Here are the Big Country’s rushing leaders through Week 6:
Category: Roscoe Plowboys
District 7-2A Division II: Week 6 Report
Cross Plains 42, Miles 6 — Facing off with a previously unbeaten Miles squad on the road, the Buffaloes scored early and often in routing the Bulldogs.
Cross Plains led 14-0 after the first quarter and increased their lead to 35-6 by halftime, ending the competitive phase of the game before the break. This concluded an impressive nondistrict run for the Buffs who will enter district play with a 5-1 record, having outscored their first six opponents by a 261-51 margin.
Coach Daniel Purvis’ squad will open 7-2A DII play next week with a big home game against Haskell, before following their Oct. 17 open date with a tough two-week stretch against Albany (Oct. 25) and Hamlin (Nov. 1).
BCP Podcast No. 64: Evan, Daniel discuss biggest storylines, surprises from season so far
With Week 6 upon us, we’ve hit the halfway point of the 2019 regular season.
Most Big Country teams have either started district play or will in the next week or two, and fans have seen enough to form some informed opinions on their teams. This week, Big Country Preps’ Evan Ren and Daniel Youngblood forego a guest to share their biggest takeaways from the season so far and discuss the things their most looking foward to down the stretch in this week’s Capital Farm Credit Wednesday Night Podcast.
Also in this episode, Evan and Daniel give a brief rundown of the week’s top matchups.
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!
District 7-2A Division II: Week 5 Report
Albany 41, Peaster 0 — The Lions snapped a two-game losing streak with a blowout win over the Class 3A Greyhounds, dominating the second-year varsity program from start to finish.
Coach Denney Faith’s Lions built a 34-0 lead by halftime and cruised over the final two quarters to their first shutout win of the season and third victory over a Class 3A opponent.
Albany (3-2) will host Menard next week to close out the nondistrict portion of its schedule, before enjoying its bye week in Week 7 and opening district on Oct. 18 against Roscoe.
BCP GAME OF THE WEEK: Loboes, Bearcats clash in our spotlight game (w/ Evan Ren’s Big Country Picks)
LAST WEEK: 43-7, .860
OVERALL: 173-34, .835
While the Cisco Loboes have been in countless big games over the last two decades, the last few years have been a bit lean for Ballinger.
In fact, the general consensus is, when the Bearcats (3-0) play host to the Loboes (2-1) on Friday, this will be the biggest regular season game played in Ballinger in several years.
At the very least, it’s our Big Country Preps Game of the Week, and deservedly so.
BCP Podcast No. 63: Abilene High’s Mike Fullen checks in to talk Eagle football with Evan, Daniel
After serving as defensive coordinator under former Abilene High head coaches Steve Warren and Del Van Cox, helping the Eagles to a state championship in 2009, Mike Fullen was hired over the summer to take over the AHS football program.
Earlier this week, Fullen took a few minutes to chat with Big Country Preps’ Evan Ren and Daniel Youngblood about his first season as a head coach, what he’s learned and what he hopes to accomplish in the future for this week’s Capital Farm Credit Wednesday Night Podcast.
Also in this episode, Evan and Daniel discuss some of their takeaways from the fourth week of the Big Country football season and take a look at the top matchups in Week 5.
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!
BIG COUNTRY PREPS PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Roscoe QB earns award with massive game
It took a little while for the Roscoe Plowboys (1-3) to get things going this season, but once they did, it happened in a big way, courtesy of quarterback Junior Martinez.
Martinez, who helped Roscoe to a 48-20 win over Chico on Friday, accounted for seven, count ’em seven touchdowns, beginning with two rushing scores among 27 carries for 129 yards.
He also connected on 20 of 32 pass attempts for 329 yards and five touchdowns and charted six tackles and two pass breakups as Roscoe earned its first win of the year.
District 7-2A Division II: Week 4 Report
Hawley 22, Albany 20 — The Bearcats raced out to a 22-7 first-quarter lead Friday and held on over the final three periods to remain unbeaten on the season at 4-0.
