Austin news

• Man charged in series of 'deadly conduct' incidents out on bond

  20-09-2024 23:52 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — The Austin Police Department said it arrested a man Tuesday in connection with a series of deadly conduct incidents that began July 14.Police said the incidents, which occurred through Aug. 30, targeted a residence in the 2900 block of Lyons Road, which is in east Austin.APD said 24-year-old Oscar Casillas has been charged with six deadly conduct discharge firearm felony charges.“The series of shootings, occurring between July 14, 2024, and July 16, 2024, were committ
  
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• Affidavit details how 22-year-old was connected to July 2021 deadly stabbing

  20-09-2024 23:40 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) -- Following the arrest of a man arrested in connection with a July 2021 deadly stabbing last week, an arrest affidavit obtained by KXAN Friday provided more details on how investigators were able to make that arrest.On July 23, 2021, Austin 911 received a call around 10:20 p.m. from a man who said he was stabbed. That man was later identified as Nikolas Martinez, 23, according to the Austin Police Department. Officers and Austin-Travis County EMS arrived at a convenience store in
  
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• City of Austin to name Sept. 26 as Con Mi MADRE Day, celebrating local nonprofit

  20-09-2024 23:24 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — The city of Austin will mark Sept. 26 as "Con Mi MADRE Day" to celebrate the nonprofit's work preparing Latina first-generation college students, and their mothers, for academic success.Con Mi MADRE executive director Johanna Moya Fábregas said that the recognition is a "big deal.""It's very heartwarming and reassuring that we are in a space, in a city, in a community that appreciates the work that we do and the population that we serve," Fábreg
  
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• What's next for Operation Lone Star?

  20-09-2024 23:03 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (Nexstar) -- Amid a relative lull in border crossings, Texas lawmakers are considering how to proceed with Operation Lone Star, the state's massive and unilateral border enforcement efforts.The Texas Senate's Committee on Border Security heard hours of testimony from experts and stakeholders Thursday, highlighting the impact of the operation and the continuing needs to expand and take care of its personnel.“We have paid an incredible price for the deterrence that we've gained,&rdquo
  
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• No. 14 Westlake rebounds in big way with 41-16 win over No. 9 Cibolo Steele

  20-09-2024 22:49 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — No. 14 Westlake fell to the mat in Week 3, but not only did they get back up Friday, they delivered a knockout performance.Behind 247 rushing yards and a 38-6 advantage after the first quarter, the Chaps took out No. 9 Cibolo Steele 41-16 in their final nondistrict game Friday at Lehnhoff Stadium in Schertz Texas high school football scores for Thursday, Sept. 19Westlake trailed 10-3 after the opening quarter and it looked like the Knights had all the momentum, but a big de
  
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• No. 14 Westlake looks to get back on track at No. 9 Cibolo Steele

  20-09-2024 22:49 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — Following their first regular season home loss since 2018, the Westlake Chaparrals hope to right the ship on the road against a top-10 opponent Friday.The Chaps dropped 10 spots in the latest Dave Campbell's Texas Football 6A poll to No. 14 after the 39-21 loss to No. 8 Humble Atascocita, and they don't get a break with No. 9 Cibolo Steele next. Texas high school football scores for Thursday, Sept. 19Steele enters the game with a 3-0 record coming off a 56-10 victory over S
  
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• LIVE: No. 14 Westlake uses big 2nd quarter for 20-10 halftime lead over No. 9 Cibolo Steele

  20-09-2024 22:49 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — A big defensive play in the second quarter turned things around for the No. 14 Westlake Chaparrals.Thompson Bennett made an interception at the goal line for the Chaps, and that sparked the visiting team to score two touchdowns and take a 20-10 halftime lead over No. 9 Cibolo Steele on Friday at Lehnhoff Stadium.Texas high school football scores for Thursday, Sept. 19Thompson's interception led to a 9-yard touchdown run by Grady Bartlett, and then on the next Westlake posse
  
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• LIVE: No. 14 Westlake looks to get back on track at No. 9 Cibolo Steele

  20-09-2024 22:49 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — Following their first regular season home loss since 2018, the Westlake Chaparrals hope to right the ship on the road against a top-10 opponent Friday.The Chaps dropped 10 spots in the latest Dave Campbell's Texas Football 6A poll to No. 14 after the 39-21 loss to No. 8 Humble Atascocita, and they don't get a break with No. 9 Cibolo Steele next. Texas high school football scores for Thursday, Sept. 19Steele enters the game with a 3-0 record coming off a 56-10 victory over S
  
