Tag: Local football

by Daniel Youngblood

Abilene High O-line answering coach’s call for more physicality

Abilene High coach Del Van Cox has been challenging his offensive line all year to be more physical.

The past two weeks, that group has responded.

Since averaging just 94.7 rushing yards per game and 2.5 yards per carry through the first three weeks of the season, the Eagles have rushed for 647 yards 6.2 yards per attempt in their last two games. While the team’s backs have gotten well-deserved attention for their increased production, the heart of that change is an O-line group that accepted their coach’s challenge and vowed to do something about it.

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by Daniel Youngblood

Any day on football field a good one for Cooper LB Favors

You don’t need to talk to Cooper linebacker Aeneas Favors to know that he loves playing football. You can see it in the way he plays.

Favors, the defensive newcomer of the year for District 4-5A last year as a sophomore, has an energy about him and a bounce to his step that draws eyeballs his way on the football field.

That’s true of fans, who will find him around the football on more plays than not. And it’s true of opposing coaches, who wish their extra attention would have a larger effect on his tackle numbers.

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by Daniel Youngblood

BCP Podcast No. 16: Evan, Daniel take fresh look at area district races

With district play either here or approaching for the 16 11-man leagues involving Big Country football teams, every game has heightened importance from this point forward.

In this week’s Capital Farm Credit Wednesday Night Podcast, Big Country Preps’ Evan Ren and Daniel Youngblood forego a guest to discuss each district race and examine each of our 40 school’s chances of reaching the postseason.

by Daniel Youngblood

District 3-6A: Week 5 Report

Abilene High 48, North Richland Hills Richland 41 — Sophomore running back Phonzo Dotson rushed for 246 yards and touchdowns of 54 and 92 yards Friday to lead the Eagles to a thrilling win over the Rebels in the District 3-6A opener for both teams.

AHS (4-1 overall, 1-0 district) trailed 41-38 entering the final quarter, but kicker Ray Mouloungui tied the game with 6:41 remaining and Dotson won it with a 92-yard scoring run with 2:36 to play.

In addition to Dotson’s heroics, quarterback Kallin Sipe hit 14 of 23 passes for 207 yards and four TDs, and receiver Reese Pettijohn caught five passes for 91 yards and two scores.

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by Daniel Youngblood

District 2-5A Division I: Week 5 Report

Cooper 58, Lubbock Monterey 20 — The Cougars outscored the Plainsmen 58-13 over the final three quarters in what was a dominating district opener at Lowrey Field.

Led by sophomore Noah Garcia, who rushed for 280 yards and a touchdown on 29 carries, Cooper finished with 433 rushing yards as a team. Xavier Wishert added 69 yards on 11 carries, while Jessus Menjivar ran for 58 and Daelin Campos for 44.

The win, Cooper’s second in a row, moved the Coogs to 2-3 overall and 1-0 in district heading into a huge 2-5A DI matchup against Lubbock Coronado this week. That game, which could decide the league title, kicks off at 7:30 p.m. Friday at Shotwell Stadium.

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by Evan Ren

Big Country Preps Player of the Week: Bevel? How’d you guess?

In all my years of covering Big Country athletics, I’ve never seen a more impressive group of Player of the Week-worthy candidates all negated by one performance. 

Last week produced at least five or six performances that would normally claim the accolade, only to be pushed down the ladder by what can only be described as an insane night for Stamford quarterback Peyton Bevel. 

In leading Stamford to a 90-62 win over De Leon, Bevel set state records for passing yardage (789) and touchdown passes (12) and even tacked on an additional 65 yards rushing in his spare time while claiming his third Player of the Week award in five games.

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by Brandon McAuliffe

Eagles rally for thrilling win over Richland (w/ photo gallery)

After watching the defense shut down Cooper and Midland High the past two weeks, the Abilene High offense knew it needed to pick up the slack Friday night in the Eagles’ District 3-6A opener at Shotwell Stadium against North Richland Hills Richland.

Boy, did the offense do its job.

Abilene High put up 565 total yards in a back-and-forth affair before putting together a fourth-quarter rally for a 48-41 win.

