Here are the Big Country’s receiving leaders through Week 7:
Category: Tolar Rattlers
DISTRICT 5-3A DII WEEK 7 REPORT: Tolar, Hamilton score comfortable wins; Dublin, Comanche and Eastland all fall
Tolar 49, Rio Vista 13 — Briton Rice had a big day throwing the football, and Kelvin Murray continued his outstanding season on the ground to lead the Rattlers to a convincing win over the Eagles.
With his team leading 20-7 at halftime, Murray ran for a pair of third-quarter TDs to push Tolar’s lead to 35-7 by the start of the fourth quarter. And Rice capped a productive night with a fourth-quarter touchdown pass to make it a 42-13 game, before Tanner Emery capped the scoring with a rushing TD.
DISTRICT 5-3A DII WEEK 5 REPORT: Tolar, Hamilton pick up victories as district race remains wide open
Tolar 42, Comanche 24 — Trailing 17-7 midway through the second quarter, the Rattlers rallied to take a 28-24 lead into halftime before dominating the second half to pull away from the Indians for a three-score win.
The victory, which improved Tolar (2-3 overall) to 1-1 in district play, saw the Rattlers limit Comanche to 338 total yards in pitching a second-half shutout.
DISTRICT 5-3A DII WEEK 4 REPORT: Comanche, Eastland open league play with victories; Hamilton, Tolar fall
Comanche 21, Clifton 14 — Zaden Tello ran for 108 yards and all three of the Indians touchdowns to lead Comanche (2-2, 1-0) to a big district-opening win over the Cubs.
Tello also had a team-high 44 yards receiving as the Indians stretched a 7-0 halftime lead to 14-0 by the end of the third quarter and held off a Clifton rally in the fourth.
DISTRICT 5-3A DII WEEK 3 REPORT: Hamilton, Tolar, Dublin and Eastland all pick up first wins
Hamilton 34, Brady 17 — A 21-point second quarter turned the tide for HHS in a 17-point win over the Brady in this battle of Bulldogs.
Trailing 3-0 after a quarter, Hamilton (1-2) rallied to take a 21-10 lead into halftime. Brady then scored the only touchdown of the third quarter to pull within four points, before HHS closed things out with 13 unanswered points in the fourth.
DISTRICT 5-3A DII WEEK 2 REPORT: Area teams go 0-5 as district drops all but two games
Cisco 38, Comanche 6 — Colby McIlroy passed for 200 yards and two touchdowns and added another score on the ground to fuel the Loboes to a lopsided win over the Indians.
Landry Vosburg added 102 yards and one TD rushing, and Cannon Harris had 84 yards and two TDs receiving to help Cisco, which led 24-6 by halftime.
BIG COUNTRY PREPS PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Haskell QB takes the first award of the school year with an insane effort
Before Haskell senior quarterback Haegen Pinkerton arrived at HHS as a freshman, the name of Pinkerton was something I associated with the famous detective agency.
I now associate it with statistical insanity, and you should associate it with the Big Country Preps Player of the Week.
Pinkerton, who was behind center in Haskell’s 80-62 loss to Stamford, had one of the biggest nights I can recollect in a losing effort, accounting for seven touchdowns on Friday.
Hitting 15 of 22 throws for 193 yards, three of Pinkerton’s deliveries went for scores. But it was on the ground where he did most of his damage, rushing 29 times for 290 yards and four touchdowns to help keep the Indians competitive.
DISTRICT 5-3A DII WEEK 1 REPORT: Comanche takes care of Breck to headline otherwise rough week for area squads
Comanche 28, Breckenridge 6 — Cooper Welch threw for 135 yards and two touchdowns on just 10 pass attempts, and LaDainian Smith added 63 yards and a pair of scores on the ground to fuel the Indians to a three-score win over the Buckaroos.
Comanche also got productive days from Nicolas Anaya (6-91 rushing) and Zaden Tello (6-82 rushing; 2-64, 1 TD receiving) in increasing a 13-0 halftime lead to 28-0 in the fourth quarter before Breckenridge finally got on the board with an 80-yard kickoff return.
Big Country Preps Preseason Football Position Rankings: Quarterbacks
After a week of highlighting area playmakers, we wrap up our eight-part preseason position rankings series with the Big Country’s best signal callers.
