Highland: 3-7

One thing that three of the four Nolan County football teams had in common in 2022 was that they had a team which played for the state championship in their own district.

And — like Roscoe in Class 2A, Division II but unlike Blackwell in 1A, Division II — Highland was in the same district with the eventual champion.

At least the Hornets are used to this kind of thing. It’s happened to them the last three years, with Westbrook winning the last two titles in 2021 and ‘22.

Highland took a bit of a step back, however, going 3-7 while missing the playoffs for the fifth straight season in something of a rebuilding year. But coach Ben Smith’s Hornets also played one of the toughest schedules in Class 1A, D-I, with non-district losses to Loraine, Throckmorton, Irion County and Borden County and District 8-1A defeats to Westbrook, Ira and Hermleigh.

The Hornets picked up their three wins over Blackwell (52-32), Rotan (88-62) and Roby (58-12), finishing fourth in their six-team district with a 2-3 record.

Loraine, like Westbrook, also played for a state title this season but it was in Class 1A, Division II. And Highland was extremely competitive in four of its losses — 36-26 to Throckmorton, 47-40 to Borden County, 54-44 to Ira and 58-50 to Hermleigh. Ira was second and Hermleigh third in district play.

Cooper Bowen and Bubba Byrne were both first team all-district picks and earned all-region honorable mention as well. Tylan Balthrop was named district newcomer of the year.

In addition, Balthrop, Tate Cain, Brentyn Covington, Tristan Harding, Brandon Barkley and Kason Wehba earned second team all-district honors.