Abilene ISD -

The Abilene High Eagles will close the regular season Thursday night, needing a win for a second straight undefeated District 2-5A Division I record and district championship. They’ll have to get past a suddenly resurgent Lubbock Monterey squad in a game that kicks off at 7 p.m. at Lowrey Field at PlainsCapital Park to win that championship.

Cooper – which has won back-to-back games and needs one more win to secure an 18th straight trip to the state playoffs – is off this week before hosting Amarillo Palo Duro next Friday night at Shotwell Stadium.

The Eagles (7-2 overall and 5-0 in the district) have won 11 straight district games and are on the brink of consecutive league championships. The Plainsmen – who started the season 1-4 overall and 0-1 in the district – have won three straight league games behind an offense averaging 56.0 points per game in those three wins and a defense that has only allowed 47 points.

Abilene High, however, has won three straight over the Plainsmen, and the Eagles boast the league’s top offense. They are averaging 472.9 yards and 50.9 points per game, and they’ve scored at least 60 points three times and at least 50 points twice.

None of their 2024 games were more thrilling than last Friday night’s 31-29 win over Amarillo Tascosa at Shotwell Stadium. The Rebels led 29-23 late in the game and got the ball back at its 15-yard line with 1:38 left after AHS quarterback Tristan Beal threw an interception.

The Eagles didn’t give up any yards, but instead of punting, the Rebels elected to take a safety, making the score 29-25 with 24 seconds left in the game. Tascosa then kicked off to the Eagles, who had Ryland Bradford deep. Bradford fielded Charlie Whitten’s kickoff at the AHS 30-yard line. He cut right and went down the sideline before cutting back to the left and outracing Tascosa defenders to the goal line for a 70-yard kickoff return for a touchdown, hitting the end zone with eight seconds left in the game.

AHS then kicked off and took down return man TJ Tillman before he could break loose, ending the game with a stunning two-point win. The margin of victory was the Eagles’ closest in a game since Oct. 13, 2023, when they beat Lubbock Cooper, 38-35, on their way to the district title.

The Eagles will again be without quarterback Brandon Henry, injured on Oct. 11 against Lubbock Coronado. Beal has stepped in and thrown for 709 yards and six touchdowns in the Eagles’ last three games while completing 43 of 72 passes.

Bradford is enjoying an exceptional senior season, going into Friday’s game with 43 catches for 840 yards and 14 touchdowns. He’s scored another seven touchdowns rushing, one via kickoff return (vs. Tascosa), and has also thrown one touchdown pass. He’s responsible for 23 touchdowns in 2024, and his 14 receiving touchdowns tie the program single-season record, set by Lyle Leong in 2005.

Junior running back Ethan Joyner has boosted the offense with  843 yards and 10 touchdowns on 151 carries. He has rushed for at least 100 yards six times this season, including in all five district games.

The Plainsmen are tied for second with Amarillo High at 3-1 in the district, although the Sandies hold the head-to-head tiebreaker edge for playoff seeding because of a 50-42 win over Monterey in the first district game for both teams. The Plainsmen can still win a share of the district title and the No. 1 seed in the league with a win over the Eagles, a win next Thursday at Amarillo Caprock, and one loss by Amarillo High, either this week at Lubbock High or next Friday against Tascosa.

The Eagles will win the district title and earn the right to host a bi-district playoff game the weekend of Nov. 15 -16, either with a win against Monterey or a Monterey loss next week at Amarillo Caprock.

The Plainsmen are led by the running back duo of Dez Williams (124 carries for 889 yards and 11 touchdowns) and Kyree Baxter (88 carries for 770 yards and 16 touchdowns), as well as quarterback Luke Arrington (107 for 177, 1,601 yards and 15 touchdowns against only three interceptions).

Abilene High fans planning to attend the game in Lubbock can purchase tickets here. The Lubbock ISD has a clear bag policy for all visitors to PlainsCapital Park. The new policy regulates the size and type of bag allowed into the stadium for any event at the facility. Exceptions will be made for medically necessary items after proper inspection.

Fans can listen to the live audio broadcast from AHS announcers Chuck Statler and Cody Coil and watch the game on Lubbock ISD TV.

In District 2-5A Division II, the Cougars sit in fourth place in the standings and are off this week to prepare for next week’s regular-season finale against Amarillo Palo Duro. No matter what happens this week – a Palo Duro win or loss against winless Wichita Falls Legacy – the Dons and Cougars will meet next Friday at 7 p.m. at Shotwell Stadium with a playoff spot on the line.

If Cooper wins that game next Friday, they will get the playoff spot, while the same Dons can claim the fourth and final playoff spot from the district with a win over the Cougars. Cooper is 3-6 overall and 2-3 in the district, while Palo Duro is 4-4 and 1-3. But even if they were to lose to Legacy to fall to 1-4, a win over Cooper would make both teams 2-4 and give Palo Duro the playoff spot based on the head-to-head win. Cooper can make it a moot point by winning its third straight game next Friday.

