SPORTS
Panther baseball earns first playoff win in 35 years
History was made Saturday night as the Saint Jo baseball team won the program’s first playoff game in more than 30 years against Northside.
Moved from Windthorst to Bowie High School due to weather, the Panthers were able take control early and win 6-2 against the Indians.
Saint Jo had beaten Northside 14-2 and 12-1 earlier in the season and came in confident they would be able to easily get the win. The Panthers learned they were going to have to work for it this time around.
The Indians were able to draw a one out walk. The runner was able to advance to second due to a bad pick off throw that put Northside in position to score first. Fortunately, pitcher Harper Roberts was able to get the next two outs seamlessly to get out of the inning.
Roberts led off for Saint Jo and was able blast a line drive single. The quick Roberts was able to steal second and third. A wild pitch then allowed him to advance home as he beat the throw to score the game’s first run and put the Panthers up 1-0.
Unfortunately, the rest of the Saint Jo batters were having some trouble. The Indians pitcher threw a slow ball with an unorthodox delivery that gave many Saint Jo batters trouble squaring up to it as hit balls landed safely in fielder’s gloves as the game moved to the second inning.
Roberts had some trouble on the mound again as he walked two batters with one out to put a runner in scoring position. He was able to bounce back by striking out the next two batters to get out of the pickle.
Wyatt Geurin led off the inning with a single. He was able to advance to second due to a bad pickoff throw.
Cody Thurman was able drive him in with a single line drive to put the Panthers up 2-0 heading into the third inning.
A leadoff walk came back to bite Saint Jo. The runner was able to advance to second due to a ground out.
With two outs, the Indians got their first hit of the game on a bloop single right in between the infield and outfield. It was enough to score the runner and cut the lead to 2-1 for Northside.
The Panthers answered back with Connor Thompson who was able to get on base with a hit.
After advancing to second, he was able to steal third base. The throw was bad and this allowed Thompson to advance home as he beat the throw, bumping Saint Jo’s lead to 3-1.
It was the Panther’s second run due to advantageous base running as the game went into the fourth inning.
A leadoff walk from the Indians got worked into scoring position at second on a ground out.
The next batter hit a fly ball to the center fielder, who caught it and threw the ball to second before the runner could get back for the inning ending double play.
The Saint Jo Panthers could not get anything going offensively as the game moved into the fifth inning.
Northside was able to draw another leadoff walk to start the inning. A ground out moved him to second and into scoring position, but Roberts was able to get the next two batters out to leave the runner stranded on second.
Jose “Pepe” Gams led off the inning with a drawn walk. Next batter Preston Lyons was then hit by a pitch to put two base runners on.
Thompson came up to bat and drilled a ball into the gap of the outfield. There was some trouble handling the ball and this allowed Thompson to get all the way around the bases for an inside the park home run to put the Panthers up 6-1 heading into the fifth inning.
The Indians started to get a hold of some of Roberts pitches as they led of the inning with back-to-back singles. With no outs, Roberts looked like he might be in trouble.
Roberts was able to pick off the runner on second who was not paying attention to get the first out. He was then able to strike out the next batter and force a ground out to third base for the third out.
Thurman was able to get on base due to fielding error and Logan Morman followed with a single. Unfortunately, Saint Jo was not able to get extend their lead any as both runners stayed where they were and the lead stayed 6-1 heading into the final inning.
Roberts looked like he was going to be able to finish the game on the mound, despite his pitch count reaching its limit. He was able to get the first two outs easily enough and was one strike away from ending things. Another bloop single right over the second basemen’s head and right in front of the right fielder allowed a runner to get on base. A passed ball allowed the runner to advance to second and put himself in scoring position. The next batter hit a ground ball, but the infielder could not make the play at first for the final out, allowing the base runner on second to score and cut the lead to 6-2.
It was the final batter Roberts could face due to his pitch count and Thompson came in to close the game. It did not take him long as his three pitches all went for strikes as he struck out the final batter to end the game.
To read more, pick up a copy of the mid-week edition of the Bowie News.
Forestburg
The Forestburg Lady Horns had a good final tournament playing in Thackerville last week.
The Lady Horns went 2-1 overall and finished third overall while playing in the tournament just over the border in Oklahoma.
Forestburg played 3A Tishomingo’s JV team and won 44-33 to start off the tournament. The second game the Lady Horns lost to Class A team Ringling 37-28.
The third and final game of the tournament for Forestburg was against a fellow Texas team, 1A Garner. The Lady Horns won 43-32 to close out the tournament strong and leave with some hardware.