To complete our look at the area’s top players, we’ve ranked our top 15 quarterbacks with a list of others to watch in 2026.
We hope you enjoy this list and that you’ve enjoyed our position rankings as we get set to kick off a new season.
Big Country Preps Preseason Football Position Rankings: Running Backs
As we wind down our eight-part preseason position rankings series, we arrive finally at the Big Country’s top ball-carriers.
After breaking down this year’s crop of receivers and tight ends earlier today, we move now to the area’s top backs, ranking our top 15 with a list of others to watch in 2026. Don’t forget to check in tomorrow when we conclude our series with the top 10 area quarterbacks.
We hope you enjoy this list and encourage you to check out the other position groups, which are linked below.
Big Country Preps Preseason Football Position Rankings: Wide Receivers/Tight Ends
We’re approaching the final stretch of our eight-part preseason position rankings series, and it’s time to look at the Big Country’s top receivers.
After starting the offensive portion of our series with the linemen, we now shift our attention to the playmakers on the perimeter, ranking our top 15 wideouts/tight ends with a list of others to watch in 2026.
We hope you enjoy our list and encourage you to check out the other position groups, which are linked below.
Big Country Preps Preseason Football Position Rankings: Offensive Linemen
With the defensive and special teams rankings behind us, it’s time to look at the area’s top offensive players. And we’ll start with the foundation of any productive offense: the offensive line.
For the fifth installment of our eight-part preseason position rankings series, we turn our attention to the trenches, ranking the Big Country’s top 15 offensive linemen with a list of others to watch in 2026.
We hope you enjoy reading through our rankings.
Big Country Preps Preseason Football Position Rankings: Kickers/Punters
After recognizing the top defensive players throughout the Big Country over the past three days, it’s time to honor the specialists.
We continue our eight-part preseason position rankings series by naming our top 10 kickers and top three punters to watch this fall.
We hope you enjoy this list and that you have enjoyed our position rankings as we get set to kickoff the 2026 season.
Big Country Preps Preseason Football Position Rankings: Defensive Backs
After starting with the linemen and linebackers, we turn to the defensive backfield to complete our look at the top defenders in the Big Country.
For the third installment in our eight-part preseason position rankings series, we shift our focus to the secondary, giving our list of the area’s top 15 defensive backs and others to look out for in 2026.
We hope you enjoy our list.
Big Country Preps Preseason Football Position Rankings: Linebackers
After taking a look at the Big Country’s top defensive linemen last night, it’s now time to examine those who will backing them in 2026.
Continuing with Big Country Preps’ eight-part preseason position rankings series, here’s our top 15 linebackers to watch this fall, as well as a list of the others we’re expecting big things from.
We hope you enjoy our list.
Big Country Preps Preseason Football Position Rankings: Defensive Linemen
With the start of football season around the corner, it’s time to take a look at the players who will be making the biggest impact in 2026.
For the first installment in an eight-part series that will cover all position groups, we’ll be taking a look at the area’s top defensive linemen, ranking our top 15 with a list of others to watch this fall.
As with any such list, these rankings are subjective. We hope you enjoy reading through them.
Continue reading “Big Country Preps Preseason Football Position Rankings: Defensive Linemen”
2026 DISTRICT PREDICTIONS: Evan and Daniel make their picks
The time has arrived for us to make our Big Country predictions, district-by-district.
Several weeks of research and two solid months of summertime labor have gone into this, so we’re more than ready to post it.
With that please dive in and study our take on the upcoming season, along with the more than 80 preseason stories we posted earlier today. Enjoy! We’ll see you on the road!
TOLAR FEATURE: Senior trio looking to return Tolar to prominence
When Blake Mouser looked at Tolar’s head coaching opening after its 2023 state championship appearance, he knew the Rattlers had a quality senior class returning.
But the then-Vandegrift offensive coordinator also recognized a couple of freshmen who had played in the 2A Division I title game. Kelvin Murray made a 13-yard catch against Timpson, while Cayden Abrego recorded two tackles.
And Mouser’s investigation didn’t end there. He also stumbled across a couple Tolar JV games on Hudl and noticed a freshman named Briton Rice who stayed calm and collected while throwing the football.
“They had a really good junior class coming back, but do they have another quarterback who’s really good?” Mouser said. “Somebody in the future who can throw the ball? He was a playmaker. That’s the first time I saw his name.”
