by Daniel Youngblood

GAME STORY: Stephenville girls grind out 30-20 over Cooper in defensive slugfest

Frustrated at times by Cooper’s athleticism and defensive intensity, the Stephenville girls basketball team found itself in a dogfight late in the third quarter Tuesday at Cougar Gym. But after leading just 15-12 at halftime and 21-17 with 10 minutes remaining in the game, the Honeybees closed the contest on a 9-3 run to grind out a 30-20 win.

SHS made just 10 shots from the field in a physical defensive game that saw 17 field goals made between the teams. But coach Jason Hodges’ squad held the Lady Cougars to five points or fewer in three of the four quarters to record its fifth straight win.

The victory improved the Honeybees to 10-2 on the year, while Cooper fell to 1-12 with the loss.

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by Daniel Youngblood

GAME STORY: Wylie girls push through slow start to run away from Graham

It took the Wylie girls basketball team a few minutes to find its stride Tuesday, but once the Lady Bulldogs did they never lost it in a 68-20 win over Graham at Bulldog Gym.

Tied with the Lady Blues at 4-all more than halfway through the opening quarter, Wylie closed the period on a 14-2 run and extended its 18-6 first-quarter lead to 34-13 by halftime to set the tone for the lopsided win.

Using aggressive defense to speed Graham up and force turnovers, the Lady Bulldog never allowed more than seven points in any quarter. And on the other end of the floor, coach Duane Hopper’s team moved the ball through and around the Lady Blues’ zone to get open looks both on the perimeter and in the lane.

The result was a convincing win that improved Wylie’s record on the season to 13-2 with another month to go before the start of District 4-5A play.

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by Evan Ren

EVAN REN’S PLAYOFF FORECAST: Stephenville, Brock, Wall aiming for Jerry World

LAST WEEK: 6-2, .750
SEASON TOTAL: 540-113, .827

With six-man teams from Gordon, Richland Springs and Jayton having already qualified for next week’s state championship games in Arlington, there are three additional 11-man possibilities for the Big Country Preps coverage area in the state semifinals.

Stephenville will take on Celina in 4A DI; Brock will face Celina in 4A DII and Wall will square off with Gunter in 3A DII. All three of those games will take place on Friday, with the winners advancing to their respective title games at AT&T Stadium in Arlington next week. 

All three matchups are razor-thin when it comes to looking for reasons to pick one team or the other. But frankly, that’s what we want at this time of year, so here goes nothing.

Here’s this week’s playoff forecast. 

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by Daniel Youngblood

SIX-MAN REWIND: Three area teams headed to Arlington after earning convincing wins in state semifinals

With five teams playing in the four Class 1A state semifinal games, the Big Country Preps coverage area was guaranteed to have a presence in next week’s state championship games. 

As it turns out, our area will have a substantial one.

With Gordon advancing in Division I and Jayton and Richland Springs earning spots in the DII title game, the Big Country Preps area will have three of the four state participants when games kick off next Wednesday at AT&T Stadium in Arlington.

For the final time this year, it’s time to take a look at how we got here in the last “Big Country Rewind” column of the 2025 season. We hope you enjoy this look back at last week’s action.

Continue reading “SIX-MAN REWIND: Three area teams headed to Arlington after earning convincing wins in state semifinals” →

by Evan Ren

BIG COUNTRY PREPS PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Wylie senior earns this week’s award

It’s one thing to pour in points. 

It’s quite another to do it against difficult competition in a big-school tournament.  Wylie senior Swade Sipe, our Big Country Preps Player of the Week, did exactly that in last week’s Granbury tournament, helping the Bulldogs to a 2-2 mark in the challenging event. 

Sipe’s weekend began with a 22-point effort in a 54-48 win over Saginaw. It continued with 12 points in a 56-50 loss to Prosper Rock Hill, 20 points in a 59-51 win over Midland Christian and a 33-point night in a 46-43 loss to Arlington Lamar. 

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by Daniel Youngblood

WEEK 16 FAN POLLS … Pick this week’s state semifinal winners!

Each week here at Big Country Preps, we offer fans the chance to pick the winners of all games involving our local and area 11-man football teams. With the season winding down, we’re expanding beyond our coverage area this week and picking all of this week’s state semifinal games.

