The Big Country Athletic Hall of Fame hosted its 2nd annual Champions Celebration to commemorate the two Big Country high schools, Benjamin and Westbrook, that won football state championships during the 2022-23 season on Sunday, January 21. The reception, sponsored by BML Crude Oil Marketing, featured rousing games between the teams, a free museum tour, an awards presentation, limited edition back-to-back state championship shirts for sale and hall of fame coach CH Underwood speaking.
Players, coaches, school administration and staff, families and fans from both schools were present to celebrate both schools’ back-to-back state championships. Including the 2021 and 2022 Benjamin and Albany teams, there have only been 11 Big Country football teams win back-to-back state championships in the history of the UIL.
The Big Country Athletic Hall of Fame has produced limited edition shirts to mark this historic occasion. Long sleeve shirts are available to purchase at the Museum, or you can call us at 325-704-1759 to place an order. We are able to ship shirts for an additional fee.
Snow, Justin
Justin Snow Snow and Dominic Rhodes, teammates at Abilene Cooper in 1994 and ’95, helped lead the Indianapolis Colts to the Super Bowl XLI championship on February 4, 2007, in Miami. They were the first high school teammates to also be teammates on a Super Bowl...
Ritchey, Tom
Tom Ritchey Ritchey is the winningest coach in the Sweetwater High School football history. He coached at Sweetwater for 12 years, leading the Mustangs to 11 playoff appearances, and a 120-24-2 record. His teams twice reached the state semifinals. In his final...
Rhodes, Dominic
Dominic Rhodes Rhodes rushed for 113 yards and a touchdown for the Indianapolis Colts in their 29-17 victory over the Chicago Bears in Super Bowl XVI. He is the third leading rusher in Cooper school history, gaining 3,102 yards in his high school career. He helped...
Jones-DeLane, Rose Mary
Rose Mary Jones Jones averaged more than 40 points per game during three high school seasons at Trent and scored 73 points in a game in 1957 for the Lady Gorillas. She was featured in Newsweek magazine in high school and went on to play for the Wayland Baptist Flying...
Huston, Dallas
Dallas Huston Huston is a legend in Brownwood. He has been the beloved play-by-play voice for the Brownwood Lions and Howard Payne University football, baseball and basketball since 1963, jobs he still performs in a career that has spanned several generations of...
Groseclose, Bob
Bob Groseclose Groseclose, who grew up in Breckenridge, was the fourth coach from the glory years of the 1950s at Abilene High to join the Big Country Athletic Hall of Fame. Groseclose, who died in 2005 at age 82, won three state championships as track coach at...
Bellard, Emory
Emory Bellard Bellard won three state football championships as a coach at Breckenridge and San Angelo before going into college coaching. He was an assistant to Darrell Royal at Texas when he was credited with inventing the wishbone offense. The Longhorns won two...
Womack, Charles “Nig”
Charles “Nig” Womack Womack, who was inducted into the Texas High School Basketball Hall of Fame in 2005, coached both boys and girls basketball and served as superintendent at Hawley High School from 1947 to 1979. His boys’ teams had a record of 896-127 and his...
Segrest, James
James Segrest Segrest, a member of the Texas Sports Hall of Fame, was known as the “One Man Gang from Bangs” when he single-handedly scored 34 points at the 1954 Class A track and field state meet to win the state championship for Bangs. Segrest ran on relay teams...
Little, Bill
Bill Little Little, who grew up in Winters, has been the voice and face of Texas Longhorns’ sports for more than 30 years as sports information director and associate athletic director. He also did play-by-play for Texas baseball on the radio and is the author of...