Pecos 36, Snyder 28 (2OT) — Seth Cooper passed for 311 yards and four touchdowns to lead the Tigers, but it wasn’t enough to hold off the Eagles in a double-overtime thriller.
Pecos, which did most of its damage on the ground, outrushed Snyder 346-9, getting 128 yards and a touchdown from Jaivien Martinez and 91 yards and a score from Omar Salgado Jr.
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.
SNYDER — There are versatile athletes, and then there is Snyder senior Ethan Rios — a 6-1, 185-pound ball of energy who has yet to demonstrate something athletically that he can’t do well.
Only 17, Rios heads into the 2025 season as a starting wide receiver and defensive back — both of which saw him earn honorable mention All-Big Country Preps honors a year ago. And if you look closely, you’ll see him playing some quarterback out of the Wildcat formation.
SNYDER — With slim numbers, low experience and a new coach from out of state who only had three months to prepare, the Snyder Tigers slipped to 1-9 in 2024. And few who follow Big Country football were surprised, given the scenario.
The upcoming season, however, offers several reasons for optimism in the Snyder camp, with a genuine opportunity to take a step forward in 2025.
Second-year coach Anthony Gonzales not only has the benefit of having his system in place, but he also has six offensive and seven defensive starters back among 22 lettermen.
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. 20. 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. 4, we’ll be spotlighting each 11-man team in the area and posing some of the key questions they’ll face in 2025 as part of our annual “Countdown to Two-a-Days” series.
Today, we take a look at the Snyder Tigers.
OTHER 2025 ALL-BIG COUNTRY PREPS TEAMS
Our All-Big Country Preps Softball and Baseball Teams, released Saturday and Sunday, respectively, are in place to honor those who achieved the most on-field success in 2025. 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 Big Country had to offer during the 2025 season.
The players below are listed in no particular order.
Here are our first-team selections for the 2025 All-Big Country Preps baseball team. For the rest of this year’s selections, click the links below.
Here are our second-team selections for the 2025 All-Big Country Preps baseball team. For the rest of this year’s selections, click the links below.
Ladies and gentlemen, we are proud to release our 2025 All-Big Country Preps baseball teams.
Here, you will find our Rising Stars Team honoring the top freshmen and sophomores in the Big Country.
For the rest of this year’s baseball selections, please click the links below.
Here are our first-team selections for the 2025 All-Big Country Preps softball team. For the rest of this year’s selections, click the links below.
Here are our second-team selections for the 2025 All-Big Country Preps softball team. For the rest of this year’s selections, click the links below.
Ladies and gentlemen, we are proud to release our 2025 All-Big Country Preps Softball teams.
Here, you will find our Rising Stars Team honoring the top freshmen and sophomores in the Big Country.
For the rest of this year’s softball selections, please click the links below.
Digital photos, prints and keepsakes may be purchased by clicking the link below. The “BigCountryPreps.com” watermark will be removed from all purchased photos.
Continue reading “PHOTO GALLERY: Snyder-Aubrey softball state semifinal playoff (30 images)”
STEPHENVILLE — The Snyder Lady Tigers dropped the opener of their Class 4A Division II state semifinal series on Wednesday, falling 2-0 to Aubrey at the Stephenville softball field.
Sydnee Gomez pitched around seven hits and eight walks to limit a potent Lady Chaparrals lineup to just two runs, but SHS could never solve Aubrey starter Mya Cherry, who surrendered just three hits and three walks in a complete-game shutout.
That allowed the Lady Chaparrals to take the win with single runs in the fifth and sixth innings, putting the Lady Tigers in a must-win situation when the series resumes at 7 p.m. Thursday back at Stephenville. If Snyder can force a Game 3, the series would then be decided at 2 p.m. Saturday.
BIG SPRING — It took a slugfest, a pitcher’s duel and a whole lot of grit, but at the end of a thrilling Region I-4A Division II championship series, it was the Snyder Lady Tigers left standing Saturday at the Big Spring ISD Softball Complex.
Entering Day 2 of their best-of-three series with Monahans off a tough 4-3 loss on Friday, the Lady Tigers needed to take two from a strong Lady Loboes squad Saturday to extend their season and advance to the state semifinals.
