Here are the Big Country’s rushing leaders through Week 8:
Category: San Saba Armadillos
DISTRICT 5-2A DIV. I WEEK 8 REPORT: Bangs tops Armadillos, Coleman rebounds, Tolar remains unbeaten
Bangs 42, San Saba 35 — Guy Powell rushed for 193 yards and four touchdowns on 22 carries to lift Bangs to a crucial district win over the Armadillos.
San Saba managed 505 yards in total offense but hurt itself with nine penalties and a 10 percent success rate on third downs.
DISTRICT 5-2A DIV. I WEEK 7 REPORT: San Saba outlasts De Leon; Bangs shuts out Goldthwaite
San Saba 35, De Leon 21 — The Armadillos picked up a big district win, outscoring the Bearcats 14-0 in the second half to break open what was a back-and-forth affair early.
De Leon (4-3, 1-2) held leads at 7-0 and 14-7 thanks to touchdown runs by Kallen McIlvain, and the Bearcats rallied from their first deficit with a 31-yard scoring run by Heston Jobe that made it a 21-all game at halftime. But San Saba (5-2, 1-2) countered with the only two touchdowns of the second half, sealing the victory in the fourth quarter with a 25-yard touchdown pass from Lance Taylor to Levi Glover.
DISTRICT 5-2A DIV. II WEEK 6 REPORT: Jobe, McIlvain fuel De Leon past Goldthwaite; Coleman routs San Saba
De Leon 44, Goldthwaite 19 — The Bearcats controlled the game from start to finish, racing out to a 20-7 halftime and cruising from there to a comfortable win over the Eagles.
De Leon (4-2, 1-0) piled 437 yards, 343 of those on those on the ground, to grab the momentum early and maintain it throughout the remainder of the game.
CAPITAL FARM CREDIT/BCP PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Senior from tiny Stephenville Three Way lands this week’s award
Some people in the Big Country may not even know where tiny Three Way High School is.
For the record it’s on the outskirts of Stephenville, it plays in District 11-1A DI (six-man) and if our Big Country Preps Player of the Week has any say about it, you’ll be hearing a lot more about the Braves in the near future.
Colt Berry, a senior spreadback, had an eye-popping performance last week in a 73-54 win over Aquilla, amassing 561 all-purpose yards to help the Braves (1-3) to their first win of the year.
DISTRICT 5-2A DIV. I WEEK 5 REPORT: Bangs, Coleman and Hamilton open league play with victories
Bangs 49, De Leon 21 — Guy Powell rushed for 323 yards and five touchdowns on just 14 carries and added a kickoff return TD for good measure to lead the Dragons to an impressive district-opening win over the Bearcats.
Bangs, which rushed for 505 of its 583 total yards, led just 28-21 at halftime, but the Dragons took control in the second half to improve to 3-2 overall and 1-0 in league play.
In addition to Powell’s big game, BHS got 78 yards passing and 56 yards and a touchdown rushing from quarterback Kenny Cole. De Leon (3-2, 0-1), which finished with 543 total yards (286 rushing, 257 passing) was led quarterback Heston Jobe (18-27-1—257 passing; 14-107 rushing) and running back Kallen McIlvain (25-165, 3 TDs rushing; 1-27 receiving).
DISTRICT 5-2A DIV. I WEEK 4 REPORT: De Leon, San Saba and Bangs all pick up victories
De Leon 52, Hico 7 — The Bearcats ran away from the Tigers for their second consecutive win, racing out to a 38-0 halftime lead to end the competitive phase of the game early.
De Leon (3-1) got strong performances from quarterback Heston Jobe (9-11-0—220, 3 TDs passing; 8-108, 2 TDs rushing) and running back Kallen Mcilvain (16-186, 2 TDs rushing), while Jake Cooper (3-79, 1 TD) and Andrew Coan (2-86, 2 TDs) had big days receiving the ball.
Hico, which was limited to 249 yards (all rushing), was led by Carson Keller, who rushed for 115 yards and the Tigers’ only touchdown on 12 carries.
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 5-2A DIV. I WEEK 3 REPORT: Bangs routs Grape Creek for first win, headlines strong week for area
Bangs 53, San Angelo Grape Creek 6 — The Dragons busted into the win column with a dominant showing against the Eagles, rushing for 246 yards in a blowout win.
Bangs (1-2) finished with 387 yards as a team, led by running back Guy Powell who rushed for 188 yards and three touchdowns on just seven carries. Quarterback Kenny Cole, meanwhile, completed six of eight passes for 141 yards with TDs to Nate Stoffer (2-57), Guy Funk (1-44) and Hunter Newton (2-37).
