Category: Six-man/Class 1A

FEATURE: Westbrook hopes Gilbreath is adjusted enough in new role to allow for third straight state title

Westbrook will be looking to claim its third consecutive Class A Division I state title Wednesday against Gordon at AT&T Stadium.  

However, the Wildcats’ leading rusher will be making his first appearance as a player at AT&T Stadium. That’s because senior Keegan Gilbreath is finishing up his first six-man campaign after starting at quarterback for Class 2A Seymour the past three years.  

It’s been a season of unsureness and acclimatization for Gilbreath, but his adaptability and diligence has paid off. Gilbreath has rushed for 1,456 yards and 36 touchdowns as part of a 1-2 backfield punch with Grayson Jeffrey.  

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BIG COUNTRY PREPS PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Albany’s Hill takes this week’s award with big performance in regional title game

Big-time players come up with big-time performances in big games.  And our Big Country Preps Player of the Week, Albany’s Adam Hill, is a big-time player. 

Helping the Lions capture the Region II-2A DII title, Hill was a punisher out of the Lions’ backfield last Thursday in Iowa Park, rushing for 223 yards and four touchdowns on 29 carries in a 52-14 rout of a very good Collinsville team. 

The Texas Tech-bound senior also caught a pair of passes for 31 yards and an additional touchdown as Albany improved to 14-0 on the year.  

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BIG COUNTRY PREPS PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Stephenville’s Butchee takes the top spot

We freely admit that more offensive players take our Big Country Preps Player of the Week than do defenders. 

But a great defensive performance can, indeed, take the top spot and that is the case with this week’s award winner: Stephenville sophomore linebacker, Hudson Butchee. 

With the Yellow Jackets squaring off with perennial power Celina in the Region II-4A DI semifinals, Butchee played like a man possessed in a 7-3 Stephenville win. 

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GAME STORY: Team effort sends Westbrook into state semifinals

SWEETWATER — Westbrook coach Homer Matlock said his Wildcats don’t care who scores or who handles the ball.

That mentality was on full display in the Region II-1A Division I final Saturday at the Mustang Bowl, where WHS pulled away in the second half to beat Borden County 110-65.

It marked the first time in Matlock’s career that he had a team score in triple digits. Continue reading “GAME STORY: Team effort sends Westbrook into state semifinals”

THANKSGIVING FEATURE: Matlock family thankful for community support in wake of accident

Editor’s note: Westbrook football coach Homer Matlock, his wife Tia and their daughter Zoe sat down with BigCountryPreps.com on Tuesday to share their feelings this holiday season, along with their experience after Zoe was involved in a serious car wreck earlier this month.

WESTBROOK — Find your purpose.

Coming off back-to-back state championships, the Westbrook football team adopted those three words as their motto for the 2023 season during two-a-days in August.

Little did they know at the time just how much that phrase would impact the program from the top down, starting with head coach Homer Matlock and his family. Continue reading “THANKSGIVING FEATURE: Matlock family thankful for community support in wake of accident”

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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ABILENE NOTEBOOK: Abilene High, Wylie football set for huge district showdowns

Those paying attention likely already know that Abilene High is in the midst of one of its best football seasons in several years.

Off to a 5-2 start, the Eagles have only lost to 5-1 Class 6A squads from Midland Legacy and Wolfforth Frenship, and they’ve dominated their first three district opponents to the tune of a 156-34 margin.

But if AHS hopes to close the 2023 season with its first district championship since 2016, it will likely come down to this week’s home matchup against Lubbock Cooper. Since falling 35-34 to Wylie on Sept. 8 in a game that saw them allow three defensive touchdowns, the Pirates (4-2, 2-0) have been almost as dominant  as the Eagles, setting up quite a matchup Friday at Shotwell Stadium.

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BIG COUNTRY PREPS PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Moran running back takes the award with insane performance

There are big games and then there are those that border on insanity. 

Moran running back Ellis Hise, our Big Country Preps Player of the Week for the week ending Sept. 16, fell squarely into the latter category on Saturday with a performance that was absolutely nuts. 

