Week 16 Rewind

Football season in the Big Country will come to a close soon as we are down to just three teams: Abilene High, Jim Ned and May.

Two of those three can add some amazing hardware to the trophy case, and the Eagles can survive and advance and be the last Big Country team standing with a win this week.

MOVING ON

Abilene High 42, El Paso Eastwood 35

The Eagles built a big lead and held on to win their first playoff game for head coach Mike Fullen. It is Abilene High’s first postseason win since 2016, and they move to 15-1 all-time in playoff games against El Paso schools. Abel Ramirez (350 total yards and 3 touchdown passes) and Phonzo Dotson (176 yards and 3 touchdowns rushing) led an explosive offensive attack and helped the Warbirds build a 42-14 lead heading into the fourth quarter. Eastwood did not go down without a fight, however, scoring three fourth quarter touchdowns to pull within a score. Abilene High gave up nearly 500 yards of total offense, but got a final stop by knocking down a Hail Mary on the final play of the game.

Jim Ned 24, Mount Vernon 17

The Indians won a classic at The Ballpark, getting a pair of turnovers inside the five-yard line in the final three minutes of the game to turn away Art Briles’ Tigers and move on to the second state championship game in program history. Xavier Wishert went over the top for a five-yard touchdown to give Jim Ned a 24-17 lead with less than five minutes to go, capping a busy day where he ran the ball 36 times for 171 yards and two scores.

Mount Vernon drove inside the red zone but fumbled away a chance to tie, then got the ball back and threw a pass that Caden Martin picked off at the goal line to seal the victory.

May had a little bit of time to prepare for their rematch with Sterling City in the 1A Division I state championship game. Read more about their matchup here.

PLAYOFF PAIRINGS

3A DIVISION I STATE CHAMPIONSHIP

Jim Ned (13-1) vs Hallettsville (13-2) - Thursday, 7 p.m. - AT&T Stadium, Arlington

1A DIVISION I STATE CHAMPIONSHIP

May (13-1) vs Sterling City (14-0) - Wednesday, Dec. 16, 2 p.m. - AT&T Stadium, Arlington

6A DIVISION II AREA

Abilene High (5-4) vs North Crowley (6-3) - Friday, 7 p.m. - Tarleton State, Stephenville

Winner vs Denton Guyer (8-2)/Arlington (5-5) - Saturday, 3:15 p.m. - Globe Life Park, Arlington

IN THE BOOKS

COOPER: The Cougars (7-2) saw Mansfield Summit strike early and often on their way to a season ending 49-28 loss at Shotwell Stadium Friday night. Summit scored three first-quarter touchdowns of 48-yards or more and the Cougars could never recover. Cooper saw a seven-game winning streak come to an end with a disappointing effort in the bi-district round, as phenomenal careers for running back Noah Garcia, the new all-time leading rusher in program history, and quarterback Aiden Thompson, the new all-time leading passing yardage leader, come to an end. Summit advances to face Amarillo Tascosa in the area round of the playoffs.

WYLIE: The Bulldogs end the first year under Clay Martin with a 4-4 record thanks to a 34-24 bi-district loss to Grapvine. Wylie battled hard throughout, trailing just 24-21 at the half and 31-24 after three quarters, but could not put any points on the board in the fourth quarter. The Bulldogs can consider it a great season, however, as they won four games after going just 2-18 the previous two years combined and earned the first trip to the 5A playoffs in school history. Grapevine will face Canutillo in the area round of the playoffs.

FINAL STANDINGS

District 2-6A

Midland Lee 5-1, 8-1
Odessa Permian 5-1, 7-2
San Angelo Central 4-2, 4-5
Abilene 4-2, 4-4
Midland 1-5, 1-8
Wolfforth Frenship 2-4, 3-6
Odessa 0-6, 0-7

This week:
Lee vs El Paso Montwood - Friday, 5 p.m. - Grande Communications Stadium, Midland
SA Central vs El Paso Eastlake - Friday, 7 p.m. - Socorro Stadium, El Paso
Permain vs El Paso Franklin - Friday, 7 p.m. - Ratliff Stadium, Odessa
Abilene vs El Paso Eastwood - Saturday, 3 p.m. - Fort Stockton

