Tag: Cisco Loboes

by Evan Ren

COUNTDOWN TO TWO-A-DAYS: The Cisco Loboes … 31 days to two-a-days

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 continue in Class 2A Division I with the Cisco Loboes. On Saturday we will take a look at the Colorado City Wolves followed by the Hawley Bearcats on Sunday.

Continue reading “COUNTDOWN TO TWO-A-DAYS: The Cisco Loboes … 31 days to two-a-days” →

by Evan Ren

GAME STORY: Cisco wins fifth straight while handing Stamford its first loss of the year

STAMFORD — A week after rushing for more than 300 yards and five scores in a win over Olney, Cisco quarterback Hunter Long demonstrated another part of his game on Friday in a 47-14 win over Stamford: an accurate deep passing game. 

Long was 9 of 13 for 243 yards and three scores to lead Cisco (7-1, 4-0 District 4-2A DI), which is now in a firm position to challenge Hawley for the league title.  Long connected with passes of 77, 52 and 40 yards along the way and rushed for 145 yards and three scores to help the Loboes to their fifth straight win.

Limited to 201 yards in total offense, Stamford (6-1, 2-1) suffered its first loss of the year. Hayden Henager led the Bulldogs with 71 yards rushing on 14 carries. 

“We put ourselves in some third-and-long situations when we had to throw the ball,” said Cisco coach Kevin Stennett, whose club finished with 540 total yards (297 rushing). “We finally proved that we’ve got some receivers who will go up and get it and we got it to several different receivers. 

“We wanted to show that we can throw the ball and mix it up and I’ve very pleased about how balanced we were.” 

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by Evan Ren

BCP GAME OF THE WEEK: Coleman dominates Cisco 31-7

COLEMAN — For the better part of the last two decades, the Cisco football team has maintained a reputation for dominant physicality. And very seldom have the Loboes been outplayed via their own style. 

But in Friday’s Big Country Preps Game of the Week, the Coleman Bluecats did exactly that — rushing for 221 yards as a team in a 31-7 win at Hufford Field. 

Jadin Jackson rushed for 133 yards and two scores and threw for a third TD to lead Coleman (7-0, 3-0 District 4-2A Division I), which is now in the league driver’s seat. 

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by Evan Ren

CISCO FEATURE: Experienced Long returns to guide and expand Cisco offense

CISCO — A year ago, the Cisco Loboes were breaking in a promising sophomore, Hunter Long, at quarterback. And as one may suspect, there were plenty of safeguards in place.

As talented as he was, the 10th grader wasn’t going to be given much leeway in on-field decision making. At least, not until his maturity and experience matched his athleticism. 

Entering the 2021 season Long, has at last, reached that point. And as a 17-year-old junior, he could very well bring an already explosive Cisco team to an even higher level. That’s significant, given that the Loboes finished 10-4 and reached the Region I-2A DI title game last year.

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by Evan Ren

GAME STORY: Lipan rallies twice to eliminate Cisco 59-52

GLEN ROSE — Two things worried Cisco coach Kevin Hearne heading into Friday’s Region II championship game with Lipan. First, the Indians’ ability to get 3-pointers from multiple sources. And secondly, their ability to quickly adjust on the fly to alter the course of a game. 

Both factors were on display at Tiger Arena as the Indians rallied from two separate deficits to eliminate the Loboes 59-52.

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by Evan Ren

EVAN REN: Cisco boys must clear difficult Lipan hurdle, Brock to get a second shot at Shallowater

The two largest boys programs still alive in Big Country Preps’ coverage area — Brock and Cisco — will both have their work cut out for them heading into this weekend’s regional finals. 

There’s no real surprise there. 

The cupcake tray was emptied four rounds ago and anyone you meet this late in the dance isn’t there by accident. 

Brock (28-2), our lone Class 3A team to retain a pulse, will square off with Shallowater in a rematch of last year’s 53-45 regional semifinal loss to the Mustangs. Tipoff is set for 6 p.m. Friday at Angelo State University. Cisco, which is making its first appearance in a regional final since 1996, will tangle with perennial power Lipan in Glen Rose at 7 p.m. 

