Abilene ISD -

The Abilene High boys basketball team enjoyed a successful run through last weekend’s Raising Cane’s Key City Classic, finishing as the runner-up to tournament champion North Crowley, the eighth-ranked team in Class 6A.

The Eagles (10-5) beat Perryton, El Paso Coronado, and Richardson J.J. Pearce in the first three rounds before falling to the Panthers in the championship game. The Eagles reached the final with a miraculous 3-point heave to beat Pearce, 44-42, in the semifinals. Brooks Reese, son of head coach Justin Reese, lost his dribble in the final seconds, picked up the ball just in front of the AHS bench, and heaved up a prayer while falling out of bounds.

The prayer was answered at the buzzer, sending the Eagles to the championship game. Reese, Connel Colley, and Eric Salazar were all named to the all-tournament team, which was led by North Crowley’s Isaak Hayes, who was voted the tournament MVP.

Justin Reese won his 350th career game as a head coach Tuesday night as the Eagles bounced back from losing to North Crowley with a 63-42 home win over Odessa High at Eagle Gym. In his seventh season as the Eagles’ head coach, Reese is 350-214 as a head coach, having spent two seasons at Crosby and nine seasons at Richardson as the head coach.  

The Cooper boys (4-6) won their first game in the Raising Cane’s Key City Classic, a 34-20 decision over El Paso Jefferson at Cougar Gym. The Coogs lost their final three games of the tournament, falling to Lubbock Cooper, Cleburne, and El Paso Coronado in the seventh-place contest.

The Cougars will return to action this weekend in the Weatherford Tournament. The opening round will be played on Thursday against Nolan Catholic (10 a.m.) and Granbury (1:30 p.m.). Cooper will return to action at Cougar Gym next Tuesday (Dec. 17) when it hosts Big Spring at 7:30 p.m.

The Abilene High girls lost a pair of games to Comanche and Weatherford last week to take a 9-8 record into Friday night’s game at state-ranked Eula. The Lady Eagles will host Stephenville at Eagle Gym next Tuesday (Dec. 17) at 6 p.m.

The Cooper girls lost four games last weekend at the Bumblebee Classic in Little River: to Little River Academy, Burnet, Weimar, and Teague. The Lady Cougars then lost to Stephenville on Tuesday night (Dec. 10). Cooper is off this weekend and will return to action on Tuesday (Dec. 17) at Midland Legacy.

FOOTBALL: Abilene High, Cooper All-District Teams Announced
The District 2-5A Division I and Division II teams were recently announced, and Abilene High and Cooper were well-represented on their respective teams.

ABILENE HIGH: Senior wide receiver Ryland Bradford – who set virtually every receiving record at AHS before signing a national letter of intent to play collegiately at UTEP – was selected as the District 2-5A Division I Offensive MVP, one of 20 Eagles who were honored on the team.

The Eagles won a share of the District 2-5A Division I championship with Lubbock Monterey and went into the playoffs as the No. 2 seed from the district. Abilene High posted a record-setting 84-0 win over El Paso Parkland in the bi-district round before falling to Aledo in the area round. AHS finished the season at 8-4 as the Eagles reached the playoffs for the fifth straight season under head coach Mike Fullen.

Junior defensive lineman Jayden Starks was selected as the district’s Defensive Newcomer of the Year after finishing with 56 tackles (26 solo), two sacks, and 13 quarterback hurries.

Abilene High’s selections to the all-district first team offense were junior running back Ethan Joyner (1,012 yards and 11 touchdowns on the ground), senior wide receiver Camp Churchill, senior offensive tackle Shetonde Polepole, junior guard Jim Boima, and junior center Rhyan Esparza.

The Eagles’ first-team defensive picks were junior defensive end Aamani Straham, senior inside linebacker Dristain Payne, and junior outside linebacker Trae Shaw. Junior placekicker Naim Segura was also named first team all-district.

Second-team offensive picks were junior quarterback Brayden Henry (991 yards and 13 touchdowns passing and 800 yards and 12 touchdowns rushing before a knee injury cut his season short with five games to play), senior h-back Adam Young, senior wide receiver Bryson Perez, and senior offensive tackle Jerrod Turner.

Second-team defensive picks were sophomore linebacker Skylar Faimoa, senior defensive back Demotric Sanchez, and senior punter John Miles Wagstaff. Honorable mention selections were sophomore quarterback Tristan Beal (1,574 yards and 20 touchdowns through the air) and senior linebacker Eddie Varela.

COOPER: The Cougars finished 4-7, but reached the playoffs for the 18th straight season, the seventh straight under head coach Aaron Roan.

The Cougars’ first team selections on defense were junior defensive end Dycin Davis (95 tackles, 25 tackles for loss, and 13 sacks in a dominating season), senior cornerback Jeremiah Appel, and senior punter Alejandro Ibarra. Senior quarterback Austin Cummins (1,605 yards and 20 touchdowns through the air) was selected as the first team utility player.

Cooper’s lone first team offensive pick was senior wide receiver Zavian Alexander, who finished the season with 81 catches (second-most in Cooper single-season history) for 956 yards (sixth) and 12 touchdowns. He finished his career in the top 10 in catches (10th with 102) and touchdown receptions (eighth with 14).

Cooper’s second team picks on offense were junior wide receiver Jaden Carillo, sophomore fullback Major De Los Santos, junior offensive guard Kaden Bryan, and senior placekicker Kyler Wheeler. Second team defensive selections were senior defensive end Esteban Lozano, junior linebacker Canon Adams, senior linebacker Trevon Turner, and Alexander at safety.

Honorable mention selections were senior tight end Matthew Henson, junior safety Jacob Bynum, senior offensive tackle Micah Flores, junior center Caden Flores, and junior running back Peyton Ewing.