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!
After graduating a 13-player senior class that was responsible for the bulk of his team’s production in 2025, Roscoe coach Dan Loyd entered his first full offseason as the Plowboys coach looking for a new crop of leaders to emerge.
With a young roster that will feature a number of juniors in key positions, he found what he was looking for in seniors Mason Alford and Alan Montoya.
While more on the quiet side vocally, Alford and Montoya have brought exactly the type of toughness, dependability and grit that Loyd wants to be a hallmark of his program. And the example those two have set has the coach eager to see where they can help take the Plowboys this fall.
Dan Loyd’s first year at Roscoe was something of a whirlwind. The longtime Seymour coach was hired in April, 2025 to replace Jake Freeman and led an experienced Plowboys squad through a tough nondistrict schedule to go 3-2 in district and reach the playoffs for the sixth straight year and 10th time since 2024.
The 3-8 overall record wasn’t quite what he and his squad were hoping for, but way the team fought through adversity to finish the year strong helped lay the foundation for the type of program he wants to build and, he hopes, will serve as a springboard into a more successful Year 2.
While the Plowboys graduated 13 seniors and return just 12 lettermen (four offensive and five offensive starters among them), Loyd is confident that RHS is starting from more sturdy footing in 2026. And he’s excited to see what his squad can do in a new district and region.
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.
CANYON — Big Country Region II athletes had a long way to travel for their regional track meet — competing at West Texas A&M University in Canyon on Friday and Saturday.
Bangs was the top team finisher for the area, finishing fourth with 39 points — 28 behind regional champion Abernathy.
Coleman was the top area finisher in the girls meet with a third-place 52 points — 49 points behind a dominant performance by regional champion Panhandle.
Scoring and rebounding is only part of the story when it comes to basketball. Behind the scenes and beyond the view of the public, is where character is often measured. And it is with our Big Country Preps Gym Rat Team that we salute the individuals who exude the most of it.
This team isn’t about who the best players are, though some of the area’s top players are on this list.
The Gym Rat team is about effort, discipline, toughness, coachability and selflessness — traits that coaches love above all else and that championship foundations are built upon.
It is for that reason that our Gym Rat team is selected entirely by area coaches, described in their own words. And Big Country Preps is absolutely honored to present these individuals to you — the best “team players” (boys and girls) that the area had to offer during the 2025-26 season.
Players are listed in no particular order.
Enjoy.
SNYDER — After narrowly escaping their first matchup against New Home with a 65-59 win in a tournament game in December, Roscoe coach Russell Best and his Plowboys knew they’d be in for a fight in Tuesday’s Region I-2A Division II semifinal.
The second meeting proved no less competitive than its predecessor, but this time it was the Leopards who prevailed, ending Roscoe’s campaign with a thrilling 66-61 victory in front of a packed and boisterous crowd at Tiger Gym.
The Plowboys erased a nine-point fourth quarter deficit to tie the game at 58 with 4:25 to play, but Zack Armes’ last of eight 3-pointers kicked off 8-2 run in the final 2:12 to lift New Home to the win in a contest that saw four ties and seven lead changes over its duration.
Below are the current season statistical leaders for Big Country boys basketball through Feb. 19. With the end of the regular season, this will be the FINAL boys basketball leaders we post this year.
This database has been continually updated for our subscribers throughout the regular season, using only those statistics submitted by area coaches.
Is your favorite team missing? If so, please pass along a friendly reminder to your coach to check his email for our weekly stats request. We’ll be happy to add them to our database after they arrive.
Digital photos, prints and keepsakes may be purchased by clicking the link below.
The “BigCountryPreps.com” watermark will be removed from all purchased photos.
COLORADO CITY — For the better part of three quarters, the Roscoe girls were able to use their quickness to maintain a slim lead over Sterling City in Tuesday’s Region I-2A DI bi-district game at Colorado City High School.
There was just one problem: The much-larger Lady Eagles were continually pounding the offensive glass and gradually erased a nine-point second-half deficit to come away with a 51-46 win.
Avery Clark scored 16 points, Charley Jo Wilson had 14 points and nine boards and Christina Geary had 13 points and nine boards to lead Sterling City (23-9), which trailed 31-22 with 4:15 left in the third quarter.
The Lady Eagles now advance to face Smyer in the area round.
