Category: Six-man/Class 1A

by Daniel Youngblood

SIX-MAN LOOKAHEAD: ACS-Jonesboro, May-Whiteface headline season-opening slate

It’s hard to believe, but the 2025 high school football season is officially upon us.

In fact, for a number of our area six-man programs — including defending state champs Gordon (Division I) and Jayton (Division II) — it has already begun.

But even after a hefty Thursday slate, the scores from which can be found on our Six-Man/Class 1A Central page, there’s plenty of six-man football still to look forward to this week.

As we did last year, we’re going to break down the biggest area matchups weekly in this column. So let’s go ahead and dive in with the biggest games of Week 1.

Continue reading “SIX-MAN LOOKAHEAD: ACS-Jonesboro, May-Whiteface headline season-opening slate” →

by Evan Ren

EVAN REN: Top games worth traveling for during the 2025 football season

Got the truck started yet?

Ready to jump on one of those farm-to-market roads to watch high school football into the late hours on a Friday night?

You’re not alone.

And, as tradition would have it, I tip my cap to those of you who will be hitting the trails each week in search of pigskin. My method: a preseason menu of sorts.

Each week for the next 11 weeks, Big Country Preps will be searching for its Game of the Week, and we’re already looking ahead. We now present our preliminary list of Big Country Games worth traveling for, but keep in mind: the following list is subject to change as surprises and disappointments emerge.

And as we all know … surprises and disappointments always emerge.

So, without further delay, here is our list of Big Country games worth traveling for in 2025.

I’ll see you on the road.

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by Brandon McAuliffe

2025 SIX-MAN DIVISION I PREVIEW: Gordon set up for a rare three-peat

In 2024, coach Mike Reed’s Gordon Longhorns squad played just 320 minutes and 15 seconds of football in 15 games — with just the state semifinal matchup against Abbott and the title game against Whiteface extending past halftime.

The Longhorns are guaranteed to play more football this year as Reed added 11-man schools Thorndale (Sept. 19) and Brackettville (Oct. 24) to his schedule so that his squad, which already features a pair of Division I Football Bowl Subdivision commits, could be exposed to playing the second half of games.

Gordon enters the year as the top-ranked team in Division I and a favorite to join a short list of teams that have earned a three-peat in state history.

Here’s a preview of each of the Class 1A Division I districts in the Big Country Preps coverage area with our predictions for 2025.

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by Brandon McAuliffe

2025 SIX-MAN DIVISION II, TAPPS PREVIEW: Jayton looks to repeat while ACS is a title contender

Like Gordon in Division I, Jayton opens the 2025 season as the state’s top-ranked team and favorite to repeat for the title in December.

Coach Josh Stanaland and his staff, which led the Jaybirds to their first football state championship in 39 years last fall, have built an athletic program that expects to win, regardless of the sport, and has made state trips a habit in recent years.

In TAPPS, Abilene Christian’s biggest competition for a state championship could come within its own district, and that has Kirk Wade fired up about the Panthers’ potential.

Here’s a preview of each of the Class 1A Division II districts in the Big Country Preps coverage area, as well as TAPPS Division II District 1, with our predictions for 2025.

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by Daniel Youngblood

GAME STORY: Fayetteville holds off late rally to knock off Gordon 4-2 in Class 1A title game

ROUND ROCK — A shaky start and several missed opportunities at the plate spoiled a storybook ending for the Gordon baseball team, which saw its first trip to state end with a 4-2 loss to Fayetteville in the Class 1A championship game on Saturday at Dell Diamond.

In a game that was well-pitched and cleanly played by both teams for the most part, the Longhorns fell behind 3-1 after two innings and could never get closer than that despite getting runners to scoring position in five of the seven innings.

That included a seventh-inning rally that saw Gordon plate a run to pull within two and advance the tying to run to second base with two outs, before a foul out by Evan Jackson ended the threat and the Longhorns’ best campaign in program history at 23-6.

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by Daniel Youngblood

GAME STORY: Gordon rallies past Hamlin in Game to complete sweep, earn first trip to Round Rock

ABILENE — After routing Hamlin 14-1 in the opener of its Class 1A state semifinal series on Thursday in Graham, the Gordon baseball team faced a much stiffer test from the Pied Pipers on Saturday at Abilene Christian University’s Bullock Brothers Ballpark.

But despite trailing 6-3 after 3½ innings in Game 2, the Longhorns proved up to the challenge, rallying for a 9-6 win to complete a series sweep and lock up their first state championship game appearance in program history.

