Category: Santo Wildcats

by Daniel Youngblood

SANTO FEATURE: Junior FB/LB Hollingsworth brings toughness, leadership to Wildcats squad

rioIn Santo’s flexbone offense, no position is more important than the fullback. So finding the right player(s) for that role is of paramount importance.

In junior Justin Hollingsworth, SHS coach Devon Mann is confident he’s found that player.

Hollingsworth, who was shifted from tight end to fullback last year, made an immediate splash at the position for a young Wildcats team in 2023. And entering this season with higher expectations for a more experienced roster, Mann is ready to put even more on the junior’s plate this fall.

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by Daniel Youngblood

2024 SANTO FOOTBALL PREVIEW: Playoff expectations return with deeper, more experienced roster

 

Santo coach Devon Mann went into the 2023 season knowing it would be a learning process for a young and inexperienced roster. 

So when the Wildcats finished 3-7 and missed the playoffs for the time since 2013, he accepted the experience for what it was — a bump in the road on the way to better days ahead.

With 16 lettermen back from that squad, including eight starters on both side of the ball, Mann remains steadfast in that conviction. And with a talented group of call-ups from a 7-3 junior varsity squad providing depth that was missing a year ago, he’s expecting those better days sooner rather than later.

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by Evan Ren

Evan Ren’s 2024 Big Country Preps All-Hustle Team (the hardest-working baseball and softball players in the area)

OTHER 2024 ALL-BIG COUNTRY PREPS TEAMS

Our All-Big Country Preps Softball and Baseball Teams, released Wednesday and Thursday, respectively, are in place to honor those who achieved the most on-field success in 2024. It is off the field, however, where character, grit, and work ethic are often measured. And it is with our Big Country Preps All-Hustle Team that we wish to honor those players, male and female, who were (simply put) the hardest-working, best teammates in the area this spring. 

This team isn’t about who the best baseball and softball players were.

The All-Hustle team honors effort, discipline, toughness, coachability and selflessness — traits that coaches wish they had in every player and upon which championships are built.

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 the Big Country had to offer during the 2024 season.

The players below are listed in no particular order. 

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by Evan Ren

COUNTDOWN TO TWO-A-DAYS: The Santo Wildcats … 38 days to two-a-days

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. 21. 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. 5, we’ll be spotlighting each 11-man team in the area and posing some of the key questions they’ll face in 2024 as part of our annual “Countdown to Two-a-Days” series.

We continue in Class 2A Division II with the Santo Wildcats. On Saturday, we will take a look at the Goldthwaite Eagles, followed by the Colorado City Wolves on Sunday.

Continue reading “COUNTDOWN TO TWO-A-DAYS: The Santo Wildcats … 38 days to two-a-days” →

by Evan Ren

FINAL Big Country Regular Season Softball Statistical leaders for 2024 (through April 18)

Here are the area’s softball statistical leaders through April 18.

With the end of the regular season, this will be our FINAL softball leaders posting for 2024. 

Statistics are from throughout the Big Country Preps circulation area as submitted by coaches. These lists will be continually updated as we receive more submissions. 

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by Evan Ren

BIG COUNTRY PREPS PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Wall’s Jones takes five district titles and our Player of the Week

While we normally try to share the love in our Big Country Preps Player of the Week column, five district titles in one week isn’t easy to sidestep. 

And while Wall’s Briggs Jones has already pulled down our award once this year, he earned a second with his showing at the District 6-3A meet in Clyde last week by sweeping the long jump (23-2), the triple jump (44-10.75), the 200 meters (21.92), the 100 meters (10.72) and assisting the 800 relay team to gold with a 1:29.68 split. 

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by Evan Ren

Evan Ren’s 2024 Gym Rat Team: The hardest-working players in the Big Country!

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 upon which championship foundations are built.

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 2023-24 season.

Players are listed in no particular order. 

Enjoy.

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by Evan Ren

2024 All-Big Country Preps Boys Basketball Rising Stars Team: The top freshmen and sophomores in the area!

Here is our 2024 All-Big Country Preps boys basketball Rising Stars team, comprised of the top freshmen and sophomores in the area. For the rest of this year’s boys and girls basketball selections, click the links below.

