Big Country Rewind: Strawn Greyhounds, Westbrook Wildcats earn spots in 1A title games
In a battle of 1A Division II powers, Strawn had no trouble getting into end zone against Richland Springs.
The Greyhounds hit triple digits en route to beating the Coyotes 100-54 and clinching a spot in the state title game. It will be Strawn’s sixth state title appearance in football.
Freshman Grayson Rigdon led the Greyhounds’ offense, rushing for 292 yards and six touchdowns. His brother, Griff, ran for 191 yards and four touchdowns.
Strawn outgained Richland Springs 630-340 in total yards.
The win avenges last year’s state semifinal game, when Richland Springs escaped with a 59-56 win over the Greyhounds. Strawn is headed to its first state championship game since 2018, when the Greyhounds beat Follett 48-0.
The Greyhounds come into the title game with a 14-0 record, winning every game by double digits. They have outscored opponents 1,010-355.
In the state championship, Strawn will face an excellent Motley County squad.
The Matadors are also 14-0, beating Rule, Balmorhea, Jayton and Klondike in their first four playoff games. They also earned impressive regular-season wins against Westbrook and Knox City.
Westbrook took down Happy to gain the Division finals against the winner of Saturday's May vs. Abbott contest. If May, ranked No. 1, wins, it will be an all-Big Country shootout for state title.
Motley County entered the playoffs ranked No. 1 in 1A Division II.
Westbrook wins again
Westbrook’s Cinderella season continued Friday, cruising to a win over Happy.
The Wildcats used a strong first half to pull away from the Cowboys to win 54-30. They are now bound for their first state title game in school history.
Junior Cedric Ware carried the load offensively, scoring six of the Wildcats’ seven touchdowns. His longest run of the night went for 58 yards and a touchdown.
The other touchdown came on a 19-yard pass from Shammah Stark to Bo Payne.
Reaching the state semifinals already was an achievement for Westbrook, but the state title berth is a new feat for the program.
Westbrook, 10-4, has won eight games in a row. The team has defied odds time and time again after entering the playoffs as the No. 8 team in 1A Division I.
The title game could be a Big Country matchup. No. 1 May faces No. 3 Abbott in a matchup of unbeatens Saturday evening.
It's very likely that Westbrook will face the Tigers at AT&T Stadium, if their first 13 games were any indication.
2A wins
Two of the Big Country’s three 11-man teams in the state semifinals hail from 2A.
Hawley and Albany earned region championships in their respective regional finals to advance to the final four.
Hawley won a battle in the trenches to mount a comeback against Cisco in the Region I-2A Division I championship. The Bearcats outscored the Loboes 10-0 in the second half to escape Shotwell Stadium with a 17-14 win.
After a stagnant first half, Hawley’s offense found life in the second half, even without star running back Austin Cumpton. Head coach Mitch Ables added short passes into the offensive scheme to complement the Bearcats’ run game.
“It was huge,” Ables said. “They did a great job covering the deep ball, so we had to make some adjustments on the running game and short passes: Get some short yardage at a time. Against a team like that, that’s what you have to do.”
Penalties were also a difference, as the Loboes committed seven penalties for 70 yards.
Hawley is now set for a semifinal game against Marlin. The Bulldogs enter the game 11-3 overall and beat Crawford 26-6 in their regional final game.
Likely without Cumpton again, Hawley’s offense will need to find new ways to move the ball against a surging Marlin squad, which has won eight games in a row.
Albany made another big statement in its Region II-2A Division II final win.
The Lions beat Windthorst 28-14, extending their perfect season another week. They have now beaten 2A Division II’s No. 2 (Muenster) and No. 3 (Windthorst) teams en route to reaching the state semifinals.
Quarterback Cole Chapman completed 12 of 23 passes for 134 yards and three touchdowns. Coy Lefevre caught two of those touchdowns, finishing the game with 74 yards.
Albany’s defense also kept the Trojans' offense at bay, forcing two turnovers and holding them to just two touchdowns.
The Lions’ playoff runs in 2019 and 2020 both came at the hands of Windthorst. They did everything they could to make sure that didn’t happen again.
“We lost to them last year, and it was tough,” Chapman said. “I’ve been thinking about it all year. We finally got it done.”
Albany will now play in its first state semifinal game since 2018. The Lions will face Stratford — the No. 5 team in 2A Division II — hoping to reach the state title game.
Stephenville’s statement
After sneaking past Argyle in an impressive regional semifinal win, Stephenville earned another hard-fought victory in the Region II-4A Division I final.
The Yellow Jackets beat Melissa 24-21, sealing their spot in the state semifinals. They are now 14-0 overall.
Melissa led early, going to halftime with a 7-0 lead. But Stephenville responded well in the second half, scoring 24 unanswered points to begin the second half.
Standout wide receiver Coy Eakin caught just three passes, but all three were big plays. The star wideout finished the game with 172 yards and two touchdowns. His longest grab went for 95 yards and a touchdown, giving Stephenville its first lead of the game.
Melissa didn’t go down without a fight, however. The Cardinals scored two touchdowns in the last five minutes before Stephenville ran out the clock.
The Yellow Jackets are the area’s highest class team remaining. They will face Wichita Falls Hirschi in the 4A Division I state semifinals.
Hirschi won 32-6 over Springtown in its regional final game and enters with a 12-2 record.
Carson Field is the area sports reporter for the Abilene Reporter-News. He covers primarily Big Country high school sports. If you appreciate locally driven news, you can support local journalists with a digital subscription to ReporterNews.com" target="_blank">digital subscription to reporternews.com.
This article originally appeared on Abilene Reporter-News: Strawn Greyhounds, Westbrook Wildcats clinch state title berths
