Week 3 is upon us, and it’s time to take a look at what the area six-man schedule has in store for us in this week’s “Six-Man Lookahead” column.
Rivals Gordon and Strawn take center stage as this week’s Game of the Week, but that’s far from the only good matchup on this week’s docket.
We hope you enjoy this peek at the weekend’s schedule and invite you to check out our Six-Man/Class 1A Central page for standings, schedules and results for your favorite team.
When Craig Slaughter took over at Wall less than two years ago, he knew what needed to happen.
The Hawks had some special players coming through their football program. And Slaughter wanted those guys to get the ball in space.
While quarterback Landon York has generated his fair share of headlines, York has benefitted from a strong collection of receivers led by seniors Reid Robertson, Kellen Oliver and Hagyn Barbee.
SANTO — Any football coach who utilizes the triple option (and any coach trying to defend against it) will tell you that the fullback is the key.
And in Class 2A, one good fullback is generally worth his weight in gold.
So at flexbone-based Class-2A Santo, an effective three-man combination at fullback in Jackson McKinnerney (5-9, 190, Jr.), Colt Bridges (5-10, 175, So.) and Justin Hollingsworth (6-0, 175, Sr.), is not only rare, but potentially devastating.
If Brayden Henry was a baseball player, he’d be a home run hitter.
An electrifying athlete with the speed to take any play to the house, the Abilene High senior is a true game-breaker any time he steps on the field.
But after having his junior campaign cut short by a torn ACL in his left knee, Henry considers being on the field at all a blessing. And with just one more year to play for coach Mike Fullen and the Eagles, the athletic playmaker is looking to make the most of each and every opportunity he has out there this fall.
Coming off an 8-4 2024 season that represented the best campaign at Anson in nearly a decade, Tigers’ coaches, players and fans alike were cautiously optimistic that an even better fate might lie ahead this fall.
The 2025 team, after all, was set to return a bevy of talented skill players and all but two of the starting offensive linemen that helped Anson surge two rounds into the playoffs last December. Just as noteworthy: Every projected returning regular in the defense started at one point a season ago.
There was just one question with which the Tigers were expected to grapple, but it was a huge one: How was Anson going to fare sans the team’s best player, Corey Layne?
Each week here at Big Country Preps, we’ll post our picks for all of that week’s 11-man games, in addition to the results of our weekly fan polls for each matchup.
For those interested in voting, polls go up on Sunday night each week and close Thursday evening.
Disagree with our picks or the fan poll consensus? Let us know in the comments section below.
LAST WEEK: 53-15, .780
SEASON TOTAL: 107-29, .787
This week’s Big Country Preps Game of the Week, Wall at Jim Ned, has a checkmark in most of the key boxes.
A high-profile game? Check. A battle of unbeatens? Check. A rivalry game? Check. A game of importance? Check, yes, check —even for a non-district game. Is a large crowd expected? Check.
So even during a week where there are multiple matchups of interest in our area, the spotlight game was relatively easy to select.
Here’s this week’s Big Country Football Forecast. I’ll see you on the road.
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Continue reading “PHOTO GALLERY: San Angelo Central-Wylie volleyball (50 images)”
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Continue reading “PHOTO GALLERY: Jim Ned-Clyde volleyball (32 images)”
Coming off a rocky week that saw it drop matches to Clyde last Tuesday and Midland High on Friday, the Wylie volleyball team entered its home match against San Angelo Central on Tuesday looking to get back on track.
By the end of a hard-fought nondistrict contest, it was mission accomplished for coach Shay Cox’s squad, which swept the Lady Cats 27-25, 25-23, 25-14 at Bulldog Gym.
Led by Kiki Bolden with 17 kills and Haddie Mock with 10, the Lady Bulldogs posted a .182 hitting percentage against a strong Central defense, fighting through a few lulls in the first two sets to close out the Lady Cats in three.
CLYDE — When Clyde and Jim Ned meet on the volleyball court, records can always be thrown out the window as the two squads tend to be part of a three-way battle with Wall for the District 6-3A championship.
Tuesday night’s affair at Bulldog Gym between the Lady Indians and Lady Bulldogs was nothing short of spectacular.
When all was said and done, it was the hosts who claimed a thrilling 25-22, 25-20, 23-25, 25-22 win to start district play.
