The Stephenville Yellow Jackets accounted for all four of the Big Country’s selections on the 2018 Texas Associated Press Sports Editors Class 4A all-state high school football team, which was released Tuesday.
Seniors Blu Caylor and Gage Graham headlined that list, earning second-team honors at linebacker and defensive back, respectively.
Top Upcoming Matchups: The Wylie Lady Bulldogs (12-4) will take on the Stephenville Honey Bees (14-2) on the road on Tuesday in what should be a highly entertaining matchup in an electric atmosphere.
Haskell travels to face Roby on the road on Tuesday night, which could be highly entertaining if the Lady Lions can compensate for some key injuries.
A former high school standout at Hawley and college All-American at Abilene Christian University who has led both the boys and girls basketball programs at Jim Ned, Hunter Cooley has been a part of the Big Country hoops scene for decades now.
This week, he took some time to talk a little basketball with Big Country Preps’ Evan Ren and Daniel Youngblood, touching the strength of this year’s Jim Ned girls team, his coaching career and his thoughts on the current state of the game in this week’s Capital Farm Credit Wednesday Night Podcast.
Also in this episode, Evan and Daniel bid farewell to the De Leon and Hamlin football teams and preview this week’s state semifinal games for Albany and Brock.
One of the longest tenured and winningest coaches in Big Country history, Denney Faith has experienced more than his share of success in his three decades in Albany. So it should surprise no one that this area coaching legend has his Lions in the region semifinals once again despite an uncharacteristic 0-5 start to this season.
Faith took some time this week to chat with Big Country Preps’ Evan Ren and Daniel Youngblood about his team’s turnaround, this week’s playoff opponent and what has kept him in Albany all these years for this week’s Capital Farm Credit Wednesday Night Podcast.
Also in this episode, Evan and Daniel say goodbye to the team’s lost during last week’s area round of the football playoffs and look ahead to this week’s action.
Celina 31, Stephenville 21 — Five turnovers proved more than Stephenville could overcome Friday in a Region II-4A Division I area-round loss to Celina at Fort Worth Brewer’s Bear Stadium.
Stephenville, which was hurt by two interceptions and three lost fumbles, was outscored 10-0 in the second half in seeing its season end at 7-4.
The Yellow Jackets’ only lead came at 21-14 with five minutes remaining in the second quarter, when Krece Nowak had his second of two rushing touchdowns. But the Bobcats (7-4) answered in the final minute of the period to tie the game 21-all at halftime, before securing the upset with 10 fourth-quarter points.
LAST WEEK: 31-6, .837
SEASON TOTAL: 415-91, .820
Normally our playoff forecast is released on Thursdays. But, in honor of the Thanksgiving holiday, we’re pushing it out a day early.
I don’t mind saying, it has been a good year for the column, picking at nearly 84 percent in Week 12 and holding at 82 percent on the year.
Stephenville 47, Dunbar 31 — Krece Nowak rushed for 218 yards and a touchdown on 22 carries and Kade Renfro threw for 250 yards and a score to lift Stephenville to an easy bi-district win over Dunbar.
The Yellow Jackets had built a 34-0 lead by halftime and were never seriously threatened while improving to 7-3. Stephenville will square off with Celina (6-4) in the 4A Division I area round.
Dunbar finished its season at 5-5.
LAST WEEK: 33-6, .846
SEASON TOTAL: 384-85, .818
There is no Big Country Preps Game of the Week once postseason begins. From this point forward, they are all the Game of the Week.
I’ve said pretty much the same thing for more than a decade.
But, as always, that won’t prevent us from taking a look around the area each week to spot some of the more intriguing matchups as the playoffs progress.
So … let’s dive in, shall we?
The Regular season is over, and the high school football playoffs are here. In this week’s Capital Farm Credit Wednesday Night Podcast, Big Country Preps’ Evan Ren and Daniel Youngblood take a look back at the most important games of Week 11 and ahead to the postseason, focusing on the Big Country’s biggest threats.
China Spring 47, Brownwood 34 — China Spring’s first and only district win of 2018 was enough for the Cougars (5-5, 1-3) to lock up a playoff spot.
Trailing 34-32, China Spring took the lead for good with 6:18 to play on a 1-yard scoring run from Erik Hart. The Cougars put the game away on a 13-yard scoring run by Brayden Faulkner in the game’s final minute.
