Clyde's Carr earns Big Country Player of the Week honors in win over Merkel

Joey D. Richards
Abilene Reporter-News

When you consider all the great football talent in the Big Country, it says something that this week’s Big Country Player of the Week isn’t from one of big-name programs.

Clyde quarterback Blake Carr had an outstanding night leading the Bulldogs to a 41-21 victory over Merkel on Friday at Bulldog Stadium.

The junior completed 18 of 23 passes for 311 yards and four touchdowns, while running six times for 106 yards and another TD.

Clyde's Blake Carr throws a short pass in a scrimmage against Hawley on Aug. 12 in Clyde.

Carr threw TDs to four different receivers, including senior Garis Gray, who had four catches for 108 yards, including a 92-yarder.

Clyde (2-1) plays at Ballinger (0-3) on Friday. The Bulldogs’ lone loss is to state-ranked Cisco.

BEST OF THE REST

BOYS

Tate Maruska, Stephenville running back

No big surprise here. The junior stepped up when his team needed it.

Marsuska ran for 291 yards and three TDs on 28 carries as No. 1-ranked Stephenville – playing without starting quarterback Ryder Lambert – beat Decatur 52-34 at Tarleton Memorial Stadium.

Maruska has run for a staggering 602 yards and eight TDs the last two games for the defending Class 4A Division I state champions. He has 773 yards and nine TDs overall rushing, averaging 7.9 yards per carry.

Stephenville (3-0) plays Wylie (2-1) on Friday in Abilene.

Austin Cumpton, Hawley running back

Cumpton ran for 242 yards and four TDs in the Bearcats’ 36-12 win over Eastland.

The senior also picked off a pass on defense and tied Hez Parker for the team lead in tackles with 13, including 12 solo.

Cumpton has run for 477 yards and eight TDs so far this season. He is averaging 8.5 yards per carry.

Hawley (3-0), ranked No. 2 Class 2A Division I, plays at No. 1 Class 2A DII Albany (3-0) on Friday in a game featuring some heavyweight running backs in the Lions’ Adam Hill and Maruska.

Sawyer Wilkerson, Comanche running back

Wilkerson, our BC Player of the Week last week, put up big numbers once again. The sophomore ran for 252 yards and two TDs on 22 carries in Comanche’s 49-40 victory over Early on Friday in Comanche.

Wilkerson also had a 63-yard reception for a TD.

He had 273 yards and four TDs in the previous week’s win over Bangs.

“Sawyer had another solid game with tough runs and explosive plays,” Comanche coach Jake Escobar said. “He ran like a player on a mission versus Early.”

Get this: Wilkerson has 628 yards rushing so far this season and eight TDs. He is averaging 12 yards per carry. And he’s a sophomore.

Comanche (3-0) plays at Tolar (3-0) − ranked No. 10 in Class 2A DI − on Friday before getting Albany in the final non-district game.

Adam Hill, Albany running back

The junior continues to be a steady performer for the No. 1-ranked Lions, who lost starting quarterback Cole Chapman early in the game last week. Hill ran for 163 yards and two TDs on 24 carries in Albany’s 27-13 win at Seymour.

Hill also had a 63-yard TD catch for the Lions, who were without standout running back Coy Lefevre.

Hill (50-489, 6 TDs) is averaging 9.78 yards per carry.

Lute Wheeler, a junior, should get some props for stepping in for Chapman and completing 4-of-9 passes for 103 yards and a TD. He threw one pick.

Hunter Long, Cisco quarterback

Long accounted for 254 total yards and four TDs in Cisco’s 30-27 loss at Breckenridge.

The senior ran for 107 yards and three TDs on 25 carries, while also completing 11-of-20 passes for 147 yards and a TD.

Long helped lead a stunning fourth-quarter comeback after the Loboes fell behind 30-7.

Cisco (2-1) − which dropped two spots to No. 8 in this week's Class 2A DI state poll −is host to Jacksboro this week.

Jerry Lawson, Breckenridge running back

On paper, Lawson’s yardage doesn’t seem all that amazing. But the 6-foot-2, 250-pound senior pounded the Cisco defense and wore them down in the first half – running for 62 yards and a TD. He finished with 83 yards on 20 carries.

He also recovered two onside kicks to sew up the victory for the Buckaroos (3-0), who cracked the state ranking at No. 9 this week in Class 3A DI.

Zeke Castillo, a senior linebacker, also had a monster game on defense. He had 16 tackles (2 solo), while Caiden Marin, a junior linebacker, had 11 tackles (4 solo).

Breck plays at Eastland (0-3) on Friday.

Cedric Ware, Westbrook running back/linebacker

Ware was a one-man wrecking crew for the defending Class 1A Division I state champs.

He ran for 251 yards and five TDs, while making two catches for 69 yards and two more scores in the Wildcats’ wild, wild 59-58 victory over Rankin.

Ware also led Westbrook with 14 tackles, including 10 solo, and forced a fumble. Pahton Dominguez added 10 tackles (8 solo).

The No. 1-ranked Wildcats (3-0) go to Spur (2-1) this week.

Luke McKenzie, May quarterback

The senior ran for 155 yards and five touchdowns and threw for two more as the Tigers beat Knox City 81-58 in a Class 1A six-man game.

No. 3-ranked May (3-0), which lost to Westbrook in the state title game last year, hosts No. 4 Garden City (3-0) this week.

Antonio Martinez, Snyder cross country

Martinez finished sixth at the Abilene Invitational cross country meet Saturday with a time of 17:29.22.

Griff Reel, Jayton cross country

Reel was right on Martinez’s heels with a seventh-place finish in 17:34.00. It was a nice finish for a Class 1A youngster running against the likes of Abilene High, Lubbock Coronado and Odessa Permian.

GIRLS

Jace Chisum, Jayton cross country

Chisum won the 3,200 meters at the Abilene Invitational at Sherrod Park. She edged Jim Ned’s Hailey Von Miller with a time of 12 minutes, 40.2 seconds, while Miller ran a 12:45.62.

Jim Ned (51 points) won the team title over Ballinger (64) in what was basically the small-school division.

Big Country coaches can nominate an athlete for player of the week by sending their name, class and stats to joey.richards@reportnews.com by 3 p.m. each Monday.