GHS, which saw a five-run Hamlin second erase an early 2-0 lead, plated a pair of runs in the bottom of the fourth to pull within a run at 6-5, before exploding for four runs in the fifth for what proved to be the game-winning rally.

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by Daniel Youngblood

GAME STORY: Jonesboro rallies past Hermleigh to deny Lady Cardinals fourth straight trip to Austin

WEATHERFORD — Entering the second day of their Class 1A state semifinals series with Jonesboro one win shy of a fourth consecutive trip to the University of Texas’ Red & Charline McCombs Field, the Hermleigh Lady Cardinals saw their playoff journey end in heartache Saturday at Weatherford’s WHS Softball Complex.

Coming off a 10-8 win in the series opener Thursday at Tarleton State University in Stephenville, coach Sammy Winters’ team couldn’t close out a feisty Lady Eagles squad, losing Game 2 by a 13-3 margin in five innings before dropping a 7-6 heartbreaker in the series’ decisive third game.

With those results, the Lady Cardinals closed their season at 25-4 — one win shy of the Class 1A state championship game. 

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by Brandon McAuliffe

FEATURE: Baseball helps begin the healing process for Gordon in wake of EF-1 tornado

STEPHENVILLE — While the National Weather Service has classified the tornado that struck Gordon on Sunday evening as an EF-1, Longhorn athletic director Mike Reed says the devastation to the community of 489 people was far worse.

“The state didn’t declare that we lost enough homes to receive aid, but 90 percent of our town was affected because the school was hit,” he said. “If this would have been in the Metroplex, one school wouldn’t have as much effect, but being in a rural town, it affects a huge percentage of us. They may call it an EF-1 based on the damage, but we watched it on the security cameras at the football field before everything went out. It was pretty devastating.”

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by Brandon McAuliffe

GAME STORY: Resilient Gordon Longhorns roll to 13-2 win over Perrin-Whitt in series opener

STEPHENVILLE — After spending all week cleaning up from a devastating EF-1 tornado that hit town on Sunday, it would have been easy for the Gordon baseball team to just go on cruise control in the opening game of its best-of-three Region II-1A championship series against Perrin-Whitt on Thursday night.

Instead, the Longhorns showed the same focus, drive and determination that has been on display all week, riding a nine-run first inning to a 13-2 win at Stephenville High School.

It was an effort that got to Longhorn coach Ligon West.

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by Evan Ren

GAME REPORT: Hermleigh outlasts Jonesboro in Game 1, 10-8

With 10 combined fielding errors, it may not have been the prettiest game of softball played by either team. But by the end of the evening, the Hermleigh Lady Cardinals played well enough to defeat Jonesboro, 10-8 in Game 1 of a Class 1A State Semifinal at Tarleton State University. 

Dejah Richardson was 2-for-5 with a triple and four RBIs and Peyton Miller delivered seven solid innings of pitching to lead Hermleigh (25-2), which now leads the series 1-0. Jonesboro (16-10-1) was led by Julie Henderson, who was 3-of-4 with two RBIs. 

Action will resume on Saturday with Game 2 at 5 p.m. in Weatherford. Game 3 (if needed) will take place 30 minutes after Game 2. 

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by Brandon McAuliffe

GAME STORY: Botos homer, patient offense, pitching staff help Hamlin rally to oust Ira

EULA — When Hamlin senior first baseman Jantz Botos stepped to the plate just before 2:30 p.m. on Saturday, he didn’t know that with one swing of the bat he would trigger another five hours of baseball at Pirate Field.

With two outs in the fifth inning, the left-handed Botos, who had never homered in his career, was trying to hit a ball into the gap with the Pied Pipers trailing Ira 2-1 in Game 2 of their Region I-1A semifinal.

The senior swatted a 1-2 pitch from Brandt Cox for a three-run home run to left, propelling Hamlin to an 8-4 win in Game 2 before the Pipers outlasted Ira 15-11 in eight innings in Game 3.

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by Daniel Youngblood

GAME STORY: Ira rallies in seventh to take Game 1 from Hamlin, 5-1

EULA — Leading Ira 1-0 with one out in the top of the seventh, the Hamlin Pied Pipers found themselves in position to grab a leg up on the defending state champs in the opener of their best-of-three Region I-1A semifinals series on Thursday.

But the Bulldogs turned a rare Hamlin error into a five-run rally against Ian Gruben, spoiling a stellar start for the Pied Piper right-hander in a 5-1 win.

