Sometimes, one victory can turn a season around. And certainly, that phenomenon has proven true for the Meridian Lady Jacket volleyball program.

The Clifton cross country teams’ confidence is high going into next week’s big district meet in Keene said coach Ryan Hunt. Both boys and girls teams have won first place in back-to-back meets, one in Crawford mid-September and the other last week in Moody.

After playing a gauntlet of non-district opponents and playing well enough to win each game, the Clifton Cubs get a fresh start after an open week by opening District 13-3A, Division II competition by facing the Rogers Eagles on the road at 7:30 p.m. Friday.

For the first time since the five Bosque County six-man football teams were moved out of a league of their own, two longtime rivals squared off in a non-district game and produced a wild shootout. And in the area’s marquee matchup of the week, the Class 1A, Division II’s 28th-ranked Cranfills Gap Lions knocked off the TAIAO Division II’s fourth-ranked Stephenville Faith Knights CRANFILLS GAP 50 STEPHENVILLE FAITH 26 Junior Adan Flores scored four touchdowns and senior Aiden Doty threw for four scores as the Class 1A, Division II’s 28th-ranked Cranfills Gap Lions clawed their way past the TAIAO Division II’s fourthranked Stephenville Faith Knights, 50-26, in a non-district showdown on the road last Friday night.

In winning back-toback matches last week, the Clifton Lady Cub volleyball team moved into the driver’s seat for its second straight trip to the Class 3A state playoffs heading into the second round of District 17-3A competition. On the strength of a dominating straight set victory over Waco Harmony Science Academy, 25-4, 25-5, 25-9, on Senior Night last Friday in the Clifton High School Gymnasium, the Lady Cubs (4-2 in district, 1310 overall) wrapped up the first round of district in sole possession of third place behind West (6-0, 23-9) and Grandview (51, 23-8) and just ahead of Whitney (3-3, 12-20).

Entering the game as the Class 2A, Division II’s top-ranked team in the state, the perennial powerhouse Mart Panthers have looked primed for a run at another state championship. A road trip to Meridian only proved to be one more step in the right direction.

Rebounding from a rough week, the 25thranked Cranfills Gap Lions bounced back from a disappointing loss to celebrate homecoming night with a dominating victory last Friday night. But the rest of the Bosque County six-man squads produced mixed results as they moved a week closer to entering their respective district races.

Rebounding from a rough week, the 25thranked Cranfills Gap Lions bounced back from a disappointing loss to celebrate homecoming night with a dominating victory last Friday night. But the rest of the Bosque County six-man squads produced mixed results as they moved a week closer to entering their respective district races.

On the verge of wrapping up the first round of District 17-3A competition this Friday, the Clifton Lady Cub volleyball team has moved into strong position to challenge for a return to the state playoffs. After advancing to the 2021 Class 3A volleyball state postseason tournament for the first time since 2014, the Lady Cubs have nine returning varsity players focused on the prize.

Proving to be a strong second half team for the fifth consecutive game, the Class 3A, Division II Clifton Cubs fought back to make it a game in the fourth quarter. But for the fourth straight time, it proved to be too little, too late.