SPORTS
HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL: With heavy hearts, Nocona beats Alvord
From Staff Reports
With heavy hearts, the Nocona High School football team prevailed over Alvord 26-18 in the season opener for both schools.
“I think the town went through a whole lot (on Friday),” said Nocona head coach Brad Keck, referring to the death of Luke West due to cancer. “The kids knew of Luke, and they knew he was one of us.”
West played fullback and linebacker at Nocona in the 2000s. In 2009, Keck’s first year as Indians’ head coach, West was a senior on the team.
It seems everyone in North Texas was affected by West’s death. Luke’s uncle, Daylon, is the defensive coordinator at Bowie. Luke’s cousin Brent West is the head coach at Cisco, where uncle Kelly serves as the superintendent.
Fred West, Luke’s grandfather, was the head coach at Nocona from 2002-05. Luke passed away from leukemia at 23 years old.
West is the son of Dr. Randy and Sabrina West.
Nocona snapped a 13-game losing skid behind a poised sophomore quarterback in Jeremy James and an offensive line featuring Brendan Ramsey, Juan Mancilla, Barkley Hayes, Zach Boyd, Mack Hill and Peyton Crabtree.
“I think we blocked better, that was the whole key to it,” said Keck as the Indians generated 413 yards in total offense. Keck said James made few mistakes when in the pocket and Emmanual Gayton was able to see the hole, run through it and break tackles for extra yards. Read more, and see the complete boxscore, in the mid-week Bowie News.
The Nocona High School football team, coaches and cheerleaders gather around the No. 7 worn by deceased Luke West, a former Indian fullback and linebacker. West died last week from leukemia at the age of 23. (Courtesy photo by Todd Peterson)
Bowie had six players play in the Maskat Shrine Oil Bowl football all-star game. For pictures from not just the football game, but the basketball and volleyball games as well that feature athletes from Bowie, Nocona and Saint Jo, click here https://www.dotphoto.com/go.asp?l=bnews1&AID=6875584&T=1
Nocona is welcoming back Coach Sandy Langford, former coach and alumnus for the Lady Indians, as its new volleyball head coach.
Langford comes back to Nocona after spending the past 11 years leading the Glen Rose volleyball program.
Her circumstances with her family allowed her to jump at the opportunity once she became aware the position at Nocona was available.
“My youngest graduated and is playing football at Midwestern (State University),” Langford said. “All of our family is here and I knew that Coach Kara (Lucherk) was leaving. We were eventually going to retire here. Our oldest son plays college football at West Texas A&M and we’ll be two hours closer to him as well.”
She again will lead the Lady Indians volleyball program, one that she led all the way to the state title game in 2011, which is the farthest the volleyball program has ever gone in its prestigious history.
Langford kept up that level of success during her 11 years at the bigger 4A Glen Rose. She won less than 20 games only twice during her time, winning her 500th career game back in 2023. Her teams were ranked among the top 10 in the state five times and Langford led Glen Rose to the state tournament in 2017, the best finish in program history.
With the Lady Indians also having its own string of success, appearing in back-to-back regional finals while finishing atop the district standings both years, Langford is excited to not just keep the success going, but shoot for the stars.
“We are not expecting anything less than a state championship,” Langford said.
She has stacked the non-district schedule with strong, state-ranked 3A and 4A teams as well as big tournaments that will test Nocona’s mettle early next season in the hopes it will prepare them for a long playoff run.
To read the full story, pick up a copy of the weekly edition of the Bowie News.
The Red River High School Bass Club competed this past weekend, May 31 – June 1, at the State Tournament on Lake Conroe for the two-day tournament.
Two of the teams from Montague County traveled south to try their best at the culmination of the year for the state title. Teams were able to pre-fish on Friday before the Saturday and Sunday competition. On Friday, there was a flipping contest for the youth and Cooper Johnson won third overall and won a $500 scholarship and an Academy gift card.
The club’s two teams who competed were Lane Smith/Colt Henry with boat captain Jimmy Smith. The team placed 63rd with a total of 16.22 pounds. The second team of Cooper Johnson/Corbyn Patton and boat captain Jayson Toerck placed 169th with a total weight of 2.29 pounds.
To read the full story, pick up a copy of the weekly edition of the Bowie News.
-
NEWS3 years ago2 hurt, 1 jailed after shooting incident north of Nocona
-
NEWS2 years agoSuspect indicted, jailed in Tia Hutson murder
-
NEWS2 years agoSO investigating possible murder/suicide
-
NEWS2 years agoWreck takes the life of BHS teen, 16
-
NEWS2 years agoMurder unsolved – 1 year later Tia Hutson’s family angry, frustrated with no arrest
-
NEWS2 years ago
Sheriff’s office called out to infant’s death
-
NEWS2 years agoBowie Police face three-hour standoff after possible domestic fight
-
NEWS3 years ago
Driver stopped by a man running into the street, robbed at knifepoint