Our Big Country Preps Player of the Week is seldom an easy choice and this week was no exception. But Big Spring senior quarterback Marcus Rios had the numbers to snag the top spot in a brilliant performance against Lubbock High on Friday.
Rios hit 11 of 19 throws for 261 yards and four touchdowns in a 41-27 win. But that’s just the beginning.
Some people like to write off the non-district portion of their football schedules, labeling it as meaningless. Some people even like to refer to it as “preseason.”
Well, that’s a misnomer. Preseason games are known as scrimmages.
Nondistrict games count on your official record, they are part of players’ season statistics, they contribute to our state records, they influence statewide rankings and like it or not, many of them are quite important.
I’ll give you a prime example.
Friday in Tuscola, our Big Country Preps Game of the Week will feature the Wall Hawks (2-0) facing Jim Ned (2-0) in a contest that doesn’t mean a thing in terms playoff seeding. Yet it will mean a great deal for both teams to prep for what they hope will be lengthy playoff runs.
Continue reading “BIG COUNTRY PREPS NOTEBOOK: Wall, Jim Ned have “value game” approaching”
Stamford 33, De Leon 20 — Trailing 20-14 at the end of three quarters, Stamford rallied with 19 unanswered points in the fourth quarter to beat the Bearcats.
Mason Mueller threw for 213 yards and two scores and Brayden Jimenez rushed for 121 yards and another TD to lead the Bulldogs (1-1).
Heston Jobe led De Leon (1-1) with 140 yards passing; Lane Couch rushed for 118 and two scores.
Anson 49, Hamlin 6 — The Tigers rolled up 431 yards in total offense, including 377 yards through the air to hand Hamlin a lopsided loss.
Grayson Feagan was the top gun for Anson, throwing for 349 yards and five scores. Alexander Lozano and Malachi St. John were his top targets. Lozano finished with three catches for 106 yards and two touchdowns while St. John had nine catches for 99 yards and two more scores.
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.
A year ago, Brayden Jimenez helped Stamford to the Class 2A Division I state championship game as a junior on a senior-led squad.
Now an elder statesman for a much younger Bulldogs team after watching 20 of his former teammates graduate over the summer, the speedy playmaker is hoping to keep SHS’ expectations — at potential — at the same elite level.
One of just 13 returning lettermen and two offensive starters back for Stamford, Jimenez knows he and his Bulldog comrades will have their hands full in replicating last year’s success. But he’s prepared to do everything he can, both on the field and in the locker room, to make that goal a reality.
Entering the 2024 season with a wealth of talent and experience on his roster, Stamford coach Wayne Hutchinson knew before the season even started that he had something special on his hands.
When his Bulldogs won 15 consecutive games before dropping a 30-28 heartbreaker to Ganado in overtime in the Class 2A Division I state championship game, his confidence in that group proved well-founded.
After graduating 20 lettermen from that roster, including nine offensive and five defensive starters, Hutchinson will take a much younger team into the 2025 campaign. But despite the relative lack of experience and heavy turnover, the veteran mentor is no less excited about this bunch of players or eager to see what they have in store as a follow-up this fall.
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 Stamford Bulldogs.
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: Stamford-Sundown softball region semifinal playoff (65 images)”
BIG SPRING —Even an ace will eventually run out of gas and in the case of Stamford standout Emma Follis, that point came in Game 3 of a Region I-2A DII semifinal against a powerhouse club from Sundown in an 11-3 loss.
Follis, who was effective in a 4-3 Game 1 loss and in a 5-3 Game 2 win, was unable to maintain her level of movement and velocity in her third start in three days.
Led by Brynly Gregory, who had a two-run homer and Nayleen Morin, who was 2-for-4 with a double, triple and two RBIs, the Roughettes (30-5) touched Ellis for 11 runs (seven earned) on 12 hits through seven innings, six of which went for extra bases.
Eight of Sundown‘s hits game in the final three frames — the 19th, 20th and 21st innings of work for Follis in the three-day series at Lady Steer Field.
ABILENE — The Stamford baseball team punched its ticket to the Region I-2A Division II semifinals on Friday, defeating Miles 10-6 and 7-2 for an area-round sweep at McMurry’s Walt Driggers Field to earn a date next week with Ropesville Ropes.
SHS never trailed in Game 1, pulling out to a 9-0 lead before holding off a late Miles rally. And coach Steven Gould’s team answered a two-run top of the first by Miles in Game 2 with seven unanswered runs, including three in the home half of the first, to clinch the series in two games.
The victories pushed Stamford’s season record to 22-4, while Miles had its season ended at 8-14.
BIG SPRING — With back-to-back nail-biters already behind them, the Stamford and Sundown softball teams will meet in a winner-take-all third game on Saturday at 3 p.m. at Lady Steer Field.
The question is, can the rubber match equal what has been displayed in the Region I-2A DII semifinals thus far: A come-from-behind 4-3 Sundown win in the opener on Thursday, followed by a 5-3 Stamford win on Friday that nearly saw Sundown pull off another late miracle.
Game 2 put us in this position, with Stamford (25-5) knotting the series behind pitching ace Emma Follis, who went the distance for a second straight time.
Follis limited Sundown (28-5) to three runs (none earned) on six hits, with two walks and four strikeouts. The key difference from Game 1 to Game 2 being that the Lady Bulldogs executed down the stretch defensively when it mattered most.
BIG SPRING — For half of Thursday’s Region I-2A DII Semifinal opener with Sundown, the Stamford Lady Bulldogs had the look of a team that was in control. They led 3-0, starting pitcher Emma Follis was breezing along and Stamford had every ounce of the momentum.
Sundown, however, didn’t enter this series at 28-4 by accident. The Roughettes not only began to catch up with Follis’ velocity, but they shut out the Lady Bulldogs over the final four innings to win 4-3 at Lady Steer Field.
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.
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: Coleman-Stamford baseball bi-district playoff (48 images)”
EULA — Stamford answered a one-run top of the first by Coleman with three runs in the bottom of the frame, and Alek Hernandez took care of the rest, settling in to shut out the Bluecats after that in an 8-1 win Thursday in the opener of a best-of-three Region I-2A Division II bi-district series at the Eula baseball field.
Coleman outhit Stamford 5-4, but the Bulldogs took advantage of nine walks and a hit batter to follow its big first inning with another three-run outburst in the fifth, before tacking on two more runs in the sixth. That was more than enough offense for Hernandez, who pitched around five hits and three walks with 11 strikeouts in the complete-game gem.
With the playoff-opening victory in their pocket, the Bulldogs (19-3) will now try to go for the sweep when the series resumes at 9 a.m. Saturday at the same site.
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.
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
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: Stamford-Hawley baseball (49 images)”
HAWLEY — After a wild first inning that saw Stamford third baseman Brayden Jimenez and Hawley left fielder Aiden Romo ejected for aggressive moves while running the bases, the Bulldogs found a way to claim a 3-1 win in a critical District 8-2A matchup on Tuesday night at Bearcat Field.
While those plays were the story early, it was Stamford’s Alek Hernandez who stole the show on the mound in a dominant complete game.
Mixing a variety of pitches, including an effective slurve, Hernandez scattered six hits and allowed just one run while walking two and getting six strikeouts as the Bulldogs took control of the race for the district championship.
After nursing a sore back which prevented him from jumping for a few weeks, Wall senior Briggs Jones made a return to the stage in a big way last week.
Competing in Wall’s very own Cotton Patch Relays, Jones took five gold medals, winning the long jump, triple jump, 100 meters, 200 meters and yet another with the 800 relay team.
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.