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 16:

Continue reading “WEEK 16 FAN POLLS … Pick this week’s state semifinal winners!” →

by Daniel Youngblood

GAME STORY: Ethridge’s big game, dominant defensive effort fuel Richland Springs past Strawn in state semis

STEPHENVILLE — Cohen Ethridge had another monster game for the Richland Springs offense, and the Coyotes defense shut down Strawn’s rushing attack from start to finish Saturday to pull away for a 66-20 win over the Greyhounds in a Class 1A Division II semifinal matchup at Art Briles Stadium.

Behind Ethridge, who finished with 200 yards and five touchdowns rushing, returned a kickoff 60 yards for a score and added 69 yards and a TD passing for good measure, Richland Springs scored on eight of its nine offensive possessions. And defensively, the Coyotes limited Strawn to minus-31 rushing yards on 19 attempts to take a 56-14 lead into halftime before closing out the 45-point-rule win with 5:08 remaining in the third quarter on their second safety of the game.

The thorough victory improved Richland Springs to 12-1 on the year and, more importantly, earned the nine-time state champion Coyotes their first trip to a state title game in Arlington since 2020.

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Wall 2025
by Evan Ren

GAME REPORT: Wall crushes Idalou, advances to state semifinals

Throughout their unbeaten run through the 2025 season, nobody gave the Wall Hawks more difficulty than Idalou in a 35-21 WHS win on Oct. 3.  

However, Friday’s rematch in the Region I-3A DII title game, followed a completely different script. 

Rather than a mistake-filled night on the part of Wall as in the first matchup, the Hawks forced four Idalou turnovers and ran away with the regional championship in a 48-7 rout at San Angelo Stadium. 

Landon York threw for 307 yards and four scores to lead Wall (14-0) which now advances to face Gunter in a rematch of last year’s 3A DII state semifinal on Friday at 6 at Art Briles Stadium in Stephenville. 

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by Evan Ren

GAME REPORT: Stephenville rallies to eliminate Canyon West Plains

Photos by James Abel, PressPassSports.com

A stunning reversal in momentum saw Stephenville advance to the Class 4A DI state semifinals on Friday when the Yellow Jackets overcame a 21-7 second-quarter deficit with 34 uananswered points in a 41-21 win over Canyon West Plains at Lubbock’s Lowrey Field. 

Trot Jordan threw for 212 yards and two scores and rushed for 72 yards and two additional TDs to lead Stephenville (14-0), which will face Celina (14-0) next week with a trip to the state championship game on the line. 

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by Daniel Youngblood

GAME STORY: Winters too much to handle as West Texas ends strong Cisco season in Region I-2A DI final

LUBBOCK — For most of the first half Friday, it appeared as though the Cisco Loboes and Stinnett West Texas Comanches were headed for an old-school thriller in the the Region I-2A Division I championship game at Lubbock Cooper’s Pirate Stadium.

But when momentum turned late in the second quarter, it did so sharply and for good, allowing still-undefeated West Texas to pull away for a 48-22 win and end the Loboes’ best season since 2014 at 12-2.

Led by senior quarterback Cayde Winters, whose bowling ball running style proved too much for the Cisco defense to handle over the course of four quarters, the Comanches rallied from first-half deficits of 7-0 and 14-8 to take a 24-14 lead into halftime. And they continued to pile on after the break, stretching their lead to 40-14 by the 8:55 mark of the final period to stamp out any hopes of a Loboes comeback.

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by Brandon McAuliffe

GAME STORY: Stout defensive effort propels Brock past Midland Greenwood, into state semifinals

After Brock beat Fort Worth Dunbar 49-0 to open the postseason, Brock coach Billy Mathis turned and gave the bi-district trophy to senior offensive lineman Tobyn Roger, who gave it a quick smooch.

Friday night at Abilene Christian University’s Wildcat Stadium, Roger got to kiss his fourth trophy of the 2025 season as the Eagles forced four turnovers and pulled away in the second half for a 35-14 win over Midland Greenwood in the Region I-4A Division II championship game.

It’s turned into a tradition that both enjoy.

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by Daniel Youngblood

SIX-MAN LOOKAHEAD: Five area teams ready to play with trip to Arlington on the line

With one fewer round in the six-man playoffs than in its 11-man counterpart, the state semifinals are already upon us. And with five teams remaining from the Big Country Preps coverage area, there’s an extra layer of intrigue on what is already an outstanding slate of games.

Water Valley and Gordon remain in the Division I bracket and could clash for the state title in two weeks in Arlington, while Jayton and Klondike will battle for the right to take on the winner of Strawn and Richland Springs in Division II. 