Helping the Bulldogs to a thrilling 68-67 win over Mullin in one of the top six-man games the Big Country has seen this year, Hise rushed for 287 yards and six touchdowns on only 26 carries. But that’s just the beginning. 

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SPOTLIGHT: Gordon kicker does the unfathomable, boots extra point into moving vehicle

Video courtesy Waco Live Oak Classical coach Brice Helton; Photos courtesy Kennedy Irwin

Gordon football coach Mike Reed is sure of the fact that Juan Cabrera has a career as a college kicker, and now the junior has a kick that calling it highlight worthy might be a gross understatement.

With the Longhorns leading 34-8 at Waco Live Oak Classical on Friday night, the junior lined up for a routine extra point — his fifth kick of the night.

What happened next was anything but routine. Continue reading “SPOTLIGHT: Gordon kicker does the unfathomable, boots extra point into moving vehicle”

BIG COUNTRY PREPS PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Clyde quarterback takes the top spot with huge night

After two weeks, few teams are grabbing the attention of Big Country football fans more than the Clyde Bulldogs (2-0), who have opened with consecutive wins over Cisco and Eastland. 

And topping the list of last week’s area performers is Clyde senior quarterback Blake Carr, who posted some eye-popping numbers in last week’s 34-21 win at EHS. 

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BCP NOTEBOOK: On tap tonight … Merkel, De Leon, Clyde, Gordon and Strawn

“All good things to those who wait.”
English proverb 

We’ve all seen good high school coaches let go after only two years. And with very few exceptions, it’s almost always a bad move. 

Well, allow me to give you three good examples of why there is a payoff for patience and a reward for living up to the words we feed the kids — you know, like overcoming adversity, being loyal, being respectful and working through the process. 

Yeah, those words. 

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BIG COUNTRY PREPS GAME OF THE WEEK: Santo heads to Goldthwaite for spotlight game (w/ Evan Ren’s Big Country Picks)

LAST WEEK: 48-8, .857
SEASON TOTAL: 48-8, .857

rioOur Big Country Preps Game of the Week shifts eastward in Week 2, where established are playoff contender Santo (1-0) squares off with a Goldthwaite team that is exhibiting early signs of taking a major step forward despite an 0-1 record. 

Goldthwaite, a traditional Big Country power that is trying to climb out of a six-year stretch of losing seasons (the longest streak in school history) gave seventh-ranked Crawford all it wanted in a 28-14 loss on the road last week. Even for those who don’t believe in moral victories, that one’s worth an eyebrow raise, considering the Eagles were 0-10 last year.

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BIG COUNTRY PREPS PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Snyder’s Stewart takes our first award of the school year

After a summer-long effort to produce our football preview, it is good to be back in our school year routine — a big part of which is our Big Country Preps Player of the Week. 

That said, we are proud to hand our first accolade for 2023-24 to Snyder senior quarterback Easton Stewart, who led the Tigers to a 42-0 season-opening win over Slaton last week. 

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2023 SIX-MAN PREVIEW: Big Country looking to continue domination of Class 1A

The Big Country enters the 2023 season having swept the 2021 (Westbrook, Strawn) and 2022 (Westbrook, Benjamin) Class 1A state championships after having gone a couple of years without claiming the top prize.

Entering this season, the biggest question is: Can Westbrook pull off a three-peat?

Westbrook and Benjamin enter the season as the top-ranked teams in Divisions I and II, respectively, but the Big Country has a total of seven teams ranked in the Top 10 between the two Class 1A divisions.

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GAME REPORT: Hermleigh softball routs D’Hanis to claim first state championship

Call it dominance. Call it revenge. Call it a transcendent performance from Summer Smith. 

However you decide to label it, the Hermleigh softball team earned the right to be called Class 1A state champions Wednesday afternoon after overpowering D’Hanis for a 9-0 victory at the University of Texas’ McCombs Field. 

It’s the Lady Cardinals’ first state softball championship, and it comes almost a year to the day since Hermleigh suffered a 6-2 defeat against the Cowgirls in last year’s title game. 