Hawley, which got a touchdown run and pass from quarterback Xavier Rodela, appeared to be in control early. But the Lions shut out the Bearcats after the 13-second mark of the first quarter. Ben West pulled AHS within two points with TD passes to Dillon Hindman in the third quarter and Blaine Kayga in the fourth, but a failed two-point conversion after the final score proved to be the difference in the game.
Hawley will put its unbeaten record back on the line next week when it hosts Windthorst, while Albany (2-2) will will try to snap a two-game losing streak when it welcomes Peaster to Robert Nail Stadium.
BCP GAME OF THE WEEK: Explosive Brady visits Dublin (w/ Evan Ren’s Big Country Picks)
LAST WEEK: 41-8, .837
OVERALL: 130-27, .828
On a Friday where any one of four or five games is arguably a candidate for our Big Country Preps Game of the Week, our final decision — Brady at Dublin — was based on sharing the love.
Jim Ned and Mason is on the board, as is Wichita Falls Rider at Brownwood, Hawley at Albany, Christoval at Cross Plains and, of course, the annual war between Brock and Breckenridge.
But with Jim Ned a likely candidate for Game of the Week when it faces Wall and Eastland later this year, and Brownwood receiving live coverage for Snyder two weeks ago and Wylie next week, the field narrowed a bit.
Hawley got our Game of the Week last Friday, and Albany will likely see the GOW when it faces Hamlin, so we’re heading to Dublin where Brady will be a part of its first-ever BCP spotlight game.
It shouldn’t disappoint.
BCP Podcast No. 62: Stephenville’s Sterling Doty visits with Evan, Daniel
After a successful five-year run at Magnolia High School, following a stint as an assistant and offensive coordinator at Cooper, Sterling Doty has returned home to lead the Stephenville program he helped to two state titles in the late 1990s.
This week, Doty took a few minutes to chat with Big Country Preps’ Evan Ren and Daniel Youngblood about his team, the pressure he faces as Stephenville’s coach and some of his influences for this week’s Capital Farm Credit Wednesday Night Podcast.
Also in this episode, Evan and Daniel discuss some of their takeaways from the third week of the Big Country football season and take a look at the top matchups in Week 4.
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!
District 7-2A Division II: Week 3 Report
Haskell 14, Peaster 13 — The Indians only managed 192 yards of total offense Friday, but a pair of fourth-quarter touchdown passes from Cutter Medford to Logan Burson were enough to lift coach Brian Hodnett’s squad to a one-point win over the Class 3A Greyhounds.
Peaster struck first in the second quarter with a 63-yard touchdown run by Shawn Glover, and the score remained 7-0 into the fourth. Scoring passes of 26 and 34 yards put the Indians up 14-7, and a failed two-point conversion on a late Greyhound touchdown allowed Haskell to escape with the narrow victory.
Medford passed for 136 yards and Burson received for 110 for the Indians (2-1), who limited Peaster to 259 yards and forced five turnovers. Haskell will host Stamford next week.
BCP GAME OF THE WEEK: Hawley, Hamlin collide in matchup of 2A powerhouses (w/ Evan Ren’s Big Country Picks)
LAST WEEK: 46-6, .884
SEASON TOTAL: 89-19, .824
I don’t know what has me more jazzed — the interesting slate of Big Country games we’ve got on tap this week, or the fact that I hit 88 percent of my picks in Week 2 and am at 82 percent for the season.
I don’t mind saying, it’s way too early in to be picking at a rate that high. Normally the 80-percent plateau is crossed in the second half of the season, after you get dialed in on who’s who. But why should I complain? It will give me a leg up on Youngblood.
Our Big Country Preps Game of the Week — Hamlin (2-0) at Hawley (2-0) — was actually circled on the calendar well in advance of the season.
Yes, last year’s matchup resulted in a 32-6 Hamlin win.
But the venue switches to Hawley this time around and unless I’ve missed my guess, the Bearcats are more than motivated after being escorted to the woodshed by the Pipers a year ago.
