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YEAR IN REVIEW: Nocona football rebuilds

Published

12 years ago

01/03/2015

By BLAKE WOOD
bnewssports@sbcglobal.net

The 2014 season was a bit of a down year for the five county teams as only one team reached the postseason – compared to the four who did the same in 2013.
Nocona was especially hit the hardest.
Two seasons after finishing 12-1, and one game away from a state championship appearance, losing so many seniors caught up to the Indians as the team went winless in a tough district.
“I knew we’d drop off a little,” said head coach Brad Keck. “It was a really tough schedule all the way through as well.”
Two factors led to the Indians rough 2014: Inexperience and injuries.
Kyle Sentell, who was playing two unfamiliar positions to him, was the only player to play both ways through most of the season. Nocona basically had to fill 21 positions with players who had never seen varsity action.
One would assume the morale of a very young team would take a hit with one loss after another; it was something Keck acknowledged and addressed as the season progressed.
“Our main goal was to just keep improving week by week; I feel like they did a good job doing that. Hopefully it’s something to build from looking forward.”
The biennial realignment did Nocona no favors either.
Nocona (0-10, 0-7) was placed in 2-3A DII with seven other teams including defending state champion Cisco and Eastland, another recent powerhouse.

Editor’s Note: Read the rest of this story, and see the all-county football team in the weekend Bowie News in print and with your electronic subscription.

Ryder Nobile (right) was a bright spot for the Nocona High School football team this season. (News photo by Eric Viccaro)

COUNTY LIFE

Forged in Fire heliopsis delivers in hot summer

Published

6 days ago

07/16/2026

bowienews

No plant has been more enjoyable in The Garden Guy’s trials than the Forged in Fire heliopsis or false sunflower. There have been a lot of varieties in recent years, but I am going to have to put this one on the must-have list.
Botanically speaking it is Heliopsis helioanthoides, native to the United States. Despite being native to 42 states, many new varieties, award winners and press coverage notwithstanding, it has not been an easy plant to find at the garden center.
Most likely you have never said, “Let’s go to the garden center and pick up a flat of false sunflowers.

Read the full Garden Guy column in today’s Bowie News.

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Giant Lone Star: A heavenly hosta

Published

4 weeks ago

06/25/2026

bowienews

As a card-carrying member of the Sons of the Republic of Texas, I couldn’t wait to get my hands on the Shadowland Giant Lone Star hosta.
Make no mistake, I don’t believe this hosta was discovered in the shady soil under a Texas Madrone in Guadalupe National Park. It was actually a sport or morphological change in s hosta named Key West. That sounds like a fairy tale story all its own.
But Shadowland Giant Lone Star has winner written all over it. It is large and has thick leaves. When 12 straight days of rain brought out a rainforest of slugs and other forest floor creatures, the bane of hosta growers everywhere, it didn’t load up with holes but simply got more beautiful.

Read the full Garden Guy column in Thursday’s Bowie News.

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Pink cloud in the garden is beautiful

Published

1 month ago

06/18/2026

bowienews

Supertunia Mini Vista Pink Cloud petunia is having its debut year or thanks to Susan Middleton Turner in south Georgia’s zone 9 Miller County it’s breakout year.
Susan’s house looks quite like a movie set, and you would have to think that Supertunia Mini Vista petunias play a prominent role.
Last year it was the award-winning Supertunia Mini Vista Indigo that dazzled with incredible color. The petunias were planted in banister baskets across the front of the house. I featured her photos in an article I wrote about Mini Vista petunias.

Read the full Garden Guy column in your Thursday Bowie News.