SPORTS
SIDELINE CONFIDENTIAL: Delving into past Bowie coaches
With the high school football season fast approaching, I decided to take a trip down memory lane, track down a few former Bowie coaches, and see what they are up to.
Brad Keck arrived in Bowie July of 1999 after previous coaching stops in Springtown, Paradise and Nocona. Keck said he was familiar with Mark White, the Jackrabbits head coach at the time, which is how he ended up in town. Keck served as defensive coordinator under Mike Chaney until 2003, when he took over as head coach and athletic director.
“My expectations were the same then as they are now,” Keck said. “I expected to have a good turnout of hard working kids.”
Keck said the 2004 season was a very special year for him, as the Rabbits made the playoffs for the first time since the early 1980s. He also said the 2008 squad was “a great team to coach.” Bowie made the playoffs that season as well. Before the success however, Keck said one of his more memorable games was on the road against Sanger in 2003. The win was the team’s only one that season.
“A lot of those players were young, so we got them back the following year and had a real good program,” Keck said.
After he left Bowie in April of 2009, Keck returned to Nocona, his alma mater, to take the head coach/athletic director position. The coach said the offense he runs currently with the Indians originated from the offense he ran with the Rabbits in 2007 and 2008, with a few minor changes.
“Bowie was a good place for me,” Keck said. “I coached a lot of good kids. It was an enjoyable time for me and my family.” Read the complete column in the mid-week edition of The Bowie News.
Bowie News sports columnist Blake Wood. (Photo by Ryan Evans)
The Nocona Lady Indians beat Saint Jo at home on Saturday morning.
The Lady Indians won 16-1 after four innings due to run-rule against the smaller school.
Nocona was coming off a competitive loss at Collinsville earlier in the week while the Lady Panthers were hoping to compete after a busy week of their athletes doing everything else besides just softball.
The Lady Indians easily won the first matchup between the teams in March, 19-2 and it was more of the same on Saturday.
Saint Jo struck first to start the game off well. Jordyn O’Neal hit a one out single. Krista Reeves followed with a walk after O’Neal had stolen second base and had advanced to third thanks to an error trying to throw her out. A wild pitch then allowed her to score to put the Lady Panthers up 1-0.
The lead did not last long. Nocona’s first two batters drew walks which set up Abby Hill to drive them both in with a single to right field.
Despite giving up a single and a walk later in the inning, Saint Jo’s defense did not allow another run. A line out and groundout to the shortstop while picking off a runner attempting to steal got the Lady Panthers out of the inning unscarred.
The Lady Indians led 2-1.
That was about as competitive as it got. In the second inning, Nocona’s bats got going. Two singles and a hit batter loaded the bases up with no outs.
Reagan Phipps drew a walk that drove in a run. Hill hit another two RBI single. Skye Kirby followed with a two RBI double.
After the first out, Allie Sutton drove in one run with a single. There was a fly out for out two, before a runner came in to score after a passed ball. Finally, an error allowed two more runs to score on the base paths.
Nocona had scored nine runs and led 11-1 to break the game open heading into the third inning.
Taylor Patrick hit a double, with O’Neal and Reeves following with singles. Unfortunately for Saint Jo, Patrick was thrown out before the hits attempting to steal a base so the Lady Panthers scored no runs from this.
The Lady Indians kept pouring on the runs. Two singles and a walk loaded the bases up with no outs. Tinley Cable then hit an RBI single. Shelby Swell was hit by a pitch that drove in another run.
After two strikeouts, Evelyn Marquez drove in two more runs on a double to put Nocona up 15-1, coming up one run short of ending the game early.
The Lady Indians scored that one run in the fourth inning. After Phipps drew a leadoff walk, Hill hit a triple that drove her in to end the game.
Nocona won 16-1.
To read the full story, pick up a copy of the mid-week edition of the Bowie News.
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