Abilene ISD -

The playoff picture for District 4-5A boys’ and girls’ soccer is becoming clearer as the regular season nears its conclusion next week.

The regular season wraps up next Friday, March 7. The girls’ playoff teams are already determined, while the boys’ battle for playoff spots is in its final stages.

The girls’ four playoff teams will be Wylie, Wichita Falls Memorial, Wichita Falls Legacy, and Abilene High. Wylie leads the district with a record of 5-1, with matches remaining against Abilene High next Tuesday and Memorial next Friday. Memorial is second at 4-1, with games against Cooper on Friday, Legacy next Tuesday, and Wylie next Friday.

Legacy sits in third with a record of 3-2, with matches left against Abilene High on Friday, Memorial next Tuesday, and Cooper next Friday in the regular-season finale. The Lady Eagles are currently 2-4 and in fourth place but secured the district’s final playoff spot following Tuesday night’s 3-1 victory over crosstown rival Cooper, which eliminated the Lady Coogs, who are 0-6 in the district. Abilene High has matches remaining against Legacy on Friday and at Wylie next Tuesday.

On the boys’ side, Memorial leads the league with a 4-1 record, followed by Legacy at 3-2. Abilene High and Cooper are tied for third with records of 3-3, while Wylie brings up the rear with a 1-5 record. Memorial is the only team that has clinched a playoff spot, but that could change on Friday night.

Cooper and Abilene High can secure playoff spots on Friday night when they face the two Wichita Falls teams. Cooper will host Memorial at Shotwell Stadium, while Abilene High will visit Legacy. Wins by AHS, Cooper, or Legacy will clinch those teams' playoff spots. One more loss by Wylie or a fourth district win for AHS, Legacy, or Cooper will eliminate the Bulldogs from the playoff race.

Abilene High will host Wylie at Shotwell Stadium on Tuesday, while Cooper will wrap up its regular season next Friday at Wichita Falls Legacy.

SOFTBALL
Abilene High and Cooper are back in action this weekend after each played two games last weekend and lost their Tuesday night games.

The AISD Icebreaker Tournament was canceled last week because of the cold weather, but AHS and Cooper each got in two games, and they swept those four games. Abilene High beat Midland Christian (7-1) and Snyder (6-0), while Cooper beat Big Spring (8-1) and Elgin (7-6). Tuesday night, Abilene High lost 1-0 at Georgetown, and Cooper lost 8-4 at Temple.

Abilene High (5-5) lost its first two games in the DFW Turf Wars on Thursday in Eaton, falling 6-0 to Waco Midway and 3-1 to Lewisville Hebron. The Lady Eagles will play Colleyville Heritage and Wylie East on Friday and conclude the tournament on Saturday at 9 a.m. against Conroe.

Cooper, meanwhile, picked up two big wins over Class 6A programs by beating Mesquite and Arlington on the first day of the Mesquite Tournament. The Lady Cougars – off to a 7-4 start under first-year head coach Kaegan Jimenez – play Mesquite Horn and Garland Naaman Forest on Friday before finishing the tournament Saturday at 9 a.m. against Bishop Lynch.

BASEBALL
Abilene High and Cooper were to have opened their respective seasons in the DFW Metroplex last weekend. However, poor weather and sub-freezing wind-chill temperatures canceled both tournaments.

Instead, the Eagles and Cougars worked out two games apiece in Abilene last Saturday, and both teams won both games they played to open the season. Abilene High beat Lubbock Coronado, 11-9, in the season-opener, followed that with a 4-0 win over Midland Greenwood. Cooper, meanwhile, opened the season with an 8-4 victory over San Angelo Central and then thumped Wall 17-0.

Both teams are in tournaments this weekend and lost their first two games on Friday.

The Coogs opened the Eagle Mountain-Saginaw ISD Tournament in Saginaw with two losses: 7-3 to Fort Worth Trimble Tech and 10-3 to Liberty Christian. Cooper is back at it Friday against Justin Northwest and Lebanon Trail before wrapping up the tournament against Mesquite Boyd on Saturday.

On Thursday, the first day of the Tournament of Champions in Midland, the Eagles tied one game and lost one. They finished their game against Odessa Permian tied 2-2 before losing 14-4 to Midland High. The Eagles will play El Paso Eastwood and El Paso El Dorado on Friday before playing El Paso Eastwood again on Saturday morning.

Neither team plays a midweek game next week, and they will co-host the Abilene ISD Tournament next weekend at Cougar Field and Blackburn Field. The tournament starts next Thursday and runs through Saturday. Teams that will be in town to play are Brock, Wall, Burleson, Andrews, San Angelo Central, San Angelo Lake View, Brownwood, Andrews, Copperas Cove, and Burleson.

BOYS BASKETBALL
The District 4-5A all-district team was released this week, and Cooper and Abilene High are well-represented on the post-season squad.

Abilene High had two players on the first team (juniors Brooks Reese and Connell Colley), while Cooper had one on the first team (sophomore Mazin Lawrence). The Eagles were represented on the second team by seniors Eric Salazar, Tyson Thompson, and junior Payton Shawver, while freshman Tayden Bender represented Cooper.

Abilene HIgh’s honorable mention picks were Myles Osborne, Brenner Paul, Cade Reese, and Carter Wyatt, while Cooper’s Jaden Carrillo was an honorable mention pick.

Academic All-District picks from Abilene High were Connell Colley, Salazar, Thompson, Carter Wyatt, Brooks Reese, Shawver, Osborne, Paule, Trae Shaw, Cade Reese, Gavin Colley, and George Ferguson.

Academic All-District picks from Cooper were Kaymon Regala, Lawrence, Dylan Josselet, Carrillo, Jacob Bynum, TJ Harrell, and Aiden Shepard.