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• 'Plan to plan to plan': Austin could spend millions on 'Imagine Austin' revamp

  20-09-2024 22:38 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) -- The city of Austin could spend millions of dollars editing a comprehensive vision plan that some think has so far failed to produce results.The Imagine Austin Comprehensive Plan, which was adopted by Austin City Council in 2012, was intended to serve as the city's guiding document, or blueprint, over a 30-year period. A little more than a decade into that 30-year plan, the city's planning department is trying to edit it.
  The city set aside $3 million in previous budget processes
  
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• West Campus' apartment project tops out 30 stories, tallest in area

  20-09-2024 22:17 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) -- West Campus now has a new tallest student apartment building, named Icon, which topped out at 30 stories on Sept. 4, according to contractors Hoar Construction.Austin apartment building, named Icon, topped out at 30 stories, the closest near the University of Texas at Austin. (KXAN Photo/Cora Neas)
  Hoar, along with New York-based MDL Development, began construction on the building in March 2023. Now, it stands at 300 feet.Project leaders said that surrounding density and traffic
  
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• TxTag customers asked to update account info by Oct. 15

  20-09-2024 21:38 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) – The Texas Department of Transportation is encouraging TxTag customers to prepare for a likely transition to a new operator overseeing toll tag customer service, billing and toll collection, according to an email sent Friday.If the shift happens, the Harris County Toll Road Authority will begin handling TxTag operations near the end of 2024 or the beginning of 2025, according to TxDOT’s website.TxTag customers should log onto their accounts by Oct. 15 to confirm their
  
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• Willie Nelson & Family, Asleep at the Wheel to play free concert for ACL TV's 50th birthday

  20-09-2024 20:32 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) -- Willie Nelson was the first person to ever perform on Austin City Limits, laying the ground for the show that would become the longest-running music program in television history. That inaugural performance was taped on Oct. 17, 1974.Next month, exactly 50 years later, Nelson will return to help Austin City Limits TV celebrate its 50th birthday.
  A photo of Willie Nelson performing on the Austin City Limits TV show hangs on a wall inside Austin PBS. (KXAN Photo/Ed Zavala)
  Willie
  
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• After August theft, donors send bikes, equipment to Austin rec center

  20-09-2024 19:23 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) -- The city of Austin's Lorraine "Grandma" Camacho Activity Center received donations of new bicycles and equipment after thieves targeted the recreation site last month.The Austin Parks and Recreation Department confirmed 16 bikes were stolen during the incident, amounting to approximately $25,000 in lost property due to the thefts. The stolen bikes were used as part of the center's cycling programming, which features youth cycling, summer and spring break camps, youth biking sess
  
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• What's brewing in the Caribbean? Tropical depression could form next week, NHC says

  20-09-2024 18:56 via kxan.com
  
  TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) — A tropical depression could form next week as an area of low pressure in the Caribbean moves toward the Gulf of Mexico, the National Hurricane Center said Friday."A tropical wave likely develops in the western Caribbean early next week. Right now, there's a 40% chance in seven days," Max Defender 8 Meteorologist Legh Spann said. "Many of the models drift the system north into the Gulf of Mexico by the middle of next week."Spann said it's too early to tell where a poten
  
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• LIVE: What's brewing in the Caribbean? Tropical depression could form next week, NHC says

  20-09-2024 18:56 via kxan.com
  
  TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) — A tropical depression could form next week as an area of low pressure in the Caribbean moves toward the Gulf of Mexico, the National Hurricane Center said Friday."A tropical wave likely develops in the western Caribbean early next week. Right now, there's a 40% chance in seven days," Max Defender 8 Meteorologist Legh Spann said. "Many of the models drift the system north into the Gulf of Mexico by the middle of next week."Spann said it's too early to tell where a poten
  
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• Former Chicago cop arrested for allegedly impersonating DEA agent, Travis Co. Sheriff's Office says

  20-09-2024 18:32 via kxan.com
  
  TRAVIS COUNTY, Texas (KXAN) — Travis County Sheriff's Office arrested a former Chicago police officer Wednesday, alleging that the man had claimed to be an undercover federal agent with the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency before assaulting an person, according to an arrest warrant.According to the warrant, a county resident contacted TCSO on Tuesday to report that their son was assaulted by a "person claiming to be a peace officer" on Monday. The victim was at a smoke shop on FM 2222 when a m
  