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by Evan Ren

2024 All-Big Country Preps Girls Basketball Rising Stars Team: The top freshmen and sophomores in the area!

Here is our 2024 All-Big Country Preps girls basketball Rising Stars team, comprised of the top freshmen and sophomores in the area. For the rest of this year’s boys and girls basketball selections, click the links below.

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by Evan Ren

Big Country Boys Basketball Statistical Leaders (through Jan. 25): Scoring, rebounding, assists, steals, FT Pct., pass deflections and blocks

Below are the current season statistical leaders for Big Country boys basketball through Jan. 25.

This database will be continually updated for our subscribers throughout the regular season, using only those statistics submitted by area coaches.

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by Evan Ren

Big Country Girls Basketball Statistical Leaders (through Jan. 25): Scoring, rebounding, assists, steals, FT Pct., pass deflections and blocks

Below are the current season statistical leaders for Big Country girls basketball through Jan. 25.

This database will be continually updated for our subscribers throughout the regular season, using only those statistics submitted by area coaches.

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by Evan Ren

Evan Ren’s 2023 True Grit Team: The toughest, hardest-working players in the Big Country!

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. 

Welcome to Big Country Preps’ “True Grit” team — a collection of area players nominated by their head coaches and Big Country Preps staff, who exemplify the character traits football mentors want throughout their roster. 

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by Evan Ren

Big Country Boys Basketball Statistical Leaders (through Jan. 11): Scoring, rebounding, assists, steals, FT Pct., pass deflections and blocks

Below are the current season statistical leaders for Big Country boys basketball through Jan. 11.

This database will be continually updated for our subscribers throughout the regular season, using only those statistics submitted by area coaches.

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by Evan Ren

Big Country Girls Basketball Statistical Leaders (through Jan. 11): Scoring, rebounding, assists, steals, FT Pct., pass deflections and blocks

Below are the current season statistical leaders for Big Country girls basketball through Jan. 11.

This database will be continually updated for our subscribers throughout the regular season, using only those statistics submitted by area coaches.

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Buck Powell
by Evan Ren

BIG COUNTRY PREPS PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Hico’s Powell takes this week’s accolade

Big numbers are always great to have when we decide the winner of our Big Country Preps Player of the Week award. Solid numbers across multiple tasks are even better. 

That was the case with this week’s spotlight player, Buck Powell, of Hico, who helped the Tigers to a 47-14 rout of Maud in the Class 2A DII bi-district round on Friday. 

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by Evan Ren

2023 BIG COUNTRY PREPS BOYS BASKETBALL PREVIEW: The area’s top teams in each class throughout the BCP coverage area

With a new season of boys high school basketball poised to begin, it’s time to take a look at what the Big Country will produce on the court.

Below you will find our top teams in each classification in the Big Country Preps coverage area, from Big Spring in the West, to Brock in the east and from Brady in the south to Munday in the north. 

Our rankings of the top teams in each class are given, along with a season outlook, cataloguing our expectations for each club. 

Here’s our preview. We’ll see you on the road.

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by Evan Ren

BIG COUNTRY PREPS PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Sweetwater’s Moore wins second award in less than a month

Korda Moore has been playing well all year for the Sweetwater Mustangs. But he picked the right moment for one of his best games last Friday, helping the Mustangs clinch a playoff spot with a 51-38 win over Snyder. 

To begin with, Moore rushed 11 times for 106 yards and five scores.  Along the way he added a pair of two-point conversion runs for a total of 34 points on the night. 

Defensively he charted 12 tackles, three of which were behind the Snyder line of scrimmage and had a quarterback hurry as well. 

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by Daniel Youngblood

DISTRICT 8-3A DIV. II WEEK 11 REPORT: Santo runs over, past Era in season-closing win

rioSanto 33, Era 0 — Justin Hollingsworth ran for 272 yards and two touchdowns to help the Wildcats close out their season with a shutout win over the Dragons.

Kalder Hallbrook (6-45 rushing) also had two scores on the ground for Santo (3-7, 2-4), which ran for 450 of its 459 total yards.

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by Evan Ren

BIG COUNTRY PREPS GAME OF THE WEEK: Wylie, Cooper clash in burgeoning rivalry game

LAST WEEK: 47-5, .903
SEASON TOTAL: 438-91, .827

With the column hitting at more than 90 percent accuracy last week, we now close the regular season on the upswing and with something uncommon: A local Big Country Preps Game of the Week. 

