SPORTS
Local coaching in state title game
Longtime Bowie resident Randy Rayburn will be on the coaching staff of his alma mater this Friday when they play in the 5A Oklahoma state title game in football.
Rayburn, who has lived in Bowie for 13 years, where his wife Cindy works and his daughter Moriah goes to high school, has commuted to Ardmore, OK for the last six years as a history teacher and assistant football coach.
After coaching under Brad Keck’s staff from 2006-2009 at Bowie High School, Rayburn bounced around before eventually making it back to his hometown.
“Ardmore is my home,” Rayburn said. “I went to school at Ardmore. I played football at Ardmore. Graduated from Ardmore.”
After his father passed away, Rayburn’s position at Ardmore also has allowed him to keep an eye on his mother as well.
Still, the Rayburn family lives in Bowie. With his wife enjoying her job at Legend Bank and his daughter playing volleyball for the Lady Rabbits, a sport that Ardmore and many schools in southern Oklahoma do not offer, Rayburn has been the one to make the 84 mile commute on weekends for the good of his family.
He is reaping the rewards now since the Tigers are playing in the school’s first state title game since 1992.
Undefeated and ranked number two in the state for most of the season, they are on a collision course against the number one ranked team in the state and also undefeated Carl Albert. They play at 7 p.m. on Nov. 30 at Edmond Sata Fe High School.
Still, Rayburn hopes to one day make it back to Bowie.
“I really enjoyed my time at Bowie High School,” Rayburn said. “If the opportunity ever presented itself I would love to come back to Bowie.”
Saint Jo vs Prairie Valley
The Saint Jo Lady Panthers opened up district play on Friday by beating Prairie Valley at home.
The Lady Panthers won in straight sets against the young Lady Bulldogs.
Saint Jo came into the game following a tough five-set win against Poolville and Coach Kelly Skidmore was hoping her team would play better than that.
Prairie Valley struggled in the match with slow starts in all three sets. The Lady Panthers were ahead 8-2 in sets one and three and 9-1 in set two.
The closest the Lady Bulldogs got was in set three when they cut the lead to 12-8 midway through, but each time Saint Jo remained firmly in control.
Frustration seemed to set in for Prairie Valley at times with self-inflicted errors which did not help.
The Lady Panthers won with the set scores being 25-11, 25-9 and 25-13.
Bowie
The Bowie Lady Rabbits lost a tough match at Holliday.
The Lady Eagles won in straight sets against the Lady Rabbits.
Bowie was able to put it together to compete well and nearly win the second set, but ultimately lost 25-22. The first and third sets were not too great for the Lady Rabbits as they lost 25-11 and 25-10.
Coach Ashley Sanders did not think her team was in rhythm or playing their game at all during the match. It wasn’t so much at Holliday overwhelmed her team, Sanders said, but more about her team not playing up to its capability.
Nocona
The Nocona Lady Indians won their eighth straight match of the season on Friday with a win against Wichita Falls High School.
The Lady Indians won in straight sets as well, which keeps another streak going of not losing a set in the last eight matches.
The Lady Coyotes made Nocona work a bit, but the Lady Indians were in control each set as they won with little drama. The set scores were 25-18, 25-15 and 25-14.
Skyler Smith led the team with 15 kills, 23 assists and two service aces. Meg Meekins also had 15 kills and was second with 21 assists while leading the team with two blocks.
Aubree Kleinhans had a team high 11 digs while Ava Johnson and Graci Brown each had two aces.
Forestburg vs Bellevue
The Forestburg Lady Horns opened district play on Friday with a win against Bellevue.
The Lady Horns won in straight sets against the Lady Eagles as they started off district strong.
The two teams played exactly a month previously and while it was similar results, Bellevue was looking much better than in that contest.
Forestburg had to work in all three sets. Though the Lady Eagles didn’t almost win a set like they did in the first match, they were more competitive throughout.
It was not good enough though as a solid Lady Horn team won with set scores being 25-18, 25-21 and 25-15.
To read the full story, pick up a copy of the mid-week edition of the Bowie News.
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