Wylie 37, San Angelo Central 27 — Bear Meng passed for 191 yards and three touchdowns while rushing for 47 yards and another score to lead the Bulldogs to a homecoming win over the Bobcats in their final nondistrict game of the season.
Malachi Daniels added 106 yards and two touchdowns rushing while Derrick Evans received 101 yards and a TD as Wylie (3-2) built a 24-14 lead by halftime and stretched that to 30-14 by the end of the third quarter.
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: Wylie-San Angelo Central football (94 images)”
San Angelo Central entered Friday night’s game against Wylie at Hugh Sandifer Stadium with a 1-3 record and every game being decided by one score.
Last year, the Bobcats used a walkoff Hail Mary to beat the Bulldogs at San Angelo Stadium.
There would be no close finish or miracle this go-round as the Bulldogs thoroughly dominated the Bobcats in all phases of the game and took a 37-27 homecoming win in front of a packed house.
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: Wylie-Lubbock Monterey volleyball (38 images)”
Wesley Ruff, Bri Johnston and Aliyah Jowers all finished the match with double digit kills as the Wylie volleyball team swept Lubbock Monterey 25-17, 25-18, 25-19 in District 4-5A action Tuesday night at Bulldog Gym.
Ruff and Johnston each finished the match with 12 kills, while Jowers added 10 as the Lady Bulldogs improved to 16-14 on the season and, more importantly, 3-0 in district.
Adding to the all-around team effort were Mycala Reed (15 digs) and Callie O’Connell (34 assists, 10 digs) in a performance coach Shay Cox was excited to see.
Following their 0-2 start, I was consistent in my belief that the Wylie Bulldogs would finish the season with a much stronger football team than the one that started it. I said as much on our weekly podcast after each of Wylie’s defeats, downplaying the ultimate significance of season-opening home losses to quality outfits from Brownwood and Lubbock Monterey.
But I’d be lying if I said I expected the type of quick turnaround we’ve seen the last two weeks from coach Clay Martin’s team, which is now 2-2 after gritty road wins over Lubbock Cooper (35-34) and Stephenville (42-32) — both double-digit favorites according to a prominent power ranking service.
When I talked about Wylie finding its stride and eventually turning a corner, I was thinking more about October than September. So to see the Bulldogs go from where they were in Weeks 1 and 2 to beating a pair of good, established programs on the road was a surprise to even me.
There are big games and then there are those that border on insanity.
Moran running back Ellis Hise, our Big Country Preps Player of the Week for the week ending Sept. 16, fell squarely into the latter category on Saturday with a performance that was absolutely nuts.
Helping the Bulldogs to a thrilling 68-67 win over Mullin in one of the top six-man games the Big Country has seen this year, Hise rushed for 287 yards and six touchdowns on only 26 carries. But that’s just the beginning.
Wylie 42, Stephenville 32 — Bear Meng passed for 252 yards and three touchdowns and added 78 yards and another TD rushing to lead the Bulldogs to a exciting road win over the Yellow Jackets.
Trailing 10-7 at the 7:58 mark of the second quarter, Wylie (2-2) reeled off 28 consecutive points to go up 35-10 with just under eight minutes to go in the third quarter, before holding off a furious Stephenville rally with a late touchdown drive to put the game away.
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: Wylie-Stephenville football (94 images)”
STEPHENVILLE — Leading Stephenville 35-10 early in the third quarter after scoring its fourth consecutive touchdown off the Yellow Jackets’ second turnover of the game, the Wylie football team seemed to be well on its way to a comfortable win Friday night at Tarleton Memorial Stadium.
In the end, though, it would take a pressure-packed touchdown drive in the final 5:50 and a victory-sealing interception in the end zone for the Bulldogs to finally breath easy with a thrilling 42-32 win.
Stephenville quarterback Ryan Gafford hooked up with Tristian Gentry for three second-half touchdown passes to trim a once-four score Wylie lead to 35-32 with just under six minutes remaining in the fourth quarter. But after managing just one first down on their four previous possessions, the Bulldogs marched 74 yards in 10 plays on their last to fend off the SHS rally and spoil the Yellow Jackets homecoming.
When it comes to individual performances, there are big games and there are big games.
And then there’s what Cooper junior Daniel Bray did against San Angelo Central last week in leading the Cougars to their first win of the season.