Roscoe finished its season at 21-11, led by Ava Burrell with 19 points and Chasity Rangel with 12.
Digital photos, prints and keepsakes may be purchased by clicking the link below.
The “BigCountryPreps.com” watermark will be removed from all purchased photos.
ROSCOE — With two-time defending Class 1A state champion Jayton coming to town to face 18th-ranked 2A Roscoe, Friday’s non-district boys game was bound to create a special atmosphere.
And it did just that, as the Jaybirds slipped past the Plowboys 58-54 in front of a raucous crowd at the Roscoe Collegiate Special Events Center.
Colt Gentry scored 21 points, Bode Ham had 13 and Sean Stanaland added 12 more to lead the top-ranked Jaybirds (18-3), who never trailed and maintained a shaky lead from the 4:33 mark of the first quarter until the final horn.
Roscoe (31-2), which remained within striking distance throughout the game, was led by Jarrell Best with 22 points and Aiden Brown with 18.
Both clubs walked away from the matchup feeling as though they had benefitted from it — especially with postseason play set to start on Feb. 23.
Below are the current season statistical leaders for Big Country girls basketball through Feb. 12. This will be our FINAL girls stat leaders for 2026.
This database has been continually updated for our subscribers throughout the regular season, using only those statistics submitted by area coaches.
Is your favorite team missing? If so, please pass along a friendly reminder to your coach to check his or her email for our weekly stats request. We’ll be happy to add them to our database after they arrive.
The boys basketball regular season is nearing its end, and district championship and playoff pictures across the area are coming into view.
Most leagues now have clear favorites in both their title and playoff races, but several remain unresolved with just two or three games left to play.
With just a couple of weeks of games remaining, let’s dive in and take a look at this week’s biggest games and last week’s most significant developments.
With the regular season concluding this week, we take a final look around the area, both the top games of last week and those coming up.
Keep an eye out for the postseason pairings for both girls and boys basketball on BigCountryPreps.com — both of which will be posted in the near future.
Lets dive in, shall we?
With weather postponements forcing Tolar to play three games last week, there was positive in an otherwise hectic week: It gave one of THS’ athletes the opportunity to showcase a remarkable run of consistency.
Tolar sophomore Atley Kolb takes our Big Country Preps Player of the Week award for the Week ending Jan. 31, after posting three straight double-doubles in as many days to help the Lady Rattlers in wins over Millsap (57-25), Eastland (59-25) and Breckenridge (74-19).
Kolb posted 10 points and 13 rebounds against Millsap; 21 points and 11 boards against Eastland and 12 points and 10 boards in the Breckenridge win.
Surprised — and in some cases, stressed out — faces could be seen in abundance Monday morning at Abilene’s Region 14 Education Services Center, where coaches from throughout the area and beyond gathered to learn their new district homes as part of the University Interscholastic League’s biennial realignment.
In what can best be described as a seismic shift in the Big Country football landscape, a majority of area schools were placed in unfamiliar environs — be that a new district with new foes or even a new region entirely.
The now venerated process by which the UIL releases the packet containing the new district alignments for football, basketball and volleyball is frequently compared by coaches to waking up on Christmas morning to find what presents await under the three. And on this day, in particular, few found the gifts they were expecting.
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: Bangs-Roscoe basketball doubleheader (78 images)”
With January’s schedule-jumbling weather behind us, we now look forward to multiple games with playoff implications around the Big Country Preps coverage area.
There were no shortage of big matchups last week and as usual, there are several more in the days ahead.
So let’s take a quick look at the menu for Feb. 2-6.
It should be fun, I’ll see you on the road.
ROSCOE — Entering Friday’s matchup with Bangs just a game up on the Dragons for the District 8-2A lead, the 18th-ranked Roscoe boys basketball team all but settled the league’s championship race, blasting BHS 71-33 at home to take a two-game lead with four more to play.
The thorough victory was the Plowboys’ second of the year over Bangs, improving coach Russell Best’s team to 27-1 overall and 8-0 in district play. With the tiebreaker over BHS (14-13, 6-2) and a three-game edge over Coleman (15-13, 5-3) and Ballinger (16-11, 5-3), the Plowboys can officially clinch their second consecutive district title next week, when they travel to Ballinger on Tuesday and host Miles on Friday.