If you like six-man football, these are the types of matchups you love, so let’s stop wasting time and dive into this week’s games. We hope you enjoy this preview of the state’s four semifinals games.

Continue reading “SIX-MAN LOOKAHEAD: Five area teams ready to play with trip to Arlington on the line” →

by Daniel Youngblood

TOURNAMENT CENTRAL: Abilene High, Cooper kick off Key City Classic with victories

The Abilene High and Cooper boys basketball teams both scored impressive wins on the opening night of the Fyzical Therapy and Balance Centers Key City Classic on Thursday evening to earn their way into the championship bracket for the remainder of the three-day event.

AHS whipped El Paso Jefferson 73-33 at Eagle Gym in its opener, while Cooper downed Cleburne 49-42 at Cougar Gym.

For full results of the tournament’s first day and the schedule for Friday’s second-round action, click here.

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by Daniel Youngblood

Big Country Preps’ Pick ‘Em Panel (Week 15)

Each week here at Big Country Preps, we’ll post our picks for all of that week’s 11-man games and select six-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.

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by Evan Ren

EVAN REN’S PLAYOFF FORECAST: 10 area teams retain a pulse in December

LAST WEEK: 13-0, 1.000
SEASON TOTAL: 534-111, .828

As the calendar flips to December, we’re still plenty busy here at Big  Country Preps, with 10 of our teams still alive with shots at a state title. 

So with out further delay, let’s take a quick look at all of this week’s matchups. 

I’ll see you on the road. 

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by Brandon McAuliffe

SIGNING DAY: Cooper’s Davis, Brock’s Matlock are poised to help turn around UTEP football program

For the second year in a row, the University of Texas-El Paso football coach Scotty Walden found a member of his recruiting class in Abilene as the Miners signed Cooper defensive lineman Dycin Davis to a Letter of Intent on Wednesday morning.

Davis’ addition came one year after the Miners signed former Abilene High wide receiver Ryland Bradford.

Along with Davis, UTEP’s class on the first day that high school seniors could sign also included Brock’s Colt Matlock, who the program advertised as a defensive signee. UTEP signed a total of 25 players on Wednesday with 23 Texas high school players being joined by two additions from the transfer portal.

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by Yale Youngblood, Special to Big Country Preps

FEATURE: Undefeated Gordon Lady Longhorns making waves, headlines with historic start to season

Photos courtesy of Matt Garnett

On Nov. 18, coach Matt Garnett and his Gordon High School girls basketball squad did the unthinkable: They — and not the principals of the 12-0 and two-time defending state champion football team — became the talk of the town.

With a stunning 49-42 overtime victory over Plano West, the Lady Longhorns instantly became the stuff of legends.

The win was the fifth of eight straight to open the season. It resulted because Gordon doubled up on the Lady Wolves 14-7 in the extra period. It represented the climax of a 230-mile round trip in a GISD school bus.

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by Daniel Youngblood

SIX-MAN REWIND: Five area teams earn way into state semifinals, four see seasons end in region finals

With nine area teams involved in region finals last week, the Big Country Preps coverage area was guaranteed to have a strong contingent of teams in this week’s state semifinals.

And the five teams that survived — Water Valley and Gordon in Division I and Jayton, Strawn and Richland Springs in Division II — are now just one win away from earning a trip to Arlington.

Before we look ahead to the matchups that await those squads, it’s time to take a look at how they survived their third-round tests in this week’s “Six-Man Rewind” column. We hope you enjoy this look back at Week 14’s six-man action.

Continue reading “SIX-MAN REWIND: Five area teams earn way into state semifinals, four see seasons end in region finals” →

by Evan Ren

BIG COUNTRY PREPS PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Brock junior takes the top spot

Big-time performances are the norm this year for the 13-0 Brock Eagles, who earned a trip to the Region I-4A DII championship game with last week’s 66-3 win over Seminole. 

At the forefront of that: This week’s Big Country Preps Player of the Week, junior running back Bryer McDonald.  

And with good reason. 

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by Daniel Youngblood

WEEK 15 FAN POLLS … Pick this week’s 11-man and six-man winners!

