HAMLIN, Texas (BCH Sports) – The Hamlin Pied Pipers are 4-1 after non-district play for the second season in a row.

Three of those victories were close games. They beat Water Valley by five points, Crosbyton by eight, and Quanah by five.

Not everyone handles the pressure of a close game, but the Pipers are a team that keeps fighting, and they are focused on doing things the right way.

Mason Brannon said, “Doing the things right and doing extra. He’s big on getting treatment, if you need it. One of our two-way starters tore his ACL, but he played. That’s a winner’s mentality. He came out. He finished the game. That’s a winner’s mentality. Doing the extra stuff that not everyone does, being in the weight room and getting on the track and doing conditioning. Doing the extra stuff.”

Head coach Jason Botos said, “The thing about the one position games is that I know the kids will fight. They are not going to give up. We were down late with five minutes to go and wind up scoring the go ahead with two minutes to go in the game. They never skipped a beat. They kept treading along.”

Hamlin struggled in district play in 2022 with just one win. They open district play next week against Abilene TLCA.