While nothing about that task was easy in theory or practice, coach Regina Cummings team managed to accomplish it nonetheless, following a heart-stopping 9-8 win in Game 2 with a gutsy 1-0 victory in the series clincher to earn a date with Aubrey (31-3) next week at a time, date and location to be determined.
Digital photos, prints and keepsakes may be purchased by clicking the link below. The “BigCountryPreps.com” watermark will be removed from all purchased photos.
BIG SPRING — A day removed from a 16-1 mercy rule beating at the hands of Snyder, the Midland Greenwood Rangerettes arrived at Lady Steer Field on Friday hoping for redemption.
They found it, albeit in a 2-1 loss to the Lady Tigers in a Region I-4A DII semifinal series, swept by Snyder 2-0.
Micaela Martinez was 1 for -3 with an RBI double and Jenna Rodriguez was 1 for 2 with a walk and the game-winning RBI to lead Snyder (25-7), which had to come from behind with two runs in the fifth inning to scratch out a tough win. The Lady Tigers now advance to the Region I-4A DII title series where they will meet either Brock or Monahans.
Greenwood (17-18-1), which had surrendered 14 hits, eight walks and two errors in Thursday’s Game 1 disaster, cut those numbers to six, four and one respectively on Friday while very nearly forcing a Game 3.
BIG SPRING — For Snyder, it was one of those days when virtually everything went right. From Midland Greenwood’s perspective, Thursday’s 16-1 mercy-rule beating at the hands of the Lady Tigers at Lady Steer Field couldn’t have been much worse.
Jenna Rodriguez was 3 of 4 with two homers and four RBIs while Sydnee Gomez was 2 of 3 with an RBI and went the distance in the circle to lift Snyder (24-7), which now leads the Region I-4A semifinal series 1-0.
The teams will square off in Game 2 on Friday at 10 a.m. at the same venue.
“Sydnee is a sophomore, but she does what she needs to do, and she takes care of business,” Snyder coach Regina Cummings said. “She’s very focused and very intense.”
Here are the area’s softball statistical leaders through April 24:
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.
If your favorite team is missing, please give your head coach a friendly reminder to check his or her email for our weekly stat request or send Evan Ren a note at Evan.Ren@BigCountryPreps.com.
Here are the area’s baseball statistical leaders through April 24.
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.
If your favorite team is missing, please give your head coach a friendly reminder to check his email for our weekly stat request or send Evan Ren a note at Evan.Ren@BigCountryPreps.com.
LUBBOCK — The Brownwood girls won a team title and Stephenville finished second behind Canyon on the boys side over the weekend to headline a strong effort by programs and athletes from the Big Country Preps coverage area at the Region I-4A track meet.
The Lady Lions earned 113 points to run away from the competition at Lowrey Field, topping second-place Canyon by 38 points and third-place Canyon Randall by 53. The Stephenville boys, meanwhile, finished with 76 points to fall 15 shy of Canyon for the team championship.
Those efforts highlighted a successful meet that saw area athletes claim 23 total medals — 13 on the girls side and 10 on the boys.
The best way to describe the area meet performance of our Big Country Preps Player of the Week (Wall’s Briggs Jones) is to simply let his coach, Craig Slaughter do the talking.
“He ran a blistering 10.41 to set a school record and win the 100 meters,” Slaughter said. “He broke his long jump record with a jump of 23-11.5. I only let him jump twice because he was running out of room in the pit and I need that dude cranked up this week.
“Then he destroyed his triple jump record with a jump of 48-7.25
While scoring and rebounding garner much of the attention in basketball, there are other elements, crucial to success that seldom grab headlines.
Behind the scenes is where character, effort and sacrifice set the foundation for teams to reach their full potential. And it is with our Big Country Preps Gym Rat Team that we salute the individuals who bring these elements to the table.
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 outworking, outhustling and outgiving everyone around you, both on the floor and off. Hard-working, honest, selfless, tough, coachable kids are what we seek for this roster.
A Gym Rat Team member can be your best player or the last player off the bench. But the one thing all of them bring is an uncompromisingly good attitude.
It is for that reason that our Gym Rat Team is selected entirely by area coaches. And Big Country Preps is truly honored to present these individuals to you — the best “team players” (boys and girls) that the area had to offer during the 2024-25 season.