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• REPORT: Texas led U.S. in rural roadway fatalities

  20-09-2024 17:58 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) -- Amid a nearly $200 billion national backlog in funding to improve rural roads across the U.S., a new report outlines just how dangerous Texas' rural roads are compared to all other ones in the state.The national transportation research nonprofit TRIP's latest report released this week found Texas is ranked No. 11 in the country for fatalities along rural roads. In Texas, the fatality rate per 100 million vehicle miles traveled on rural, non-interstate roads is 2.52, surpassing t
  
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• Police patrolling dangerous stretch of FM 2222 in west Austin

  20-09-2024 17:27 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — Austin is known for its rolling hills and beautiful overlooks, especially in west Austin along FM 2222.It's a windy road, and people who live off 2222 are worried about their safety as some motorists are taking a dangerous joy ride."As a preface to my remarks, since we're going to talk about motorcycles, my wife and I both rode motorcycles into our late 60s, and we lived here on 2222 for the past 34 years," said Tom Rogers, whose wife Lisa reached out to KXAN about their co
  
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• Expansion efforts on time for Austin's Mexican American Cultural Center

  20-09-2024 16:06 via kxan.com
  
  Austin (KXAN) — This could be the last Hispanic Heritage Month the Emma S. Barrientos Mexican American Cultural Center (ESB-MACC) spends outside its permanent home in the Rainey Street Historic District as it undergoes renovations.
  Heidi Tse, ESB-MACC capital delivery project manager, said construction is on time and the center is poised to reopen by fall 2025.Tse said just last week the project hit a major milestone. Members of the community and those involved with the project signed the
  
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• Border Report Live: Peacebuilding in a cartel 'war zone'

  20-09-2024 16:06 via kxan.com
  
  EL PASO, Texas (Border Report) -- Everard Meade is not sure when he'll be able to return to the Mexican state of Sinaloa, where he's been on a peace-building mission for about a decade.Meade launched Proceso Pacífico there in 2015 in the state capital of Culiacan, which delved into chaos earlier this month when two factions of the Sinaloa cartel began fighting.The Sinaloa cartel co-founders, Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman and Ismael "El Mayo" Zambada, are in U.S. custody, and their sons are wa
  
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• Travis County DA says 'alarming' number of school threat cases filed so far this school year

  20-09-2024 15:20 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) -- Several Central Texas school districts and law enforcement gathered in Austin on Friday morning to talk about school safety concerns, as they've been the target of numerous threats since the school year started just over a month ago.The Austin Independent School District partnered with several neighboring school districts and law enforcement to host a press conference Friday morning where they addressed safety concerns and talked about how school threats are handled, investigate
  
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• Austin ISD, other local districts to talk about school safety amid wave of threats

  20-09-2024 15:20 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) -- Several Central Texas school districts and law enforcement are planning to talk about school safety concerns, as they've been the target of numerous threats since the school year started just over a month ago.
  The Austin Independent School District is partnering with several neighboring school districts and law enforcement to host a press conference Friday morning where they'll address safety concerns and talk about how school threats are handled, investigated and have consequen
  
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• Austin ISD, other local districts talk about school safety amid wave of threats

  20-09-2024 15:20 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) -- Several Central Texas school districts and law enforcement on Friday morning talked about school safety concerns, as they've been the target of numerous threats since the school year started just over a month ago.The Austin Independent School District partnered with several neighboring school districts and law enforcement to host a press conference Friday morning where they addressed safety concerns and talked about how school threats are handled, investigated and have consequen
  
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• Fall equinox to winter solstice; how a cataclysmic event caused us to have seasons on Earth

  20-09-2024 14:28 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) - The changing of the seasons can be a time of celebration around the world, even in areas where the temperature remains close to a hundred degrees, even in the fall.The thing is... temperature doesn't mark the change of the seasons.In this First Warning Weather University lesson, chief meteorologist Nick Bannin takes a closer look at the seasons and what exactly is behind them.In this lesson you will learn about:
  Why the Earth doesn't stand up right.Why seasons are different depen
  
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• Next week's pattern change brings rain opportunity

