SPORTS
Whataburger tournament brings challenges for Jackrabbits team
The Bowie Jackrabbits basketball team played at the prestigiously challenging Whataburger Holiday Tournament last weekend after the winter break.
The Jackrabbits were able to earn a 2-2 record at the tournament where just about every team was either from bigger programs or state ranked within its classification.
Bowie first played Center. The Jackrabbits dominated with their size advantage in the post as Daniel Mosley and Jed Castles feasted against mismatched players for most of the game.
Bowie got out to a 34-21 lead at halftime and never let the Roughriders get close despite Center doing its best to try and draw Castles and Mosley away from the basket so they could attack. The Jackrabbits won 67-43 to start the tournament right.
On Friday, Bowie was matched up with private school Liberty Christian. Despite featuring a long team they were no match for the Jackrabbits. Bowie’s lockdown defense allowed the Jackrabbits to gain a 16-6 lead in the first quarter.
The Warriors could not make up any ground as they had no answer for Mosley, who finished with 28 points and 14 rebounds. Castles also was able to hurt them on the glass as he finished with 13 rebounds.
Bowie won easily 55-32 to start the tournament 2-0. The next game later that day would not be so easy.
The Jackrabbits were matched up with state-ranked Argyle in 4A, a team they played three weeks earlier in Argyle without Mosley. The game started out slow for both teams, but it was Bowie who had the upper hand leading 8-4 after the first quarter.
Unfortunately, the Eagles offense found some life while the Jackrabbits continued to struggle scoring the ball at a higher frequency.
The game was close with Argyle leading 20-18 at halftime.
Bowie was still in the game heading into the fourth quarter trailing 30-26, but could not make any baskets while the Eagles took the few chances they had to score while running valuable clock. Argyle ended up winning 40-29.
Justin Franklin’s 11 points to lead the team was not enough for the Jackrabbits to enact any revenge.
The final game of the tournament for Bowie wound up maybe being its biggest challenge as they played another state ranked 4A team in Kenndale.
From the get-go, the game was the complete opposite of the Jackrabbits previous low scoring game against the Eagles.
Bowie’s offense kept pace with the Wildcats. Kennedale led 23-21 after the first quarter. Unfortunately for the Jackrabbits, the Wildcats offense had another level it could go they could not match.
Kennedale scored 31 points in the second quarter and led 54-36 at halftime.
Bowie’s defense never could figure out a way to slow down the Wildcats as the lead grew and grew in the second half. The Wildcats won 94-62. Mosley scored 24 and Taylor Pigg 13, but it was not enough. Mosley was selected to the All-Tournament Team.
To read the full story, pick up a copy of the mid-week edition of the Bowie News.
The Red River High School Bass Club competed this past weekend, May 31 – June 1, at the State Tournament on Lake Conroe for the two-day tournament.
Two of the teams from Montague County traveled south to try their best at the culmination of the year for the state title. Teams were able to pre-fish on Friday before the Saturday and Sunday competition. On Friday, there was a flipping contest for the youth and Cooper Johnson won third overall and won a $500 scholarship and an Academy gift card.
The club’s two teams who competed were Lane Smith/Colt Henry with boat captain Jimmy Smith. The team placed 63rd with a total of 16.22 pounds. The second team of Cooper Johnson/Corbyn Patton and boat captain Jayson Toerck placed 169th with a total weight of 2.29 pounds.
To read the full story, pick up a copy of the weekly edition of the Bowie News.
The Maskat Shrine Oil Bowl is this week on June 6-7 and graduating athletes from Bowie, Nocona and Saint Jo are confirmed to be playing.
In total, seven athletes from Bowie, five from Nocona and three from Saint Jo are planning to play in the all-star games this week. Nocona also will have a pair of coaches participating as well.
The girl’s basketball game kicks off events on June 6, scheduled for 6 p.m. at Wichita Falls Memorial High School. In the game, the east team will have Nocona players Avery Crutsinger, Meg Meekins and Reagan Phipps playing while Kyler Spitzer and Clayton Brown coach them one last time.
On the west team, Saint Jo’s Payzlie Cervantes is confirmed to be playing.
The boy’s basketball game is scheduled to follow at 7:30 p.m. On the east team, Bowie’s Boston Farris and Nocona’s Jose Gomez Jr. will be playing.
On June 7, the volleyball games are scheduled to start at 4 p.m. with the small school game. On the west team, Nocona’s Kaygan Stone and Saint Jo’s Taylor Patrick are confirmed to play. On the east team, Saint Jo’s Aubrey Morman will get to play her teammate.
There are no local athletes confirmed to be playing in the big school volleyball game.
The final event is the football game, scheduled for 7:30 p.m. at Memorial Stadium. It is an all Bowie affair with six players confirmed to be playing for the east team: Justin Clark, Jorge De Leon, Hunter Fluitt and Braden Rhyne, Preacher Chambers and Moh Azouak.
To read the full story, pick up a copy of the weekly edition of the Bowie News.
Nocona Independent School District officials looked inward for a new athletic director/head football coach, selecting Jeff Hill for the position.
Hill, who served last year as Nocona football’s offensive coordinator and also led the softball program to the playoffs for the first time in a while as its head coach, was upgraded to the role.
This came on the heels of former Athletic Director Blake Crutsinger, who served in the role the last four years, resigned in May.
For Hill, the choice to apply for the position was a no brainer. His one year in Nocona had impressed upon him and his wife that it was the place they would like to be long term.
“I’m looking for a town to raise my kids in and Nocona has treated my family really well,” Hill said. “There are some really good people. The kids work hard. Everything I am looking for in a hometown is right here in Nocona and I want to try and make it as best as it can be, especially through athletics.”
Before Nocona, Hill served as the athletic director at S&S Consolidated while also spending time at Hebron and Whitewright in his coaching career.
Hill expresses great respect for the departing Crutsinger and besides changing a few small things in how he personally wants to do things, he is not trying to come in with a sweeping restructuring of the whole athletic department.
The program had five of its six team sports make the playoffs, with volleyball playing in the regional final and the girl’s basketball team winning the state championship.
That along with two athletes competing at the state championship in cross country and track with one earning a gold medal, it was one of the more successful school years in athletic program history.
“Coach Crutsinger was awesome and did a great job so honestly just little tweaks, a little bit of structure and cohesion amongst the coaching staff between boys and girls,” Hill said. “I hope to keep the winning tradition going overall in the athletic department.”
To read the full story, pick up a copy of the weekly edition of the Bowie News.
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