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GAME REPORT: Big fifth inning fuels Hermleigh past Dodd City, earns Lady Cards rematch with D’Hanis

Hermleigh is once again a victory away from its first state softball title. 

The Lady Cardinals broke open a scoreless Class 1A state semifinal with a seven-run fifth inning, claiming a 9-3 victory over Dodd City on Tuesday afternoon at McCombs Field in Austin. 

And once again, D’Hanis will be standing in Hermleigh’s way of a championship. The two teams will meet at 4 p.m. Wednesday in a rematch of last year’s 1A title game that the Cowgirls won 6-2. 

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BIG COUNTRY PREPS PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Jernigan takes our final award for 2022-23

Our final Big Country Preps Player of the Week for the 2022-23 school year could have gone any number of directions. 

We finally settled on Goldthwaite junior Lainey Jernigan, who swept both the girls 2A hurdles titles at the state meet last week. 

Jernigan won the 100 hurdles in 14.62 and the 300 hurdles in 44.12. And the good news for GHS fans is, she’s coming back to defend both crowns next year. 

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GAME STORY: Gorman routs Ira in deciding Game 3 to advance to I-1A semifinals

This time last year, the Gorman baseball team was licking its wounds from a pair of thorough drubbings at the hands of Ira in the Region I-1A quarterfinals.

What a difference a year makes.

After splitting a pair of games with the Bulldogs on Thursday at McMurry University, winning Game 1 by a 3-2 margin before falling 13-1 in Game 2, the Panthers dominated the rubber match Saturday at Abilene Christian High School, scoring an 11-1 run-rule win to earn a regional semifinals date with May next week.

The series victory — considered an upset by many — avenged last year’s sweep, which had been on the minds of the Gorman players and coaches ever since.

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STATE TRACK ROUNDUP: Big Country finishes week with Roby claiming Class 1A girls championship

AUSTIN — The rain that hit most of Texas from Friday night into the wee hours of Saturday morning also affected the schedule at Mike A. Meyers Stadium on the campus of the University of Texas for the final day of the UIL State Track & Field meet.

A delayed start to the day was met with no breaks between events, which caused a heavy day for area Class 1A participants to become even busier with less time for rest and recovery.

Entering the meet, the Big Country had 23 athletes that had posted qualifying marks that were in the top three of their respective events. Saturday’s action then netted the area 25 medals (2 gold, 15 silver, 8 bronze) and a state team championship for the second consecutive day as Roby claimed the girls title with 47 points.

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FEATURE: Gordon hurdlers Reed, Crowe set for state after special regional meet moment

Photo/video contributed by Gordon coach Mike Reed

The picture of Gordon’s Stryker Reed crossing the finish line in the 110-meter hurdles two weeks ago at regionals says it all. 

As soon as Reed steps across the white stripe, he turns to his right to celebrate teammate Kaden Crowe also locking up his state berth with a second-place finish. 

The two Longhorn freshmen are great friends away from the track and fierce competitors between the lines. Now they’ll get to race together one more time this season Saturday night at the Class 1A track meet in Austin. 

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GAME STORY: May continues history-making season with sweep of Westbrook

SWEETWATER — This baseball season has been full of historic moments for the May Tigers.

It started with the first district championship in school history, and the Tigers added to that resume by sweeping Westbrook 12-1 and 15-5 in a Region I-1A quarterfinal Wednesday night at Sportsmans Park.

The best-of-three series win sends May to the regional semifinals for the first time in program history. There, the Tigers will be waiting for the winner of the Ira-Gorman series that begins on Friday at McMurry University.

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BIG COUNTRY PREPS PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Wylie’s Farrar, Moore pitch way to shared honor

Coming off a bi-district sweep of Plainview in which Reese Farrar and Rylee Moore both pitched five-inning one-hitters, it was going to be difficult for Wylie’s co-aces to repeat that performance against El Paso Parkland in the area round.

And yet, they did.