Week 2 didn’t feature as many competitive outcomes as expected, particularly in the slate’s most high-profile games, but the results nonetheless served to give us a clearer picture of what we can expect form the area six-man scene this year.
And while most of the matchups previewed in last week’s “Six-Man Lookahead” column featured lopsided final scores, there were a few thrillers mixed in as well.
You can find all of last week’s results on our Six-Man/Class 1A Central page, but let’s dive into some of the most head-turning ones in this week’s “Six-Man Rewind” column.
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.
Each week here at Big Country Preps, we offer fans the chance to pick the winners of all games involving our local and area football teams. The results of these weekly polls, which will close at 5 p.m. each Thursday, will be included in our weekly Pick ‘Em Panel.
Here are the games for Week 3:
Continue reading “WEEK 3 FAN POLLS … Pick this week’s 11-man winners!”
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”
Abilene High 34, Cooper 13 — Trailing 7-0 after Jaden Carrillo hit Tayvious Collier for a 36-yard touchdown pass on the game’s opening possession, the Eagles outscored the Cougars 34-6 the rest of the way to pull away for a three-touchdown win in the Big Country Preps Game of the Week.
Brayden Henry ran for 76 yards and two touchdowns, passed for 119 yards and a score and received for 36 yards to lead Abilene High (2-0), which also got 148 total yards (3-70 rushing; 3-78 receiving) and two total TDs from M’Aujehl Aboso.
Lubbock Monterey 24, Wylie 21 — Jonah Reed overcame an early-pick six to pass for 196 yards and a touchdown while adding another TD on the ground to lead the Plainsmen past the Bulldogs in a hard-fought matchup.
Legin Williams added 82 yards and a touchdown on the ground and Cam Taylor had 123 yards and a score receiving to help Monterey, which outgained Wylie 346-222.
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Continue reading “PHOTO GALLERY: Hawley-Albany football (36 images)”
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Continue reading “PHOTO GALLERY: Abilene High-Cooper football (64 images)”
Junction 20, San Saba 6 — The Eagles improved to 2-0 with a dominating defensive effort, limiting San Saba to 155 yards in total offense.
Jason Everett led San Saba (1-1) with 76 yards rushing and one score.
Santo 48, Valley View 0 — The Wildcats ran for 352 of their 399 total yards while holding the Eagles to just 56 yards of offense in a blowout win.
Rylan Griffith led the ground attack with 103 yards and a touchdown on just nine carries, while Dillan Branham (7-87, 1 TD), Colt Bridges (6-74, 2 TDs), Justin Hollingsworth (8-43, 2 TDs) and Jackson McKinnerney (4-19, 1 TD) also found the end zone on the ground for Santo (2-0).
Munday 49, Winters 0 — Ja’Riyis Williams had a big day on the ground, and the Moguls defense was dominant in a rain-soaked matchup with the Blizzards.
Munday held Winters to just 180 total yards, intercepting Coy Martinez twice in the victory while also forcing and recovering a fumble.
Goldthwaite 59, Center Point 0 — Landry Sanderson rushed for 157 yards and three scores and Owen Campbell added 113 yards and three more TDS to help Goldthwaite level off at 1-1.
The Eagles led 39-0 at the break and never looked back, holding Center Point to only one first down and forcing four turnovers.
McCamey 42, Colorado City 19 — The Badgers held the Wolves to just 137 yards of total offense, including 78 yards on the ground, to start fast and hold on for a comfortable win.
McCamey outscored C-City 28-0 in the opening quarter and was never threatened after, going to halftime with a 36-13 advantage.
Hico 38, Moody 6 — Tyler Jackson passed for 151 yards and two touchdowns and ran for 141 yards and another score to lead the Tigers to a lopsided victory over the Bearcats.
Cole Heutzenroeder (9-101, 1 TD) also reached the 100-yard rushing mark for Hico, which got receiving touchdowns from Tyler Rainwater and Heath McLean.
Brady 24, Mason 22 — Sean Jacoby ran for 160 yards and two touchdowns, and Ashton Taylor ran for 91 yards and two scores to help the Bulldogs to a hard-fought win over the Punchers.
Behind those two, Brady (2-0) increased a 12-7 halftime lead to 18-7 in the third quarter before holding off a Mason rally in the final period.
