Abilene ISD -

The Abilene High girls are back in the Class 5A basketball playoffs after finishing second in District 4-5A this year, behind district champion and state-ranked Wylie.

The Lady Eagles – who wrapped their regular season on Jan. 31 against Wylie – finished their first season under head coach Alonzo Franklin at 17-15 overall and 5-3 in the district. Franklin is in his fourth year as a head coach, and this is his fourth straight trip to the state playoffs.

Abilene High will face a familiar opponent in the bi-district round of the Class 5A Division I playoffs: Amarillo High. The Lady Eagles and Lady Sandies will play Monday at 7:30 p.m. in Brownfield. Tickets can only be purchased through the S2 Pass App or at https://fans.s2pass.com. Ticket prices are $5 for adults and $3 for students. Passes that will be accepted are Texas High School Coaches Association, Texas Girls Coaches Association, Texas High School Athletic Directors Association, District 3-5A and District 4-5A passes, and senior citizen cards. 

Brownfield ISD will provide streaming video of the game, and AISD Live will provide an audio-only broadcast. However, the Brownfield ISD video stream will be shared on aisdlive.org. AISD-TV personnel will be in Brownfield to video the game, and it will be available on aisdlive.org by navigating to the “Abilene High” and “Athletics” buttons. It will air on cable channel 2 on Saturday, Feb. 15, at 9 p.m., and on Wednesday, Feb. 19, at 5 p.m.

The Lady Sandies – ranked No. 5 in the state – finished third in District 3-5A, behind sixth-ranked Lubbock Monterey and fourth-ranked Amarillo Tascosa. Monterey (31-5 overall), Tascosa (30-4), and Amarillo High (28-5) all ended with 14-2 records, but Monterey claimed the title based on tiebreaker rules, securing the district’s No. 1 seed.

The Lady Eagles and Lady Sandies met in last year’s bi-district round with Amarillo High winning, 67-18. The Lady Eagles have lost in the bi-district round in their previous five playoff appearances.

The race for the four boys playoff spots from District 4-5A is over; the only thing that remains to be determined is playoff seeding. Cooper was eliminated from the playoff chase Tuesday with a 54-35 loss at district-leading Wichita Falls Legacy. That loss dropped the Cougars to 8-16 overall and 0-6, mathematically eliminating the Coogs.

Legacy leads the district (17-8 overall and 6-1 in the district), followed by Wylie (15-11 and 4-2), Abilene High (18-12 and 3-3), and Wichita Falls Memorial (13-18 and 3-4). Cooper can factor in playoff seeding as it plays its two Abilene rivals in its last two games: Friday at Wylie and next Tuesday (Feb. 11) at home against Abilene High in the regular-season finale for both teams. A pair of wins by the Coogs could throw a wrench into the district’s postseason order.

Abilene High, which didn’t play on Tuesday, returns to the floor this Friday at home against Wichita Falls Memorial. The Eagles will wrap up the regular season next Tuesday (Feb. 11) at Cougar Gym. Depending on the results in the last two games, Abilene High can still finish second, third, or fourth in the district.

SOCCER: District 4-5A Play Underway
All four Abilene ISD teams began District 4-5A play Tuesday night, and all four came out the first night of league play at 0-1.

The Cooper boys matched up against Wylie and the game went to penalty kicks after regulation ended with the score knotted, 2-2. Wylie won the penalty-kick session, 6-5, to win the match. Cooper is 5-4-2 overall and 0-1 in district and will take on Abilene High at 5 p.m. Friday at Shotwell Stadium.

The Abilene High boys battled Wichita Falls Memorial in Wichita Falls before falling 1-0 at Memorial Stadium. The Eagles are 3-4-3 and 0-1 going into Friday night’s match against Cooper.

Abilene High's girls' team lost a 2-0 decision against Wichita Falls Memorial, dropping to 4-8-0 overall and 0-1 in district play. The Lady Eagles will face Cooper at 7 p.m. Friday at Shotwell Stadium. Cooper lost 4-0 to Wylie, dropping to 8-5-3 and 0-1. Both AHS-Cooper matches will be broadcast on aisdlive.org.

After Friday’s crosstown matches, Abilene High will face Wichita Falls Legacy next Tuesday, with the boys’ match at Shotwell and the girls playing in Wichita Falls. Cooper will take on Wichita Falls Memorial, with the boys playing in Wichita Falls and the girls at Shotwell Stadium.

BASEBALL, SOFTBALL: Seasons Near Start Line
The Abilene High and Cooper softball seasons will start on Tuesday, Feb. 11. The Lady Eagles will host Weatherford at 6 p.m. at the Eagle Softball Field. Cooper, meanwhile, will play Colorado City at 6:30 p.m.

Both teams will play in the National Fastpitch Coaches Association Texas High School Leadoff Classic in College Station next weekend to play against some of the best competition in Texas.

Abilene High is in the Championship Bracket and will start the tournament next Thursday (Feb. 13) against Leander Glenn. The bracket will dictate Abilene High’s remaining tournament opponents. Cooper will play Cypress Bridgeland and Lago Vista next Thursday, Bryan and Sinton on Friday, and Argyle and El Maton Tidehaven on Saturday.

The high school baseball seasons at Abilene High and Cooper are still two weeks away from starting. Abilene High will begin Feb. 20-22 at the Gary Balch Classic in Fort Worth, while Cooper will open its season Feb. 20-22 at the Weatherford Tournament.

NATIONAL SIGNING DAY: Cougars, Eagles Ready to Pursue Collegiate Athletics
Three Cooper athletes and one Abilene High athlete put pen to paper on Wednesday, signing agreements to play intercollegiate athletics.

Cooper softball players Maddie Fry and Emma Ruiz, along with football standout Zavian Alexander, all agreed to play beyond high school. Fry pledged to Hardin-Simmons University, Ruiz to Nelson University (formerly Southwestern Assemblies of God University), and Alexander to the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor.

As a senior in 2024, Alexander hauled in 79 passes for 947 yards and 12 touchdowns while adding 21 solo tackles, 14 assists, two pass breakups and a forced fumble as a cornerback. The 5-foot-10, 155-pound athlete also blocked a kick on special teams, helping Cooper reach the state playoffs for the 18th straight season.

Fry, a pitcher and first baseman for the Lady Coogs, and Ruiz, an infielder, were both second-team all-district picks last season as juniors.