The rally made a winner out of Ira ace Jeren Pena, who spun a gem himself, and put coach Toby Goodwin’s squad (24-1) in position to play for a sweep when the series resumes at 1 p.m. Saturday back at the Eula baseball field.

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by Daniel Youngblood

GAME STORY: Defending state champion Ira Bulldogs sweep May with another shutout in Game 2

ABILENE — After watching teammate Jeren Pena toss a complete-game shutout against an excellent May lineup on Friday in the opener of a best-of-three area-round series with the Tigers, Brandt Cox nearly matched the feat on Saturday.

In fact, the only thing that kept him from having a chance to do so was a pitch count that was inflated in large part by 13 strikeouts.

So instead, the junior right-hander had to settle for six shutout innings and a victory, outdueling May co-ace Kobey Morris in a 6-0 win at Abilene Christian Schools’ Hudson Wade Memorial Field that completed a two-game sweep and earned the defending state champion Bulldogs a Region I-1A semifinal date with Hamlin next week at a time, date and place to be determined.

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by Daniel Youngblood

GAME STORY: Hamlin advances to region semifinals with dominant effort against Westbrook

ABILENE — The Hamlin baseball team cruised through the area round Friday, scoring a pair of run-rule wins over Westbrook at Abilene Christian Schools’ Hudson Wade Memorial Field to earn a date next week with either Ira or May.

Behind strong pitching performances by Ian Gruben and Isaiah Hutchings and a steady barrage of offense, the Pied Pipers downed the Wildcats 14-0 and 12-2 to claim their spot in the Region I-1A semifinals.

The victories improved HHS to 17-2 on the year, while Westbrook saw its season end at 7-10.

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by Daniel Youngblood

GAME STORY: Fast start fuels Eula to 6-4 win over area rival Hermleigh in series opener

ABILENE — Kicking off a high-profile region semifinal series with Hermleigh on Friday at Abilene Christian University’s Poly Wells Field, the Eula softball team grabbed a rare upper hand on its area rival, using a three-run top of the first as the catalyst for a wire-to-wire 6-4 victory in the opener of the best-of-three affair.

With the win, the Lady Pirates snapped a five-game playoff losing streak to the Cardinals, who have eliminated EHS from the playoffs each of the last three seasons and four times total since the Class 1A bracket was introduced in 2016. 

The win also put coach Jayton Thompson’s team in a position to advance past HHS for just the second time in that span with a win in Game 2 or Game 3, when the series resumes at 2 p.m. Saturday back on the ACU campus.

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by Evan Ren

BIG COUNTRY PREPS PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Gordon’s Stryker Reed takes our final accolade of 2024-25 school year

As our tradition dictates, we close the books on our Big Country Preps Player of the Week on the first Monday following the UIL State Track and Field Championships in Austin. 

And more often than not, our final award of the school year goes to someone who scored big at the state capital. 

This year is no exception, with Gordon’s Stryker Reed taking the award after helping GHS win the boys team state championship, setting two individual state records and helping to set a new relay mark in the process.

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by Brandon McAuliffe

GAME STORY: Miller, Hermleigh blank Baird to set up third-round showdown with Eula

CLYDE — After throwing a pair of no-hitters in a bi-district sweep of Ira, Hermleigh freshman Peyton Miller dominated in the circle again on Friday night as the Lady Cardinals shut out Baird 11-0 in a one-game Region I-1A area-round playoff at the Hanner Sports Complex.

Miller struck out eight and walked two in a complete-game effort.

After the performance, Hermleigh coach Sammy Winters said that Miller has the potential to be one of the next star pitchers to come out of the Big Country.

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by Evan Ren

BIG COUNTRY PREPS PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Brock’s Mylee Cedillo takes this week’s accolade with two doses of late-game heroics

If one is to play the role of hero, there’s not a better time to do it than in postseason play in your senior year. 

Brock’s Mylee Cedillo lived that experience — not once, but twice in last week’s uber-intense bi-district series with fifth-ranked Levelland that saw the Lady Eagles edge the Loboettes 2-1 and 7-6 in 13 innings. 

It all began Friday night in Game 1, with Levelland pitcher Aubrey Rivas carrying a no-hitter and a 1-0 lead into the seventh inning. Cedillo responded to the pressure with an RBI double to drive home both Lily Springstead (who walked) and courtesy runner Emily Faddis (running for Ali Coleman who reached on an error) to give Brock a 2-1 win. 

