EASTLAND — For four years, Eastland quarterback Behren Morton was a standard setter at the position — not only for Eastland football but for the entire Big Country in general.
Yes, he was that good, as his signing with Texas Tech illustrated.
Now, in the wake of his graduation, Eastland must not only replace a starting quarterback, but one who hit 266 of 388 passing attempts last year for a Big Country-leading 3,613 yards and 37 touchdowns.
VIDEO PODCAST NO. 9: Evan Ren and Daniel Youngblood chat with Eastland coach James Morton about the rapid improvement of his team after an 0-3 start.
Top games of this week discussed: Abilene at Midland Lee, Cooper at FW Arlington Heights, Bangs at Ballinger, Lubbock Roosevelt at Coahoma, Hermleigh at Ira, Wylie at WF Rider, Comanche at Jacksboro.
Top games of last week discussed: Clyde/Early, Anson/Hawley, Westbrook/Sterling City, Abilene High/Odessa Permian, Cooper/Granbury and Eastland/Jacksboro.
EASTLAND — The first thing many people think of when they hear about the Eastland football team, is an up-tempo, pass-oriented attack guided by Texas Tech-
bound quarterback Behren Morton.
That’s understandable, considering the Red Raider pledge hit 173 of 287 passes for 2,754 yards and 29 touchdowns in 2019.
But what many people don’t realize, is that the Eastland offense features a very important counterweight to Morton — a 220-pound physical presence by the name of Brandon Fielding who forces defenses to remain honest.
Entering the 2020 football season, the most common question surrounding a talent-laden Eastland football team won’t be whether or not 
the Mavericks will qualify for the playoffs. The key question will be, how far will they get in postseason play?
The only group of players who can answer that question might be on a rebuilt EHS offensive line, behind which the Mavs will boast one of the top groups of skill players in the Big Country.
Texas Tech-bound senior quarterback Behren Morton (173-of-287, 2,754 yards, 29 TDs) will return to guide the Eastland spread attack, which has scored more than 900 combined points over the past two seasons. He will be flanked by 225-pound running back Brandon Fielding (1,115 yards rushing, 14 TDs, 20 catches, 176 yards, two TDs), with several capable receivers to choose from, including seniors Dylan Wilson (27 catches, 319 yards, two TDs) and Peyton McClain (12 catches, 344 yards, two TDs).
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 Dublin on Saturday, we stay in District 5-3A Division II with the Eastland Mavericks. On Monday, we will take a look at the Merkel Badgers followed by the Breckenridge Buckaroos on Tuesday.
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.
The sports cancellations caused by the COVID-19 pandemic didn’t just affect high school athletes from the Big Country. Brant Bailey, who grew up in 
Eastland and became a four-year starting tight end at Tarleton State University, lost his initial chance to sign with a NFL team as an undrafted free agent
Now back home stocking shelves and serving as a cashier at Brookshire’s Food & Pharmacy in Eastland, Bailey likely will need a Kurt Warner stroke of good fortune to get a chance in the NFL.
The COVID-19 pandemic first canceled the pro day at Tarleton scheduled for March 23. APEC, the Fort Worth fitness center where Bailey was training with other NFL prospects this past spring, had scheduled its own pro day March 20.
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.
While preparing for his fifth season as the head football coach/athletic director at Eastland, James Morton was anticipating a productive overall spring from the EHS athletic program.
That is, until the COVID-19 lockdown and subsequent cancellation of all spring sports was imposed by the University Interscholastic League as a safety measure.
Morton, who has guided the Mavericks to a 34-14 record and four straight postseason appearances during his tenure, has since found himself stuck in wait-and-see mode with every other coach in Texas.
He has, however, been able to reflect on the pandemic, while drawing upon 28 seasons of head coaching experience to get him through it. He now sits with Big Country Preps’ Evan Ren to speak about his approach.
Here are a few excerpts from that conversation:
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.
For four years, Eastland softball coach Tera Davis has been quietly cultivating a powerhouse.
This year was to be the culmination of her hard work, with a roster loaded with talented seniors and one of the top pitchers in the Big Country, coming off a 29-6 season that saw them reach the Region I-3A quarterfinals.
If Eastland softball was ever to go to the state tournament, 2020 in the minds of many, would have represented the best opportunity the Lady Mavericks had seen in decades.
CLYDE— The most painful loss of the year is often the last one. And in Monday’s Class 3A bi-district matchup between Eastland and Colorado City, it was the C-City locker room that had a somber tone in the game’s aftermath.
Backed by intense half-court defensive pressure that limited C-City standout Mia Monroe to just four points, the Lady Mavericks advanced with a 45-33 win at Clyde High School.
Makena Moreno score 11 points and Jordan Mayes added eight more to lead Eastland (23-12), which held the Lady Wolves to just nine points after halftime. The Lady Mavericks now advance to face the winner of Tuesday’s bi-district matchup between Brock (27-7) and Holliday (18-13) in the area round.
Colorado City (23-9) was led by Kaci Hudson with 12 points and Kirsten Koch with eight.
“We started off playing a little zone and then we started playing some man (to man),” Eastland coach Troy Doyle said. “In the second half, we ran a little half-court trap and that gave them some problems.”
Eastland 42, Clyde 27 — Behren Morton was 22 of 36 for 288 yards and four scores as Eastland recovered from its first loss of the year (at Wall on Oct.
25) with a big win over Clyde.
Anthony Bonilla was Morton’s favorite target, hauling in seven catches for 142 yards and a score. He also rushed eight times for 69 yards and two more touchdowns as the Mavericks improved to 8-1 overall and 3-1 in district play.
