Category: Tolar Rattlers

by Evan Ren

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. 

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by Daniel Youngblood

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.

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by Daniel Youngblood

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.

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by Daniel Youngblood

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.

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by Daniel Youngblood

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.   

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by Daniel Youngblood

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.

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by Daniel Youngblood

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.

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by Daniel Youngblood

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.

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by Daniel Youngblood

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.

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by Daniel Youngblood

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” →

by Daniel Youngblood

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!

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by Zach Duncan, Special to Big Country Preps

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.”

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by Zach Duncan, Special to Big Country Preps

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.”

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by Daniel Youngblood

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.

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by Daniel Youngblood

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.

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by Evan Ren

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.

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by Daniel Youngblood

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.

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by Daniel Youngblood

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.

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by Evan Ren

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.

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by Daniel Youngblood

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.

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by Evan Ren

Evan Ren’s 2026 Gym Rat Team: The hardest-working players in the Big Country!

Scoring and rebounding is only part of the story when it comes to basketball. Behind the scenes and beyond the view of the public, is where character is often measured. And it is with our Big Country Preps Gym Rat Team that we salute the individuals who exude the most of it. 

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 effort, discipline, toughness, coachability and selflessness — traits that coaches love above all else and that championship foundations are built upon.

It is for that reason that our Gym Rat team is selected entirely by area coaches, described in their own words. And Big Country Preps is absolutely honored to present these individuals to you — the best “team players” (boys and girls) that the area had to offer during the 2025-26 season.

Players are listed in no particular order. 

Enjoy.

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by Evan Ren

BIG COUNTRY PREPS PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Cisco junior earns this week’s award

When Cisco junior guard Carter Toof is on his game, there is little one can do to stop him. He’s going to get his point, whether you like it or not. 

That was the case last week when Toof helped Cisco to a win over Abilene TLCA with 43 points, 14 rebounds and three assists. He followed that with 20 points, seven boards, four assists and three steals in a playoff warmup loss to Benjamin. 

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by Evan Ren

GAME STORY: Wall uses big second half to overcome Tolar

Tolar’s Jaycee Jones attempts to drive past Wall’s Maci Wagoner in Friday’s 3A DII area round game at Baird High School. Jones led Tolar with 18 points.

BAIRD — After watching his team suffer through an ice-cold start in Friday’s Region I-3A DII area round game against Tolar, Wall girls basketball coach Silas Crisler called a timeout at the 4:24 mark of the first quarter, trailing 11-2. 

However, his message to his players was far less tactical than it was soothing, giving them a moment to collect themselves. It worked. In fact it worked so well, that by the end of the quarter the Lady Hawks had cut the gap to 12-9 and eventually won, 58-42 at the Baird High School Gym.

Jewels Johnson scored 22 points and hit two 3-pointers and Katherine Lewis added 11 more points with two 3s to lead top-ranked Wall (33-3), which now advances to face No. 3 Idalou in the regional semifinals. 

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Hoops
by Evan Ren

FINAL Big Country Boys Basketball Statistical Leaders for 2026: Scoring, rebounding, assists, steals, FT Pct., pass deflections and blocks

Below are the current season statistical leaders for Big Country boys basketball through Feb. 19.  With the end of the regular season, this will be the FINAL boys basketball leaders we post this year. 

This database has been 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. 

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by Evan Ren

FINAL Big Country Girls Basketball Statistical Leaders for 2026 (Scoring, rebounding, assists, steals, FT Pct., pass deflections and blocks)

Below are the current season statistical leaders for Big Country girls basketball through Feb. 12. This will be our FINAL girls stat leaders for 2026.

This database has been 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. 

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by Daniel Youngblood

THIS WEEK IN BOYS BASKETBALL: District title, playoff races continue to take shape as regular season nears its end

The boys basketball regular season is nearing its end, and district championship and playoff pictures across the area are coming into view.

Most leagues now have clear favorites in both their title and playoff races, but several remain unresolved with just two or three games left to play. 

With just a couple of weeks of games remaining, let’s dive in and take a look at this week’s biggest games and last week’s most significant developments.