  20-09-2024 12:55 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) -- We close out the work week with summer heat but will see a much-welcomed pattern change for the start of fall.Morning clouds will clear to afternoon sunshine today, continuing our stretch hot and dry conditions. With humidity, highs in the upper 90s will feel more like low 100s.This weekend will still be hot, but temperatures will start to come down as high pressure weakens. We'll be in the upper 90s on Saturday and mid-90s on Sunday. Both days should have more sun than clouds.W
  
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• Hot weekend ahead of returning rain chances

  20-09-2024 12:55 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) -- The last two days of fall are expected to stay hot. Temperatures are holding onto summer as long as they can with Saturday and Sunday sitting around the mid to upper 90s. With humidity, highs in the upper 90s will feel more like low 100s.Weekend forecastA bit of a change next week as we look ahead. A front is moving into northern Texas before becoming a stationary front on Tuesday. This will allow for some instability and give us a chance of showers through Wednesday. By Wednesd
  
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• Central Texas begins cooling with some rain next week

  20-09-2024 12:55 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) -- Highs up near 100º today will be the hottest temperatures for the next week.A slow cooling trend begins Saturday as high temperatures inch away from triple digits.Both days of the weekend will feature patchy morning low clouds giving way to a mostly sunny sky. Highs on Saturday will still be in the upper 90s, but we'll drop into the mid 90s by Sunday.Weekend forecastIf you're going to the Texas football game on Saturday evening it will still be hot, but you'll only half ~30
  
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• Texas high school football scores for Thursday, Sept. 19

  20-09-2024 05:38 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — It was a night of blowouts Thursday around Central Texas.Pflugerville thumped Navarro 78-0 while Bastrop ran away with a 69-6 win over Crockett in the KBVO Game of the Week.REPORT YOUR SCORE: We'd love to post your team's score in this scoreboard, but we need your help to do it. Email the score of your game to [email protected] and we'll get it on our websiteAkins topped Northeast 53-8 and Lake Travis finished its non-district schedule with a 62-13 win over San Marcos.Check t
  
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• Wimberley EMS adding resources to help with responses

  20-09-2024 04:42 via kxan.com
  
  HAYS COUNTY, Texas (KXAN) — As more people move to the Hill Country, they are making emergency calls -- which means more work for emergency crews."We need medics out here," said Ken Strange, EMS Director for Wimberley Emergency Medical Services. "We have about 142 square miles of Hays County that we take care of."Strange said his crews are seeing more calls for service and that's one reason why they just added a new ambulance to their fleet going from two to three.Strange said he is also l
  
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• Austin woman loses thousands, FBI says elder fraud schemes on the rise

  20-09-2024 04:26 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) --- An Austin woman said she was schemed out of thousands of dollars. It happened earlier this week after someone called her and said she had a warrant out for her arrest.The woman, who asked us to hide her identity, said the man identified himself as someone with the sheriff's department.
  The FBI said last year alone, Texans over the age of 60 collectively lost more than $278 billion in elder fraud schemes.'I felt ashamed'The woman said the man on the phone told her she had a warr
  
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• City housing department applies for $7M grant to tackle housing barriers

  20-09-2024 04:19 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) -- The City of Austin Housing Department applied for a federal grant for up to $7 million that will help remove barriers to affordable housing and more, according to a news release from the city.This is the second round of funding the city applied for. Austin applied for the first-round of Pathways to Removing Obstacles (PRO) to Housing Grant in 2023 but was not selected, the release said.For the second round, HUD will "provide $100 million in competitive PRO Housing grant funding
  
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• Hays CISD receives another threat, investigation underway

  20-09-2024 01:42 via kxan.com
  
  HAYS COUNTY, Texas (KXAN) — Hays Consolidated Independent School District said it sent a letter to parents Thursday regarding a new threat being investigated.According to the district, the threat, which is being investigated by the Hays County Sheriff’s Office, was made against Chapa and Simon Middle Schools.In response to the threats, the district said law enforcement would help with extra patrols Thursday and Friday at its middle school campuses.“Already, five Hays CISD stude
  
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• Hays CISD makes 6th arrest following recent threat

  20-09-2024 01:42 via kxan.com
  
  HAYS COUNTY, Texas (KXAN) — Hays Consolidated Independent School District said it sent a letter to parents Thursday regarding a new threat being investigated.According to the district, the threat, which was investigated by the Hays County Sheriff’s Office, was made against Chapa and Simon middle schools.In an update Friday, the district said the HCSO detained and charged another Hays CISD student for making a school shooting threat. According to Hays CISD, the student is an 11 year-o
  
