Archer County News' Top 5 games of 2025

The 25-26 sports season was one of the most memorable ones to date. State championship, deep playoff runs, and games that will be remembered for many years to come.

This list is in no particular order, just a collection of the five best games from the three high schools in Archer County.

Kirkland walks off in high-speed wind Both the Lady Eagles and the Tigerettes had to fight wind gusts that got up to as much as 50 miles per hour. With the wind travelling between 25-30 miles per hour, whichever team withstood the weather more would walk out the winner.

It looked like Jacksboro had full control of the game, taking a 5-2 lead after two innings. The Tigerettes piled on the runs in the fourth and fifth innings, going up 11-3.

The Lady Eagles opened the bottom of the fifth with bases-loaded after a walk to Carly Duggins and a pair of singles from Jordan Peters and catcher Avery Kowalick. Peters and courtesy runner Addisyn Scott scored later in the inning to cut the deficit to six.

Starting pitcher Carly Duggins gave up just one run in the top of the sixth and the seventh, giving the Lady Eagles a good shot at completing the comeback.

The bottom of the sixth inning got off to a hot start for Holliday, as lead-off hitter Sammi Kirkland blistered the first pitch to right field for a triple.

Kindle Marek drove in Kirkland with a single at the very next at-bat. Peters then brought in Marek with an RBI-single of her own.

Duggins joined in on the hit parade with a double, later scoring thanks to a RBI-single from Avery Kowalick. Before Jacksboro could blink, Holliday was down just 12-9 with no outs.

The Lady Eagles couldn’t muster up any more runs, though, finishing out the inning still down just three runs.

A quick seven-pitch inning by Duggins in the top of the seventh gave Holliday one final chance at redemption.

That chance was taken as designated hitter Reese Williams kicked off the inning with a lead-off double. A single by Kirkland brough the tying run at the plate, Kindle Marek.

Marek showed bunt and laid down a beautiful ball, forcing Jacksboro’s third baseman to make a tough throw.

The ball sailed over the first baseman’s head, rolling all the way down the fence while Williams, Kirkland, and Marek all huffed it around the diamond. All three scored, erupting the dugout as the game was now tied 12-12.

The excitement cooled however, as the Lady Eagles failed to put it away and the two teams went to extra innings.

A lead-off single didn’t worry Holliday as they forced a quick three-outs without surrendering any runs for another chance to steal the show.

After shortstop Landri Beck reached first on an error, Meritt Morgan moved Beck over with single. The Tigerettes were able to record their second out, and with runners on first and second, Sammi Kirkland, who was 4-for-5 on the night, stepped up to the plate.

The wind ferociously blew as Kirkland smacked a 2-1 pitch down third base line, bouncing over the bag and bringing in the game-winning run for the walk-off single.

Trojanettes climb back for walk-off over Archer City The fight for the top spot in District 9-2A was always going to be tough.

With three of the top teams from last year returning a majority of their roster, it is no surprise that each game came down to who made the right plays at the right time.

The game between the Archer City Lady Cats and the Windthorst Trojanettes on Saturday, March 29 was no different.

The Trojanettes jumped out to an early 2-0 lead after centerfielder Chloe Schroeder hammered a 1-0 pitch to the left field fence for an inside the park home run in the bottom of the first.

Archer City finally responded in the top of the third when starting pitcher Addi Canada took a pitch to the outfield for an RBI-single, giving the Lady Cats their first run of the game.

Both teams went silent for the fourth inning as Canada and Trojanette starting pitcher freshman Jalyn Benson retired the side in order.

The Lady Cats finally rekindled their bats as Canada tied it up with an RBI-single. On the same hit, the sophomore took advantage of a string of errors made by Windthorst to make it all the way around the diamond for the score, giving Archer City the 3-2 lead.

A single by third baseman Addy Peters and an error later, the Lady Cats now lead 4-2 heading into the bottom of the fifth.

Senior Adelyn Harvey extended the Lady Cat lead in the top of the sixth with a two-run triple, giving all momentum to Archer City.

Canada continued to flex her pitching prowess in the bottom of the sixth, keeping the lead intact after recording all three outs with punchouts.