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 15:

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by Daniel Youngblood

GAME STORY: De Leon can’t complete rally after rocky third quarter in twice-delayed loss to Axtell

GODLEY — In a game that took nearly six hours to complete due to two lengthy lightning delays, it was a stretch of just over four minutes of game time that proved to be the difference in Axtell’s 28-17 Region II-2A Division I semifinal win over De Leon on Friday at Wildcat Stadium.

After taking a narrow 7-6 lead into halftime following a hyper-competitive first of half of football, the Longhorns turned a pair of Heston Jobe interceptions into touchdowns — the latter directly — to take a 21-6 third-quarter lead that would never dip below two scores the rest of the way.

The gap eventually reached three touchdowns (27-6) in the fourth quarter, before the Bearcats mounted a late rally that ended with their third failed two-point conversion try and a lost fumble after forcing a red-zone stop with just over four minutes to play.

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by Brandon McAuliffe

GAME STORY: Water Valley keeps undefeated season alive with second-quarter flourish in win over Robert Lee

SAN ANGELO — Branson Lacy ran for 184 yards and three touchdowns and Boston Weise ran for a pair of scores as Water Valley took a 50-28 win over Robert Lee in the Region II-1A Division I final on Friday night at San Angelo Stadium.

It was the Wildcats’ second win over the Longhorns this year — backing up a 67-30 win in district play on Oct. 24.

Water Valley coach Trey Sisco was proud of what he saw out of his squad in a game that the Wildcats knew would be tough.

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by Brandon McAuliffe

GAME STORY: Brock dominates all phases of the game in 66-3 romp over Seminole

SAN ANGELO — The Brock football team is just three wins away from a state championship after a thorough dismantling of Seminole, 66-3, in a Region I-4A Division II semifinal on Friday afternoon at San Angelo Stadium.

Having beaten Fort Worth Dunbar (49-0), Lubbock Estacado (65-18) and the Indians in the first half of the postseason, the road to Arlington now gets considerably tougher for coach Billy Mathis’ 13-0 squad with games looming against Midland Greenwood next week, potentially Carthage in the semifinals and whoever comes out of the opposite side of the bracket (where the average margin of victory in the first two rounds was 26.6 points) at 3 p.m. on December 19th at AT&T Stadium.

Even with the path that lies ahead, you won’t find the Eagles looking ahead.

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by Daniel Youngblood

SIX-MAN LOOKAHEAD: Nine area teams remain in star-studded slate of region finals action

We’ve reached the third week of the playoffs and the rubber has hit the road at the six-man level. Every team remaining is a heavy-hitter, which makes every game on this week’s slate of region finals matchups a marquee-worthy affair.

With the state semifinals up next and a trip to Arlington within reach, the nine area teams remaining in the six-man playoffs will all be looking to play their best ball this week. And with four all-area matchups to look forward to Friday, we’re guaranteed to see at least four teams from the Big Country Preps coverage survive to play another game.

It’s time now to preview our Thanksgiving week matchups in this week’s “Six-Man Lookahead” column. We hope you enjoy this preview of of an action-packed week. 

Continue reading “SIX-MAN LOOKAHEAD: Nine area teams remain in star-studded slate of region finals action” →

by Daniel Youngblood

Big Country Preps’ Pick ‘Em Panel (Week 14)

Each week here at Big Country Preps, we’ll post our picks for all of that week’s 11-man games and select six-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.

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by Evan Ren

EVAN REN’S PLAYOFF FORECAST: 17 area teams still alive heading into Thanksgiving

LAST WEEK: 21-7, .750
SEASON TOTAL: 521-111, .824

JIM NED (11-1) VS. PARADISE (11-1)

Similar schedules with similar results, but Paradise does hold a slight edge both offensively and defensively and outperformed the Indians against common opponent Breckenridge. 

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by Daniel Youngblood

SIX-MAN REWIND: Nine area teams stay alive with strong second-round playoff efforts

Nine teams from the Big Country Preps coverage area survived the second round of the playoffs, setting up a huge slate of games this week in the region championship round.

But before we discuss state quarterfinal matchups later this week, it’s time to take a look at how we got here in this week’s “Six-Man Lookahead” column.

As you might expect the cream rose to the top, with Water Valley, Robert Lee, Gordon, May, Jayton, Benjamin, Strawn, Three Way and Richland Springs all earning games after Thanksgiving with a shot at the state semifinals on the line. We hope you enjoy this look back at the performances that helped them lock down those opportunities.

