Second Time Around
BIG SPRING NETTERS RUNNING THINGS With football season going on we tend to overlook the other fall sports. Coach Connie Riddle and her Big Spring tennis team has been running through the district competition in team tennis play.
At the time of this copy, Big Spring was 3-0 in team play, beating Snyder 12-7, San Angelo Lake View 15-4 and Sweetwater 13-6. Big Spring has been dominant to say the least.
For instance, the Steers didn't lose a single match against Lake View. The Steers have several returners: the Lady Steers not so much, only three Ananya Limaye, Lexie Rodriguez and Itzel Garcia-marquez.
Riddle is liking what's she's seen so far. "All of the team has been consistent," Riddle said."they have all been putting in the hard work to be where they are. They support each other tremendously, especially our captains Eric Landin and Ananya (Limaye)."
STEERS RUNNERS LIVING UP TO THEIR BILLING
The Big Spring Steers, ranked No.3 in the state in class 4A cross country, continues to shine.
Last week at the LCU Invite in Lubbock, the Steers finished second as a team behind Lubbock Monterey. Leading the way in the three-mile run was Adrian Solis with a third-place finish (15:43) and Isaac Gonzales who finished fifth (15:45). Diego Rios was eighth (16:26), Jordan Mitchell, 48th (17:31) and Augustin Salgado 54th (17:35).
In the girl's division Sands finished eighth as a team paced by sophomore Hayley Connell's 26th place finish in the two-mile run (13:21). The Lady Steers finished 10th as a team and were led by freshman Bergan Pinkley's eighth place finish (12:37). WHAT'S GOING IN BROCK?
I don't know what they're doing in Brock, TX but they could bottle it and sell it. The town in Parker County (Weatherford area) has got one heck of an athletic program.
The Eagles are flying high! The Class 3A school has won several boys and girls basketball state titles but the most intriguing thing about Brock athletics is its football history.
Brock incorporated football into its athletic system in 2012 and in that year they played a JV schedule. From 2013 to now, the Eagles have won a football state championship in 2015 and they've compiled an incredible 109-10-1 record.
But guess what? The Eagles have lost their first three games of the season this year, 28-7 to Texarkana Mt. Pleasant, Wichita Falls Hirschi 37-30 in overtime. and Wimberly 32-23 last week.
All three of those schools are ranked in the top 15 in Texas in Class 4A. Is it the fall of a dynasty? I think not. Just call it playing a loaded non-district schedule.
Speaking of a loaded schedule. Stephenville is boldly defending it state class 4A Division I state title. The Yellowjackets have beaten two Class 5A state ranked teams Midlothian (49-42) and Everman (62-61).
The Yellowjackets had an easier time with Decatur, 52-34 in week three. Stephenville will have another tough test again this week as they get ready to take on Abilene Wylie on the road. WILDCATS PASSING THE TEST
Westbrook coach Homer Matlock said he wasn't concerned about winning another six-man state championship. His goal was that his Wildcats got better every game. For the second straight week the Wildcats' have beaten a top 10 ranked opponent.
Last week was No.7 Jonesboro. This week was No. 5 Rankin in a 59-58 barn burner. Westbrook does it with a two-headed sword in the running game. Headliner Cedric Ware ran for 251 yards and Grayson Jeffery compliments him with 81 yards himself.
Rankin went up 58-52 with 2:30 left in the game. The defending state champs responded by scoring with 40 seconds left on the clock, running in the one-point conversion.
The Wildcats defense responded by stopping Rankin the next four plays and that was it. "Like I said earlier I don't care about my personal records - wins and losses," said Matlock. "I just want us to get better. The rest will take care of itself. It was a good game, a fun game and both teams got better and stayed healthy."
UPSTART LORAINE BULLDOGS
There's a new kid on the block in Mitchell County and its the Loraine Bulldogs. After having several fruitless seasons the Bulldogs are barking loud right now.
Loraine recently beat a good Klondike team 60-40. The 3-0 Bulldogs are ranked No. 2 in the state in sixman Class 1A-div. II. Klondike, which falls to 1-2, is ranked No.8 statewide in the same division.
The Cougars other loss was to highly ranked Jayton 48-40, so they are playing a tough schedule. Since Loraine and Westbrook (No. 1 in Division I) are only 20 miles apart it's a shame they don't play each other this season for county bragging rights.