Kallin Sipe threw for 207 yards and four touchdowns, but it was the Eagles’ ground game that dominated. Abilene High ran 51 times for 358 yards in the win.

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by Daniel Youngblood

Brownwood runs away from Wylie in second half (w/ photo gallery)

BROWNWOOD — The Brownwood Lions weren’t perfect in the second half of their 53-21 win over Wylie on Friday night, but they were pretty darn close.

Trailing 14-13 at halftime, coach Sammy Burnett’s squad outscored the Bulldogs 40-7 over the final two quarters — including a 26-0 fourth period — to defeat Wylie for the first time since 2010.

The Lions intercepted Harrison Atwood four times in the second half and finished with 594 total yards in winning their third straight game to improve to 3-2 on the season.

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by Daniel Youngblood

Abilene High hosts Richland for 3-6A opener

N.R.H. RICHLAND (2-2, 0-0) AT ABILENE HIGH (3-1, 0-0)

7:30 p.m. Friday at Shotwell Stadium, Abilene

What it means: It’s the first district game for both teams and could be an important one in the District 3-6A playoff race. This league is five deep with quality teams this year, and only four can advance to the postseason. That puts added importance on every district game and adds pressure with every loss. AHS enters this matchup on a three-game winning streak and is 2-0 on its home field. Richland, meanwhile, enters this game off a 38-8 drubbing by Arlington Lamar. These teams have only met three times previously, the last in 2009. The Eagles, who hold a narrow 2-1 lead in the series, downed the Rebels 48-28 in 2008 and 45-14 in 2009, both of which were district matchups.

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by Daniel Youngblood

Wylie seeks to get on track against 4A rival Brownwood

WYLIE (0-4) AT BROWNWOOD (2-2)

7:30 p.m. Friday at Gordon Wood Stadium, Brownwood

What it means: This is Wylie’s final game before its District 3-5A Division II opener against Wichita Falls Rider (Oct. 12) and the Bulldogs’ last chance to take some positive momentum into league play. A win would not only snap a season-opening four-game losing streak for coach Hugh Sandifer’s team, it would also help erase the memory of last week’s 48-0 loss to Cooper in the first Southtown Showdown. This is the 15th meeting between Wylie and Brownwood, which shared a district eight of the past 10 years. The Bulldogs hold a 10-4 advantage in the all-time series with wins in the last eight meetings.

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by Daniel Youngblood

Cooper runs wild in win over Lubbock Monterey

After snapping a three-game losing streak with a 48-0 rout of crosstown foe Wylie last week, the Cooper Cougars started their first winning streak Thursday at Lubbock’s Lowrey Field.

Coach Aaron Roan’s squad overcame a sluggish start and 151 yards in penalties to blow out Lubbock Monterey 58-20 in the District 2-5A Division I opener for both teams.

The Cougars, who trailed 7-0 after the first quarter, finished with a season-high 507 yards — 433 of those on the ground — while limiting an explosive Plainsmen offense to just 155 yards and seven points after halftime.

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by Daniel Youngblood

Big Country Preps’ Pick ‘Em Panel (Week 5)

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 Evan Ren’s Twitter polls for each matchup.

For those interested in voting, polls go up on Monday night each week and close Thursday morning.

Disagree with our picks or the Twitter consensus? Let us know in the comments section below.

Continue reading “Big Country Preps’ Pick ‘Em Panel (Week 5)” →

by Daniel Youngblood

Wylie looking to turn page after Cooper loss, 0-4 start

Wylie’s performance in last week’s Southtown Showdown against Cooper was forgettable in many ways.

So perhaps it’s fitting that the Bulldog coaches and players view the best course of action at this point to simply forget about all the things that went wrong during the 48-0 defeat.

That loss, Wylie’s worst since the 1980s, extended the team’s season-opening losing streak to four games. But the Bulldogs aren’t dwelling on the negatives of what’s been a difficult season thus far.

With one more nondistrict game to play before its District 3-5A Division II opener Oct. 12 at Wichita Falls Rider, Wylie is determined to turn the page and regroup for what it hopes will be a much more successful second half. 

