SPORTS
HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL: ’Horns, Bears to meet Friday
By ERIC VICCARO
[email protected]
Forestburg and Gold-Burg are set to meet in the District 12-1A-II opener for both schools at 7:30 p.m. on Friday at Joe Corpening Field in Stoneburg.
There is a pronounced chasm between the Longhorns and Bears.
Forestburg is coming off four victories in five games while Gold-Burg is still seeking its first victory of the season. The Longhorns have outscored opponents 363-252, while the Bears have been on the business end of a 379-130 differential.
The Longhorns are coming off a bye, while Gold-Burg suffered a 60-13 loss at Benjamin.
“We were able to relax a little bit, and get ready mentally and physically,” Forestburg head coach Wayne Tuckwell said.
Tuckwell said the Longhorns won’t take Gold-Burg lightly. At the same time, Bears head coach Jay Johnson heaped plaudits on Forestburg.
“The kids have stuck with him and bought into his system,” Johnson said. “He’s done a great job with them.”
Johnson said Forestburg can do many things well on offense while the defense forces plenty of turnovers.
“They’re very athletic and fast,” he said. “They get to the ball. On offense, they come right at you. They are so good in the running game, it opens up their passing.”
Turnovers, Gold-Burg needs to avoid them at all costs against a team as talented as Forestburg. In the loss to Benjamin, the Bears lost three of five fumbles and had a pair of interceptions. Read more, and see the Saint Jo preview, in the mid-week Bowie News.
Matthew Wallace carries the ball on a long gain during a game versus Saint Jo from Oct. 2. Wallace has turned into one of the better six-man football quarterbacks in the region. (News file photo by Eric Viccaro)
SPORTS
District awards for 1A released
With the baseball and softball seasons over for the area 1A schools, district awards have been released.
Listed below are those earned honors on the field and in the classroom for Saint Jo and Bellevue.
Softball
Saint Jo
Honorable mention
Utility player: Taylor Patrick; Catcher: Jordyn O’Neal
Baseball
Superlatives
Offensive MVP: Devin Stewart, Saint Jo
Newcomer of the Year: Bryce Ramsey, Bellevue
Pitcher: Trent Gaston, Saint Jo
Outfielder: Jayden Curry, Saint Jo
Second team
Pitcher: Charlie Barclay, Saint Jo
Infielder: Brycen Bancroft, Bellevue; Sam Martin, Saint Jo
Outfielder: Rylan Forrester, Saint Jo
Catcher: Charlie Evans, Saint Jo
Utility: Logan Hoover, Saint Jo
DH: Amzy Barclay, Saint Jo
Honorable mention
Cody Gaston, Saint Jo; Xander Joyner, Saint Jo
To see academic awards from Saint Jo players, pick up a copy of the weekend edition of the Bowie News.
SPORTS
Forestburg coach retiring
Eldon Van Hooser is leaving Forestburg better than he found it.
The head boy’s basketball coach is retiring after more than 30 years, spending the last five at Forestburg.
Van Hooser did not come to this decision because of a lack of fire or feeling tired after decades in the profession. He had to for family reasons.
“My wife has MS (multiple sclerosis) and it’s a disease where you have trouble standing and walking and she needs help,” Van Hooser said. “I am able to so I am going to step away from teaching and coaching to be there for her.”
Van Hooser was hired in 2019. Along with being the boy’s basketball coach, he also was the football team’s defensive coordinator.
There were some lean years for Forestburg on the boy’s athletic side, with numbers being low and the available athletes being mostly underclassmen.
For two years, the Longhorns’ boy’s basketball team won few games and one of those seasons saw the team field five players on the high school team.
“One of those years we had COVID-19 and the other we had five kids,” Van Hooser said. “It was very rough. After that we worked with the kids and we had a good freshman group coming up. Next year they are going to be seniors.”
That group has helped to turn the program around. Last year the young Longhorns team contested for a playoff spot and just barely missed it finishing fifth in the district.
This season, that same group took a leap and finished second in district with a record of 7-5.
Despite losing its last two regular season games in dramatic fashion heading into the playoffs, the team stepped up in the bi-district game.
Playing against an athletic Newcastle team, Forestburg led for most of the game.
Unfortunately, the previous game against Bellevue saw the Longhorn team blow the lead late in the fourth quarter against a hard pressing style team and they were suffering the same fate against the Bobcats down the stretch.
Fortunately, Forestburg held on just enough to win 53-46. It was the first boy’s basketball playoff win in nine years for Forestburg.
“It was huge for our program,” Van Hooser said. “This new year we will have new goals. The new coach will have some goals of his own, but I set some for the team and think that we have come a long way.”
To read the full story, pick up a copy of the weekend edition of the Bowie News.
SPORTS
Bowie Sports Banquet
The Bowie sports banquets was on Monday night. Olivia Gill and Tucker Jones were named Jackrabbit and Lady Rabbit of the year. Pick up the mid-week paper for all of the sports team awards and pictures.
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