The explosive tailback, who had been limited some in the first two weeks by a nagging ankle injury and the growing pains of a young offensive line, broke out in a historic way in that 53-45 victory over the Bobcats. By the time the game was over, he had rushed for a school-record 366 yards and seven touchdowns on just 21 carries, making a case for our Big Country Preps Player of the Week award that was too compelling to pass over — even in a week with a number of other monster performances.
Cooper 53, San Angelo Central 45 — Junior running back Daniel Bray had a record breaking night, rushing for 366 yards and seven touchdowns to fuel the Cougars to their first win of the season.
Bray did all that damage on just 21 carries, finishing with four touchdown runs of at least 50 yards, including three of 70 yards or more. Behind the standout back, Cooper held a narrow 27-24 lead at halftime, before facing a pair of third-quarter deficits. The Cougars scored the final touchdown of the third quarter and the first of the fourth to take the game’s only two-score lead at 47-38 and held on from there for the victory.
Photos by Aaron Baxter, HubCityPreps.com
WOODROW — On most nights, being outgained 225-16 for a half would all but guarantee a blowout loss. But Wylie’s matchup Friday night with Lubbock Cooper was anything but a typical ballgame.
Fueled by three defensive touchdowns — two pick-sixes and a scoop-and-score — the Bulldogs stayed within one TD in the first half before finally finding their offense in the second to eek out a 35-34 win over the Pirates in a thriller of a nondistrict tilt.
It was the first win of the season for coach Clay Martin’s team, which piled up 234 yards in the second half to outscore Cooper 15-6 and complete the comeback victory.
It’s no secret that the Abilene High-Cooper rivalry — dubbed the Crosstown Showdown — is among the best series in the state of Texas.
When the Eagles and Cougars get together, you know you’re going to excellent effort from both teams in front of close to 15,000 rowdy fans.
In that way, Friday’s matchup, which saw AHS earn a 26-7 win in the 63rd playing of the series, was a lot like many before it. But there was one factor that made the most recent Showdown just a little bit unique: It marked the first game played in Shotwell Stadium since the historic venue got one heck of a facelift.
Lubbock Monterey 34, Wylie 21 — A 17-0 first quarter run was all the Plainsmen needed to score a road victory over the Bulldogs, improving to 2-0 after going winless in 2022.
Wylie outscored Monterey 21-17 over the final three quarters, but the Plainsmen’s fast start proved the difference in the game. Quarterback Luke Arrington (6-10-0—212 passing) and Kashious Lewis (4-174 receiving) led MHS, hooking up for three touchdowns in the game.
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: Lubbock Monterey-Wylie football (66 images)”
Football games often turn on special teams miscues and gaffes.
Friday’s nondistrict game between Lubbock Monterey and Wylie at Hugh Sandifer Stadium saw two plays that fit into that category — one for each squad.
Ultimately, it was Monterey that was able to make the most of their opportunity as the Plainsmen took a 34-21 win, dropping the Bulldogs to 0-2 on the young season.
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: Clyde-Wylie volleyball (98 images)”
The Wylie volleyball team pulled two wins closer to .500 on Tuesday with a sweep in its dual match against Midland Christian and Clyde, defeating the Lady Mustangs 25-22, 25-21, 25-17 before knocking off the Lady Bulldogs 25-16, 25-14, 21-25, 25-17.
The victories improved WHS to 11-13 with three matches to play before its Sept. 8 district opener against Abilene High. And coach Shay Cox is hoping they will provide some positive momentum for a Lady Bulldogs squad that had lost six of its previous eight matches going into Tuesday night.
It’s an unfortunate truth in this profession that there are more sporting events going on in a given week than we could ever hope to attend.
And while we here at Big Country Preps pride ourselves on providing the most comprehensive high school sports coverage you’ll find from any Big Country source, we can never make it to all the games and matches that we would like to.
With that in mind, we’re adding a new feature this year to try to catch up on some of the things we missed or just to double back on some notes that we couldn’t quite give the attention they deserved.
Introducing the “Abilene Notebook,” our collection of such odds and ends from the past week of local athletic action.
Brownwood 35, Wylie 21 — Ike Hall rushed for 163 yards and two touchdowns and passed for 81 yards and another score to lead the Lions past the Bulldogs in the season opener between the former Class 4A rivals.
Leading 14-7 at halftime, Brownwood scored two unanswered touchdowns out of halftime to go up 28-7. Wylie fought back to pull within a touchdown on Kenny Scott’s 43-yard fumble return with 4:37 remaining in the game, but Hall broke loose for a 66-yard touchdown run on the second play of the following possession to put the game away.
