SPORTS
Bowie volleyball finishes third at Godley tournament
The Bowie Lady Rabbits played in their final tournament last week in the first Godley Classic that featured several tough teams.
The Lady Rabbits made a big impression as they went 6-1 during the two days of competition and finished third overall in the gold bracket while picking up several wins against opponents ranked among the best in the state in the most current Texas Girls Coaches Association poll.
In pool play, Bowie first played Hillsboro. The Lady Rabbits made quick work in the first set winning 25-13 while the second set was a bit tougher. In the end Bowie won 25-22 to win the first match in straight sets.
The second match against Keene went even smoother. Both sets were won by the Lady Rabbits by double digits, 25-15 and 25-14.
The final match in pool play would be much tougher. Bridgeport came in ranked as one of the best teams in the state in 4A and fresh off of winning a grueling five-set match at county rival Nocona on Aug. 20.
Bowie was not intimidated as it won the first set at the end after pulling away 25-22. The Sissies won the second set 25-19 to force a third and final set. It went back and forth and could have gone either way, but the Lady Rabbits pulled off the upset to win 26-24.
After pool play Aslyn Davis led the team with 18 kills, Lexi Kirkham with eight blocks, Landra Parr with 30 assists and Taygon Jones with 52 digs.
The 3-0 record in pool play qualified Bowie to play in the gold bracket on Saturday where it would play a familiar opponent.
Bridgeport was up again in the first round of bracket play.
With the mental edge being won in the first matchup, the Lady Rabbits against the top ranked Sissies won again in bracket play, this time in straight sets and scores of 25-10 and 25-22. Bridgeport came into the tournament with only one loss and ranked second in the state in 4A.
Bowie next played 4A state ranked Krum. While not ranked as high as the Sissies team the Lady Rabbits had handed two straight losses to coming into the tournament, the Lady Cats would show why they would go on to win the tournament. Krum handed Bowie its first loss of the tournament in straight sets.
The Lady Rabbits played its final game against Maypearl for a chance at the third place title.
The Lady Panthers also came into the tournament with some clout as it was ranked in the top 20 best teams in the state in 3A, but Bowie would show why rankings did not matter.
Bowie won the first set with a comfortable margin 25-18 before Maypearl tied the match up by winning the second set 25-21.
The Lady Rabbits were able to refocus in the third set and played brilliantly as they won a one-sided set 25-13 to win the match and finish in third place.
After going 6-1 with three wins against ranked opponents, the previously unranked Bowie now sits at 10 in this week’s current TGCA poll.
To read the rest of the story, pick up a copy of the mid-week edition of the Bowie News.
Bowie had six players play in the Maskat Shrine Oil Bowl football all-star game. For pictures from not just the football game, but the basketball and volleyball games as well that feature athletes from Bowie, Nocona and Saint Jo, click here https://www.dotphoto.com/go.asp?l=bnews1&AID=6875584&T=1
Nocona is welcoming back Coach Sandy Langford, former coach and alumnus for the Lady Indians, as its new volleyball head coach.
Langford comes back to Nocona after spending the past 11 years leading the Glen Rose volleyball program.
Her circumstances with her family allowed her to jump at the opportunity once she became aware the position at Nocona was available.
“My youngest graduated and is playing football at Midwestern (State University),” Langford said. “All of our family is here and I knew that Coach Kara (Lucherk) was leaving. We were eventually going to retire here. Our oldest son plays college football at West Texas A&M and we’ll be two hours closer to him as well.”
She again will lead the Lady Indians volleyball program, one that she led all the way to the state title game in 2011, which is the farthest the volleyball program has ever gone in its prestigious history.
Langford kept up that level of success during her 11 years at the bigger 4A Glen Rose. She won less than 20 games only twice during her time, winning her 500th career game back in 2023. Her teams were ranked among the top 10 in the state five times and Langford led Glen Rose to the state tournament in 2017, the best finish in program history.
With the Lady Indians also having its own string of success, appearing in back-to-back regional finals while finishing atop the district standings both years, Langford is excited to not just keep the success going, but shoot for the stars.
“We are not expecting anything less than a state championship,” Langford said.
She has stacked the non-district schedule with strong, state-ranked 3A and 4A teams as well as big tournaments that will test Nocona’s mettle early next season in the hopes it will prepare them for a long playoff run.
To read the full story, pick up a copy of the weekly 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.
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