Other District 2-5A Division I games are Amarillo Caprock vs. Amarillo Tascosa (7 p.m. Thursday) and Amarillo High at Lubbock High (Friday at 7 p.m.

Other District 2-5A Division II games are Lubbock Cooper at Wylie (Friday at 7 p.m.), Wichita Falls Legacy at Amarillo Palo Duro (Friday at 7 p.m.), and Plainview at Wichita Falls Memorial (Friday at 7 p.m.).

VOLLEYBALL: Lady Eagles to meet Lady Cougars to determine playoff seeding
Eight District 4-5A matches weren’t enough to determine how the top four seeds will shake out for the Class 5A state playoffs, so the district will have two seeding matches Friday night: Wylie against Wichita Falls Memorial at 6 p.m. in Graham to determine the top two seeds from the district, and Abilene High vs. Cooper at 6:30 p.m. at ACU’s Moody Coliseum to determine the Nos. 3 and 4 seeds from the district.

Cooper – which had already clinched no worse than fourth in the district before Tuesday’s regular-season finale at Wichita Falls Legacy – forced the seeding match with a 3-0 win over the Leopards to improve to 15-21 overall and 3-5 in district play. Abilene High was off Tuesday night and will carry a 14-24 overall record and 3-5 district mark into Friday night’s match.

Memorial forced the seeding game against Wylie to determine the district champion and runner-up, winning 3-0 over the Lady Bulldogs at Bulldog Gym on Tuesday night.

No matter how the match turns out Friday night, Abilene High and Cooper will be part of a bi-district doubleheader next Tuesday (Nov. 5) at Brownfield High School. The loser of the match will finish fourth in the district and play third-ranked Amarillo High (35-6 overall and the District 3-5A champion at 16-0) at 5 p.m., followed by the winner of the AHS-CHS match against 25th-ranked Amarillo Tascosa (32-9 and 14-2) at 7 p.m.

CROSS COUNTRY: Lady Eagles, Alcantar Set to Run at State Meet
Abilene High’s girls’ cross country team will compete this weekend in the Class 5A state cross country meet, while Abilene High’s John Alcantar will compete as an individual in the boys’ state cross country meet.

The Lady Eagles and Alcantar will run in the state championship meet on Saturday, Nov. 2, at the Old Settler’s Park in Round Rock. The Class 5A girls’ championship run will begin at 10:45 a.m., followed by Alcantar in the boys’ run at 11:25 a.m.

The Abilene High girls qualified for their second state meet appearance in three years by finishing third at last week’s Region I-5A championship meet in Lubbock. The standout senior duo of Zoe Vann and Mason Murray paced the Lady Eagles. Vann clocked a time of 18:53.20 to finish fourth, while Murray finished in 19:!6.20 for sixth place. Sophomores Remie Batten (20:03.90 for 19th) and Aubrey Duran (20:37.80 for 33rd) and junior Emily Brumley (21:21.30 for 54th) rounded out Abilene High’s top five finishers.

Abilene High finished ninth at the Class 5A state championship meet in 2022, the first team under longtime head coach Rosie Martin to reach the state meet. The Abilene High girls also reached the state championship meet in 1992, 1995, 1996, and 1999. Murray has now qualified for the state championship meet in all four seasons, finishing 33rd in the Class 6A meet as a freshman in 2021, 28th in Class 5A in 2022, and 24th at last year’s Class 5A meet. She qualified as an individual athlete in 2021 and 2023.

Alcantar qualified for the Class 5A state championship as an individual runner by finishing fourth at the regional championship meet, covering the 5000-meter course in 15:55.60.

Fans can find results for each race at the state cross country championship meet here.

BASKETBALL: AHS, Cooper Girls Teams Start Seasons Friday
The Abilene High and Cooper girls’ basketball teams start their 2024-25 seasons Friday night, while the two boys’ teams will have to wait another week before tipping off their seasons.

The Cooper girls — under third-year head coach Brandon Hudson — will play at Odessa High at 6 p.m. Friday in the season-opener for both teams. First-year Abilene High head coach Alfonzo Franklin and his Lady Eagles will host L.D. Bell in Eagle Gym at 6:15 p.m. Friday.

The Cooper boys are in their second season under head coach Michael Bacon, and they will open their season next Friday (Nov. 8) at 6 p.m. at Odessa High. Meanwhile, Abilene High head coach Justin Reese enters his seventh season as the Eagles’ leader, needing two wins to reach 100 in his time at AHS. The Eagles will open the season next Saturday (Nov. 9) at noon against Del Rio in San Angelo at Lake View High School.

The schedule for the Abilene High boys is here, and the schedule for the Cooper boys is here. The schedule for the Abilene High girls is also available here, and the schedule for the Cooper girls can be accessed here.