ROUND ROCK — A two-out, two-run single by Chris Fry in the top of the first inning proved the difference in the game Saturday as Groveton Centerville edged Gordon 2-0 for the Class 1A state championship at Dell Diamond.
The Bulldogs’ three first-inning hits accounted for more than half their total for the game, but that mini outburst against Longhorns ace Aiden Shank was all the run support necessary for Kolt Larsen, whose complete-game shutout had him holding the MVP trophy after the game.
Fry’s single, the only hit by either team in 17 at-bats with runners in scoring position, forced Gordon to play catch-up the rest of the way. And despite a strong pitching performance of their own from Shank and reliever Stryker Reed, the Longhorns could never close the gap, leaving seven runners on base in the loss.
With the victory, Centerville (24-1) claimed its first state championship in program history, while Gordon (23-5) finished as the state runner-up for the second consecutive year.
As is our tradition, with the UIL State Track and Field Championships now over, we conclude our Big Country Preps Player of the Week column for the 2025-26 school year. We’ll pick it up again on Monday, Aug. 31.
Nothing quite like starting off a playoff series with a masterpiece from your pitcher.
If you’re going to top someone who throws a perfect game in our in our Big Country Preps Player of the Week column, you had better do something very special.
In a week that featured at least a half dozen athletes who could have taken our Big Country Preps Player of the Week, we finally settled on a Stephenville senior for our weekly award.
In the pitcher’s circle, there are varying degrees of perfection. And in the case of our Big Country Preps Player of the Week, that statement was fully illustrated on Friday in a 6-0 Clyde win over Merkel.
Our Big Country Preps Player of the Week earned the accolade on the state’s biggest stage.
A week after Lipan’s Court Gaylor took our Big Country Preps Player of the Week award, yet another Lipan player has done the same thing.

When Cisco junior guard Carter Toof is on his game, there is little one can do to stop him. He’s going to get his point, whether you like it or not.
ABILENE — Call it a tale of two halves.