Continue reading “SIX-MAN REWIND: Nine area teams stay alive with strong second-round playoff efforts” →

by Evan Ren

BIG COUNTRY PREPS PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Graham senior Jace Gill takes this week’s accolade

Not only is our Big Country Preps Player of the Week holding down the top spot with big numbers, but his performance in Graham’s 35-28 area round win over Lubbock Cooper Liberty was a virtual seminar on poise. 

Helping the Steers (9-3) to overcome three separate deficits, senior QB/kicker/punter Jace Gill was 15 of 28 for 239 yards and three TDs. He also rushed 12 times for 118 yards and another score. 

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by Daniel Youngblood

WEEK 14 FAN POLLS … Pick this week’s 11-man and six-man winners!

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 14:

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by Daniel Youngblood

GAME STORY: Rough start, mistakes doom Cooper’s upset hopes in 77-35 area-round loss to Argyle

GODLEY — Heading into its Region I-5A Division II area-round matchup with state-ranked Argyle, the Cooper football team knew its margin for error would be narrow if it hoped to advance past the Eagles and into the third round of the playoffs for the first time since 2019. 

So when the Cougars found themselves down 14-0 just 32 seconds in, it became clear pretty quickly that they might be in for a long night.

That disastrous start set the course for a 77-35 loss at Wildcat Stadium, ending Cooper’s best season in five years at 7-5. And though neither the process nor the outcome matched that which he and his players were hoping for Friday night, coach Aaron Roan left the stadium proud of how his team continued to fight no matter how deep the hole got — a hallmark of a 2025 squad that handled adversity and itself well all season.

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by Evan Ren

GAME STORY: Graham rallies to eliminate Lubbock-Cooper Liberty 35-28

ABILENE — While the Graham Steers may have won Friday’s Region I-4A DII area round matchup with Lubbock-Cooper Liberty, the 35-28 victory might be better described as a seminar on answering the bell. 

On three separate occasions, the Steers erased deficits and eventually overcame a major momentum shift in the final minutes to advance to the regional semis.   

Jace Gill threw for 239 yards and three scores and rushed for 118 yards and another TD to lift Graham (9-3), which now advances to face Midland Greenwood (12-0).

Gill’s final TD pass — an 8-yarder to Thomason Burkett with only 1:11 to play, proved to be the game-winner, after which the Steer defense closed the door on Liberty’s final possession. 

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by Brandon McAuliffe

GAME STORY: Denton Ryan dominates Abilene High in shutout win to end Eagles’ season at 9-3

FORT WORTH — Friday night’s Region I-5A Division I area round showdown between No. 10 Abilene High and No. 4 Denton Ryan at Crowley ISD Multi-Purpose Stadium started badly for the Eagles and quickly went downhill from there as the Raiders rolled to a 59-0 win.

Quin Henigan threw for 319 yards and six touchdowns as Ryan put up 453 yards of offense, avenging a 31-21 loss in the same round of the 2023 playoffs.

Abilene High coach Mike Fullen fully shouldered the blame for the loss as AHS had just 246 yards of offense and turned the ball over four times.

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by Daniel Youngblood

SIX-MAN LOOKAHEAD: Playoffs heat up with bevy of intriguing area-round games

After a week full of blowouts in the bi-district round of the six-man playoffs, the area-round should prove to be much more competitive.

This week’s area slate is chock full of excellent games, with marquee matchups as far as the eye can see.

As we do every week here in this column, it’s time to break down the biggest games of the week in our “Six-Man Lookahead.” We hope you enjoy this preview of the week’s action. 

Continue reading “SIX-MAN LOOKAHEAD: Playoffs heat up with bevy of intriguing area-round games” →

by Daniel Youngblood

GAME STORY: Wall dominant in every phase in 50-0 area-round win over Childress

SNYDER — After seeing last season end in heartbreaking fashion with an emotional loss to Gunter in the state semifinals, the Wall football team has made it no secret that it plans to earn a rematch with the Tigers in the same round on its way to Arlington this season. 

If there were any worries that such a mission-focused approach might lead to overlooking earlier steps in the process, the Hawks did a pretty good job of allaying those Thursday in a 50-0 area-round win over Childress at Grant Teaff Tiger Stadium.

In scoring on every possession but one in the first half, Wall built a 33-0 lead by the halftime break and never let down after, securing its second consecutive shutout and sixth of the season to earn a Region I-3A Division II semifinals date with Slaton at 1 p.m. next Friday in Sweetwater.

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