Brenna Briles scored a tournament high 54 points while grabbing 20 rebounds. Jocelyn Rich scored 40 points, with 22 coming in the final game while grabbing 24 rebounds.
Bowie
The Bowie Lady Rabbits had a great final tournament at Jacksboro last week to head into district play feeling confident.
The Lady Rabbits went 3-0 against smaller schools, winning by two blowouts and one close game.
Bowie first played Perrin-Whitt and beat the 1A Lady Pirates easily 47-27. Laney Enlow led the team with 18 points and eight rebounds. Parker Riddle was second with nine point and Laney Segura scored eight points. Hanna Bell had a team high four assists and also had four steals, along with Segura.
The second game proved to be the most competitive of the tournament for the Lady Rabbits. Playing 1A Gordon, a state-ranked team, Bowie led 27-25 at halftime and won 53-50.
Riddle led the team with 14 points, Enlow was second with 10 points. Bell grabbed a team high 11 rebounds to go with eight points along with Lanie Moore.
The Lady Rabbits then played local team Bellevue. The teams had played earlier in the season where the Lady Eagles gave Bowie more of a game than expected. At the tournament, the Lady Rabbits won easily 51-20 to close out the tournament strong.
Segura had a team high 12 points while Payton Holt was second with 11 points. Kendall Fallis and Sadie Weaver scored six points off the bench while Bell also scored six points.
Nocona
The Nocona Lady Indians started off district play with an easy win at Archer City on Friday.
The Lady Indians won 63-27 against the Lady Cats as they showed why they are favorites to win their seventh straight district title.
Nocona came into the game following a big win playing at defending 1A state champion Newcastle earlier in the week. District play is just another step on its way to hopefully getting back to the state tournament.
Archer City came into the game with a modest 9-5 record, but had mostly played schools its own size and level. The Lady Indians showed the Lady Cats what level they were at.
Nocona started the game off fast with full-court pressure on defense and looking to push the ball on offense. The Lady Indians led 18-9 after the first quarter and 36-11 at halftime.
The third quarter saw Nocona keep up the pace as it added to its lead, up 54-18.
The Lady Indians took their foot off the gas in the fourth quarter, getting a lot of their bench unit some playing time as they coasted to the win 63-27.
Meg Meekins led the team with 17 points, eight steals and four assists. Reagan Phipps scored 14 points and made four 3-pointers.
Avery Crutsinger added 10 points as well and Aubree Kleinhans grabbed a team high seven rebounds.
Saint Jo
The Saint Jo Lady Panthers easily won at Throckmorton on Friday night.
The Lady Panthers won 64-29 against the Lady Greyhounds.
Saint Jo came into the game on a good stretch, having won five of its last six games to start December, usually by comfortable margins.
It was a similar story as Saint Jo’s aggressive pressing defense and fast offensive pace quickly allowed the team to run away with the lead.
Payzlie Cervantes led the team with 28 points while Jordyn O’Neal was second with 16 points and Krista Reeves scored eight.
Missing scores
The Bowie News did not receive results from the Bellevue and Prairie Valley coaches.
To read the full story, pick up a copy of the mid-week edition of the Bowie News.
Gold-Burg
The Gold-Burg Bears had an up and down first tournament at Saint Jo last week.
The Bears went 2-2 overall while playing their most extended games of the season.
Gold-Burg had only played one game all season leading into the tournament thanks to the football playoff run and basketball scheduling complications, so the team needs all the game experience it could get.
The Bears got that in their opening game when they played 3A Pilot Point and it did not go well. The Bearcats won 71-23 which meant Gold-Burg had nowhere to go but up. Camden Dreyer led the team with nine points.
The Bears next played Trenton and won 43-27 against the 2A Tigers team. Dreyer led the team with 16 points while Jayton Epperson had 10 points.
Next Gold-Burg played an Australian team and won 54-37. Dreyer led the team with 15 points and four made 3-pointers. Epperson was second with 12 points, Keelyn Case scored 11 points and Eli Freeland scored nine points.
The win put the Bears into the silver division championship game against Texoma Christian. The private school won 81-45 against Gold-Burg, meaning the Bears finished second in their division.
Dreyer led the team with 11 points and Epperson was second with 10 and Case added nine points.
Bowie
The Bowie Jackrabbits had a good second tournament at Graham last week.
The Jackrabbits went 3-1 while playing some good local competition.
Bowie was heading into the tournament on a six game win streak, including the previous week’s tournament where it had won the whole thing.
The Jackrabbits kept that up with a win against Sweetwater 60-44. Rayder Mann led the team with 23 points while Gaige Goodman was second with 13 points and Adam Pickett scored 11 points.
