Sports

TALL ORDER - Hamilton’s Lady Bulldog high school basketball teams opened the season at home on Tuesday of last week with consecutive wins over 3A Whitney. The junior varsity Lady Dogs dunked the Lady Wildcats by a decisive 27-9 score, and the varsity Lady Dogs outlasted Whitney in a combative 33-31 season opener. On Saturday, the varsity Lady Dogs fell 64-39 on the road to 23rd-ranked in 3A Little River Academy. The Lady Bulldogs will remain home this week to host the Hamilton Invitational Basketball Tournament on Thursday through Saturday and will travel next Tuesday to San Saba for a JV game at 5 p.m. followed by the varsity at 6:15. HHS Bulldog basketball is scheduled to tipoff in Millsap this Friday with games beginning at 5 p.m. Next Monday, the JV Dogs will host Hico at 10 a.m. followed by the varsity boys at 11:15, and on Tuesday, the Dogs will travel to San Saba for an 11:15 a.m. JV game and a varsity match at 1:30 p.m. Pictured, Skylar Carr (15) dribbles off the block after snagging a defensive rebound. Staff photos

TOURNAMENT CHAMPS - Hamilton’s seventh grade Lady Bulldog basketball team tipped off the seasoan with a buzzer beating 28-26 home victory over Goldthwaite on Monday of last week. Returning to the hardcourt on Saturday, the young Lady Dogs trounced Valley Mills, Waco Reicher and McGregor on their way to earning a McGregor Tournament title. Pictured (l-r) with Coach Brandun Massingill and their tournament championship plaque, seventh grade Lady Bulldogs (back row) Cate Hooper, Bethany Thompson, Anna Claire Cooper and Masyn Raibourn. On the front row, Kiree Solis, Addyson Clowdus, Piper Hanson and Harper Lengefeld.

For the second consecutive year, Bulldog cross country runners Caleb Lengefeld and Dawson Melde have been named to the 2A all-state cross country team by the Cross Country Coaches Association of Texas. The pair of Bulldog seniors both received all-region honors as well. The Brandun Massingill coached Bulldogs followed up a fourth in state performance in 2020 with a state runners-up finish this year. Lengefeld placed second overall at the Region II-2A XC Championships in Grand Prairie to stamp his third trek to state in as many years, and he led the Dogs in Round Rock by placing ninth overall at the state competition. Melde followed up a District 12-2A individual championship run with a third overall regional finish and a 23rd individual placement at the state meet. Pictured (l-r) traversing the state course in Round Rock, two time all-state Bulldog runners, Caleb Lengefeld and Dawson Melde.

BIG PLAY - Down 14-0 early in the second quarter versus Italy in a bi-district playoff game played in Robinson on Thursday of last week, a pair of Bulldog sophomores clapped back for perhaps the biggest play of the game for the Hamilton Bulldogs. Pictured, Reese Hungerford (left) flatbacks Italy QB Jaydon Saxon, jarring the ball loose at midfield. Kevin Smythe (below) is pictured scooping the fumble before reversing field 46 yards for the first of two touchdowns scored by the Bulldogs in a 44-13 loss to the Italy Gladiators.

LEADING RUSHER - Senior Taylor Long (10), pictured following the lead blocking of C.J. DeLeon (5), found the endzone for the eleventh time of the season during the fourth quarter of Hamilton’s bi-district playoff game versus Italy last Thursday evening. Long rushed for an astounding 1,015 yards and 11 touchdowns on 143 ball carries during his senior year. Long eclipsed the 100-yard rushing mark in five of Hamilton’s 11 games, helping lead the Bulldogs to a winning 6-5 record. Staff/Hinton

RETURN SPECIALIST - Senior Austin Clark (1), pictured navigating the sideline in Robinson last Thursday evening, registered 80 yards on four kick returns versus Italy. In addition to providing Hamilton’s running and passing games a shot in the arm all season, Clark recorded 370 return yards on 12 kick returns for an average of 31 yards per return this year. Clark returned two kicks back for touchdowns this season, including a 79-yard return against Bangs and a 73- yard return versus Moody.

AIR RAID - Senior quarterback Keegan Votaw (11) connected with sophomore wideout Cooper LeGrande (22) on six occasions versus Italy for a total of 114 yards. LeGrande snagged a team leading 21 receptions for 441 yards and four touchdowns in 2021, including 11 catches for 168 yards receiving in the final two ballgames of the season. Staff/Hinton

100 CLUB - Freshman Jaxon Edwards (3), pictured tackling Italy’s Jaiden Barr, and senior Caleb Lengefeld (44), seen sizing up Gared Wood of Italy with Edwards nipping at his ankles, both recorded over 100 tackles this season. Edwards recorded 11 stops in Hamilton’s bi-district game versus Italy to finish with a team high 104 tackles on the season. Lengefeld capped his senior campaign with a team leading 18 tackles versus Italy in Robinson last Thursday, recording 102 tackles in just nine games played this year.Staff/Hinton

11 seniors for Hamilton suited out for their final home football game at Kooken Field last Friday night as the Bulldogs played host to district foe Bosqueville. Those seniors include Austin Clark, Jaydon Watson, Taylor Long, Keegan Votaw, Jason Rainbolt, Ben Bruce, Nathan Rogers, Alex Thiele, Jose Najera, Austin Anderson and Caleb Lengefeld. Friday night’s scuffle for third place in the final District 7-2A standings turned out to be a doggone shootout. Bosqueville and Hamilton each entered the contest with identical 5-4 records on the season and 3-2 district resumes. The two teams combined for a total of 56 points scored in the first half alone