After the Trojanettes were able to hold Archer City runless in the top of the seventh, the young crew had one final at-bat to make up the four-run deficit.

A lead-off single by right fielder Ella Berend, followed by a walk to second baseman Malory Watson gave Windthorst a prime chance cut into Archer City’s lead.

And that’s exactly what Schroeder and Kamdyn Neal did as the sophomore knocked in one run with a single, and the junior followed with a two-run double. One batter later, first baseman Heidi Tackett knotted the teams with an RBI ground out, sending the game into extra innings.

The Trojanettes forced the Lady Cats to go threeup, three-down in their next at-bat in the top of the eighth, now needing to score just one run to complete their unlikely comeback.

Third baseman Charlee Wolf opened the inning with a single, later advancing to second on a fly ball. With two outs and a runner in scoring position, lead-off hitter Karissa Fillingim was up to bat.

Fillingim unloaded her swing and belted the ball deep to centerfield, driving in Wolf for the winning run and sending her team into an uproar.

Collinsville outlasts Windthorst in extra innings In one of the most heart-pounding and anxiety- inducing games this season, the Trojans and Pirates went more than the distance.

The two prize-fighters battered each other for 10 innings and over four hours, never relenting for the chance to continue their playoff run.

After a grueling Game 1 the day before, and a hardfought Game 2, Collinsville’s hot bats seeped into the start of the third game, pouring on four runs in the first two innings.

Down 4-0 in the bottom of the second with no outs, the Trojans battled back and eventually tied the Pirates thanks to backto- back RBI-doubles from Conner Schreiber and Jaxon Stark.

The teams went scoreless in the third inning, and starting pitcher Kasen Wiles and his fielders kept Collinsville quiet in the fourth, giving Windthorst the perfect chance to take the lead.

And take the lead they did as Hayden Cavazos belted a two-run double to go ahead 6-4. By the start of the fifth, the Pirates’ starting pitcher had reached the pitch limit, while Wiles sat at 74.

The Pirates evened the score in the top of the fifth, but once again Windthorst answered with a string of runs.

Jaxon Stark belted an RBI-single to rightfield before a balk by the pitcher and a sacrifice fly by Cavazos added three more runs.

Wiles had 90 pitches going into the top of the sixth and recorded two outs before he reached the pitchcount limit. The Pirates cut the deficit to 9-8 before Wiles was replaced by Aiden Stark.

Collinsville snatched the lead from the Trojans before Stark could finally register the final out.

Trailing 10-9 and with bases loaded and no outs in the bottom of the sixth, centerfielder Brock Belcher torched a pitch for a tworun double, which was followed by a two-run sac fly from Schreiber.

The Windthorst crowd and the dugout exploded from excitement as the Trojans now held a 13-10 lead with just one more inning left.

With Schreiber, Wiles, and Aiden Stark all at their pitch-count limits Coach Belcher was forced to turn to players that hadn’t seen a lot of time on the mound this season.

Jaxon Stark made his reappearance first, but struggled with a lead-off walk, forcing Coach Belcher to bring in Cash Armstrong, who hadn’t taken the mound since April 17.

Armstrong was unable shake the rust, walking the next two batters. Aiden McQuerry then took the reins but hit the next batter which brought in a run.

Senior Kooper Hibbs was then asked to take the hill. The Pirates managed to the tie the game, but Hibbs and the Trojans eventually forced the last out to go into the bottom of the seventh 13-13.

Despite Armstrong getting a single, the Trojans failed to bring him in, sending the game to extra innings.

Hibbs showed extreme guts as he and the Trojans kept the Pirates hitless in the top of the eighth and nineth innings, even collecting five strikeouts over that span. But Windthorst couldn’t capitalize on offense, resulting in a 13-13 score through those innings.

Collinsville finally broke through with a run in the top of the tenth, and after over four hours on the Eagle Mountain turf, the Pirates retired the side in-order to win one of the best back-and-forth games in recent memory.

In Game 3 alone, the two teams had a combined 10 pitchers take the mound. In the series, Windthorst pitchers accrued a pitch total of 439.