While several of the area’s best athletes are still tied up playing football, the boys basketball season technically gets underway Friday night.
Of course, as the football playoffs get rolling and more and more teams are eliminated, the basketball talent pool will grow on a weekly basis, and by mid December, we’ll be in full hoops mode.
Regardless, boys basketball season is officially here, so it’s time to take a peek at what this season will offer with our area teams, Class 1A through 4A.
Who has the best shot at getting to state? Who are the legitimate contenders and what are the teams that we should be careful not to ignore?
Let’s find out.
LAST WEEK: 28-3, .903
SEASON TOTAL: 351-79, .816
Our possible choices for Big Country Preps Game of the Week made our final selection difficult this time around, with two high-profile winner-take-all district title games on the menu.
Our final pick: Jim Ned (7-2, 3-1) at Eastland (7-2, 3-1) — a matchup with a bit less at stake (the No. 2 seed in District 3-3A Division I), but one we feel will be the area’s most competitive of our top six games.
With the final Friday night of high school football’s regular season upon us, it’s time to take a quick look at the playoff picture, before the proverbial second season begins.
We’ll go through them, district by district, in rapid succession.
Why waste time? Let’s jump into it.
On the verge of their biggest game of the regular season, the De Leon Bearcats have produced the Big Country Preps Player of the Week for the week ending Nov. 3.
Senior quarterback Kevin Yeager posted eye-popping numbers in a little more than two quarters of play, guiding DHS to a 77-7 win over Goldthwaite on Friday.
Stephenville 31, Gatesville 3 — The Yellow Jackets (6-3, 3-1) solidified their hold on the No. 2 seed with a workmanlike win over Gatesville (3-6, 1-2).
Krece Nowak rushed for 126 yards and two touchdowns and Kade Renfro hit 15 of 17 passes for 163 yards and a score to lead Stephenville.
SHS tallied a modest 335 yards in total offense, but in limiting Gatesville to a first-quarter field goal, didn’t require anything more.
The quickest way to get basketball season to begin is to tee up a football.
It might as well set off a time warp.
If you don’t believe me, consider this while you’re watching a Week 10 football game around the area this evening: High school girls basketball officially begins tonight and the boys will tip off next week.
Excuse me, but weren’t two-a-days over like …. just last week? Unbelievable.
Regardless, the girls start Friday night and that means it’s time to take a look around the Big Country for some of the top teams the area will have to offer in 2018-19.
LAST WEEK: 38-5, .833
SEASON TOTAL: 323-76, .810
Dublin (7-1, 2-1) at Comanche (5-3, 3-0) — This game has been circled on the calendar for weeks and had been viewed as a possible winner-take-all matchup in District 6-3A Division II.
That is, until Jacksboro threw everything into question with a 42-29 win at Dublin last week.
Comanche football coach Stephen Hermesmeyer has turned a struggling Indian program into a perennial playoff contender during his seven seasons at the school. And though he experienced significant graduation losses from last year’s 12-2 squad, his Indians can clinch their second straight district title with a win over Dublin on Friday.
Hermesmeyer recently took some time to chat with Big Country Preps’ Evan Ren and Daniel Youngblood about this year’s team, his wing-T offensive scheme and the status of his program for this week’s Capital Farm Credit Wednesday Night Podcast.
Also in this episode, Evan and Daniel discuss the area’s top games from Week 9 and how those outcomes are shaping the Big Country district races.
With one spectacular performance after another in 2018, one may think that Merkel’s Jonah White would have collected a basket full of Player of the Week awards by this point.
It hasn’t happened.
Through a combination of bad luck and unfortunate timing, White has found himself in our top five on multiple occasions this year, only to be edged out time and time again in a season that has seen a flood of huge performances.
That is, until now.
Waco La Vega 56, China Spring 17 — Ara Rauls rushed for 103 yards and three scores and threw for 106 to lead La Vega (6-2, 2-0), which can secure a piece of the league title if it defeats Brownwood at home next week.
China Spring, which fell to 4-5 and 0-3, will close the regular season at Brownwood following a bye week. The Cougars, can still see postseason play in the event of a three-way tie for fourth. Another win by Brownwood or Gatesville along the way will eliminate China Spring.