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by Evan Ren

GAME STORY: Workmanlike effort lifts Cisco past Seymour in regional quarterfinal round

ANSON — The Cisco Loboes have been showing more zone looks defensively since Christmas and in Saturday’s Region II-2A quarterfinal with Seymour, it paid off with a dominating 56-36 win at Anson High School. 

Layne Edgar poured in 19 points and Stephen Bird added 16 more to lift Cisco (18-3) which will face Bogata Rivercrest in the regional semifinals at a site and time to be determined. 

Cisco never trailed after opening the game with a 7-0 run, limiting Seymour to single-digit scoring in the first, second and third quarters. Seymour’s Grant Wright was the lone Panther to deliver significant offensive punch, leading SHS with 14 points. Teagan McMorris and Joe Trepanier added six each. 

“We played excellent defense,” Cisco coach Kevin Hearne said. “All the film we had on Seymour was mainly against man-to-man and (Wright) can really take over games. 

“So we thought the zone would kind of slow him down as far as penetrating. They have some good shooters, but we’ve played teams with good shooters before and we can cover out on them.  And that was the key — the old basic 2-3 zone came in big for us today.” 

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by Evan Ren

GAME STORY: Cold start dooms Santo in loss to Cisco

BRECKENRIDGE — After several days without power and water in Santo, the SHS girls basketball team was happy to simply take the floor in Saturday’s weather-delayed area round game with Cisco. 

The problem was, the Lady Wildcats’ had been unable to practice throughout most of this week’s deep freeze and it showed in a season-ending 45-27 loss at the Breckenridge Fine Arts Center. 

Justice Fox scored 12 points and Brooklyn Hurtado added nine more to lift Cisco (15-8), which advances to face area power Haskell on Tuesday at 6 p.m. at Jim Ned High School. 

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by Evan Ren

BCP GAME OF THE WEEK: Huge second half lifts Jim Ned over Cisco

CISCO — When Cisco’s Hunter Long found Dawson Hearne in the back of the end zone for a 3-yard touchdown pass, everything seemed to be going in the Loboes’ favor in their non-district matchup with Jim Ned. 

Holding a 13-12 lead with 3:19 left in the third with all the momentum, the Loboes had rallied from a 12-0 deficit to gain the upper hand. 

Then it happened: A Jim Ned scoring avalanche of four straight touchdowns, turning the Big Country Preps Game of the Week on a dime in a 39-20 Jim Ned win. 

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by Evan Ren

FEATURE: Cisco’s Hearne could have a breakout season in 2020

CISCO — He closed the 2019 season with 91 tackles as a 6-foot-2, 180-pound sophomore linebacker.

Since then, Cisco’s Dawson Hearne has hit a growth spurt that could help him become one of the top small-school juniors in the Big Country.  And not just at linebacker. 

Now standing in at 6-foot-4 and 200 pounds, Hearne will still occupy his middle linebacker spot in the Cisco 4-3 defensive scheme. But he will also see plenty of time at tight end and wide receiver (among other things), creating a very difficult matchup for most Class 2A DI clubs.

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by Evan Ren

2020 CISCO FOOTBALL PREVIEW: Young Loboes should keep winning tradition alive in Class 2A DI

Tasked with replacing a legend, first-year Cisco coach Kevin Stennett is well-versed in his predecessor, Brent West, for whom he played and served as an assistant. 

So perhaps no one is better prepared to keep the Cisco ship headed in the same direction that West captained to five state championship game appearances and one state title (2013) during his tenure from 2001-2019. 

Stennett admits he may tweak a few things based on personnel in 2020, but the system that saw Cisco post double-digit wins 12 times in 19 seasons is still intact. 

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by Evan Ren

COUNTDOWN TO TWO-A-DAYS: Cisco Loboes

Football is fast approaching, 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 Friday, Aug. 14. 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 Aug. 3, we’ll be spotlighting each 11-man team in the area and posing some of the key questions they’ll face in 2019 as part of our “Countdown to Two-a-Days” series.

After featuring Stamford on Monday, we move to District 4-2A Division I with the Cisco Loboes. On Wednesday, we will take a look at the Coleman Bluecats, followed by the De Leon Bearcats on Thursday.