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by Evan Ren

BIG COUNTRY PREPS PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Tolar sophomore takes this week’s spotlight

With weather postponements forcing Tolar to play three games last week, there was positive in an otherwise hectic week: It gave one of THS’ athletes the opportunity to showcase a remarkable run of consistency. 

Tolar sophomore Atley Kolb takes our Big Country Preps Player of the Week award for the Week ending Jan. 31, after posting three straight double-doubles in as many days to help the Lady Rattlers in wins over Millsap (57-25), Eastland (59-25) and Breckenridge (74-19).

Kolb posted 10 points and 13 rebounds against Millsap; 21 points and 11 boards against Eastland and 12 points and 10 boards in the Breckenridge win. 

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by Daniel Youngblood

UIL REALIGNMENT: Area football landscape experiences major changes in biennial district reshuffling

Surprised — and in some cases, stressed out — faces could be seen in abundance Monday morning at Abilene’s Region 14 Education Services Center, where coaches from throughout the area and beyond gathered to learn their new district homes as part of the University Interscholastic League’s biennial realignment.

In what can best be described as a seismic shift in the Big Country football landscape, a majority of area schools were placed in unfamiliar environs — be that a new district with new foes or even a new region entirely.

The now venerated process by which the UIL releases the packet containing the new district alignments for football, basketball and volleyball is frequently compared by coaches to waking up on Christmas morning to find what presents await under the three. And on this day, in particular, few found the gifts they were expecting.

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by Daniel Youngblood

THIS WEEK IN BOYS BASKETBALL: Weather-truncated week sets up wild stretch run in several area districts

Last week’s winter storm made for a wild week of action, condensing a week’s worth of games into three day’s time. And the results were as unpredictable as you might expect given the circumstances.

We saw several district championship and playoff races shaken up by upsets and others take shape as the cream continued its rise to the top.

As we do here weekly, it’s time to take survey of the Big Country boys basketball landscape. We hope you enjoy this look at the biggest developments from last week and the biggest games this week’s slate has to offer.

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by Evan Ren

THIS WEEK IN GIRLS BASKETBALL: It’s nail-biting time in Big Country hoops with playoff spots on the line

With January’s schedule-jumbling weather behind us, we now look forward to multiple games with playoff implications around the Big Country Preps coverage area. 

There were no shortage of big matchups last week and as usual, there are several more in the days ahead.

So let’s take a quick look at the menu for Feb. 2-6. 

It should be fun, I’ll see you on the road. 

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by Daniel Youngblood

THIS WEEK IN BOYS BASKETBALL: Big games in full supply despite weather-related schedule changes

Mother Nature did her best to bring the high school basketball season to a standstill, sending a winter storm that put most Big Country teams on the shelf for a week. But the action around that unexpected break gives us plenty to talk about in this week’s look at the area boys basketball scene.

With a number of excellent (and meaningful) games last week and some big matchups slated for the next few days, the area district races remain as intriguing as ever.

Let’s go ahead now and take a look at the biggest games the area slate has to offer this week and some of the outcomes last week that helped shape the weeks to come.

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by Daniel Youngblood

THIS WEEK IN GIRLS BASKETBALL: Chilly weather, schedule changes can’t cool red-hot district races

The winter storm that blew across most of the state over the weekend wreaked havoc on the area basketball schedule, forcing most of last Friday’s games to be pushed up a day and the bulk of this week’s early games to postponed all the way to Thursday. 

But icy weather — and the bevy of schedule changes that came with it — have done little to cool the area’s rapidly heating district races. 

We still had a number of thrilling and significant results last week and have a bunch of intriguing games to look forward to over the next few days. Without further ado, let’s take a look at the biggest of those in our weekly look at the Big Country girls basketball scene.

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by Evan Ren

BIG COUNTRY PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Cisco junior earns this week’s accolade

You have to appreciate a player who can contribute big numbers in several different ways. And in the case of our Big Country Preps Player of the Week, such players have an advantage when it comes to taking down our weekly award. 

This time around, it’s Cisco junior Owen Kilpatrick, who posted a triple-double in a 74-38 win over Abilene TLCA, finishing with 18 points, 21 rebounds and 12 assists. 