2026 TOLAR FOOTBALL PREVIEW: Rattlers ready to bounce back in 2026
When Blake Mouser looks back at Tolar’s 2025 football season, he sees more than a 4-7 record.
He sees a team that lost three games by a touchdown or less. He sees a team that had young guys in prominent places and a team that gave district champion Jacksboro all it wanted in bi-district.
“Maybe we weren’t a 9-3 or 10-2 team, but we could have been an 8-4 team,” Mouser said. “We had a youth movement, and a bunch of young guys had to come play key roles. When things go bad, we were learning how to not panic and finish games the right way.”
2026 All-Big Country Preps Baseball Team: First-Team Roster
Here are our second-team selections for the 2026 All-Big Country Preps baseball team. For the rest of this year’s selections, click the links below.
- Superlative Award Winners (Pitcher of the Year, Offensive Player of the Year, etc.)
- All-Big Country Preps Second-Team Baseball Selections (w/ honorable mention)
- All-Big Country Preps Rising Stars Team (the best freshman and sophomores in the area!)
- Big Country Preps All-Hustle Team (to be released Monday night)
2026 All-Big Country Preps Baseball Team: Second-Team Roster (w/ honorable mention)
Here are our second-team selections for the 2026 All-Big Country Preps baseball team. For the rest of this year’s selections, click the links below.
- Superlative Award Winners (Pitcher of the Year, Offensive Player of the Year, etc.)
- All-Big Country Preps First-Team Baseball Selections
- All-Big Country Preps Rising Stars Team (the best freshman and sophomores in the area!)
- Big Country Preps All-Hustle Team (to be released Monday night)
2026 Big Country Preps Rising Stars Baseball Team: The top sophomores and freshmen in the area
Ladies and gentlemen, we are proud to release our 2026 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.
- Superlative Award Winners (Pitcher of the Year, Offensive Player of the Year, etc.)
- All-Big Country Preps First-Team Baseball Selections
- All-Big Country Preps Second-Team Baseball Selections (w/ honorable mention)
- Big Country Preps All-Hustle Team (to be released Monday night)
2026 All-Big Country Preps Softball Team: First-team Roster
Here are our first-team selections for the 2026 All-Big Country Preps softball team. For the rest of this year’s selections, click the links below.
- Superlative Award Winners (Pitcher of the Year, Offensive Player of the Year, etc.)
- All-Big Country Preps Second-Team Softball Selections (w/ honorable mention)
- All-Big Country Preps Rising Stars Team (the best freshman and sophomores in the area!)
- Big Country Preps All-Hustle Team (To be released Monday night)
2026 All-Big Country Preps Softball Team: Second-team Roster (w/ honorable mention)
Here are our second-team selections for the 2026 All-Big Country Preps softball team. For the rest of this year’s selections, click the links below.
- Superlative Award Winners (Pitcher of the Year, Offensive Player of the Year, etc.)
- All-Big Country Preps First-Team Softball Selections
- All-Big Country Preps Rising Stars Team (the best freshman and sophomores in the area!)
- Big Country Preps All-Hustle Team (To be released Monday night)
2026 Big Country Preps Rising Stars Softball Team: The top sophomores and freshmen in the area
Ladies and gentlemen, we are proud to release our 2026 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.
- Superlative Award Winners (Pitcher of the Year, Offensive Player of the Year, etc.)
- All-Big Country Preps First-Team Softball Selections
- All-Big Country Preps Second-Team Softball Selections
- Big Country Preps All-Hustle Team (To be released Monday night)
REGION I-3A TRACK MEET: Wall boys defend regional title to headline strong area effort
ABILENE — The Wall boys track team successfully defended its Region I-3A championship Saturday, piling up 141 points to run away from the field at Abilene Christian University’s Elmer Gray Stadium.
The Hawks swept all three relays, setting new meet records in two of those, while accounting for all eight of the area’s gold medals on the boys side.
Wall also had the top finish among area girls teams at the Region I-3A meet, taking second in that race behind champion Holliday — three points ahead of third-place Jim Ned, which also made a strong showing.
Collectively, athletes from the Big Country Preps coverage area combined for 37 medals, earning 23 automatic berths to the Class 3A state meet May 14 in Austin.