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by Daniel Youngblood

REGION II-1A TRACK MEET: Big Country athletes dominate medal stand on Day 1

Area athletes cleaned up on the first day of the Region II-1A track meet Friday, claiming 28 combined medals, including golds in all but one of the 14 completed events at Abilene Christian University’s Elmer Gray Stadium.

Between the boys and girls divisions, competitors from the Big Country Preps coverage area locked up at least 19 berths to the state track meet on the meet’s opening day, which saw all field events and the 3,200 meters completed ahead of expected overnight thunderstorms.

In addition to the 13 gold medals, Big Country qualifiers accounted for six silvers and nine bronzes while setting themselves up for another big day Saturday with strong performances in the running prelims. The meet will conclude with the running finals, which are scheduled to begin at 2 p.m. back at ACU.

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by Evan Ren

BIG COUNTRY PREPS PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Clyde hurler takes this week’s award

Clyde softball has been overdue for landing a Big Country Preps Player of the Week award and senior pitcher Kaycee Bingham has just ended the drought. 

The Lady Bulldogs have been posting big numbers on a weekly basis, falling just short of the top spot. But Bingham has landed the spotlight with a 26-0 mercy rule perfect game win over San Angelo Grape Creek last week. She followed that with a three-hit 11-0 shutout of Merkel. 

Continue reading “BIG COUNTRY PREPS PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Clyde hurler takes this week’s award” →

by Evan Ren

BIG COUNTRY PREPS PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Gordon’s Stryker Reed earns this week’s accolade

At the Class 1A level, where it is common for athletes to participate in multiple sports at the same time due to a lack of numbers, individuals who excel in different disciplines are invaluable. 

At Gordon, junior multi-sport star Stryker Reed falls into this category, and our Big Country Preps Player of the Week is now demonstrating it on the heels of an amazing effort. 

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by Daniel Youngblood

CLASS 1A DI STATE CHAMPIONSHIP: Perrin-Whitt speeds way to 65-46 win over larger Valley

SAN ANTONIO — Facing off with a much larger squad from Turkey Valley on Thursday, the Perrin-Whitt Pirates knew they’d need to speed up the Patriots and convert turnovers into transition points if they hoped to leave the Alamodome with the Class 1A Division I state championship trophy.

Fortunately for coach Todd McCormick and his team, that’s a game plan the Pirates are well accustomed to employing and have experienced unprecedented success with this season.

Utilizing a speed and quickness advantage on both ends of the court, Perrin-Whitt turned 15 takeaways into an 18-0 edge in fast-break points to pull away in the second half for a 65-46 victory, claiming the program’s first state title in its first state trip since earning a runner-up finish in 1946.

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Jayton
by Daniel Youngblood

CLASS 1A DII STATE CHAMPIONSHIP: Jayton dominates Bryson to claim second straight title

SAN ANTONIO — A near-perfect defensive effort by the Jayton Jaybirds ended the competitive phase of the Class 1A Division II state title game by halftime Thursday, as coach Ryan Bleiker’s squad held Bryson without a field goal in the first two quarters on its way to a dominating 70-36 win at the Alamodome.

The Jaybirds, who overcame a slow offensive start to build a 35-3 lead by the break, forced more than twice as many turnovers (25) as field goals allowed (12), making for a comfortable defense of last year’s state championship — the first in program history.

Now back-to-back champions with five state trips in the past seven seasons, Jayton further cemented its place as one of the premier programs in Texas small school basketball — a fact not lost on Bleiker, who led the Jaybirds to their first-ever state trip in 2019.

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by Daniel Youngblood

GAME REPORT: Jayton rallies past Texline in second half of foul-heavy state semifinal matchup

LUBBOCK — The Jayton boys basketball team won a war of attrition Monday, outlasting former region rival Texline for a 56-43 win in a Class 1A Division II state semifinal matchup that featured 54 total fouls and saw six players foul out.

The Jaybirds trailed 21-17 at halftime, but coach Ryan Bleiker’s squad regrouped at the break to outscore the Tornadoes 15-8 in the third quarter and 24-14 in the fourth, taking advantage of 42 fee-throw attempts to outscore Texline 23-9 from the foul line.

The victory sends JHS back to San Antonio for the third straight year and fifth time since 2019, giving the Jaybirds an opportunity to defend their state championship against the winner of Tuesday’s game between Bryson and Kennard at 11 a.m. Thursday at the Alamodome.

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by Evan Ren

BIG COUNTRY PREPS PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Stephenville’s Gentry lands the top spot

While Stephenville’s Tristian Gentry is no stranger to this column, it’s usually via football that he lands in our Top 10 — especially after missing track last year due to injury.