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by Daniel Youngblood

Cooper opens district at Lubbock Monterey

COOPER (1-3, 0-0) AT LUBBOCK MONTEREY (2-2, 0-0)

7 p.m. Friday at Lowrey Field, Lubbock

What it means: This is the District 2-5A Division I opener for both teams, and both will be looking to get a leg up on their league mates with a win. Cooper enters this game off its first win of the year, a 48-0 drubbing of Wylie in the first Southtown Showdown, while Monterey is coming off a 35-25 loss at Lubbock Cooper. This is the 15th meeting between these schools dating back to 1961 and the fifth as district rivals. The Cougars lead the all-time series 10-4, but the teams have split the previous four district games. Monterey won the most recent matchup, defeating Cooper 55-41 at Lowrey Field a year ago.

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by Daniel Youngblood

Cooper offense coming together at right time

Going into the first Southtown Showdown with Wylie last week, the Cooper offense had scored just 41 points through three games. The Cougars had shown flashes in each of those outings, all losses to Class 6A schools, but the consistency needed to sustain and finish drives had often eluded them.

That changed in a major way Friday, when the Coogs (1-3) scored early and often and in a 48-0 win at Shotwell Stadium.

Cooper piled up 472 total yards and 24 first downs, averaging nearly six yards per play in what was a dominating effort from start to finish. 

With District 2-5A Division I play up next, starting with Thursday’s game at Lubbock Monterey, first-year head coach Aaron Roan is hoping the level of execution he saw in the Coogs’ first win will become the norm going forward.

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by Daniel Youngblood

BCP Podcast No. 15: Evan, Daniel chat with Winters football coach Matt McCarty

Coach Matt McCarty has led a nice turnaround at Winters, following back-to-back two-win seasons with a playoff berth last season, before leading the Blizzards to a 4-0 start to the 2018 campaign.

McCarty took some time to chat with Big Country Preps’ Evan Ren and Daniel Youngblood about that turnaound process, his coaching background and this year’s winters squad in this week’s Capital Farm Credit Wednesday Night Podcast.

Also in this episode, Evan and Daniel discuss the first Southtown Showdown and all of last week’s Big Country football action.

by Daniel Youngblood

District 2-5A Division I: Week 4 Report

Cooper 48, Wylie 0 — The Cougars finally put everything together Thursday, dominating the Bulldogs to win the inaugural Southtown Showdown and give Aaron Roan his first victory as a head coach.

Cooper, which outgained Wylie 472-112, scored on all but three of its possessions, taking a 20-0 lead into halftime before adding two touchdowns in each of the final two quarters.

Sophomore running back Noah Garcia had a big game on the ground, rushing 17 times for 164 yards and a touchdown, while Aeneas Favors had two rushing touchdowns and quarterback Aidan Thompson went 20-of-29 passing for 190 yards and a touchdown.

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by Daniel Youngblood

District 3-5A Division II: Week 4 Report

Cooper 48, Wylie 0 — Little went right for the Bulldogs in the inaugural Southtown Showdown, resulting in Wylie’s worst loss in decades.

The Cougars held the Bulldogs to just 112 yards (72 rushing) while piling up 472 in securing the shutout victory. Cooper scored on all but three of its possessions, taking a 20-0 lead into halftime before adding two touchdowns in each of the final two quarters.

Bailey Hicks had the best day for the Wylie offense, rushing 10 times for 47 yards while catching three passes for 11 yards.

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by Daniel Youngblood

Abilene High defense dominant in homecoming shutout

The Abilene High defense continued its dominating start to the season Friday, limiting an explosive Midland High offense to 172 total yards and seven first downs in a 13-0 homecoming win at Shotwell Stadium.

Playing in heavy wind and a steady rain that kept both teams’ offenses grounded, the Eagles allowed just 25 yards in the second half in winning their third consecutive game.

Midland High, which came in averaging 34.7 points per contest, went three and out on eight of its 12 possessions, including all but its last of the second half. And on the two occasions the Bulldogs pushed into AHS territory, the Eagles defense came up with big plays, forcing and recovering a fumble inside the 10 midway through the first quarter and stopping MHS on downs at the 30 early in the second.