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: Brownwood-Wylie football (88 images)”
Fueled by a strong defensive effort and a big game from quarterback Ike Hall, the Brownwood football team rolled into Abilene and secured a 35-21 season-opening win over Wylie on Friday at Hugh Sandifer Stadium.
Leading a young offense comprised otherwise entirely of first-year starters, Hall rushed for 163 yards, passed for 81 and accounted for three total touchdowns to help the Lions avenge last year’s 30-24 loss to the Bulldogs.
Behind the quarterback’s heroics, BHS extended a 14-7 halftime lead to 28-7 by the opening minute of the fourth quarter. And when Wylie scored two touchdowns in a 69-second span to narrow that three-score deficit to a seven points with 4:37 remaining in the game, it was the dual-threat signal caller who put the game on ice, racing 66 yards on a second-and-6 play to stop the Bulldogs’ rally in its tracks.
7 p.m. Friday at Hugh Sandifer Stadium, Abilene
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: Abilene High-Wylie football scrimmage (66 images)”
Last year, the Wylie football team fielded one of its most explosive offenses in years. Fueled by the All-Big Country Preps Offensive Player of the Year in quarterback KJ Long, the Bulldogs averaged 37 points per game on the way to their first district title as a Class 5A program and a 10-4 record overall.
While Long and his 3,855 total yards and 42 total touchdowns are gone, WHS will still boast one of the best and most versatile receiving corps in the Big Country.
And coach Clay Martin is confident that group — led by seniors Braden Regala and Derrick Evans, as well as junior Hunter Hood — will keep the Bulldogs passing game churning right along.
Fresh off their first district championship and multi-round playoff run as a Class 5A program, the Wylie Bulldogs will have a new challenge in 2023. WHS, which went 10-4 on its way to the Region I-5A Division II title game a year ago, will now try to prove that success was just the start of something bigger.
With five offensive and four starters back among their 27 returning lettermen, the Bulldogs will their share of questions to answer this fall if they hope to achieve that goal.
But coach Clay Martin likes the team he’ll take to battle this year, and he’s looking forward to seeing how it will respond to being the team to beat in District 2-5A Division II.
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. 16. 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 July 31, we’ll be spotlighting each 11-man team in the area and posing some of the key questions they’ll face in 2023 as part of our annual “Countdown to Two-a-Days” series.
We move to Class 5A Division II with the Wylie Bulldogs. On Saturday we will take a look at the Cooper Cougars, followed by the Abilene High Eagles on Sunday.
Continue reading “COUNTDOWN TO TWO-A-DAYS: The Wylie Bulldogs … three days to two-a days”
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: 2023 State LineMAN Championships (133 photos)”
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: Wylie-Argyle baseball regional semifinal playoff (114 images)”
The Argyle baseball team used a big inning to pull away from Wylie for the second time in as many days Friday at Abilene Christian University’s Crutcher Scott Field. Unfortunately for the Bulldogs, this time it was season-ending.
After riding a five-run sixth to a 7-1 win in the opener of the best-of-three Region I-5A semifinal series Thursday in Southlake, the Eagles did their biggest damage early in Friday’s Game 2, plating five runs in the second inning to set the tone for an 11-3 victory in the series clincher.
The loss ended the Bulldogs’ campaign at 23-13-1 — in the region semifinals for the third consecutive year. Coincidentally, each of those previous runs ended — like this year’s — with a Game 2 loss at ACU.
SOUTHLAKE — It seems counterintuitive to classify a 7-1 defeat as “one that got away,” but what transpired as Argyle took down Wylie on Thursday night in the first game of a best-of-three Region 1-5A semifinal baseball series was just that.
And that. And that. And that some more.
While the exclamation point on the Eagles’ victory was supplied by Argyle’s best-struck ball of the evening — a bases-clearing double in the sixth inning by second baseman Colton Roquemore — balls that weren’t struck at all did just as much to put the Bulldogs in an 0-1 hole in the series and needing a victory at 1 p.m. Friday at Abilene Christian University to keep their season alive.
Digital photos, prints and keepsakes may be purchased by clicking the link below. The “BigCountryPreps.com” watermark will be removed from all purchased photos.
MIDLAND — The Wylie baseball team entered Saturday’s Region I-5A quarterfinal Game 2 against Lubbock Monterey having won seven of its last eight contests with timely hitting and masterful pitching.
