Transition to the basketball season is underway for local high school teams.
After-school practice started for girls’ basketball last week and the first scrimmages are scheduled Saturday. Snyder will host Albany at 5 p.m. Hermleigh will scrimmage Baird at 2 p.m. in Hawley and Ira will be at Roscoe at 3 p.m. Borden County will scrimmage Seagraves and Brownfield in Seagraves at 10 a.m.
The girls’ basketball regular season will start with two games on Nov. 4. Snyder will host Colorado City while Hermleigh will play at Motley County. On Nov. 7, Ira opens the season at Trent and Motley County will play at Borden County.
The boys’ teams may begin after-school practice Wednesday. Of course, Ira, Hermleigh and Borden County will delay basketball practice until football ends.
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A volleyball playoff berth will be on the line when Snyder hosts Big Spring at 7 p.m. today. If Snyder defeats Big Spring, the Lady Tigers will tie Sweetwater for third place. Since Snyder and Sweetwater split the two regular season matches, seeding will be determined by either a one-match playoff or coin toss. Big Spring would be the No. 4 seed if it wins today.
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Let’s not forget cross country with three local runners qualifying for state meets. Snyder’s Christian Escobedo will compete at the Class 4A meet. Ira’s Hunter McCowen and Isaac Cabrera qualified for the Class 1A meet. Cabrera finished 52nd at last year’s state meet.
The state meet will be held at Old Settlers Park in Round Rock on ov. 4.
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Football dominates the sports headlines this time of year.
Snyder is in good position for a playoff berth after the win against Big Spring. Hermleigh took a step in that direction by defeating Ira. The Bulldogs remained in the playoff hunt with a win over O’Donnell Friday. Borden County, the defending state champion, started district play by beating Klondike last week.
Four teams from District 3-4A and two teams from District 5-1A will qualify for the playoffs.
Teams from Snyder’s district will play a team from District 4-4A — Argyle, Burkburnett, Decatur, Gainesville, Sanger and Wichita Falls Hirschi. The District 5-1A representatives will play teams from District 6-1A — Garden City, Robert Lee, Sterling City and Westbrook.
This week, Snyder will play at Wylie while Hermleigh will play at O’Donnell and Ira is at Borden County.
The playoff scenarios will change weekly, but that is what makes this time of the year special.
Larry McCarty is the sports editor of the Snyder Daily News. He may be contacted at mccarty@snyderdailynews.com. Results of local teams and breaking news will be posted on the Snyder Daily News Facebook page.