Those missed opportunities proved costly for the Bulldogs against an AHS defensive unit that allowed just one first down over the final two quarters in lowering its points-against average to 12.5 per game.

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by Daniel Youngblood

Cooper, Wylie set for first ‘Southtown Showdown’

WYLIE (0-3) AT COOPER (0-3)

7 p.m. Thursday at Shotwell Stadium, City

What it means: Dubbed the ‘Southtown Showdown,’ this is the first varsity meeting between Abilene’s two southside high schools. The two schools met in Cooper’s inaugural football season in 1960 , but the Cougars played only a JV schedule that year, so that game is not counted in the CHS record book. More relevant to this year’s matchup, both teams enter Thursday’s game in search of their first win. Cooper has gone winless against Keller, Grapevine and Abilene High, which have combined to go 8-1, while Wylie’s three opponents — Georgetown, Lubbock Monterey and Stephenville — have posted a combined 7-2 record.

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by Daniel Youngblood

Cooper DB Davis enjoying expanded role

One of four sophomores to get playing time in the Cooper secondary a year ago, Dylon Davis has what coach Aaron Roan refers to as ‘youthful experience.’

Though just a junior now, Davis is already one of the leaders not only in the defensive backfield but of the Cougar defense as a whole.

Primarily a cornerback in 2017, Davis has added safety duties this fall, and the example he’s setting from both positions is one Roan couldn’t be happier with.

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by Daniel Youngblood

Wylie WR Ramirez hopes to build on breakout game

Coming into the season, Wylie coach Hugh Sandifer knew he’d need some receivers to emerge if his passing game was to be successful.

Two of the Bulldogs’ top three returning pass catchers were backs and only senior Hayden Keidl had caught more than two passes from a wideout position in 2017.

With Keidl back and healthy from an injury that ended his junior season early, quarterbacks Harrison Atwood and Jaxon Hansen knew they’d have one reliable target throw the ball to. But who else would step up as a receiving threat for the Bulldogs?

It took three games, but Christian Ramirez threw his hat in the ring last week, catching three passes for 99 yards and two touchdowns in a 41-27 loss to Stephenville. The challenge now is to add some consistency to the big-play ability he showed in that game.

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by Daniel Youngblood

District 3-6A: Week 3 Report

Abilene High 20, Cooper 13 — The Eagles rallied from a 13-3 halftime deficit to win their second straight game and regain bragging rights over their crosstown rival.

Quarterback Kallin Sipe went 12 of 24 for 253 yards and two touchdowns, hitting Clay Cox five times for 131 yards and Reese Pettijohn three times for 80 yards and a TD.

The AHS defense was impressive once again, limiting the Cougars to 259 total yards, just 90 of those during a second-half shutout.

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by Daniel Youngblood

District 2-5A Division I: Week 3 Report

Abilene High 20, Cooper 13 — The Cougars played a near perfect first half Friday at Shotwell Stadium, taking a 13-3 halftime lead over Abilene High in the Crosstown Showdown. But the Eagles rallied back over the final two quarters, outscoring Cooper 17-0 to earn the victory.

CHS quarterback Aidan Thompson completed 18 of 34 passes for 148 yards and two touchdowns, both to junior receiver Daelin Campos. Running back Noah Garcia led all rushers with 55 yards on six carries, but his third-quarter fumble ended the Coogs’ best scoring chance of the second half.

Cooper, still in search of its first win, will try to end the season-opening skid when it hosts Wylie at 7 p.m. Thursday. 

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by Daniel Youngblood

District 3-5A Division II: Week 3 Report

Stephenville 41, Wylie 28 — Five turnovers were the Bulldogs’ undoing against their former district rival on Friday at Bulldog Stadium.

Wylie quarterback Harrison Atwood passed for 242 yards and three touchdowns, hitting Christian Ramirez with three of those throws for 99 yards and two scores. But the Bulldogs finished the game with three interceptions (two by Atwood; one by sophomore Jaxon Hansen) and put the ball on the ground four times, losing two of those fumbles.