Eagles come out on top of Muenster in heavyweight fight For the last two season, the Holliday Eagles and the Muenster Hornets battled on the gridiron in the second week of the football season. Both games were some of the best matchups the area had to offer.

This year’s installment was another heavyweight bout as the Eagles hosted the Hornets on Sept. 5 for Holliday’s first home game and their first game in the newly renovated Don Lucy Field.

This game had everything. From the rain that consistently poured down in the latter half of the game, to the hard-hitting defenses and unstoppable offenses.

Sophomore Landon Jones made his first career start and wasted little time as he heaved a pass 37 yards to senior Owen Hays for the first score of the game.

Muenster responded with a touchdown, but running back Brayden Hamill broke through for a pair of rushing touchdowns on the next two possessions to give Holliday the 22-7 lead going into the second quarter.

The eventual Class 2A-D2 State Champions couldn’t be contained forever, though, scoring touchdowns on back-toback possessions to cut the deficit to 22-20 with 7:38 left in the half.

Jones was quick with his answer as he found senior Jayden Whitley for a 29yard touchdown to push Holliday’s lead back to 2820.

As the clock wined down to the end of the half, the Hornets went out to punt from their own territory.

A slight bobble of the snap erased any extra time Muenster had to kick, and senior standout Kreede Neal flattened several Muenster blockers on his way to block the punt.

After the block, Neal wasn’t finished as he scooped up the loose pigskin and rumbled his way towards the endzone for the touchdown. The Eagles’ sidelines erupted as Holliday now held a 35-20 lead going into the half.

That score proved crucial as the Hornets came out motivated in the second half, scoring on backto- back drives to cut the deficit back to 35-32 with 7:26 left in the third.

Hamill responded in a big way on the next offensive driving, slicing through the Hornets defense for a 73-yard rushing touchdown with 7:11 left in the third.

It would be until 6:40 left in the fourth quarter before either team found paydirt. Muenster broke the rain-covered dry streak with another rushing touchdown, but a failed two-point attempt kept Holliday’s lead at three.

A Cash Kirkland rushing touchdown put the Eagles pack up nine, needing a successful point-after to have push the lead to 10.

Senior kicker Maverick Glassburn buried the PAT in the rain to push the Eagles ahead 48-38.

The Hornets did add another touchdown with under two minutes to go in the game, but Holliday managed to hold on for the 48-44 home-opener victory.

Along with Neal’s punt block, fumbles caused by Harrison and Heston Davis, and a PAT block earlier in the game gave Holliday the edge Friday.

Lady Cats lose heartbreaker in Regional Semi Finals Although it was a loss, Archer City’s triumphant return to the third round of the volleyball playoffs should be seen as a massive success. After dismantling Hico 3-0 in the Area round, the Lady Cats took on the Sterling City Lady Eagles in the Regional Semifinals.

The Lady Cats couldn’t get off to the same start they had in the Area round, dropping their first two sets 19-25 and 17-25, sitting face-to-face with a quick elimination.

With their backs to the wall, the Lady Cats played some of their best volleyball over the next two sets to tie it up at 2-2.

For set three, Archer City jumped to a quick 6-1 lead, but the Lady Eagles clawed back to down just 9-8.

Millie Mayo notched a kill and a pair of aces while Tedrow tacked on a block to go up 13-8. Mayo dealt two more aces before Tedrow tapped over another block for the 18-8 advantage.

Sterling City flew back to go down just 23-20, but a pair of kills from Jocelyn Tedrow and Brilee Canada gave Archer City their first win of the match.

Archer City trailed 12-15 halfway through set four, but aces from Talynn Lowe and a block from Tedrow, as well as errors on Sterling City, gave the Lady Cats a late 17-15 lead.

They would hold on to that lead for the remainder of the set to send the game into an extra frame with a 25-20 win.

The Lady Cats fell down by as much as four points in the final stanza, but clawed back with a pair of Tedrow kills and a Lady Eagle error.

They eventually took the lead after Jones secured a kill, Tedrow rifled over an ace, and Lyla Nichols slammed down a kill and packed a block.

Jones eventually put them ahead 13-11, but Sterling City snatched the win with four straight points to win 13-15 and end Archer City’s season in heartbreaking fashion.