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by Evan Ren

WHAT MIGHT HAVE BEEN: Highly productive Cisco spring halted for first-year football coach

The “What Might Have Been” feature series is Big Country Preps’ effort to celebrate area athletes who have seen their seasons affected by the COVID-19 outbreak. The series will continue through June 15. If you have a suggested story for the “What Might Have Been” series, please contact Big Country Preps at Evan.Ren@BigCountryPreps.com.

New Cisco football coach Kevin Stennett.

As if it weren’t tough enough for first-year Cisco football coach Kevin Stennett, he now has to sit patiently, waiting to be given the green light to get his players back into their offseason program. 

Since the COVID-19 lockdown imposed by the University Interscholastic League in March and subsequent cancellation of all spring sporting events announced last month, the man chosen to replace Big Country legend Brent West is stuck with his feet in UIL concrete until further notice. 

As one can imagine, he’s chomping at the bit. 

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by Evan Ren

BREAKING: Cisco’s Brent West to step down as head football coach 

CISCO — After one of the most successful runs as a head football coach in Big Country history, longtime Cisco mentor Brent West announced Monday that he is stepping down from his position effective immediately. 

The 49-year-old West will remain at Cisco as the athletic and transportation director and will keep his office in the Cisco fieldhouse. The head coaching position will be open within District 4-3A District II for 10 days, after which it will be opened to outside candidates if the position isn’t filled. 

West, who took the Cisco job in 2001, finished with a 203-42 overall record (.828) with 16 district titles, five trips to state championship games (2002, 2006, 2008, 2011, 2013) and a state title in 2013. 

Continue reading “BREAKING: Cisco’s Brent West to step down as head football coach “ →

by Evan Ren

District 4-3A Division II: Week 7 Report

Callahan

Cisco 47, Coleman 0 — The Loboes rolled up 533 yards in total offense including 490 yards rushing in a big win over Coleman. 

Quarterback Gibson Hearne only threw four passes, but rushed for 150 yards on just five carries for two TDs. Stanley Callahan also had a big night, rushing for 106 yards on six touches with one score.

Five different Loboes had rushing touchdowns as Cisco improved to 5-1 and 3-0.  Coleman, which was limited to 61 total yards, fell to 3-3 and 2-1 and saw a three-game winning streak snapped.

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by Evan Ren

BCP GAME OF THE WEEK: Loboes, Bearcats clash in our spotlight game (w/ Evan Ren’s Big Country Picks)

LAST WEEK: 43-7, .860

OVERALL: 173-34, .835

While the Cisco Loboes have been in countless big games over the last two decades, the last few years have been a bit lean for Ballinger. 

In fact, the general consensus is, when the Bearcats (3-0) play host to the Loboes (2-1) on Friday, this will be the biggest regular season game played in Ballinger in several years. 

At the very least, it’s our Big Country Preps Game of the Week, and deservedly so. 

Continue reading “BCP GAME OF THE WEEK: Loboes, Bearcats clash in our spotlight game (w/ Evan Ren’s Big Country Picks)” →

by Evan Ren

District 4-3A Division II: Week 4 Report

Anson (1-2) — The Tigers are one of three teams in this district to have won their first game prior to their bye week. Whether that’s an advantage or disadvantage is open for debate.

AHS will open league play next Friday with a difficult road trip to Bangs. 

Ballinger (3-0) — The undefeated Bearcats enjoyed a week off, giving them a little extra time to prepare for the visiting Cisco Loboes in their district opener next week.

This will be one of the biggest games to be played in Ballinger several years.

The winner of that matchup will have a leg up in district play, if the preseason projections are accurate, that is. 

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by Evan Ren

BCP GAME OF THE WEEK: Wall survives trip to Cisco with 20-13 win

CISCO — Coming into Friday’s Big Country Preps Game of the Week as a two-score underdog to Wall, the Cisco Loboes had a specific set of musts they had to meet in order to knock off the visiting Hawks. Contain Wall’s option game, win the turnover battle and take advantage of key opportunities when they had them. 

The Loboes achieved two out of the three in a 20-13 loss, falling just short when a would-be fourth-down touchdown pass from Gibson Hearne to Dax Brunson just grazed the the tight end’s finger tips in the end zone with 3:42 to play. 