While our weekly picks column generally highlights the top area game outside of the Abilene city limits, this week seems to call for us to stay at home with rivals Wylie (6-3, 3-1) and Cooper (4-5, 3-1) fighting for sole possession of the No. 2 seed in District 2-5A Division II. 

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by Daniel Youngblood

DISTRICT 8-2A DIV. I WEEK 10 REPORT: Celeste runs away from Santo; Collinsville routs Muenster

Celeste 42, Santo 7 — The Blue Devils had three 100-yard rushers in a 408-yard ground assault, building a 22-0 halftime lead on their way to a blowout win over the Wildcats.

Anthony Powell led the effort for Celeste (7-2, 4-1), finishing with 183 yards and three touchdowns, while Jason Minter added 111 yards and one TD and Brock Stewart had 107 yards and two scores

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by Evan Ren

BIG COUNTRY PREPS GAME OF THE WEEK: Bulldogs, Bearcats meet with district title in the balance

LAST WEEK: 44-7, .862
SEASON TOTAL: 391-86, .820

It really didn’t take long for people to start talking about the Hawley – Stamford matchup in 2023. In fact, this one was on our calendar as a possible Game of the Week before the season even started. 

Who will win? That depends on who you speak with. Our Twitter poll is split virtually down the middle and even the computers see this one as a near tossup.

Stamford (7-0, 4-0 District 4-2A DII) enters this game scarcely challenged, rolling over the opposition by an average tally of 45-8. Hawley (6-2, 4-0), on the other hand, comes in with some battle scars after a brutal schedule featuring Jim Ned, Lubbock Roosevelt and Albany. 

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by Evan Ren

Big Country Volleyball Statistical Leaders (as submitted by area coaches through Oct. 24)

Big Country Preps is publishing area volleyball statistical leaders each Tuesday at 7 p.m. roughout the regular season.

This database will be continually updated for our subscribers throughout the remainder of the season, using only those statistics submitted by area coaches.

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by Daniel Youngblood

DISTRICT 8-2A DIV. II WEEK 9 REPORT: Collinsville takes care of Santo; Muenster, Celeste earn victories

Collinsville 47, Santo 10 — The Pirates piled up 493 total yards, passing for all but 60 of those in a lopsided win over the Wildcats.

Collinsville, which improved to 7-1 overall and 4-0 in league play with the victory, led 27-10 by halftime and tacked on 20 more points over the final two periods.

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by Evan Ren

BIG COUNTRY PREPS GAME OF THE WEEK: Stephenville hosts China Spring (w/ Evan Ren’s Big Country Picks)

LAST WEEK: 40-8, .833
SEASON TOTAL: 347-79, .814

As Week 9 of the 2023Texas High School football season gets underway, there are multiple high-profile games that would qualify as our Big Country Preps Game of the Week.

But we’re settling for a rare Thursday night matchup at Tarleton State University where seventh-ranked 4A DI Stephenville (5-2, 1-0) will play host to fourth-ranked China Spring (6-2, 2-0) in a game will give the victor sole possession of first place in District 5.

Picking who wins it may come down to throwing darts, but I do believe China Spring has one key advantage. 

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by Daniel Youngblood

DISTRICT 8-2A DIV. II WEEK 8 REPORT: Lindsay too much for Santo; Collinsville, Muenster cruise

Lindsay 27, Santo 7 — The Wildcats couldn’t slow the Knights rushing attack, allowing 303 yards on the ground in a three-touchdown loss.

Mason Myers led the way for Lindsay (4-4, 2-2) with 100 yards on 14 carries, while Lane Foster added 95 yards and two touchdowns on 20 rush attempts.

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by Evan Ren

BIG COUNTRY PREPS GAME OF THE WEEK: Hico hosts Dawson with high playoff seeds in the balance (w/ Evan Ren’s Big Country Picks)

LAST WEEK: 41-7, .854
SEASON TOTAL: 307-71, .812

 Big Country Preps makes a point of sharing the love and we look for opportunities to take our Game of the Week to as many different places that make sense each year. 
Yet since our inaugural season in 2018, a rebuilding Hico football team missed our spotlight game for five straight seasons. 

