SPORTS
Prairie Valley hires boys coach
Prairie Valley hired a new boy’s basketball coach this week.
Seth Stephens is coming from Cumberland Academy High School in Tyler, where he was the head boy’s basketball coach for the last three seasons while also coaching track and cross country.
A graduate of Martin’s Mill High School where he played basketball and Mary Hardin-Baylor University, Stephens is used to the small school atmosphere. He wants to have the kind of impact his coaches had on him not just on the field of play, but more importantly off of it as well.
“Being in a small school, I really get to know those kids in seventh through 12th grade,” Stephens said. “Hopefully, I won’t just teach and coach them in basketball and academics, but teach them some of the things my coach taught me like the value of work ethic, character and that type of stuff.”
With Cumberland getting bigger and starting a football team, Stephens wanted to go somewhere where basketball would be the sole focus of his athletes while also providing the same positive experience he got growing up.
“I feel at a small school, you get to have more of an impact on not just a few kids, but all of the kids,” Stephens said. “A small school is more of a family like setting than some of the bigger schools, so that is something me and my family are really excited about.”
He has a wife, Leah, and they have a daughter named Ruby who is two years old. Their second child is due in July.
On the court, Stephens likes to have his teams push the ball for easy shots early in the possession on offense while pressuring the ball and forcing the issue on defense. The fundamentals and playing smart basketball will be emphasized.
He does know it will ultimately come down to the personnel he has to what type of style his team will play.
Stephens also will coach cross country and track at Prairie Valley. The sports he feels go hand-in-hand with basketball. He was the head boy’s track coach the last two years at Cumberland and assisted last year with cross country.
The importance of strength and conditioning that former coach Zac Tabor started will be continued by Stephens.
“You have got to be strong, especially because some of the teams in the district play football,” Stephens said. “Obviously, weight lifting is a big part of what they are doing so we have got to be able to match that to some extent.” Prairie Valley will be having a come-and-go meet and greet on June 25 from 5:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. in the library so the community can get to know Stevens and his family.
To read the whole story, pick up a copy of the mid-week edition of the Bowie News.
The Bowie Jackrabbits beat down City View on the road on Monday by run-rule to pick up a district win.
The Jackrabbits won 15-0 after five innings due to run-rule as they dominated against the Mustangs.
Bowie was coming off a close loss at Holliday in a game it nearly came back to win, so took out its frustration on a struggling City View team.
The Jackrabbits got going early as Troy Kesey hit a solo home run with two outs to get a rally going for the team. Two batters later Edmond De Leon hit a two-run home run.
Rayder Mann hit a ground ball to third base that resulted in an error that drove in a run. Cy Egenbacher then hit an RBI single to put Bowie up 5-0 before the Mustangs had even hit.
After a scoreless second inning, the Jackrabbits got back going in the third. Boston Farris and Seth Mann both hit a two RBI doubles.
Kesey and Hayden Rodriguez followed with RBI singles to make it 11-0 for Bowie.
The Jackrabbits kept the pressure in the fourth inning. Farris hit a three-run home run and Kesey later drove in another run with a double to make it 15-0 for Bowie.
The game continued into the fifth inning and City View needed to score at least six runs to keep the game going. The Mustangs broke up Kesey’s no-hitter on the mound with three straight singles to load the bases up with no outs.
Kesey finished strong, striking out the next two batters before inducing a fly ball to center field for the final out.
The Jackrabbits won 15-0.
To read the full story, pick up a copy of the mid-week edition of the Bowie News.
Nocona
The Nocona Indians got some revenge by beating Perrin-Whitt on Thursday at home.
The Indians won 5-3 to hopefully make up for losing the previous game in the final inning against the Pirates.
Nocona had lost two days earlier to Perrin-Whitt 3-2 after leading for the entire game until the final inning.
The second game it was the Pirates that led for the majority of the game, leading 2-1 after the first inning. The Indians tied the score 2-2 after the third inning, but Perrin-Whitt got the lead back in the fourth inning with one run to make it 4-3.
Nocona took control in the sixth inning when Wesley Murpehy drove in two runs with a double. Brody Langford followed him with an RBI single to double the Indians score and put them up 6-4.
This time around, Nocona’s defense held on in the final inning, allowing only one base runner before closing the game with little trouble.
Missing scores
Scores from Saint Jo and Bellevue are not updated due to games being delayed due to weather late last week.
To read the full story, pick up a copy of the mid-week edition of the Bowie News.
The Bowie Lady Rabbits came up just short of winning their final game at City View on Friday.
The Lady Mustangs held off a furious Lady Rabbits rally in the seventh inning to scrape out a win 11-10.
Bowie was entering the game knowing it was the last game of the season no matter what so it came out loose and ready.
The Lady Rabbits took control early. Chloe Kinney scored due to an error trying to pick her off. Sage Gossett hit a single that drove in one run and an error on the throw allowed another run to score.
Several batters later, Beau Combs and Victoria Cox both hit RBI singles to make it 5-0 for Bowie.
The Lady Mustangs scored two runs to make cut the lead to 5-2 after the first inning.
Bowie scored one run in the second inning when Serenity Klump was able to score from third base due to an error by the catcher. City View equaled that run in the same inning with an RBI double.
After the teams exchanged scoreless innings in the third and fourth, things picked up in the fifth inning.
Kaylie Kinney hit an RBI double with two outs to extend Bowie’s lead to 7-3.
The Lady Mustangs answered with a huge inning to get back in the game. Three singles and two errors allowed City View to score four runs and tie the score up at 7-7.
After the Lady Rabbits offense could not get anything going in the sixth inning, the Lady Mustangs picked up where they left off.
Five straight singles, one walk and a passed ball allowed City View to score four more runs to take the lead 11-7 heading into the final inning.
With Bowie down to its last three outs of the season, the team buckled up to get something going.
Cox hit a one out double. Chloe Kinney followed with a single that drove her in. After a strikeout and Kinney advancing to second base after a passed ball, Klump drove her in with a double.
After a walk, Gossett came through and hit a single that drove in one more run to cut City View’s lead to one run.
With the tying run in scoring position, Bowie was in good condition but was also down to its last out.
Unfortunately, the next batter struck out looking to end the game and the Lady Rabbits season.
City View won 11-10.
To read the full story, pick up a copy of the mid-week edition of the Bowie News.
-
NEWS1 year ago2 hurt, 1 jailed after shooting incident north of Nocona
-
NEWS5 months agoSuspect indicted, jailed in Tia Hutson murder
-
NEWS1 year agoSO investigating possible murder/suicide
-
NEWS1 year agoWreck takes the life of BHS teen, 16
-
NEWS9 months agoMurder unsolved – 1 year later Tia Hutson’s family angry, frustrated with no arrest
-
NEWS12 months ago
Sheriff’s office called out to infant’s death
-
NEWS1 year agoBowie Police face three-hour standoff after possible domestic fight
-
NEWS1 year ago
Driver stopped by a man running into the street, robbed at knifepoint