the Big Country’s 2018-19 boys basketball campaign would certainly qualify.
With Brock advancing to the Alamodome in Class 3A and Jayton doing so in 1A, area teams kept us captivated until the final day of the high school season. And even those whose runs ended short of that ultimate goal gave us some great storylines to follow.
Today, we look back on the highlights of the most recent boys basketball season and remember the teams and games that helped make it such a special one.
Continue reading “2018-19 IN REVIEW: Boys basketball (w/ two photo galleries)”
Prior to the release of our All-Big Country Preps softball and baseball teams on Friday and Saturday, Evan Ren and Daniel Youngblood will review the 2018-19 school year throughout this week and the top athletic stories produced by the area in football, boys and girls basketball, baseball and softball.
Before we dive into last football season, let me begin with a quick thank you. With a full year now in the books, BigCountryPreps.com enjoyed a successful first campaign, and that is entirely due to you — the Big Country sports fan.
We are already chomping at the bit to begin our second year in business and we’ll be preparing our 2019 Football Preview throughout much of the summer, with a release date set for mid-August.
Which brings us to the subject at hand.
Midway through the 2018 football campaign, Daniel Youngblood and myself were already concurring that it was one of the strangest seasons we had ever experienced. And by December, I felt compelled to write about that very fact.
Here’s a quick sample: At various points, 2018 produced a 7-0 Dublin team, a 13-0 San Saba team and 1-9 clubs from Sweetwater and Goldthwaite. How’s that for a reversal of recent history?
Continue reading “2018-19 IN REVIEW: Football (w/ two photo galleries)”
In this week’s Capital Farm Credit Wednesday Night Podcast, Evan Ren and Daniel Youngblood discuss the inaugural All-Big Country Preps boys and girls basketball teams, giving insight into the selection process and sharing their opinions the superlative award winners and first-tema selections.
To read more on this year’s selections, click the links below:
Here are our third-team selections for the inaugural All-Big Country Preps girls basketball team. For the rest of this year’s boys and girls basketball selections, click the links below.
Here are our third-team selections for the inaugural All-Big Country Preps girls basketball team. For the rest of this year’s boys and girls basketball selections, click the links below.
Here are our third-team selections for the inaugural All-Big Country Preps girls basketball team. For the rest of this year’s boys and girls basketball selections, click the links below.
Photos may be purchased for $7 each by clicking on the small shopping cart emblem below the lower right corner of the gallery.
Trailing Munday by seven points with less than two minutes remaining in the third quarter Tuesday, Jayton finished the game on a 28-7 run to defeat the Moguls 53-39 and advance to the Region II-1A tournament this weekend at Abilene Christian University.
After pulling within one point to close the third quarter, the Jaybirds opened the fourth with back-to-back 3-pointers, kick-starting a 20-5 final period that turned what had been a battle to that point into a comfortable victory at McMurry’s Kimbrell Arena.
The Snyder boys basketball team is in the midst of one of the most dramatic turnarounds the Big Country has seen in quite some time, and at the helm of the ship is coach Lee Scott, a former Snyder Tiger himself.
Recently, Scott took some time to chat with Big Country Preps’ Evan Ren and Daniel Youngblood about the dream season his squad is enjoying, what it means to him as a Snyder graduate and how far this group can go in the playoffs for this week’s Capital Farm Credit Wednesday Night Podcast.
Also in this episode, Evan and Daniel take a look at the area boys and girls basketball playoff picture, recapping the previous week’s results and spotlighting some of the most intriguing upcoming matchups..
The high school boys basketball playoffs are finally here, and the Big Country will be well represented as always.
After a long and entertaining regular season, we’ve reached the “win or go home” stage, where the ultimate prize is a trip to the Alamodome for a spot in the UIL state tournament.
There will be added urgency to every game, with a heightened sense of celebration/relief with each win and tears after every loss. But this is the time of year that all of these coaches and kids have been working toward — and we as fans of high school basketball have been waiting for.
Here are the updated Big Country boys basketball playoff pairings:
Continue reading “Big Country boys basketball playoff pairings, results (March 2)”
With just one more game re—maining on the regular-season boys basketball schedule, most district championships have already been decided and many teams have already locked up their playoff spots and seeding.
But as is always the case this time of year, a few league title and district playoff races have come down to the final week, which means Tuesday’s slate of games will have an enormous importance for those teams.
Let’s take a look at some of the biggest matchups this final week has to offer and review some of the developments last week that put us in this position, shall we?
Here are the updated Big Country girls basketball playoff pairings:
Continue reading “Big Country girls basketball playoff pairings, results (Feb. 23)”
It’s hard to believe, but there only three dates remaining on the boys basketball schedule.
After Tuesday and Friday, most local and area teams will have just one game remaining to either fight their way into the playoffs or improve their seeding with a big win.
That makes all games this week important, whether teams are playing for their playoff lives/positioning or to spoil those of their opponents. We’ve got a great slate of games coming up, so let’s take a look forward to the biggest of those and back at the biggest developments last week brought.
With Big Country Preps’ Evan Ren and Daniel Youngblood taking a two-week break from the Capital Farm Credit Wednesday Night Podcast to celebrate the holidays, we take a look back at three more of our favorite interviews from the first six months of our weekly podcast.
In Part 2 of our two-part “Greatest Hits” series, we revisit our conversations with current Wichita Falls Times Record News sports writer Zach Duncan, Early football coach and former pro baseball scout Blake Sandford and Hamlin football coach Russell Lucas.
We hope you enjoy this trip down memory lane.
Is it possible for the planets to align for a team that started the season at 0-5?
For the time being, Albany quarterback Ben West has helped create a situation where they just might.