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by Evan Ren

BCP GAME OF THE WEEK: Cisco, Wall square off in a clash of area powers (w/ Evan Ren’s Big Country Picks)

LAST WEEK: 43-13, .767

SEASON TOTAL: 43-13, .767

The beauty of Week 1 of the football season is that it throws all sorts of new questions into your face. The beauty of Weeks 2 and 3 is that most of those questions get answered. 

Our Big Country Preps Game of the Week — Wall at Cisco — should serve as a moment of clarity. 

Just how good is this Wall team that routed perennial power Mason 47-7 at the Puncher Dome last week? Entering as a nine-point favorite, the Hawks shattered the computer projections leading some to believe this could be a vintage Hawks football team. 

At this point, however, we don’t know exactly where Mason stands. 

We do, however, have a pretty fair idea about Cisco, which handed a rapidly improving (albeit young) Class 4A Sweetwater team a 49-27 loss in the Mustang Bowl. This is your standard, tough Cisco football team with an excellent running game and physical defense. 

So we’ll find out precisely where Wall is on Friday. 

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by Evan Ren

FEATURE: Backfield tandem of Callahan and Nichols carrying on Cisco tradition

CISCO — Though they have diversified in recent years, the I-based Cisco Loboes are still known for a straight-ahead approach when it comes to moving the chains. 

At this they’ve been quite successful, posting a 192-40 overall mark since coach Brent West’s arrival 2002, with five trips to state championship games and a title in 2013. 

While generally fielding a team worthy of top-10 consideration, Cisco’s upper-tier teams have almost always possessed three key elements: an excellent offensive line, an effective blocker at fullback and a capable tailback. 

Entering the 2019 season, an untested offensive line will still have to prove itself, but the two other pieces of the puzzle appear to be in place with tailback Stanley Callahan and fullback Cam Nichols. 

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by Evan Ren

CISCO TEAM PREVIEW: Loboes must reload to answer two big district challenges

CISCO — The sun will rise in the east, a compass will point north and the Cisco Loboes will win a district title in football. 

Most truisms stay the same forever, until we apply them to pigskin.

Perennial power Cisco, which hasn’t lost a district game since 2010, will face two difficult challenges to keep that streak alive this season in difficult road games at Ballanger (Sept. 27) and Anson (Nov. 1). Both clubs are expected to dramatically improve, both games are on grass surfaces (away from Cisco’s customary turf) and both clubs are armed with dangerous quarterbacks. 

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by Evan Ren

FEATURE: Cisco’s Hearne combines work ethic with criticism to excel at everything

CISCO — He’s a noteworthy football player. He’s one of area’s best prep basketball players. He’s a standout in the making in baseball who is also solid in track. 

Whether or not he has any time to sleep after completing his studies, only Cisco’s Gibson Hearne knows for sure. 

One thing is certain: Hearne has worked his way into elite status among the Big Country’s top multi-sport athletes. 

The best news for Cisco? He’s just a junior. 

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by Evan Ren

GAME STORY: Cisco pressure overwhelms Coahoma in 68-39 win (box score, video and photo gallery w/22 images included)

Perhaps it was a case of first-round nerves for Cisco, or perhaps Coahoma was simply better than some in the Big Country basketball community believed. 

Either way, the heavily favored Loboes (28-3) had to overcome a sluggish start before taking control of Tuesday’s 3A bi-district matchup at ACU’s Moody Coliseum, and eventually dominating it in a 68-39 win. 

Gibson Hearne tossed in 27 points and Izzy Adame added 11 more to lift Cisco, which advances to face Childress in the area round. 

The Loboes trailed twice in the early going, and as late as the 2:00 mark in the first quarter when a Bryson Cline layup gave the Bulldogs an 11-10 edge. From that moment forward, however, Cisco’s full-court defensive pressure was a game changer, leading to 17-0 run which spanned to the 5:12 mark of the second quarter. 

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by Evan Ren

GAME STORY: Jim Ned girls advance to regional tourney with win over Cisco (box score, video & photo gallery w/31 images included)

A few short runs, coupled with a heavy dose of consistent defense lifted the Jim Ned Lady Indians to a 46-31 win over Cisco in a Region I-3A quarterfinal on Tuesday. 

With a large contingent of fans backing both clubs at Abilene Christian University’s Moody Coliseum, Jim Ned (29-5) earned a trip to the regional quarterfinals behind 13 points from Libby Tutt and eight each from Claire Graham and Jenna Moore. 