Players are listed in no particular order.
Enjoy.
Here are the area’s softball statistical leaders through March 27:
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.
If your favorite team is missing, please give your head coach a friendly reminder to check his or her email for our weekly stat request or send Evan Ren a note at Evan.Ren@BigCountryPreps.com.
Here are the area’s baseball statistical leaders through March 27.
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.
If your favorite team is missing, please give your head coach a friendly reminder to check his email for our weekly stat request or send Evan Ren a note at Evan.Ren@BigCountryPreps.com.
20Here are the area’s baseball statistical leaders through March 20.
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.
If your favorite team is missing, please give your head coach a friendly reminder to check his email for our weekly stat request or send Evan Ren a note at Evan.Ren@BigCountryPreps.com.
Here are the area’s softball statistical leaders through March 20:
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.
If your favorite team is missing, please give your head coach a friendly reminder to check his or her email for our weekly stat request or send Evan Ren a note at Evan.Ren@BigCountryPreps.com.
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.
Below are the current season statistical leaders for Big Country girls basketball through Feb. 13.
This database will be continually updated for our subscribers throughout the regular season, using only those statistics submitted by area coaches.
Is your favorite team missing? If so, please pass along a friendly reminder to your coach to check his or her email for our weekly stats request. We’ll be happy to add them to our database after they arrive.
Below are the current season statistical leaders for Big Country boys basketball through Feb. 13.
This database will be continually updated for our subscribers throughout the regular season, using only those statistics submitted by area coaches.
Is your favorite team missing? If so, please pass along a friendly reminder to your coach to check his email for our weekly stats request. We’ll be happy to add them to our database after they arrive.
National Signing Day is typically a busy one in the Big Country Preps’ coverage area and 2025 was no exception with several players inking and/or confirming their commitments to play at the next level.
At various signing ceremonies held throughout the area, athletes celebrated their final choices to pursue a degree while competing collegiately.
Cisco’s Law Pinnick picked the perfect night to have one of the best games he’s ever had — a crucial district showdown at Hawley, where he helped the Loboes to a 55-43 win over the Bearcats with 18 points and an eye-popping 19 rebounds.
Three days later he delivered 23 points and 10 boards to help Cisco beat Albany — lifting the Loboes to 16-6 overall and 9-0 in district.
His performance earned him our Big Country Preps Player of the Week Award for the Week ending Feb. 1.
Below are the current season statistical leaders for Big Country boys basketball through Jan. 30.
This database will be continually updated for our subscribers throughout the regular season, using only those statistics submitted by area coaches.
Is your favorite team missing? If so, please pass along a friendly reminder to your coach to check his email for our weekly stats request. We’ll be happy to add them to our database after they arrive.
It was a month of milestones for Clyde senior post Maddie Underwood, who takes our Big Country Preps Player of the Week with a combination of great numbers, along with team and career achievements.
To begin with she charted a combined 42 points and 29 boards in wins over Grape Creek and Merkel.
In the process, she helped the Lady Bulldogs (20-8, 8-2) lock up their first playoff berth in nine years and their first 20-win season in 10.
Below are the current season statistical leaders for Big Country boys basketball through Jan. 23.
This database will be continually updated for our subscribers throughout the regular season, using only those statistics submitted by area coaches.
Is your favorite team missing? If so, please pass along a friendly reminder to your coach to check his email for our weekly stats request. We’ll be happy to add them to our database after they arrive.
Below are the current season statistical leaders for Big Country girls basketball through Jan. 23.
This database will be continually updated for our subscribers throughout the regular season, using only those statistics submitted by area coaches.
Is your favorite team missing? If so, please pass along a friendly reminder to your coach to check his or her email for our weekly stats request. We’ll be happy to add them to our database after they arrive.
We all know a football player who almost never misses any practice time and practically lives in the weight room. He’s always early to arrive and late to leave. He’s coachable, but seldom needs direction because he always pays attention.
You know who I’m talking about.
The guy who sets a good example for young players. The guy who never complains and, first and foremost, is tough mentally and physically. He may not be the best player on a team (though some of them are). But he’s definitely the guy who gets the most out of the talent he’s given.
Welcome to the 2024 “True Grit” team — the one place in the Big Country where guys who fall into this category are recognized for it.