Our Big Country Preps Player of the Week had a monster game in Albany’s 41-27 win over Hamlin on Friday, leading the Lions to the Region II-2A Division II title.
Finishing 16 of 21 through the air for 269 yards and five touchdowns, West also recovered a fumble and returned it 45 yards for another TD to help the Lions (9-5) to their ninth straight win.
Earlier this season I described Coahoma’s Zack Schneider as a 1970s fullback, masquerading as a quarterback.
Accurate or not, for the second time this year we describe him as something else: Our Big Country Preps Player of the Week.
Schneider earned the accolade after rushing for 311 yards and five touchdowns on 24 carries in the Bulldogs’ 39-22 win over Lubbock Roosevelt on Friday to secure District 2-3A Division II’s No. 4 playoff seed.
Memphis 39, Munday 14 — The Cyclones (3-6, 2-3) rode a 33-point first quarter to a lopsided win over Munday, ending the Moguls’ season at 0-10.
Memphis, which took the district’s fourth-playoff seed, snapped a three-game losing streak that had seen the Cyclones shut out by Wheeler (33-0) and Wellington (60-0).
Munday, which outscored Memphis 14-6 in the second half, got 125 yards rushing, 80 yards passing and two total touchdowns from Cameron Thornton in the loss.
While several of the area’s best athletes are still tied up playing football, the boys basketball season technically gets underway Friday night.
Of course, as the football playoffs get rolling and more and more teams are eliminated, the basketball talent pool will grow on a weekly basis, and by mid December, we’ll be in full hoops mode.
Regardless, boys basketball season is officially here, so it’s time to take a peek at what this season will offer with our area teams, Class 1A through 4A.
Who has the best shot at getting to state? Who are the legitimate contenders and what are the teams that we should be careful not to ignore?
Let’s find out.
LAST WEEK: 28-3, .903
SEASON TOTAL: 351-79, .816
Our possible choices for Big Country Preps Game of the Week made our final selection difficult this time around, with two high-profile winner-take-all district title games on the menu.
Our final pick: Jim Ned (7-2, 3-1) at Eastland (7-2, 3-1) — a matchup with a bit less at stake (the No. 2 seed in District 3-3A Division I), but one we feel will be the area’s most competitive of our top six games.
Shamrock 42, Munday 6 — The Moguls (0-9, 0-4) had their playoff hopes officially dashed Friday with a lopsided to the Irish.
Shamrock (3-6, 1-3) got off to a fast start, building a 27-6 lead by halftime, and shut Munday out in the second half to keep its playoff hopes alive entering this week’s game against Quanah.
The Moguls will try to avoid a winless season Friday when they wrap up the 2018 campaign with a home game against Memphis.
The quickest way to get basketball season to begin is to tee up a football.
It might as well set off a time warp.
If you don’t believe me, consider this while you’re watching a Week 10 football game around the area this evening: High school girls basketball officially begins tonight and the boys will tip off next week.
Excuse me, but weren’t two-a-days over like …. just last week? Unbelievable.
Regardless, the girls start Friday night and that means it’s time to take a look around the Big Country for some of the top teams the area will have to offer in 2018-19.
LAST WEEK: 38-5, .833
SEASON TOTAL: 323-76, .810
Dublin (7-1, 2-1) at Comanche (5-3, 3-0) — This game has been circled on the calendar for weeks and had been viewed as a possible winner-take-all matchup in District 6-3A Division II.
That is, until Jacksboro threw everything into question with a 42-29 win at Dublin last week.
Quanah 35, Munday 8 — The winless Moguls led Quanah into the second quarter on Friday, but the Indians scored 29 unanswered points over the final three periods to improve to 5-3 on the season and 2-1 in 5-2A DII play.
Quanah, which wraps up the regular season with games against Wheeler and Shamrock, was led in Friday’s win by quarterback Clayton Laughery, who completed 12 of 15 passes for 150 yards and a touchdown while rushing 12 times for 200 yards and three more scores.
Munday, now 0-8 overall and 0-3 in league play, will need wins in its final two games to earn a playoff berth. The Moguls host Shamrock this week before traveling to Memphis for their regular-season finale.
LAST WEEK: 33-7, .825
SEASON TOTAL: 285-71, .801
In a week that features four or perhaps five games that could easily qualify for our Big Country Preps Game of the Week, there is alas, a safe choice.
When in doubt, one can seldom go wrong with the annual Stephenville-Brownwood clash — a storied feud now in its 80th chapter dating back to 1937.
This year, the Lions (4-2, 1-0) play host to the Yellow Jackets (4-3, 1-1) in a game that will likely decide the No. 2 seed in District 5-4A Division I — perhaps the best overall 4A league in Texas.
Wellington 60, Munday 0 — The Rockets (7-0, 2-0) used a 38-point second quarter to break open what was a 6-0 game one period in.
Wellington, ranked No. 2 in Class 2A behind Mason, passed for 167 yards and rushed for 302, getting the bulk of its production from senior quarterback Jo Jo McKnight, who passed for 158 yards and three touchdowns and rushed for 166 yards and two more scores.
Coach Patrick Corcoran’s Moguls, now 0-7 overall and 0-2 in 5-2A DII play, will try to work their way back into the playoff discussion over the next three weeks, when they wrap up the regular season with Quanah (Friday), Shamrock (Nov. 2) and Memphis (Nov. 9).
LAST WEEK: 37-5, .860
SEASON TOTAL: 252-64, .797
Before the season, many viewed Colorado City (6-0, 1-0) as the odds-on favorite to take District 2-3A Division II, and I agreed with them.
But as each new season evolves, surprises typically emerge and that’s certainly the case in this league where Idalou (5-1, 1-0) and Abernathy (5-1, 1-0) have shown themselves as too good to simply label as No. 2 or 3 seeds.