Tag: Munday Moguls

by Evan Ren

Evan Ren’s 2021 Gym Rat Team: The toughest, hardest-working teammates in the Big Country

While scoring and rebounding garner much of the attention in basketball, there are other elements, crucial to success, that seldom grab headlines. 

Behind the scenes is where character, effort and sacrifice set the foundation for teams to reach their full potential. And it is with our Big Country Preps Gym Rat Team that we salute the individuals who bring these elements to the table. 

This team isn’t about who the best players are — though some of the area’s top players are on this list. 

The Gym Rat Team is about outworking, outhustling and outgiving everyone around you, both on the floor and off. Hard-working, honest, selfless, tough, coachable kids are what we seek for this roster. 

A Gym Rat Team member can be your best player or the last player off the bench. But the one thing all of them bring is an uncompromisingly good attitude. 

It is for that reason that our Gym Rat Team is selected entirely by area coaches. And Big Country Preps is truly honored to present these individuals to you — the best “team players” (boys and girls) that the area had to offer during the 2020-21 season.

Players are listed in no particular order. 

Enjoy.

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by Zach Duncan, Special to Big Country Preps

FEATURE: Moguls, Mogulettes on a roll after sluggish starts

PHOTOS courtesy of Mandi Perry

Munday’s two head basketball coaches never had doubts despite rocky starts.

First-year girls coach Richard Ramsey didn’t panic during a slow debut because he knew learning his system would be a process with point guard Carlie Willison injured and four new starters.

Boys coach Adrian Daniel knew a difficult football season wouldn’t necessarily translate to hardwood struggles either, not after the Moguls’ playoff success a year ago.

It’s a critical week for both squads as the girls will face either Highland or Roby after a first-round bye, while the boys host Knox City Tuesday night with an outright District 16-A title on the line.

The Mogulettes (20-13) already went undefeated in 16-A and ascended to No. 22 in the state after persevering through a rocky start. Since Wilson’s return from a fractured foot, Munday has won 17 of 19 games with its only losses coming to Guthrie and No. 15 Abbott.

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by Evan Ren

FEATURE: From leather helmets to Jerry World, Munday WWII Vet Thompson has seen it all

World War II veteran Gene Thompson and his grandson, Trey enter the field during a veteran’s recognition ceremony prior to a 2017 Munday football game.

MUNDAY — It has become an October tradition in Munday for attendees at a Mogul football game to sing happy birthday to one of MHS’ top fans: Gene Thompson.

This year, however, the brief ceremony carries a special significance — one that Thompson has literally waited 100 years for.

Yes, Thompson, a 99-year-old veteran of World War II, will officially become a centenarian on Oct. 23. He will be honored two nights later at Munday’s home game against Quanah, where everyone in attendance will recognize the longest-tenured Mogul fan in the program’s history. 

To put Thompson’s connection to Munday athletics into perspective, it began when he played football as a Mogul in 1936. That’s three years before the retirement of baseball great Lou Gehrig, before Gone with the Wind was in the box office and before the horrific war in which he took part had seen its first shot fired.

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by Daniel Youngblood

District 5-2A Division II: Week 11 Report

Memphis 39, Munday 14 — The Cyclones (3-6, 2-3) rode a 33-point first quarter to a lopsided win over Munday, ending the Moguls’ season at 0-10.

Memphis, which took the district’s fourth-playoff seed, snapped a three-game losing streak that had seen the Cyclones shut out by Wheeler (33-0) and Wellington (60-0).

Munday, which outscored Memphis 14-6 in the second half, got 125 yards rushing, 80 yards passing and two total touchdowns from Cameron Thornton in the loss.

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by Daniel Youngblood

District 5-2A Division II: Week 10 Report

Shamrock 42, Munday 6 — The Moguls (0-9, 0-4) had their playoff hopes officially dashed Friday with a lopsided to the Irish.

Shamrock (3-6, 1-3) got off to a fast start, building a 27-6 lead by halftime, and shut Munday out in the second half to keep its playoff hopes alive entering this week’s game against Quanah.