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BROWNWOOD — For two full quarters, the Big Country Preps Game of the Week was well on its way to delivering every thing it promised on Friday at Gordon Wood Stadium.
That is, until the Stephenville Yellow Jackets stepped in and blew things up with a 45-20 win over archrival Brownwood.
LAST WEEK: 33-7, .825
SEASON TOTAL: 285-71, .801
In a week that features four or perhaps five games that could easily qualify for our Big Country Preps Game of the Week, there is alas, a safe choice.
When in doubt, one can seldom go wrong with the annual Stephenville-Brownwood clash — a storied feud now in its 80th chapter dating back to 1937.
This year, the Lions (4-2, 1-0) play host to the Yellow Jackets (4-3, 1-1) in a game that will likely decide the No. 2 seed in District 5-4A Division I — perhaps the best overall 4A league in Texas.
Having spent his high school years playing for a pair of coaching legends at Brownwood, Sammy Burnett’s professional dream was always to return to his alma mater as the head football coach.
Burnett, who realized that dream when he was announced as the Lions coach in February, took some time to chat with Big Country Preps’ Evan Ren and Daniel Youngblood about “the Brownwood way,” how he was influenced by coaches Gordon Wood and Randy Allen and what he wants to build at his alma mater in this week’s Capital Farm Credit Wednesday Night Podcast.
Also on this episode, Evan and Daniel discuss the top developments from Week 8 and where it leaves the Big Country’s football teams with three weeks remaining in the regular season.
Waco La Vega 32, Stephenville 15 — Big plays were the order of the day as the Pirates overcame a 7-0 deficit to improve to 5-2 and 1-0.
With Stephenville (4-3, 1-1) holding a 7-0 lead after a 21-yard second-quarter TD pass from Kade Renfro to Kyle Lindsey, the Pirate offense exploded with several big plays in the second quarter.
LAST WEEK: 37-5, .860
SEASON TOTAL: 252-64, .797
Before the season, many viewed Colorado City (6-0, 1-0) as the odds-on favorite to take District 2-3A Division II, and I agreed with them.
But as each new season evolves, surprises typically emerge and that’s certainly the case in this league where Idalou (5-1, 1-0) and Abernathy (5-1, 1-0) have shown themselves as too good to simply label as No. 2 or 3 seeds.
Former Snyder player and assistant Cory Mandrell didn’t experience much success in his first two years as the Tigers’ head coach, leading his team to one win in 2016 and two in 2017. But the Tigers have turned a corner in Year 3, starting the 2018 season at 5-1 with some of their biggest wins in years.
Mandrell took some time to chat with Big Country Preps’ Evan Ren and Daniel Youngblood on his program’s turnaround, the excitement level around town and the future of Snyder football in this week’s Capital Farm Credit Wednesday Night Podcast.
Also in this episode, Evan and Daniel discuss the Week 7 slate and where it leaves the Big Country’s football teams with four more weeks remaining in the regular season.
It was only a matter of time before Anson junior quarterback Drew Hagler appeared at the top of our weekly list.
He had, after all, provided at least two other performances that would have normally garnered Player of the Week honors, only to fall victim to bad timing — topped by other remarkable performances that occurred on the same evening.
The week ending Oct. 13, however, belonged to Hagler, who finished with 301 yards and four touchdowns passing and 177 yards and two TDs rushing in a 49-41 win over Merkel.
Defensively, he charted three solo tackles, one assist and one tackle for loss to help Anson improve to 2-4 overall and 2-1 in District 4-3A Division II play.
Brownwood 34, Gatesville 14 —Tommy Bowden rushed for 154 yards, threw for 155 and accounted for four scores in a vital win for the Lions (4-2, 1-0).
Brownwood built a comfortable 27-7 halftime lead before coasting to the finish line. The Lions now have a likely playoff spot in the five-team district race (unless a three-way tie develops), but can lock up a postseason berth with one more win.
LAST WEEK: 27-7, . 794
SEASON TOTAL: 215-59, .785
The first game out of the chute in a merciless district is often the most important one — especially if the game doesn’t involve the league favorite.
Applying that axiom to District 3-3A DI, a league opener between Breckenridge and Jim Ned is vital, given that Wall is expected to beat everyone. That makes every other contest indispensable between five teams vying for three remaining playoff spots.