Dylan Neuman led Clyde (6-3, 2-2) with 231 yards passing, including a 37-yard TD pass to Jax Roam in the fourth quarter.
WALL — A workmanlike offensive effort, backed by yet another dominating defensive performance, pushed the second-ranked Wall Hawks to a 28-14 win over No. 7 Eastland in the Big Country Preps Game of the Week on Friday.
Mason Fuchs threw for 81 yards, rushed for 62 and accounted for two touchdowns to lift Wall (8-0, 3-0 District 3-3A Division I), which now has sole possession of first place in the league standings.
Eastland, which was limited to 218 yards in total offense, was led by Behren Morton, who threw for 166 yards and one score and Anthony Bonilla, who caught one TD pass and rushed for another.
Wall 35, Clyde 7 — In a high-profile game between the district favorite and perhaps the most-improved team in the league, the Hawks got the better of the upstart Bulldogs.
Mason Fuchs threw for 79 yards, rushed for 23 and threw one TD pass to lead Wall (6-0, 1-0), tallied 222 rushing yards via committee.
Leading 14-0 at the break, third-ranked Hawks blew the game open with a 5-yard TD run by Cinch Dickey at the 7:30 mark and a 17-yard TD jaunt by Chase Rios at 0:53.
Jim Ned 28, Mason 19 — The Indians (4-0) passed their most difficult test of the early season in workmanlike fashion.
Trailing 6-0 early on, the Jim Ned gained a permanent upper hand with three straight touchdowns — the first of which came at the 0:16 mark of the first quarter on a 1-yard run by Riley Perry.
Perry added a 3-yard TD with 4:08 left in the half before a 65-yard punt return by Jamin Harwell put the Indians up by three scores with 9:07 left in the third quarter.
EASTLAND — Behind every great quarterback is a quality group of skill personnel that enables him to achieve his full potential.
In Eastland, where much of the preseason writing is focused on standout quarterback Behren Morton, a secret has been inadvertently created by the media.
The Mavericks are loaded at the skill spots.
“Actually, we need to back up a year,” Eastland coach James Morton said. “The reason Behren has gotten the attention he has gotten is because of those skill guys and they’re all back for another year.
“A quarterback is only as good as his skill guys. … I think Behren would be the first guy to tell you that.”
EASTLAND — Most preseason conversations regarding the 2019 Eastland Mavericks will center around highly touted quarterback Behren Morton.
That’s understandable, given that the 6-2 junior is already receiving more Division I collegiate interest than most players could ever dream of.
The son of Eastland coach James Morton earned that attention with 2,664 yards passing last year as a sophomore, hitting 203 of 315 passes with 18 TDs to only two picks.
The quarterback spot, however, won’t be what determines how far the Mavericks get in 2019. That, in the view of its coach, will be the performance of guys in the trenches.
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EASTLAND — Two years ago as a varsity greenhorn, Eastland pitcher Brynna Foster had a lot of learning to do.
She had the raw talent to pitch. But her velocity and movement had yet to develop fully. Her changeup came on predictable counts, and as a freshman, she still lacked the poise that only maturity can bring.
Yet she was still effective enough to help the Lady Mavericks into postseason play, despite her youthful shortcomings.
Two years later, with improved velocity, and a rise, curve, screwball, drop and changeup that she can deliver on any count, Foster is not only dramatically better, but she’s currently one of the top pitchers in the entire Big Country.
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COMANCHE — For four full innings, the Comanche Maidens looked poised to piece together a season sweep of ninth-ranked Eastland on Tuesday, leading the Lady Mavericks 2-0 heading into the fifth.
It didn’t happen.
Plagued by a series of fielding miscues down the stretch, Comanche saw Eastland take the lead for good with three unearned runs over the fifth and sixth frames and escape CHS with a 4-2 win.
For the better part of a decade, the Eastland football team has gained the reputation as a team that won’t hesitate to hurt you through the air.
Though most recently, under former coach Cliff Watkins and current mentor James Morton, the Mavericks have seen a gradual evolution back to a more physical mindset.
Both approaches have been successful, with Eastland reaching the playoffs in nine straight seasons — five of which saw the Mavs chart double-digit wins.
This year, however, may see Eastland rely more on physicality than we’ve seen in the last l0 years, with a large, experienced offensive line running interference for gifted sophomore quarterback Behren Morton (1,031 yards, 10 TDs passing).
If the Eastland Mavericks are to keep their current streak of nine straight playoff berths alive, they’ll have to negotiate a minefield to get there.
A combination of graduation losses and a difficult realignment have placed the Mavs in the unusual position of facing uncertainty.
With a modest 11 of 22 positions occupied by returning starters and only 12 lettermen to choose from, a young Eastland group will need to wade through the new District 3-3A Division I to get a playoff spot.
That’s easier said than done in a league featuring perennial power Wall (12-1), a Breckenridge team expected to be its best in years, and rapidly improving groups from Jim Ned, Clyde and Early.
Like Big Country Preps co-founders Evan Ren and Daniel Youngblood, Wichita Falls Time Record News area writer Zach Duncan has been covering high school sports in his market for a long time.
Entering his 15th football season with the Wichita Falls newspaper, Duncan has seen more great games than he can count and worked with some outstanding coaches and players. This week, he took some time to share some his favorite football stories and talk shop with Evan and Daniel.
Also in this episode, Evan and Daniel discuss District 3-3A Division I and District 7-2A Division II — two all-area leagues that should be competitive from top to bottom.