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 Red River High School Bass Club competed on Saturday at Eagle Mount Lake as the club finished fifth overall out of 28 clubs.
The club had two teams that brought in fish at the end of the day, but one also finished highly.
The team of Carson Caudle and Hunter Blackburn got fourth overall out of more than 100 teams. The pair caught three fish that weighed in at 7.99 pounds.
The club had one more pair that brought in fish. Walker Strahan and Bryce Ramsey got one fish that weighed in a 1.95 pounds that was good for 33rd place.
Only 37 out of the 126 teams were fortunate enough to bring fish to the weigh-in.
To read the full story, pick up a copy of the weekly edition of the Bowie News.
Bowie
Superlatives
Offensive most valuable player: Rayder Mann
First team
Gaige Goodman
Second team
Boston Farris
Honorable mention
Adam Pickett, Bradly Horton, Braden Rhyne
Academic all-district
Hayden Sutton, Keller Dosch, Anthony Jaraleno, Finn Riddle, Tyler Richey, Adam Pickett, Bradly Horton, Hayden Heugatter, Boston Farris, Rayder Mann
Nocona
Superlatives
Co-newcomer of the year: Landon Fatheree
Fighting heart award: Jose Gomez Jr.
First team
Karson Kleinhans, Oscar Salomon-Gomez
Second team
Zyrus Moreno, Walker Murphey
Honorable mention
Adrian Gutierrez
Academic all-district
Jose Gomez Jr., Kyle Waters, Kasch Johnson, RJ Walker, William Henley, Skye Kirby, Landon Fatheree, Karson Kleinhans, Oscar Salomon-Gomez, Zyrus Moreno, Walker Murphey, Adrian Gutierrez
1A
Superlatives: Jesus Sanchez, Forestburg, most valuable player; Barrett Johnson, Saint Jo, offensive MVP; Evan Chavez, Bellevue, sixth man of the year; Camden Dreyer, Gold-Burg, co-newcomer of the year; Josiah Wadsworth, Forestburg, co-newcomer of the year; Curtis Enis, Forestburg, coach of the year
First team
Ryan Jones, Bellevue; Jesse Wadsworth, Forestburg; Kyler Willett, Forestburg; Lee Yeley, Saint Jo; Trent Gaston, Saint Jo
Second team
Aaron Allison, Bellevue; Brycen Bancroft, Bellevue; River Trail, Bellevue; Jayton Epperson, Gold-Burg; Trae Campbell, Prairie Valley; Zeke Bonn, Saint Jo; Landon Shannon, Saint Jo
Honorable mention
Bryce Ramsey, Bellevue; Brenna Criswell, Bellevue; Eli White-Freeland, Gold-Burg; Keelyn Case, Gold-Burg; Barrett Allen, Gold-Burg; Angel Cruz, Forestburg; Hayden Halliburton, Forestburg; John Carranza, Forestburg; Hunter Camden, Prairie Valley; Jarrett Horton, Prairie Valley; Landen Williams, Saint Jo; Jayden Curry, Saint Jo; Colton Curry, Saint Jo
Academic all-district
Bellevue: Walker Strahan, Brycen Bancroft, Bryce Ramsey, Will Bonds, Cowyn Langford
Forestburg: Rafeal Sanchez, Josiah Wadsworth, Tristan Cumby, Hayden Halliburton, Jesse Wadsworth
Prairie Valley: Hunter Camden, Jarrett Horton, Josh Stout, Dayne Sadler, Kasey Caruthers
Saint Jo: Jayden Curry, Colton Curry, Landon Shannon, Barrett Johnson, Trent Gaston, Zeke Bonn, Lee Yeley
Gold-Burg: Levi Hellinger, Brady Allen, Barrett Allen
For pictures from players from every team, pick up a copy of the weekly edition of the Bowie News.
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