That drought ends this week when BCP visits Hico for the first time as the Tigers (5-2, 2-1 District 10-2A DII) host Dawson (5-1, 2-0) in a crucial matchup with high seed implications.

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by Daniel Youngblood

DISTRICT 8-2A DIV. II WEEK 7 REPORT: Santo picks up first district win; Collinsville stays perfect in league play

rioSanto 41, Chico 0 — The Wildcats had no trouble with the Dragons, snapping a four-game losing streak with a blowout victory.

Santo (2-4, 1-1) outgained Chico 386-56, building a 34-0 lead by halftime. Kalder Halbrook was at the forefront of that effort, rushing for 148 yards and a touchdown while adding 48 more yards and an additional score through the air.

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by Daniel Youngblood

DISTRICT 8-2A DIV. II WEEK 6 REPORT: Santo drops league opener; Muenster, Celeste improve to 2-0 in district

Muenster 32, Santo 14 — Playing without senior quarterback Hut Thornton, who was lost for the year to a knee injury two weeks ago, the Wildcats struggled to find consistent offense against the Hornets, managing just 175 total yards in a three-score loss.

Kalder Halbrook passed for 111 yards and a touchdown and added a second score on the ground to lead Santo (1-4, 0-1), which also got 51 yards rushing from Justin Hollingsworth.

Continue reading “DISTRICT 8-2A DIV. II WEEK 6 REPORT: Santo drops league opener; Muenster, Celeste improve to 2-0 in district” →

by Evan Ren

BIG COUNTRY PREPS GAME OF THE WEEK: Yellow Jackets head to Brownwood to face archrival

LAST WEEK: 46-12, .793
SEASON TOTAL: 229-61, .789

More often than not, Big Country Preps makes an appearance at the annual Stephenville-Brownwood matchup. Because more often than not, it produces a game worthy of one of Texas’ top rivalries. 

This year is no exception as Stephenville travels to famous Gordon Wood Stadium for the Big Country Preps Game of the Week. 

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by Daniel Youngblood

DISTRICT 8-2A DIV. II WEEK 5 REPORT: Collinsville, Celeste and Muenster win openers while Santo rests

Collinsville 63, Lindsay 21 — The Pirates opened district play with a thorough win over the Knights, racing out to a 49-7 halftime lead and cruising from there to the blowout.

Logan Jenkins passed for 376 yards and six touchdowns to lead Collinsville (4-1, 1-0), which got productive receiving days from Reed Patterson (4-112, 3 TDs), Colin Barnes (4-94) and Landon Carpenter (3-71, 2 TDs).

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by Evan Ren

BIG COUNTRY PREPS GAME OF THE WEEK: Sweetwater plays host to Clyde in battle of unbeatens

LAST WEEK: 44-11, .800
SEASON TOTAL: 183-49, .788

Some weeks are just loaded with competitive area games and Week 5 of the 2023 season falls squarely into that category. 

This week’s menu features six or seven games that under normal circumstances, would qualify for our Big Country Preps Game of the Week. This forces us to push some great matchups aside to select our spotlight game. 

This week, we go with a battle of unbeatens — Class 3A Division I Clyde (4-0) at Class 4A Div. II Sweetwater (4-0) — at the famed Mustang Bowl at SHS. 

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by Daniel Youngblood

DISTRICT 8-2A DIV. II WEEK 4 REPORT: Turnovers doom Santo in shutout loss to Rio Vista

rioRio Vista 27, Santo 0 — The Wildcats struggled to take care of the football, turning the ball over seven times in a shutout loss to the Eagles.

Santo limited Rio Vista to just 47 rushing yards and 184 yards of total offense, but coach Devon Mann’s Wildcats managed only 134 yards of their own in falling to 1-3 on the year.

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by Daniel Youngblood

DISTRICT 8-2A DIV. II WEEK 3 REPORT: Slow start dooms Santo as Wildcats drop second straight

rioHamilton 20, Santo 14 — A 14-0 halftime cushion proved just enough for the Bulldogs, who held off a Wildcat rally in the second half for their second consecutive win.

Hamilton rode a balanced offensive effort to a slight 265-236 edge in total yardage, rushing for 131 of those yards and passing for 134. The Bulldogs also forced the game’s only turnover.

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