Bowie then beat the tournament host Graham 45-26. Bradly Horton led the team with 15 points and five made 3-pointers. Mann was second with 13 points.
The Jackrabbits beat Breckenridge 51-21 in another one-sided game. It was a team effort scoring the ball. Horton, Pickett and Nick Salazar off the bench each scored eight points to lead the team in scoring.
The one stumble for Bowie came against 4A Hereford. The Jackrabbits lost 50-36 after falling behind in the first quarter and not being able to dig their way out. Mann led the team with 11 points while Horton was second with eight points.
Nocona
The Nocona Indians had a tough tournament at Poolville last week playing some tough teams.
The Indians went 1-3 overall as the team is trying to work through their deficiencies as they placed sixth place.
Nocona was able to beat Bethesda Christian 56-31 in its best game of the tournament. Landon Fatheree led the team with 26 points and six rebounds. Karson Kleinhans was right behind him with 23 points while having five assists and six steals.
The other games were all against state-ranked teams and the Indians struggled.
Against Mt. Pleasant Chapel Hill, Nocona let the third quarter get away from it as the team lost 51-32. Kleinhans scored 16 points, Fatheree scored eight and Oscar Salomon-Gomez scored six to lead the team.
Against Jim Ned, the Nocona Indians scored only three points in the middle quarters as they lost 38-22. Kleinhans scored 11 points and Fatheree scored 10 and grabbed seven rebounds to lead the team.
The final game against Slidell saw the fourth quarter slip away to make the final score worse than it was for most of the game as Nocona lost 45-21. Fatheree had a team high 14 points while Walker Murphey was second with three points.
Saint Jo
The Saint Jo Panthers hosted their tournament last week.
Only two of the four games the team played have their scores posted online and no statistics were provided to the Bowie News.
Saint Jo had a great kickoff to the tournament as its dominated Christ Academy 71-13. The second day the Panthers lost a close game against Texoma Christian 50-47.
Forestburg
The Forestburg Longhorns played in their final tournament across in Oklahoma in Thackerville last week.
The Longhorns went 2-1 overall, beating two Oklahoma teams before losing to a familiar area team in a close game.
Forestburg beat Tishomingo 64-27. Jesus Sanchez led the team with 21 points, Kyler Willett was second with 14 and Jesse Wadsworth scored 10 points.
Against the tournament host Thackerville, the Longhorns won 50-28. Sanchez scored 23 points and Willett was second with 10 points.
In the one loss, Forestburg played Bryson. The Longhorns trailed by double-digits heading into the fourth quarter and came up a basket short of tying the game. Forestburg lost 52-49.
Sanchez led the team with 19 points, Willett scored 14 and Wadsworth scored 11 points.
Bellevue
The Bellevue Eagles struggled in another tough tournament last week playing in Poolville and playing mostly bigger schools again.
The Eagles went 1-4 overall as the young team tried to keep up against the tough competition.
Bellevue was able to get a close win against Millsap 49-46 to not be completely down about the whole weekend.
The Eagles lost a close game against Wink 53-47 before losing to Windthorst 58-42, Trinity Christian 64-41 and Victory Christian Academy 47-37.
It was another tough week as Bellevue’s lack of size and foul trouble got it into trouble every game.
Coach Colby Broussard hopes the hard times now will pay off for the team in the near future.
Prairie Valley
The Prairie Valley Bulldogs played at a tournament in Thackerville last week in Oklahoma.
Two scores were reported to the Bowie News and the Bulldogs went 0-2 in those games.
Prairie Valley played Oklahoma school Ringling and lost 64-43. Sawyer Bray led the team with 13 points. Trae Campbell, Hunter Camden and Dayne Sadler each scored six points.
The next game the Bulldogs lost 59-35 against a team that’s name was cutoff in the results. Camden led the team with 10 points, Bray was second with nine points and Sadler scored eight points.
To read the full story, pick up a copy of the mid-week edition of the Bowie News.
For pictures of the Saint Jo team from last week, click here https://www.dotphoto.com/go.asp?l=bnews1&AID=6871143&T=1
For pictures of the Gold-Burg team from last week, click here https://www.dotphoto.com/go.asp?l=bnews1&AID=6871142&T=1
Bowie basketball legend Temple Tucker (right) passed away this week. The 6’10” Tucker starred for the Jackrabbit program that won four consecutive state championships 1951-54. Look on page 5A for his obituary and watch for a story in the future Bowie News about Tucker, including thoughts from former classmates and loved ones.
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