Merkel 29, Bangs 26 — The Badgers are off to a 2-0 start following their narrow win over Bangs on Friday.
Easton Malone threw for 157 yards and four scores to lead Merkel, which earned the win with only 235 yards in total offense.
Bangs (0-2) was led by Jason Tidwell, who rushed for 183 yards and two scores.
Brock 67, Lake Worth 7 — Holt Frazier passed for 195 yards and five touchdowns, hitting Colt Matlock three ties for 132 yards and three scores, to fuel the Eagles to a blowout win over the Bullfrogs.
Levi Dean (5-100, 1 TD), Bryer McDonald (5-83, 1 TD) and Dash Lindsey (8-74, 1 TD) all added nice rushing days for Brock (2-0), which finished with 561 yards of total offense.
San Angelo Lake View 49, Snyder 28 — Chris Alvizo hit 23 of 33 passes for 276 yards and five touchdowns to lead the Chiefs to a comfortable win over the Tigers.
Nick Leyva was the quarterback’s favorite target, hauling in seven passes for 100 yards, while Christian Esparza had 61 yards and a pair of touchdown catches to help Lake View race out to a 28-0 lead in the second quarter.
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.
Big Spring 41, Lubbock High 27 — Marcus Rios passed for 261 yards and four touchdowns while adding 127 yards and two more scores on the ground to lead the Steers to a two-touchdown win over the Westerners.
Xander Garcia also topped the 100-yard rushing mark for Big Spring, going for 124 yards on 21 carries, while Jacobi Lozano (5-143, 2 TDs) and Eithan Threats (3-91, 1 TD) both had big days catching the ball.
Clyde 52, Eastland 28 — The Bulldogs used a 20-0 first quarter to gain control of this contest and never looked back.
Clyde (2-0) rolled up 521 yards in total offense while limiting Eastland (0-2) to 279.
Harley Griffin rushed for 124 yards and two scores and Miles Wilsher rushed for 107 and another TD to lead the Bulldogs.
Hamlin 35, Seymour 21 — Isaiah Hutchings threw for 190 yards and two scores and rushed for 127 yards to lead the Pied Pipers (1-1) to their first win of the year.
Kyson McGee rushed for 107 yards and one TD and Reece Rainey rushed for 68 yards and another score to bolster the Hamlin offense.
The Pied Pipers will travel to Crosbyton next Friday; Seymour (1-1) will play host to Albany (2-0) on the same evening.
Wall 35, Brownwood 10 — Landon York hit 18 of 21 passes for 249 yards and three scores to keep the Hawks (2-0) unbeaten.
Leading 21-3 heading into the fourth quarter, Hawks put the game away with a pair of fourth quarter scores.
The Lions (0-2) were limited to 169 yards in total offense, including 69 yards rushing on 27 carries.
STEPHENVILLE — Mother Nature has no sense of nostalgia.
If she did, she wouldn’t have interrupted a special night in Stephenville that saw the christening of Art Briles’ Stadium and Mike Copeland Field in a 45-0 win for the Yellow Jackets over Everman.
While Zyler McClendon was rushing for 132 yards and two scores and backup quarterback Hud Price was delivering a pair of touchdown passes, weather intervened with two lightning delays and intermittent showers, eventually leading to an early finish (agreed to by both coaches) with more than six minutes left in the game.
“Before the first (lightning) delay, I thought this place was electric,” Stephenville coach Sterling Doty said. “The place was full on the home side, we had some great momentum and then we got popped.”
For the second week in a row, Abilene High weathered an early storm to pull away for a comfortable win. This time, it was against crosstown rival Cooper in the Big Country Preps Game of the Week.
Trailing 7-0 early after the Cougars scored on their first possession and thwarted the Eagles’ with a tip-drill interception, AHS responded with 19 unanswered points to take a two-score lead it would eventually extend to three scores in a 34-13 victory Friday at Shotwell Stadium.
Led by senior utility back Brayden Henry, who passed for 119 yards and a touchdown, rushed for 76 yards and two scores and received for 36 yards, Abilene High outgained Cooper 465-331 in improving to 2-0 on the season. Junior M’Aujehl Aboso also had a big game for the Eagles, rushing for 70 yards and a touchdown and receiving for 78 yards and a score as AHS took a 27-13 lead into halftime, before shutting the Cougars out in the second half.