Well, it’s track season again and it just so happens that the SHS senior is healthy this time around — returning as one of the area’s top guns in that sport. He’s already off to a great start, having captured four gold medals at a talent-loaded Brock meet last week.

Aside from first place leaps in the long jump (21-1) and triple jump (43-2), he also helped SHS’ 400 and 800 relay teams take gold with splits of 43.26 and 1:30.1, respectively. 

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by Yale Youngblood, Special to Big Country Preps

GAME STORY: Perrin-Whitt tops Huckabay 57-44 to claim Region III-1A DI championship

WEATHERFORD — Jack McCormick scored 25 points and Cole Keeney added 15 to help carry Perrin-Whitt to a 57-44 win over Huckabay in the Region III-1A Division I championship game Saturday.

With the victory, the Pirates improved to 32-5 and earned a berth in the next week’s state semifinals against Brookeland. Huckabay finished 24-12, but with most starters scheduled to return next winter, the future appears promising for the Indians.

McCormick, son of Perrin-Whitt coach Todd McCormick, helped lead dad’s attacking offense to near perfection, as the Pirates were able to consistently draw fouls and earn trips to the free-throw line. The quick — and quick-thinking — guard enjoyed a 13-for-20 day from the line, while Perrin-Whitt shot 35 foul shots in all.

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by Daniel Youngblood

GAME STORY: No. 1 Jayton stifles Benjamin in rematch of 2024 state championship game

CLYDE — A rematch of last year’s Class 1A state title game rendered the same result but in much more convincing fashion Thursday, as the defending state champion Jayton Jaybirds hammered Benjamin 63-30 to claim the Region II-1A Division II championship at Bulldog Gym.

Colt Gentry led the way for Jayton, scoring 21 points in the first three quarters before spending most of the fourth as a spectator, while Sean Stanaland and Dayton Bleiker also reached double figures with 11 points apiece.

Using stifling defense and excellent ball movement to consistently generate open looks on the other end, the Jaybirds extended an 18-11 first-quarter lead to 40-16 by halftime and cruised from there to their third consecutive state semifinals appearance and fifth since 2019. 

Continue reading “GAME STORY: No. 1 Jayton stifles Benjamin in rematch of 2024 state championship game” →

by Evan Ren

CLASS 1A DI GIRLS STATE CHAMPIONSHIP: Eula falls to Broaddus 56-39

SAN ANTONIO — After battling their way through five playoff games, including tough matchups with Westbrook, Garden City, Hermleigh and Borden County, the Eula girls were mentally ready for Thursday’s Class 1A Division I state title game against Broaddus. 

Unfortunately for the Lady Pirates, they had no answer for a Broaddus team that featured four 6-footers, a 6-2 post and more overall length than virtually any 1A team in the state.

Eula fell 56-39 in the Alamodome, after struggling to get open looks or compete on the glass from start to finish.

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by Daniel Youngblood

GAME STORY: Benjamin pulls out improbable overtime win over Robert Lee to return to region finals

ABILENE — For several seconds Tuesday, most in attendance at Abilene Christian University’s Moody Coliseum, including the Robert Lee basketball team itself, thought the Steers were headed to the Region II-1A Division II championship game.

Leading 42-40 as Keegan Hayes’ desperation heave from beyond half court fell harmlessly to the floor, coach Steven Hayes’ squad — and those who made the trip to Abilene to cheer it on — erupted in celebration, thinking the Steers had pulled off a wild come-from-behind victory over the two-time defending state qualifier Benjamin Mustangs.

But those cheers turned to confusion and then heartache when a whistle, inaudible under the cheers of the Robert Lee faithful, sent Hayes to the free-throw line, where he knocked down the second and third of three foul shots to send the game to overtime. And the Mustangs outscored the Steers 8-4 from there to pull off an improbable 50-46 win that even BHS coach Aaron Kuehler was struggling to wrap his head around after the fact.

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by Brandon McAuliffe

GAME STORY: Water Valley stuns Munday with second-half rally

MERKEL — Facing a 16-2 deficit against Munday after the first quarter in the Region II-1A Division I semifinals, the Water Valley Wildcats did what coach Matthew Mims could only dream of in response at Merkel’s Badger Gymnasium.

They dug deep. They battled. They played intense defense. They played crisp on offense.

Most importantly, they staged a rally that will be remembered for a long time in the Tom Green county community as Water Valley took a 46-40 thriller to advance to the regional finals on Friday to face Garden City at the Junell Center on the campus of Angelo State University.

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