Roscoe put itself in that position with a dominant effort against the Dragons, wrapping up a doubleheader sweep after watching its girls team cruise to a 53-16 win in Friday’s early game. The Plowboys never trailed, opening the game on an 8-0 run before closing the first half with a 20-4 spurt to increase a 21-15 lead with 6:47 to play in the second quarter to 41-19 by the halftime break.
Mother Nature did her best to bring the high school basketball season to a standstill, sending a winter storm that put most Big Country teams on the shelf for a week. But the action around that unexpected break gives us plenty to talk about in this week’s look at the area boys basketball scene.
With a number of excellent (and meaningful) games last week and some big matchups slated for the next few days, the area district races remain as intriguing as ever.
Let’s go ahead now and take a look at the biggest games the area slate has to offer this week and some of the outcomes last week that helped shape the weeks to come.
The winter storm that blew across most of the state over the weekend wreaked havoc on the area basketball schedule, forcing most of last Friday’s games to be pushed up a day and the bulk of this week’s early games to postponed all the way to Thursday.
But icy weather — and the bevy of schedule changes that came with it — have done little to cool the area’s rapidly heating district races.
We still had a number of thrilling and significant results last week and have a bunch of intriguing games to look forward to over the next few days. Without further ado, let’s take a look at the biggest of those in our weekly look at the Big Country girls basketball scene.
Most high school football teams have that one player acknowledged by the coaching staff as the prime example of what a teammate should be.
He’s the guy who seldom misses any practice time and is a regular in the weight room. He’s early to arrive. He’s late to leave and takes pride in being coachable, though he seldom needs direction.
He always sets the right example for younger players. He doesn’t complain and, above all else, he’s tough enough to make all the aforementioned traits consistently possible.
Know someone like that? Here is where they are honored.
Here are our first-team selections for the 2025 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 2025 All-Big Country Preps football team. For the rest of this year’s selections, click the links below.
Here are our selections for the 2024 All-Big Country Preps Football Team (Third-Team roster). For the rest of this year’s selections, click the links below.
Here are our selections for the 2024 All-Big Country Preps Rising Stars Team — an honor reserved for the area’s top freshman and sophomore football players. For the rest of this year’s selections, click the links below.
With the arrival of the new year, Big Country Preps will again take a look at the area boys and girls basketball scenes each Sunday night until the end of the regular season.
Top games, top results and the week’s biggest surprise will be on the menu.
Let’s dive in, shall we?
Albany 33, Hamlin 0
Clay Chapman threw for 172 yards, rushed for 72 and accounted for two TDs as Albany clinched the district title. Albany’s defense was nothing short of dominant, holding Hamlin to only 28 yards in total offense.
The Lions improved to 8-0 and 5-0 with the win. Hamlin fell to 8-2 and
Hamlin 43, Cross Plains 18 — Luke White rushed for 171 yards and one TD and Isaiah Hutchings rushed for 62 yards and three TDs as Hamlin dominated Cross Plains.
The Buffaloes were led by Landry Savell, who rushed for 57 yards and one score.
Hamlin improved to 8-1 and 4-0 with the win; Cross Plains fell to 3-6 and 1-3.
Roscoe 42, Winters 0 — 
The Plowboys (2-6, 2-1) pounded out 208 yards as a team and limited Winters to 38 yards in total offense to score a district win.
Jace Arnwine topped the stat sheet with 64 yards passing and 72 yards rushing.
Winters, which fell to 2-6 and 0-3, was limited to only six yards rushing as a team.
Hamlin 21, Roscoe 14 (OT) — 
Hamlin rushed for 239 yards via committee in a tough overtime win on the road. Reece Rainey led the Pied Pipers (6-1, 2-0) with 85 yards rushing on four carries and one TD.
It was the sixth straight win for Hamlin since a season-opening loss to Anson.
Roscoe (1-6, 1-1) was led by Jace Arnwine, who threw for 136 yards, rushed for 19 and accounted for two scores.
Hamlin 49, Winters 0 — Javier Ramos threw for 117 yards and two scores while Isaiah Hutchings and Cade Jones both added rushing TDs to lead Hamlin (5-1) to its fifth straight win since a season-opening loss to Anson.
Winters, which had won two of its last three starts, fell to 2-4.