District 3-5A Division I

Cooper 6-0, 7-1
Azle 6-1, 8-2
Justin Northwest 5-2, 7-3
Brewer 3-2, 4-4
Crowley 3-4, 3-7
Arlington Heights 1-5, 3-5
Granbury 1-5, 2-7
Saginaw 0-6, 0-9

District 3-5A Division II

Lubbock Cooper 5-0, 8-1
Wichita Falls Rider 4-1, 7-2
Canyon Randall 2-3, 4-5
Wylie 2-3, 4-3
Wichita Falls 2-3, 3-4
Plainview 0-5, 2-7

District 5-4A Division I

Midlothian Heritage 4-0, 8-2
Waco La Vega 4-1, 7-2
Stephenville 3-2, 5-5
Brownwood 2-2, 4-5
Waxahachie Life 1-4, 2-7
Alvarado 0-5, 2-8

District 1-4A Division II

Sweetwater 4-0, 7-1
Greenwood 3-1, 5-3
Monahans 2-2, 4-6
Pecos 1-3, 3-5
Snyder 0-4, 2-6

District 3-3A Division I

Jim Ned 5-0, 8-1
Wall 4-1, 7-3
Clyde 3-2, 4-6
Early 2-3, 5-5
Breckenridge 1-4, 1-8
TLCA San Angelo 0-5, 0-10

District 2-3A Division II

Ballinger 5-0, 10-1
Bangs 4-1, 8-1
Sonora 3-2, 4-6
Brady 2-3, 4-6
Grape Creek 1-4, 2-8
Ingram Moore 0-5, 5-5

District 5-3A Division II

Eastland 5-0, 7-3
Jacksboro 3-2, 6-4
Comanche 3-2, 8-2
Millsap 3-2, 7-3
Merkel 1-4, 3-6
Dublin 0-5, 1-8

District 3-2A Division I

Hawley 5-0, 8-2
Anson 4-1, 7-2
Forsan 3-2, 5-4
Stamford 2-3, 5-5
Haskell 1-4, 2-7
Colorado City 0-5, 0-10

District 4-2A Division I

Cisco 5-0, 7-3
San Saba 4-1, 7-2
Winters 3-2, 4-6
Coleman 2-3, 6-4
Goldthwaite 1-4, 3-7
De Leon 0-5, 1-9

District 5-2A Division II

Hamlin 4-0, 9-0
Ralls 3-1, 7-3
Lockney 2-2, 7-2
Roscoe 1-3, 1-9
Crosbyton 0-4, 1-9

District 8-2A Division II

Albany 5-0, 8-1
Cross Plains 4-1, 8-2
Santo 3-2, 6-4
Hico 2-3, 3-7
Meridian 1-4, 3-6
Ranger 0-5, 0-9

District 7-1A Division I

Ira 4-0, 8-2
Hermleigh 3-1, 9-1
Roby 2-2, 5-5
Aspermont 0-3, 3-6
Rotan 0-3, 6-3

District 8-1A Division I

Sterling City 4-0, 10-0
Westbrook 3-1, 9-1
Highland 2-2, 6-4
Robert Lee 1-3, 2-7
Bronte 0-4, 1-8

District 13-1A Division I

May 4-0, 9-1
Baird 3-1, 5-5
Gorman 2-2, 5-5
Santa Anna 1-3, 6-4
Lingleville 0-4, 1-9

District 6-1A Division II

Blackwell 4-0, 7-3
Loraine 3-1, 6-4
Trent 1-3, 1-9
Olfen 0-3, 0-5
TLCA Abilene 0-3, 0-7

District 8-1A Division II

Benjamin 3-0, 6-1
Chillicothe 2-1, 5-4
Rule 1-2, 6-4
Harrold 0-3, 0-5

District 9-1A Division II

Throckmorton 3-0, 7-1
Lueders-Avoca 2-1, 2-7
Woodson 1-2, 1-6
Moran 0-3, 0-10

District 15-1A Division II

Blanket 3-1, 7-3
Brookesmith 4-0, 7-2
Sidney 2-2, 5-4
Rising Star 1-3, 4-6
Panther Creek 0-4, 1-9