SPORTS
HIGH SCHOOL SOFTBALL: Nocona extends Bowie to six
By ERIC VICCARO
[email protected]
The Nocona High School softball team may want to pretend every team they play wears maroon.
That’s because the Lady Indians have played their best softball against District 3A-9 frontrunner Bowie this season.
“They had good swings on the ball, and good things happened for them,” Bowie head softball coach Brant Farris said.
“I think that we were seeing the ball well, and we were more confident at the plate,” Nocona head coach Lindsay Cline said. “It was really the pick-me-up they needed.”
Nocona had struggled this season stringing hits together for big innings, but that certainly wasn’t the case here.
Nocona found itself down 13-1 after three innings, but the Lady Indians showed resolve in the top of the fourth – pushing across six runs to make the game more competitive.
Bowie stands at 15-7-2, 7-1 heading into Tuesday night’s all-important game at Boyd with the district lead on the line. Nocona (4-13, 0-8) plays host to Holliday.
With that win over Nocona, Bowie has already equaled its win total from the 2015 season – and there’s still most of the second half of district yet to play. Read more, and see box scores and updated district standings, in the April 6 Bowie News.
Bowie’s Callie Melton shows the ball after stretching to make a putout at first base during Friday’s District 3A-9 game versus Nocona at the outdoor sports complex. (News photo by Eric Viccaro)
SPORTS
Lady Indians win area round 3-1
The Nocona Lady Indians won their area round playoff match on Saturday at Weatherford beating a tough Hawley team.
The Lady Indians won 3-1 against the Lady Cats in a match where three of the four sets were won with little drama.
Nocona was confident heading into the match after easily defeating Seymour while Hawley had nearly been defeated in its previous match that went five sets. Still, the Lady Cats were a 30 win team and a district champion as well.
The first set proved to be the closest of the match and it could have gone either way. In the end it was the Lady Indians that executed at the end to win 25-23 to take the early lead.
Nocona then parlayed that win into the start of set two where it took control and never let go.
The Lady Indians won with a lot more wiggle room 25-16 to take firm control 2-0 and it looking like it might be a short match.
Hawley was not going to go down like that though. The Lady Cats came out with their backs against the wall in set three. Nocona was a little less intense being up and it allowed Hawley to grab control.
The Lady Indians were playing from behind and could never make up the difference as the Lady Cats won 25-15 to cut the lead to 2-1.
Having given Hawley hope it could turn the match around, it was important Nocona start set four playing well to not allow the Lady Cats a chance to come back.
Nocona played well with an early lead and pulled away to win 25-16, winning with little drama 3-1.
To read the full story, pick up a copy of the mid-week edition of the Bowie News.
SPORTS
Football Roundup
Saint Jo
The Saint Jo Panthers came up just short on senior night against district rival Union Hill on Friday for the district title.
The Bulldogs won 40-32 to take their third straight district championship, with the Panthers finishing runners-up as a result as well.
It looked like this year would be Saint Jo’s year. The Panthers came into the game undefeated at 9-0, had won three close games along the way, with one of the wins coming against a Perrin-Whitt team that beat Union Hill earlier in the season by several scores.
The Bulldogs were 7-2, but had a younger nucleus than in years past. Combined with the two and half hour drive to Saint Jo, the Panthers wealth of senior talent playing in front of its home fans and the team playing better every week, all signs were pointing to Saint Jo getting some pay back.
Instead it was Union Hill that started out on top, leading 26-12 at halftime. The Panthers cut the lead to one score multiple times, but could not come back to tie or take the lead at any point.
The wet weather made throwing the ball more difficult for Saint Jo which did not help. The Panthers had one last opportunity at the end of the game to tie the game up with a touchdown, but did not come through.
The Bulldogs held on to win 40-32.
Devin Stewart completed four passes for 60 yards and one touchdown, which went to Wade Lucas on a 40-yard touchdown pass. On the ground, Stewart led the team with 127 yards rushing and three touchdowns. Lucas was second with 51 yards rushing and scored one rushing touchdown as well.
Nocona
The Nocona Indians’ tough season ended in a rough manner at district champion Tioga last week.
The Bulldogs won 62-0 against the Indians.
Nocona knew the game was going to be tough, having struggled scoring on offense during district play while Tioga had scored 34 or more points in its undefeated district run.
The Bulldogs passed the ball heavily out of the shotgun formation and it proved too much for the young Indians team.
Logan Gaston led the team with 47 yards rushing and had a team high nine tackles. Kasch Johnson forced a fumble and Walker Murphey recovered it as well.
Forestburg
The Forestburg Longhorns came up short at Fannindel on Thursday night as they missed the playoffs.
The Falcons won 43-26 against the Longhorns to earn the district’s final playoff spot as Forestburg’s season ends.
Coming into the season there was talk about how it was going to be a down year for Fannindel since the team had young players and some trouble finding a coach.
Then the Longhorns had to deal with a season full of things like injuries to key players, players leaving and reappearing, an assistant coach that resigned and more.
A team at the start of the season that had the most depth it has had in any recent years ended the season with eight players.
The Falcons actually came into the game with the better record at 4-5 to Forestburg’s 2-7, but the Longhorns still felt like they could come through.
The first half saw Forestburg’s defense make Fannindel earn every point. The Longhorns offense struggled despite playing their cleanest game of the season, but scored once as Jesus Sanchez found Tristan Cumby for a 14-yard touchdown.
Forestburg trailed only 19-6 at halftime.
The Longhorns then got a boost when Aiden White returned an interception for a touchdown to cut the lead down to one score 19-12 to start the second half.
Unfortunately, the Falcons were able to bust four long touchdown runs in the second half which grew their lead.
Forestburg could not keep up. It did score twice more as John Carranza found White for a 10-yard touchdown pass in the third quarter. To end the game, Jesus Sanchez scored on a nine-yard run.
It made the final score 43-26 in favor of Fannindel.
To read the full story, pick up a copy of the mid-week edition of the Bowie News.
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