Farrar pitched her second one-hitter of the playoffs while Moore tossed a five-inning no-hitter to fuel the Lady Bulldogs past the Lady Matadors 20-1 and 10-0 and into the Region I-4A quarterfinals, where WHS (30-6) will face off with 36-1 El Paso Hanks this week.

In the process, coach Heather Collier’s dynamic pitching duo claimed our penultimate Big Country Preps Player of the Year award of the 2022-23 school year.

Continue reading “BIG COUNTRY PREPS PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Wylie’s Farrar, Moore pitch way to shared honor”

BIG COUNTRY PREPS PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Snyder baseballer edges Snyder softballer for top spot

It’s difficult to trump a no-hitter, though Snyder’s Ava Aviles came close last week. 

Aviles, who threw back-to-back two-hitters for Snyder softball, is our first runner-up to her classmate, Player of the Week Ty Davis and his first career no-hitter. 

Davis earned a 13-2 five-inning win over Levelland last week, holding LHS hitless in the mercy rule win, finishing with five strikeouts. 

“Ty has continued to improve on the mound and has given us some excellent innings this season, none bigger than last Tuesday with his no-hit performance,” Snyder coach Shane Stewart said. ” I am proud of him and looking forward to watching him mature as a pitcher and a young man.”

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BIG COUNTRY PREPS PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Albany’s Chapmans share this week’s award

It’s not often that a Big Country baseball team charts two no-hitters in the same week. But when two pitchers with the same last name are charting the no-nos it’s about as common as the planets aligning. 

That was the case last week with the Albany Lions, who in sweeping Haskell (15-0) and Stamford (11-1) saw Cole and Tyler Chapman (non-siblings) post back-to-back no-hitters. 

Cole, a senior, blanked Haskell in four innings of work in a mercy rule win, fanning six.  Three days later, Tyler got into the act in a five-inning run-rule win with 12 Ks.

They now share our Big Country Preps Player of the Week award — another rarity.

“We were very proud of our pitchers last week,” Albany coach David Fairchild said. “Both pitchers were in control and in command of their pitches.” 

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BIG COUNTRY PREPS PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Bangs southpaw takes this week’s accolade

Bangs southpaw Abby Wolf has thrown so many no-hitters this year, that the subject barely raises an eyebrow. But in consecutive district wins over Coleman and Christoval last week, the sophomore managed to create a stir. 

Missing a perfect game by one hit batsman in a 7-0 win over Coleman, she followed that with three perfect innings in a 15-0 route of Christoval. 

In other words, Wolf tossed nine complete hitless innings last week, along the way walking none and fanning 13. 

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GAME STORY: Top-ranked Graford holds off No. 2 Jayton in OT to repeat as Class 1A champs

SAN ANTONIO — Entering the Class 1A state championship game, neither top-ranked Graford or No. 2 Jayton had been beaten by a team in their own classification.

At the end of four quarters Saturday morning at the Alamodome, that was still true.

But after the teams had traded punches on their way to a stalemate in regulation, the Jackrabbits outscored the Jaybirds 8-3 in overtime to hold off Jayton for a 49-44 win and claim their second consecutive state title.

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CLASS 1A STATE CHAMPIONSHIP PREVIEW: No. 2 Jayton ready to test mettle against top-ranked Graford

Ranked No. 1 and 2, respectively, for most of the season, the Graford and Jayton boys basketball teams surprised no one by reaching the Class 1A state championship game.

But in pulling away to double-digit semifinal wins on Thursday, the Jackrabbits and Jaybirds set up a title game matchup that should prove quite a treat for small-school basketball fans.

Graford, the defending Class 1A state champion, brings with it to Saturday’s 8:30 a.m. clash a 36-3 record that features losses only to ranked larger school squads from North Hopkins, Lipan and Holliday. Jayton, at 37-2, has lost only to larger school playoff teams from Sweetwater and Reagan County.

Combined, the two have rolled through every Class 1A opponent put in front of them, adding just a little more intrigue to a matchup Jayton coach Ryan Bleiker called “a really exciting game.”