The Dragons, who held Grape Creek to just 233 yards of total offense, controlled the game from the outset, building a 33-6 halftime lead on their way to the 47-point victory.
DISTRICT 5-2A DIV. I WEEK 2 REPORT: Coleman blasts Ballinger, San Saba shuts down Junction
Coleman 48, Ballinger 0 — The Bluecats dominated the Bearcats, outgaining BHS 413-30 in a shutout victory.
Coleman, which led 30-0 by halftime, got a strong all-around game from quarterback Jadin Jackson (6-10-0—133, 2 TDs passing; 10-47, 1 TD rushing), while Ryland Gentry (13-102, 2 TDs) topped 100 yards rushing.
Brent Bouldin (9-66 rushing) and Dayden Hunter (7-62) both added rushing touchdowns, while Braxton Smith (2-77 receiving) and Hagen Cavanaugh (2-50) each caught touchdown passes as the Bluecats improved to 2-0.
District 5-2A Div. I Week 1 Report: No. 9 Coleman edges Mason in slugfest
Coleman 7, Mason 6 — Leading by a point with just over a minute left, the Bluecats thwarted the Punchers’ two-point conversion attempt to escape this slugfest with a win Friday.
Coleman scored quickly to take a 7-0 lead in the first quarter — an advantage it held until Mason answered with its only score with 1:03 remaining in the game. That set up the dramatic finish, which saw the Bluecats improve to 1-0.
CHS got its touchdown on a deep ball from quarterback Jadin Jackson to Braxton Smith, while Mason scored on a late bomb from Ivan Wofford to Hunter Goodwin.
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.
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.
SAN SABA FEATURE: Long-time Armadillo assistant has made a career of serving his community
SAN SABA — When San Saba assistant football coach Ronnie Schulze started working with the Armadillos, Laverne & Shirley was the top-rated show on television, bell bottom pants were considered hip and gasoline was a staggering $0.59 per gallon.
The year was 1977, and Schulze had just made a crucial decision — leaving an enjoyable life as a professional musician in a country western band to put a whistle around his neck as an assistant football coach for San Saba ISD. Forty-five years later, not only is Schulze glad he made the move, but he’s still doing it, assisting the Armadillo varsity.
“I traveled up and down the road with the band for seven years after I got out of college,” Schulze said. “But my wife and I started having children and she’s a teacher here and I just decided it was time for a change. … San Saba was my first and only job and it’s close to home so it worked out really good for me.”
2022 SAN SABA FOOTBALL PREVIEW: More maturity, easier schedule should help Armadillos
SAN SABA — After the most successful three-year run in program history with a combined 35-5 record, the San Saba Armadillos finally came down to earth in 2021, finishing at 2-9 with a young team in a rebuilding cycle.
Graduation had hit San Saba hard following the 2020 campaign, leaving coach Andreas Aguirre with few seniors and far less experience to work with. The ‘Dillos also had the additional hurdle of a brutal schedule — a direct bi-product of their three-year run of success which left few teams other than powerhouses willing to play them.
“That schedule we had last year was very daunting for those kids,” Aguirre said. “They were young at some positions, but we’ve got some kids who have grown up since then, so I’m hoping we can get going back down the right path.”
COUNTDOWN TO TWO-A-DAYS: San Saba Armadillos
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 2A Division I with the San Saba Armadillos. On Monday we will take a look at the Ballinger Bearcats, followed by the Brady Bulldogs on Tuesday.
Continue reading “COUNTDOWN TO TWO-A-DAYS: San Saba Armadillos”
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.
FEATURE: Even while hobbled by a knee injury, San Saba’s Oliver is among area’s top players
Photos courtesy of Rita Boultinghouse
SAN SABA — As a senior playing in only his second year of high school baseball, San Saba’s Weston Oliver has had very little time to prove how good he actually is.
A first-year move-in from Class 6A Round Rock High School, Oliver is in his first and last season with the Armadillos, who have seen their win total jump from only four in 2021 to 11 this year with their new arrival in the lineup.
CAPITAL FARM CREDIT/BCP Player of the Week: O’Malley overcomes injury to punch regional ticket
Merkel’s Alyssa O’Malley is no stranger to our Capital Farm Credit/BCP Player of the Week column.
If she’s not in the weekly mix during the basketball season as one of the area’s top players, she’s competing for our top spot during the spring in track and field.
Her latest exploit: How about four area championships in solo events, despite having a painful foot injury?
CAPITAL FARM CREDIT/BCP PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Snyder’s Aviles takes this week’s accolade
Back-to-back shutouts.
Under normal circumstances, that’s enough to capture the Capital Farm Credit/BCP Player of the Week award.
But when one of the shutouts is a no-hitter, that’s a rock-solid insurance policy.