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by Evan Ren

EVAN REN’S 2025 TRUE GRIT TEAM: The toughest, hardest-working players in the Big Country!

Most high school football teams have that one player acknowledged by the coaching staff as the prime example of what a teammate should be. 

He’s the guy who seldom misses any practice time and is a regular in the weight room. He’s early to arrive. He’s late to leave and takes pride in being coachable, though he seldom needs direction. 

He always sets the right example for younger players. He doesn’t complain and, above all else, he’s tough enough to make all the aforementioned traits consistently possible. 

Know someone like that? Here is where they are honored. 

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by Evan Ren

2025 BIG COUNTRY PREPS RISING STARS TEAM: The top underclassmen in the Big Country

Here are our selections for the 2024 All-Big Country Preps Rising Stars Team — an honor reserved for the area’s top freshman and sophomore football players. For the rest of this year’s selections, click the links below.

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by Evan Ren

BIG COUNTRY PREPS PLAYER OF THE WEEK: French foreign exchange student takes this week’s accolade with quadruple-double

Ysée Le Borgne may feel like a fish out of water living in Ballinger, Texas. After all, the 16-year-old foreign exchange student and native of Lille, France is more than 5,000 miles and (needless to say), a major cultural shift away from her hometown. 

On the basketball court, however, the 6-foot sophomore guard is right at home — so much so that she earned our Big Country Preps Player of Week for the week ending Jan. 17 with a rare quadruple double. 

Le Borgne, who opened the week with a 24-point, 14-rebound double-double in a loss to Colorado City, showed the potential for a “quad” that night with seven steals, six pass deflections and four blocks. 

Three days later it happened in a 43-32 win over Coleman that saw Le Borne finish with 23 points, 12 boards, 10 steals and 10 pass deflections. 

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by Daniel Youngblood

THIS WEEK IN BOYS BASKETBALL: District races taking shape as title, playoff favorites begin to emerge

District races are heating up throughout the Big Country and the cream is quickly rising to the top in our area leagues.

Last week and helped provide some clarity in a number of district’s throughout the BCP coverage area, and this week will, no doubt, do the same.

Without further ado, let’s go ahead and dive into this week’s column and take a look at the biggest games on this week’s slate and some of the top results last week had to offer.

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by Evan Ren

THIS WEEK IN GIRLS BASKETBALL: This week’s top games, last week’s top results and our biggest surprise

As we arrive in mid-January, this year’s playoff picture is beginning to take shape with multiple games throughout the area have a direct impact on seeding. 

Tonight we take a look at some of those matchups, along with the top results from last week and the area’s biggest surprise. 

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by Evan Ren

GAME STORY: Salinas, Wilcox lead Maidens to crucial win over Tolar

TOLAR — With a piece of the girls District 8-3A lead at stake, it wasn’t difficult to project an intense matchup between visiting Comanche and the Tolar Lady Rattlers on Friday. 

And that is precisely what those in attendance were treated to with a 60-58 Comanche win in Game 1 of a varsity doubleheader at the Tolar High School Gymnasium. The Tolar boys took the nightcap, topping Comanche 64-19. 

J’Lee Salinas scored 24 points and Kaysi Wilcox added 20 more to lead the Comanche girls (14-9, 7-0 District 8-3A), who overcame deficits of seven points in the second quarter and six points in the third to get the win. 

Tolar (16-9, 5-2) was led by Macy Price with 22 points, Atley Kolb with 15 and Jaycee Jones with 11. 

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by Evan Ren

BIG COUNTRY PREPS PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Sipe takes our weekly award with unbelievable shooting night

There are memorable shooting nights. Then there are shooting nights one is unlikely to ever forget.

Wylie senior guard Swade Sipe had one of the latter on Friday night, with a 33-point effort in a 74-62 win over Brock. 

During the course of this performance, Sipe was 11 of 11 from the field, 6 of 6 from 3-point range, 5 of 5 from two-point range and 5 of 6 from the foul line.

This explosive, nearly perfect effort against a very good 4A Brock team earns Sipe our Big Country Preps Player of the Week award, during a week when several players posted numbers good enough to claim the accolade.

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