ALBANY — If it’s raining in the Big Country during football season, two things are a virtual guarantee: the West Texas Fair & Rodeo is in Abilene and Albany is scheduled to play Hawley.
For the first time in four meetings, the Lions and Bearcats were able to play at their scheduled location as Albany took a 21-7 win on Friday night at Faith Field at Robert Nail Memorial Stadium. The previous three seasons had seen the game played twice at Hardin-Simmons University’s Shelton Stadium and once at Wylie’s Hugh Sandifer Stadium.
The latest matchup was a defensive slugfest that saw the Lions knock off Hawley for the second time in three years despite the fact that the Bearcats have dominated the series since 2018.
Photos by Pat Cockrell, HubCityPreps.com
LUBBOCK — Leading Lubbock Monterey 7-3 at halftime, the Wylie football team couldn’t keep the Plainsmen bottled up in the second half, being outscored 21-14 over the final two quarters in a 24-21 loss Thursday at Lowrey Field.
Monterey outgained the Bulldogs 346-222, limiting coach Clay Martin’s team to just nine first downs. But Wylie still had an opportunity to win the game late.
It wasn’t until Nate DeLeon intercepted Jadin Karleskint with just over a minute to play that the Plainsmen could finally breathe a sigh of relief in game that was hard-fought both ways.
Week 1 is in the rearview, and you can read all about it in Monday’s “Six-Man Rewind” column. Now, it’s time take a look at what the Week 2 slate has to offer.
A top-10 matchup between May and Richland Springs headlines this week’s slate, but it’s far from the only intriguing matchup on the docket.
Let’s dive in and take a look at all the week holds for local and area six-man fans.
Coming into the season, Cooper coach Aaron Roan and his offensive staff believed the Cougars line could be a strength.
The Coogs returned three senior starters in Kayden Bryan, Jayden Flores and Marcus Andrade and brought back a fourth player, junior Ismael “Smiley” Martinez, who got some playing time in a reserve role last year, leaving the CHS staff with just one spot to fill to complete the starting five.
With senior Isaiah Kanyabitabo assuming that final role, the the Cougar O-line wasted no time confirming coaches’ hunch last week, paving the way for a 300-yard rushing effort in a 49-25 season-opening win at Azle. And with that performance in the books, Roan said the future could be even brighter for that unit — and the Cooper offense as a result.
Each week here at Big Country Preps, we’ll post our picks for all of that week’s 11-man games, in addition to the results of our weekly fan polls for each matchup.
For those interested in voting, polls go up on Sunday night each week and close Thursday evening.
Disagree with our picks or the fan poll consensus? Let us know in the comments section below.
Football holds a special place in the Dearth family’s heart.
James Dearth played in the NFL for more than a decade mostly with the New York Jets, specializing as a long snapper but also catching a few passes as a tight end.
His oldest son Kendall was a standout offensive lineman who played at Tarleton State. And now his youngest son is beginning his senior season as one of Stephenville’s key starters.
Photos courtesy of Brandon Langston
Fresh off a 53-14 trouncing of Abilene TLCA, the Munday football team will try to parlay the victory into a win streak when the Moguls play host to 0-1 Winters at 7:30 p.m. on Friday.
If a talented group of skill players can extend their own string of stellar efforts, which date to last year when the Moguls posted more wins than the school had achieved in three previous seasons, Munday’s chances to go 2-0 appear pretty solid.
Not that the path from “then” to “now” has been an easy one — for team leader, quarterback Hayden Bowman, or the rest of his teammates. The Moguls went 0-10, 3-7 and 0-10 from 2021-23, so last year’s 4-6 mark represented a giant step forward.
With its 35-18 season-opening victory over Bangs last Friday, the 2025 Early High School football team laid the foundation for something that never occurred in the year prior: a win streak.
That’s why the Longhorns’ next game, set for 7:30 p.m. Friday at Hamilton (1-0), represents a little more to first-year head coach Marvin Wilson than just the second game of the season — and, even, his head coaching career.
“It’s good to get that first one. It re-enforces that you’re doing something right,” Wilson said. “Now we’ve got to build on that.”
Gatesville 30, Glen Rose 7 — The Tigers managed only 123 yards in total offense while dropping to 0-2.