The Bulldogs, now 0-3, will try get their first win of the season Thursday in their first-ever meeting with crosstown foe Cooper.

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by Brandon McAuliffe

Yellow Jackets sting Wylie 41-28 (w/ photo gallery)

Facing their third consecutive road game to start the season, the eighth-ranked Stephenville Yellow Jackets marched into Bulldog Stadium and used a dominant defensive performance to take a 41-28 win over Wylie on Friday night.

Stephenville’s defense forced five turnovers in moving to 2-1 on the season, while Wylie dropped to 0-3.

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by Daniel Youngblood

Abilene High rallies past Cooper 20-13 (w/ photo gallery)

For the second consecutive week, the Abilene High football team needed to rally in the second half for a victory. This time, it was against crosstown rival Cooper.

Trailing 13-3 at halftime, the Eagles outscored the Cougars 17-0 over the final two quarters, taking their first lead of the game late in the third quarter and holding on in the fourth for a 20-13 win Friday at Shotwell Stadium.

“We knew exactly what we would get from them,” Abilene High coach Del Van Cox said. “In this game, you can throw out records, you can throw out who’s hurt and who’s not hurt. You saw how hard both teams played, especially them in the first half and then our kids responded and played very well in the second half.

“But you can throw all records out, as you can tell. It’s going to be a battle any time you play the Cooper Cougars.”

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by Daniel Youngblood

Abilene High, Cooper set for 58th Crosstown Showdown

ABILENE HIGH (1-1) VS. COOPER (0-2)

7:30 p.m. Friday at Shotwell Stadium, Abilene

What it means: This is the most anticipated game of the year in Abilene — and for good reason. The Abilene High-Cooper game, or Crosstown Showdown as it has come to be known, represents one of the best high school rivalries in the state at any level. Cooper holds a 33-23-1 edge in the series, which has been played annually since 1961, but AHS has won 10 of the last 13 meetings, including three in a row from 2014-16. The Cougars bring bragging rights into this year’s game, however, after winning the 2017 matchup 49-35. 

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by Daniel Youngblood

Bulldogs host Yellow Jackets in search of first win

STEPHENVILLE (1-1) AT WYLIE (0-2)

7:30 p.m. Friday at Bulldog Stadium, Abilene

What it means: This is the continuation of what has become a fun rivalry in recent years. The Bulldogs and Yellow Jackets have played seven times in the past eight seasons, with the only gap in that timeline coming in 2013. The teams met in the playoffs in 2012, when Stephenville scored a 59-28 win in the Class 3A Division I state quarterfinals, and the past four meetings had all been district contests, with Wylie taking three of those games. The Jackets hold a 4-3 advantage in the series, winning the 2017 matchup 33-20, but neither team has won more than three games in a row.

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by Daniel Youngblood

Big Country Preps’ Pick ‘Em Panel (Week 3)

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 Evan Ren’s Twitter polls for each matchup.

For those interested in voting, polls go up on Monday night each week and close Thursday evening.

Disagree with our picks or the Twitter consensus? Let us know in the comments section below.

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by Daniel Youngblood

Last year’s experience helped shape Abilene High D-line

With all three starters back from last year, Abilene High’s defensive line depth chart may have a familiar look to it. But the performance of the players at the top has experienced a serious upgrade in 2018.

After being baptized by fire a year ago, senior ends J.D. Dugger and Griffin Cooke and junior nose guard Tygee Gambrell head a unit that is now among the team’s biggest strengths.

And the trio credits the experience gained during a tough 3-7 campaign last year for the leap they’ve made this fall.

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by Daniel Youngblood

Bailey’s return to football field proving beneficial for Cooper

When he came back out for football as a senior after focusing his athletic efforts on basketball during his sophomore and junior years, Cooper senior Nic Bailey wasn’t expecting to play a major role for the Cougars.

Bailey, who hadn’t played football since his first year of high school, just missed the sport and wanted to do what he could to help the team.

As it has turned out, though, he can do quite a bit. Through two games, the 5-foot-8, 180-pound tailback has emerged as a playmaker out of the Cooper backfield, and he’s seen his role in the offense grow as a result.

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