A seventh-inning rally for a 4-2 win in Friday’s series opener meant that Wylie could give the ball to staff ace Sam Walker in Game 2 with a chance to close out the series and advance to the Region I-5A semifinals.
Walker cut through the Plainsmen lineup with ease as the Bulldogs beat Monterey 4-3 at Ernie Johnson Field on Saturday afternoon.
Photos by Khloe Scott, HubCityPreps.com
MIDLAND — Abilene High right-hander Brady Bennett had his first no-decision of the season while turning in his best start of the year Friday as the Eagles outlasted Lubbock Cooper 1-0 in nine innings at Midland College to open their best-of-three Region I-5A quarterfinal series.
Hours later, across town in Midland, the Wylie baseball team completed a 4-2 win over Lubbock Monterey in Game 1 to take an early lead in its region quarterfinal series as well.
That put both the Eagles and Bulldogs in position to advance to next week’s Region I-5 semifinals with one win Saturday, when their respective series resume back at the same sites.
Our final Big Country Preps Player of the Week for the 2022-23 school year could have gone any number of directions.
We finally settled on Goldthwaite junior Lainey Jernigan, who swept both the girls 2A hurdles titles at the state meet last week.
Jernigan won the 100 hurdles in 14.62 and the 300 hurdles in 44.12. And the good news for GHS fans is, she’s coming back to defend both crowns next year.
The Abilene High and Wylie baseball teams advanced again in the Region I-5A playoffs, winning their area round series against El Paso Ysleta and El Paso Del Valle, respectively.
The Eagles defeated the Indians in three games, following a 6-1 win in Game 1 on Friday with a split Saturday. After dropping Game 2 by a 5-2 margin, AHS bounced back to clinch the series with a 6-1 victory in Game 3.
The Bulldogs took care of business a little quicker, downing the Conquistadores 7-5 in Game 1 on Thursday, before securing the sweep with a 6-1 win in Friday’s Game 2.
With the series victories, Abilene High and Wylie will both advance to the Region I-5A quarterfinals, where they’ll each face off with District 4-5A rivals. The Eagles will play Lubbock Cooper, which routed Clint Horizon in a one-game playoff, while the Bulldogs will take on Lubbock Monterey, which defeated El Paso Hanks in three games.
MONAHANS — The Wylie softball team had its season come to a close Friday with a 7-5 loss to El Paso Hanks in Game 2 of a Region I-5A quarterfinal series that began Thursday with a 6-0 Lady Knights win in Game 1.
The sweep ended the Lady Bulldogs’ campaign at 30-8, one round short of the Wylie’s 2019 and 2022 runs to the region semifinals.
The losses ended the high school careers of eight seniors — Rylee Moore, Kat Martinez, Kadance Gilcrease, Reese Farrar, Hanna Hood, Kylee Rodriguez, Nylah Alvarado and Jadyn Fernandez — who were an instrumental part of the Lady Bulldogs’ success the past several seasons.
AUSTIN — After a slow start in the field events on Friday saw the Big Country net just four medals, things heated up in the evening session when the track events got rolling.
Big Country athletes picked up 10 medals under the lights at Mike A. Meyers Stadium at the University of Texas, giving the area 14 for the day.
On top of that, the Stamford girls team finished in a three-way tie with Refugio and Panhandle with 32 points to claim a share of the state championship. Goldthwaite’s girls finished three points back in fourth.
Coming off a bi-district sweep of Plainview in which Reese Farrar and Rylee Moore both pitched five-inning one-hitters, it was going to be difficult for Wylie’s co-aces to repeat that performance against El Paso Parkland in the area round.
And yet, they did.
Farrar pitched her second one-hitter of the playoffs while Moore tossed a five-inning no-hitter to fuel the Lady Bulldogs past the Lady Matadors 20-1 and 10-0 and into the Region I-4A quarterfinals, where WHS (30-6) will face off with 36-1 El Paso Hanks this week.
In the process, coach Heather Collier’s dynamic pitching duo claimed our penultimate Big Country Preps Player of the Year award of the 2022-23 school year.
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: Plainview-Wylie baseball bi-district playoff (84 images)”
The Abilene High and Wylie baseball teams closed out bi-district sweeps on Saturday, with the Eagles cruising past Amarillo High 13-4 in Game 2 at Lubbock Cooper while the Bulldogs routed Plainview 12-2 in Plainview.
The victories earned AHS and Wylie spots in the Region I-5A area round, where they will matchup with El Paso Ysleta and El Paso Del Valle, respectively.