District 7-2A Division II: Week 2 Report
Albany 28, Dublin 21 — Coach Denney Faith’s Lions raced out to a 28-7 lead early in the third quarter and held off a late Dublin rally in the fourth to earn the win at Robert Nail Stadium and open the season 2-0.
Albany quarterback Ben West threw for more than 300 yards and three touchdowns in the win, with 106 yards and one of those scores going to B.J. Morris, who also added a touchdown run.
Dublin meanwhile got 294 passing yards and three scores from Cy Wing and a 100-yard receiving game from Colten Couch (9-124, 2 TDs), scoring twice in the fourth quarter to trim AHS’ lead to one touchdown with just under six minutes remaining in the game.
Albany, which has now avenged two losses from last year, will try to increase that number to three next week when it travels to Eastland. Dublin (1-1), meanwhile, will play a road game at De Leon.
BCP GAME OF THE WEEK: Cisco, Wall square off in a clash of area powers (w/ Evan Ren’s Big Country Picks)
LAST WEEK: 43-13, .767
SEASON TOTAL: 43-13, .767
The beauty of Week 1 of the football season is that it throws all sorts of new questions into your face. The beauty of Weeks 2 and 3 is that most of those questions get answered.
Our Big Country Preps Game of the Week — Wall at Cisco — should serve as a moment of clarity.
Just how good is this Wall team that routed perennial power Mason 47-7 at the Puncher Dome last week? Entering as a nine-point favorite, the Hawks shattered the computer projections leading some to believe this could be a vintage Hawks football team.
At this point, however, we don’t know exactly where Mason stands.
We do, however, have a pretty fair idea about Cisco, which handed a rapidly improving (albeit young) Class 4A Sweetwater team a 49-27 loss in the Mustang Bowl. This is your standard, tough Cisco football team with an excellent running game and physical defense.
So we’ll find out precisely where Wall is on Friday.
BCP Podcast No. 60: Evan, Daniel talk Big Country pigskin with Texas Football’s Greg Tepper
As the managing editor of Dave Campbell’s Texas Football magazine and an analyst for Fox Sports Southwest, Greg Tepper is respected statewide for the passion and knowledge he brings to his Texas high school football coverage.
This week, Tepper took a few minutes to chat with Big Country Preps’ Evan Ren and Daniel Youngblood about the Big Country football scene and his work for this week’s Capital Farm Credit Wenesday Night Podcast.
Also in this episode, Evan and Daniel discuss the biggest surprises of high school football’s opening week and preview some of the Big Country’s top matchups in Week 2.
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!
District 3-2A Division I: Week 1 Report
Stamford 30, Merkel 8 — Stamford held Merkel to just 166 yards in total offense en route to a road win in its season opener.
With the score knotted at 8 at the break, Stamford used a 22-0 run through the second half to put the Badgers away.
Trace Price threw for 141 yards and one score while Shavaris Cooper, D’Marcus Barber and Trace Price all added rushing TDs to lead the Bulldogs.
District 7-2A Division II: Week 1 Report
Albany 18, Colorado City 3 — The Lions opened the 2019 season with a comfortable road win and helped coach Denney Faith hit a milestone in the process. The victory marked career win No. 300 for Faith, who has spent his entire coaching career at Albany.
The Lions were limited to just 232 yards of total offense (82 passing, 150 rushing), but they never trailed, holding the C-City offense to a single field goal in the second quarter. After taking a 6-3 lead into halftime, Albany put some separation between itself and the Wolves with six points in each of the final two quarters.
Quarterback Ben West hit on six of 14 passes for 82 yards and a touchdown, while sophomore Robert Bailey led the rushing attack with 97 yards and a score on just 13 attempts.
FEATURE: Sustained success puts milestones in reach for Big Country football programs
Anyone who follows high school football in Texas knows that the Big Country has a rich tradition of producing winners on the gridiron.
But just how rich is that history?
Of the top 100 winningest 11-man programs in Texas history (regardless of classification), 11 call the Big Country home.