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GAME STORY: Jayton defense shuts down McMullen County, sends Jaybirds to title game

SAN ANTONIO — The Jayton Jaybirds were concerned about navigating their way through a trapping defense from Tilden McMullen County in Thursday’s Class 1A state semifinal. And as it turned out, their worries were legitimate after being forced into 14 giveways.

Jayton, however, had an answer — limiting the Cowboys to only 29.2 percent shooting (14-48) to negate the extra possessions in a 46-36 win at the Alamodome. 

Nathaniel Williams scored a game-high 26 points and Sean Stanaland added eight more to lead Jayton (38-2), which will face top-ranked defending state champion Graford in the title game at 8:30 a.m. on Saturday. 

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GAME STORY: Graford uses big fourth quarter to end Benjmin’s dream season in San Antonio

SAN ANTONIO — The Benjamin Mustangs had the environment they wanted while making their debut at the UIL Boys Basketball State Championships against Graford on Thursday — an up-tempo, guard-oriented game with the ball often changing hands near the midcourt area. 

There was just one problem: The Mustangs fell victim to too many of their own unforced errors to take advantage of the situation, falling to the defending state champions in a 66-42 state semifinal loss. 

Christian Shea scored 18 points, Brad Lemley added 17 and Colin Roberts had 14 to lead Graford (34-3), which advances to face Jayton (38-2) for the Class 1A state title at 8:30 a.m. on Saturday. Leading 41-35 heading into the final quarter, the Jackrabbits blew open what had been a competitive game with a 25-7 tally through the final eight minutes. 

Benjamin closed its season at 21-2, led by a game-high 36 points from Grayson Rigdon. 

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CLASS 1A STATE SEMIFINAL PREVIEW: Jayton, Benjamin head to San Antonio pursuing title

SAN ANTONIO — In terms of style and experience, you’d be hard-pressed to find a wider variance than the Big Country’s two representatives — Jayton and Benjamin — at this year’s UIL Boys Basketball State Championships. 

But while their approaches are radically different, the success rate of each is nearly the same.

For Jayton, the big stage is nothing new. The defensive-minded, balanced-scoring Jaybirds, who qualified for their eighth regional in nine seasons this year, are now making their third appearance at state since 2019. For coach Ryan Bleiker, this is his fourth trip to a state semi, having also guided Rule there in 2008.

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GAME STORY: Jayton relies on defense to stop Lorenzo in Region I-1A Championship

lORENZOLEVELLAND — With Lorenzo breathing down their necks for 32 straight minutes, the Jayton Jaybirds turned to an old friend to punch their ticket to San Antonio in Saturday’s Region I-1A championship game.

Defense, both timely and consistent, remained in the Jaybirds’ corner, lifting them to a 56-47 win at South Plains College. 

Nathaniel Williams scored a game-high 26 points while Sean Stanaland and Griff Reel added seven apiece to lead Jayton (37-2) which will face Tilden McMullen County (37-2) at 10 a.m. on Thursday in the Class 1A State Semifinals in the Alamodome. The winner will face either Benjamin (21-1) or Graford (35-3) in Saturday’s state championship game at 8:30 a.m. 

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GAME STORY: Top-ranked Graford pulls away from Huckabay in second half of III-1A title game

MANSFIELD — Huckabay boys basketball coach Dustin Hargrove knew coming into the Indians’ Region III-1A championship game with No. 1-ranked Graford on Saturday that his team would have a looming mountain to climb to get to the state tournament.

He was right.

And, just as had been the case the previous evening, when the Jackrabbits’ 6-foot-8 center Colin Roberts stood taller than anyone in the tournament semifinals — both literally and figuratively — the celebrated senior proved too much for yet another opponent to overcome.

Saturdays’ numbers told a compelling story of why Graford, the defending Class 1A state champion, is 35-3 and still playing and why Huckabay’s storybook 30-7 season came to an end on the court at Mansfield High School:

The Jackrabbits won the game, 43-34, and Roberts’ individual effort was, without question, the major reason why. He scored 24 points, grabbed nine rebounds and consistently plugged up the middle of the Graford zone defense, which rendered the game Indians’ offense frustrated possession after possession. 

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