Clinging to a 15-13 lead late in the second quarter, the Lady Indians gained a permanent upper hand with a 7-0 run to close the first half.  They gradually stretched their lead to 34-22 by the end of the third period, never allowing Cisco to score more than single digits in any quarter. 

Cisco closed its season at 30-4, led by Katelyn Bird with 10 points and Leigh Anne Montell with 8. 

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by Evan Ren

EVAN REN: This week in Big Country girls basketball (Feb. 17-23)

With the regional semifinal round just one victory away, a dozen Big Country teams are still alive with hopes of reaching the Texas high school equivalent of the Sweet 16.  

This week’s regional quarterfinal round will be accompanied by two things: pure elation and pure devastation once the final horns blow. And not all of our area clubs will be among the survivors.  

Nonetheless, I’ll go out on a limb and say no fewer than six Big Country teams will retain a pulse after Tuesday night. 

That said, let’s have a look what’s on tap. 

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by Daniel Youngblood

GAME STORY: Cisco holds off Jacksboro, earns region quarterfinal date with Jim Ned

MINERAL WELLS — With a big and talented frontcourt that featured three players at 5-foot-10 or taller, the Jacksboro Tigerettes were a dangerous matchup for a Cisco squad that starts just one player taller than 5-7.

But at the end of Friday’s Region I-3A area-round matchup at Ram Gym, it was the Lady Loboes celebrating a hard-fought 58-54 win to advance to the I-3A quarterfinals, where they’ll face off with perennial Big Country power Jim Ned.

Coach Brent Kilpatrick’s team executed its game plan well enough early to build a 10-point halftime lead and hit one big shot after another to hold off multiple Tigerette rallies in the second half.

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by Evan Ren

BCP Podcast No. 32: Cisco’s Kevin Hearne talks hoops with Evan, Daniel

Cisco boys basketball coach Kevin Hearne has his Loboes at 25-3 after clinching the District 6-3A championship with a win over Dublin on Tuesday. 

This week, he took some time chat with Big Country Preps’ Evan Ren and Daniel Youngblood about the season his Cisco squad is having, growing up as a coach’s son and coaching his own sons for the Capital Farm Credit Wednesday Night Podcast.

Also in this episode, Evan and Daniel discuss the biggest developments and top matchups on the Big Country boys and girls basketball scene.

by Evan Ren

FEATURE: Cisco boys motivated by football disappointment

CISCO — Had things evolved the way many expected, the Cisco Loboes would have been playing for a state football championship this week. Or at the very least, only be a week or two removed from dragging the basketballs out of the equipment room. 

It didn’t work out that way. 

Entering the football playoffs with a 9-0 record and perhaps its best team in four years, Brent West’s perennial powerhouse fell as a 24-point favorite to a 6-4 Spearman team in the bi-district round. 

A minus-six turnover ratio and an injury to standout running back Stanley Callahan were the primary culprits in the 33-29 upset, which sent shock waves throughout the Big Country. 

It also put Cisco in a situation in which it seldom finds itself: preparing for basketball in mid-November.

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by Evan Ren

West, Cisco Loboes have luxury of numbers

In a spectacular run that has seen them post 10 seasons with double-digit wins, five state championship game appearances and one state title since 2001, the Cisco Loboes have consistently battled through one handicap: a lack of numbers.

That might be an understatement.

Despite varsity rosters with fewer than 20 players, coach Brent West has posted 15 winning seasons since a 2-8 mark in his inaugural campaign, including a current run of seven straight.

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by Evan Ren

Talented Cisco Loboes face brutal early schedule

When the offseason rumor mill has Cisco being very good, one’s first reaction might be to write it all off as “business as usual.”

But when the Loboes return 18 lettermen from an 8-3 team, with a large (for Cisco) roster of 28 players, there is ample reason to take notice. Toss in the fact that CHS has standout quarterback Cooper Witt (950 yards rushing, 1,100 yards passing) coming back with a solid corps of skill personnel, and one may conclude that the Loboes will be a major threat in Region I-3A Division II.

Even normally reserved Cisco coach Brent West is willing to publicly admit to improvement — albeit with some temperance.

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