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Hear the pads pop

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By ERIC VICCARO
and BLAKE WOOD
[email protected]

An unrelenting, blistering heat was prevalent across Montague County during the summer of 2011, and that ultimately led to a change.
Brandon Owen, who is now Nocona’s offensive coordinator, advised head football coach Brad Keck move the first practice in pads to midnight.
The move has paid off for the Indians, who have made the playoffs every single year since.
“All week long, we put in plays,” Keck said. “I wanted to see how we would look in pads.”
Keck said the only way to tell if a player is performing aggressively or not is with pads on.
Friday at midnight marked the first time this season local teams could practice in pads, and Bowie and Nocona both participated in what’s termed “Midnight Madness” practice. Nocona’s session was inside Jack Crain Stadium and Bowie at Jackrabbit Stadium.
“It’s just a different an exciting for the kids,” Bowie head football coach Dylan Stark said. “If the kids like, then we like it, too.”
Both Stark and Keck said it was also a chance to see how the athletes would perform “under the lights” and with a crowd present.
Reportedly, the crowd was much larger in Nocona than Bowie.
“We’ve had a great response,” Keck said regarding the midnight training session.

During the first allowable practice of the season with pads on, Nocona High School worked on a drill called “Blood Alley” early Friday morning at Jack Crain Stadium in Nocona. Bowie also had a “Midnight Madness” practice. Click on the photo for the complete image. (News photo by Eric Viccaro)

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Bowie Baseball Interview

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Interview with Bowie baseball players Seth Mann (left) and Tucker Jones following their win against Vernon on April 12, 2024.
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Bowie Softball Interview

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Interview with Bowie softball players Kaylie Kinney (left) and Victoria Cox following their win against Vernon on senior night April 12, 2024.
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Softball Roundup

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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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