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• TxDOT: Law enforcement activity shuts down all lanes of traffic on I-35 near Round Rock

  20-09-2024 01:32 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) -- Traffic is shut down on Interstate 35 near Round Rock due to "law enforcement activity," the Texas Department of Transportation said on social media.TxDOT said around 6 p.m. that the northbound and southbound lanes on I-35 and State Highway 45 North Toll were all closed.Bing map of Interstate 35 and State Highway 45 near Round RockDrivers in the southbound traffic are being diverted to Hesters Crossing Road, and drivers in the northbound traffic are being diverted to Louis Henna
  
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• TxDOT: Lanes reopened after 'law enforcement activity' on I-35 near Round Rock

  20-09-2024 01:32 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) -- Lanes reopened Thursday after they were shut down on Interstate 35 near Round Rock due to "law enforcement activity," the Texas Department of Transportation said on social media.TxDOT said around 6 p.m. that the northbound and southbound lanes on I-35 and State Highway 45 North Toll were all closed. Then, shortly before 10 p.m., the agency said the lanes reopened.All lanes were shut down on Interstate 35 near Round Rock after reported law enforcement activity (KXAN viewer photo)
  
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• Sheriff charged after allegedly shooting Kentucky judge to death in courthouse

  20-09-2024 01:31 via kxan.com
  
  LETCHER COUNTY, Ky. (WJHL) — A judge in a rural Kentucky county was shot and killed at the local courthouse on Thursday, and the local sheriff was charged in the shocking slaying, police said.The governor said the judge was fatally shot in his chambers. The preliminary investigation indicates that the sheriff shot District Judge Kevin Mullins, 54, following an argument inside the courthouse, police said.Photo: District Judge Kevin Mullins, courtesy of the Letcher County government.
  Letcher
  
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• Kentucky judge shot and killed inside courthouse, police say

  20-09-2024 01:31 via kxan.com
  
  LETCHER COUNTY, Ky. (WJHL) — A judge was shot and killed inside a courthouse in Letcher County, Kentucky Thursday, police confirmed.Kentucky State Police Trooper Matt Gayheart spoke with members of the media outside of the courthouse around 6:30 p.m.Photo: District Judge Kevin Mullins, courtesy of the Letcher County government."At this time, we can confirm that the district judge was shot and unfortunately has passed away," Gayheart said.Gayheart confirmed that an arrest was made and descr
  
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• Python attacks Thai woman in her kitchen, squeezes her for 2 hours: 'It only tightened'

  20-09-2024 01:00 via kxan.com
  
  BANGKOK (AP) — A 64-year-old woman was preparing to do her evening dishes at her home outside Bangkok when she felt a sharp pain in her thigh and looked down to see a huge python taking hold of her.“I was about to scoop some water and when I sat down it bit me immediately,” Arom Arunroj told Thailand's Thairath newspaper. “When I looked I saw the snake wrapping around me.”The four-to-five-meter-long (13-to-16-foot-long) python coiled itself around her torso, squeezi
  
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• KBVO Game of the Week: Crockett hosts Bastrop at Burger Stadium

  20-09-2024 00:39 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — Bastrop heads into Austin to take on Crockett on Thursday in the KBVO Game of the Week, and the home team is looking for its first win of the season in the District 11-5ADII opener.Crockett's a team that low on numbers and they've gotten out to a rough start. They've been outscored 182-20 in their first three games and they welcome a Bears team to Burger Stadium that has talent all over the field.How to find KBVO
  AT&T U-Verse: Channel 1007 (HD) – Channel 7 (S
  
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• KBVO Game of the Week: Bastrop hammers Crockett 69-6

  20-09-2024 00:39 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — Bastrop scored a touchdown on all nine possessions and added a defensive score in a 69-6 romp over Crockett on Thursday at Burger Stadium in the KBVO Game of the Week.The Bears rolled up a 49-0 lead by halftime, and one of the touchdowns came from an unlikely source. Defensive lineman Keyv'on Thomas scooped up a fumble and rumbled 16 yards with it for a classic big-man touchdown.
  Crockett avoided the shutout with an 85-yard run by Fernando Funez in the middle of the fourth
  
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