The Moguls will try to avoid a winless season Friday when they wrap up the 2018 campaign with a home game against Memphis.

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by Daniel Youngblood

District 5-2A Division II: Week 9 Report

Quanah 35, Munday 8 — The winless Moguls led Quanah into the second quarter on Friday, but the Indians scored 29 unanswered points over the final three periods to improve to 5-3 on the season and 2-1 in 5-2A DII play.

Quanah, which wraps up the regular season with games against Wheeler and Shamrock, was led in Friday’s win by quarterback Clayton Laughery, who completed 12 of 15 passes for 150 yards and a touchdown while rushing 12 times for 200 yards and three more scores.

Munday, now 0-8 overall and 0-3 in league play, will need wins in its final two games to earn a playoff berth. The Moguls host Shamrock this week before traveling to Memphis for their regular-season finale.

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by Daniel Youngblood

District 5-2A Division II: Week 8 Report

Wellington 60, Munday 0 — The Rockets (7-0, 2-0) used a 38-point second quarter to break open what was a 6-0 game one period in.

Wellington, ranked No. 2 in Class 2A behind Mason, passed for 167 yards and rushed for 302, getting  the bulk of its production from senior quarterback Jo Jo McKnight, who passed for 158 yards and three touchdowns and rushed for 166 yards and two more scores.

Coach Patrick Corcoran’s Moguls, now 0-7 overall and 0-2 in 5-2A DII play, will try to work their way back into the playoff discussion over the next three weeks, when they wrap up the regular season with Quanah (Friday), Shamrock (Nov. 2) and Memphis (Nov. 9).

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by Daniel Youngblood

District 5-2A Division II: Week 5 Report

Miles 24, Munday 14 — The Bulldogs spoiled the Moguls’ homecoming festivities Saturday, scoring the final 10 points to break open a game that was tied 14-all at halftime.

Munday outgained Miles 256-212, but couldn’t get anything going offensively after the halftime break.

Cameron Thornton led the Moguls, rushing for 160 yards and a touchdown on 18 carries while hitting two of nine passes for 70 yards. Kameron Redder was on the receiving end of one of those passes for 57 yards.

Munday, now 0-5, will have this week off to prepare for its 5-2A DII opener Friday at Wheeler. Kickoff for that game is slated for 7 p.m.

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by Daniel Youngblood

District 5-2A Division II: Week 4 Report

Roscoe 12, Munday 0 — Wet field conditions kept both offenses at bay Friday, but the Plowboys took advantage three Munday turnovers and 10 Mogul penalties in securing their second straight win.

Munday held Roscoe to 192 yards of total offense and six points in each half, but the Moguls could muster just 145 yards of their own.

Cameron Thornton led the Munday offense, rushing for 109 yards on 22 carries, while Bobby Dockins Jr. contributed 39 yards rushing on nine attempts.

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by Daniel Youngblood

Numbers-thin Munday preps for shift to flexbone

Munday football coach Patrick Corcoran can remember to the play the last time his Moguls took a snap under center. It occurred in Week 5 of the 2007 season in a game against Quanah.

So why is that bit of trivia important now? Because the Moguls could be taking every snap that way this fall.

With numbers down and an enormous amount of turnover at the skill positions, Munday will be switching from its familiar shotgun spread to the flexbone this fall. And even Corcoran isn’t quite sure yet what to expect from the move.

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by Daniel Youngblood

New-look Munday Moguls must reinvent themselves in ’18

Rebuilding seasons aren’t uncommon in high school football, particularly in the small-school ranks, where numbers are always a concern. But the Munday Moguls will be taking that concept to a whole new level this fall.

Facing what would more accurately be described as a reinvention, Munday won’t return a single yard of offensive production in 2018.  And when they do take the field, the Moguls will have a very different look than the one their fans have grown accustomed to.

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by Daniel Youngblood

BCP Podcast No. 7: Evan, Dan talk football with Wichita Falls’ Zach Duncan

Zach Duncan

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.