Brownwood is the standard-bearer with 738 wins in program history, which ranks sixth all-time. The Lions have a winning percentage of .654, which ranks 38th of programs that have a minimum of 500 games played.
The Lions, who have been playing football since 1907, are one of just 12 programs in the state to scale the 700-win plateau. But that number could grow by as many as six teams this fall, with three of those six teams hailing from the Big Country.
BCP Preseason Position Rankings: Quarterbacks
After a week of highlighting area standouts, we close our eight-part preseason position rankings series with the Big Country’s top gunslingers.
To complete our look at the area’s best players, we’ve ranked our top-10 quarterbacks with a list of others to watch in 2019.
We hope you enjoy this list and that you have enjoyed our position rankings as we get set to kickoff a new season.
BCP Preseason Position Rankings: Running Backs
As we wind down our eight-part preseason position rankings series, we’ve finally arrived at the Big Country’s top ball-carriers.
After breaking down this year’s crop of receivers and tight ends Monday, we move now to the area’s top running backs, ranking our top 10 with a list of others to watch in 2019. Don’t forget to check in Wednesday night when we unveil our top 10 area quarterbacks to conclude this series.
We hope you enjoy tonight’s list and encourage you to check out the other position groups, which are linked below.
BCP Preseason Position Rankings: Wide Receivers/Tight Ends
We’re now approaching the home stretch of our eight-part preseason position rankings series, and it’s time to look at the Big Country’s top pass-catchers.
After starting the offensive portion of our series Sunday with the big boys up front, we now shift our attention to the playmakers on the edges, ranking our top 10 wide receivers/tight ends with a list of others to watch in 2019.
We hope you enjoy our list and encourage you to check out the other position groups, which are linked below.
BCP Preseason Position Rankings: Offensive Linemen
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.
BCP Preseason 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 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.
BCP Preseason Position Rankings: Defensive Backs
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.
BCP Preseason Position Rankings: Linebackers
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.
BCP Podcast No. 58: Evan, Daniel discuss predictions for upcoming football season
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!
BCP Preseason Position Rankings: Defensive Linemen
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.
DISTRICT PREDICTIONS: Evan and Dan 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.
FEATURE: Martinez to bring slashback look to Roscoe
ROSCOE — In the mid 1990s, former Pittsburgh Steeler Kordell Stewart inspired the name of a new combo position in the NFL, known as the “slashback.”
It was a simplified way of describing the QB/WR/RB role he played while helping the Steelers reach the Super Bowl in 1996.
Some 23 years and equal number of tax brackets away from Stewart, the Roscoe Plowboys are about unleash their own scaled-down version of the slash in Junior Martinez.
Only in the case of Martinez, there’s a few extra slashes to include QB/WR/RB/W/DB/P/PR/KR.
ROSCOE TEAM PREVIEW: Plowboys will live or die with up-tempo attack
ROSCOE — If the Roscoe football team isn’t successful in 2019, it won’t be due to a lack of aggression.
The Plowboys, for better or worse, will remain in full-blown attack mode this season, throwing the football in their up-tempo scheme to utilize a solid group of skill personnel.
Will the approach be enough to compensate for youthful offensive and defensive lines? Roscoe intends to find out by spreading the field and keeping its foot on the gas.
BCP BOYS ATHLETE OF THE YEAR AND SUPER DOZEN: Yeager claims top spot
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.
BCP GIRLS ATHLETE OF THE YEAR AND SUPER DOZEN: Masonheimer takes top spot
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.
BCP COUNTDOWN TO TWO-A-DAYS: Roscoe Plowboys
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.
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.
After featuring Munday on Saturday, we stay in Class 2A Division II with the Roscoe Plowboys. On Monday, we will take a look at the Cross Plains Buffaloes, followed by the Haskell Indians on Tuesday.
All-Big Country Preps Softball Superlatives: Ellett, Washington headline squad
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.
All-Big Country Preps Softball Team: First-Team Roster
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.
All-Big Country Preps Softball Team: Second-Team Roster (w/ honorable mention)
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.