SPORTS
Saint Jo boys beat Forestburg to open district

It was the start of district play for both teams as Forestburg traveled to rival Saint Jo on Friday.
The athletic Panthers held off a valiant Longhorn comeback in the third quarter to win comfortably 55-39.
Saint Jo was coming off a 3-1 performance at the North Central Texas College Holiday tournament the previous weekend while Forestburg had a challenge trying shake the rust off since its last game was Dec. 20.
The game started off slowly in the first quarter. The Longhorns initially handled the Panthers full-court press defense enough not to turn the ball over, but could not make consistent perimeter shots.
Saint Jo moved the ball and found good looks against the Longhorns zone, but were looking for shots at the rim that were tough to find among Forestburg’s big front line.
The Panthers led only 7-5 with a less than three minutes to go in the first quarter when a flurry of Longhorn turnovers against the press led to quick and easy points. Saint Jo went 8-2 to close out the quarter to lead 15-7.
Play continued in the second quarter as Forestburg struggled to score while the Panthers lead continued to grow. Saint Jo led 26-11 at halftime.
The Longhorns turned the game around in the third quarter. Saint Jo’s offense stalled as multiple turnovers were forced in the half court.
This combined with Forestburg breaking the press easier led to scoring chances in transition capitalized by post player Riley Sandusky, who scored 11 points in the quarter after scoring only two in the first half.
Combined with Zach Bradley making two three-pointers, the Longhorns came all the way back to make it a one score game down 29-26 with three minutes to go in the third quarter.
The Panthers called a time out where Coach Lyndon Cook’s message was the team has to be better than this. The team answered as Connor Thompson drove hard to the basket and finished through contact for a three-point play to push the lead to 32-26.
Some steals were converted to points and Saint Jo’s lead was double-digits again 36-26.
Forestburg scored five points in the final 1:28 in the third quarter to cut the lead to 38-31, with the hope it could go on another run to maybe take the lead in the fourth quarter.
Early in the fourth quarter Sandusky picked up his fourth foul. As the main rim protector and fearing he would foul out, the Longhorns moved him to the perimeter in their zone hoping he would not pick up his fifth foul.
This opened things up for the driving Panthers as they relentlessly attacked the rim. Thompson especially feasted as he scored 15 points himself in the final quarter as Saint Jo’s defense again picked up the intensity while limiting transition opportunities.
Forestburg kept the lead within range 45-37 for a chance of a comeback midway through the fourth quarter, but the Panthers went on a 9-2 run in the next two minutes to close the game out. Saint Jo would win 55-39.
Saint Jo does not play again until it travels to Gold-Burg to play at 7 p.m. on Jan. 10. The Longhorns play at Prairie Valley at 7 p.m. on Jan. 10.
To read the full story, pick up a copy of the mid-week edition of the Bowie News.
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Saint Jo
The Saint Jo Lady Panthers again made a come back win against Perrin-Whitt in a high scoring affair that ended early.
The Lady Panthers won 20-10 against the Lady Pirates, winning after six innings due to run-rule.
Saint Jo’s last game had been 12 days earlier against the same Perrin-Whitt team it had also beaten in a high-scoring game 35-20. Another win would secure the Lady Panthers district title.
Saint Jo started off the game well, scoring five runs in the first inning and one more in the top of the second inning to go up 6-0. The Lady Pirates then reeled off nine runs in the bottom of the second inning which usually would change the whole momentum of the game with them up 9-6.
Perrin-Whitt added one more run in the third inning after holding Saint Jo scoreless, which is another rare feat in the team’s history of playing the other. The Lady Pirates led 10-6 and had momentum.
Then the Lady Panthers scored six runs in the fourth inning to take the lead back. Saint Jo’s pitching and defense tightened up to not allow any more runs in the final three innings while the Lady Panthers added four runs in both the fifth and sixth innings.
It was enough to end the game early by one inning, with Saint Jo winning 20-10.
Symbri Evans and Reagan Wilson each had four RBIs to lead the team while Mercedes Diaz was second with three RBIs. The team finished with 20 hits while drawing nine walks.
Defensively, Saint Jo allowed only seven walks, a good improvement from a lot of games where the total in the double-digits while the Lady Panther defense committed four fielding errors and allowed 15 hits.
The win wrapped up a district title for the team. For the girl’s program, it is the fourth team district title this season, having already secured one in volleyball, basketball and track.
Nocona
The Nocona Lady Indians ended their regular season on a sour note against one of the top teams in the district last week.
The Lady Indians lost to Lindsay 12-2, with the game ending after five innings due to run-rule.
Nocona was coming off of securing its first playoff appearance the previous week, but knew it would be tested against a Lady Knights team they had previously lost to handily in late March. The Lady Indians hoped they could competed better and try to treat the game like a playoff game.
Lindsay led after the first inning 1-0. Nocona came back in the second inning with two runs scored by RBI singles from Ashlynn Brown and Gwyndelyn Forsyth to take the lead 2-1. The Lady Knights tied the game with one run in the same inning to make it 2-2.
Unfortunately, the next three innings belonged to Lindsay. The Lady Knights scored six runs in the third inning to grab momentum. Lindsay then scored three runs in the fourth inning and one more in the fifth inning to end the game early due to run-rule.
The Lady Knights won 12-2.
Nocona ended with four hits while drawing six walks in the game. Lindsay finished with 11 hits and the Lady Indians committed four fielding errors.
To read the full story, pick up a copy of the weekly edition of the Bowie News.
SPORTS
Baseball Roundup

Nocona
The Nocona Indians picked up wins against Era last week to secure their second straight playoff appearance with one more game to play.
The Indians beat the Hornets 12-5 and by run-rule 10-0 after four and half innings.
Nocona was coming off of a tough series against Muenster, losing both games, playing well in one but not the other.
The Indians knew they had a good chance to beat Era if they played up to their potential and they showed it from the first inning in game one.
Nocona rallied off seven runs in the first inning before the Hornets had even bat to put itself in a good situation to possibly end the game early.
The only downside was the Indians were not able to offensively keep up the pressure. Nocona added one run in the seventh inning, two in the sixth and two more in the seventh inning.
Era scored four of its five runs in the final inning to put a bit of a sour note on an Indians win that could have finished stronger as Nocona won 12-5.
Miller Jentry led the team with four RBIs while Walker Murphey and Jayce Lehde each drove in two runs. The team had 16 total hits and drew five walks.
On the mound, RJ Walker pitched three innings and allowed no runs on two hits while striking out seven. The defense committed three fielding errors.
While letting the Hornets off the hook in the first game, Nocona made up for it in game two.
The Indians scored seven runs in one inning again, this time it coming in the second inning. Nocona added three runs the next two innings and shut out Era to secure the win by run-rule after four and half innings. The Indians won 10-0.
Brody Langford and Murphey each drove in two runs each to lead the team. Nocona finished with 10 hits, with four going for extra base hits while Era committed three fielding errors.
On the mound, Walker pitched all five innings and allowed no runs on two hits while striking out eight and walking two. The defense committed two fielding errors.
Saint Jo
The Saint Jo Panthers lost a tough game at Perrin-Whitt last week, with most of the damage coming in the sixth and final inning.
The Pirates scored eight runs in the sixth inning to win the game one inning early due to run-rule 16-6.
The Panthers were coming off an uplifting win against Bellevue that saw them come back several times the previous week on the road. Saint Jo had played Perrin-Whitt in late March and had lost both games in close fashion so the Panthers hoped this time would be a different outcome for them.
The Pirates scored four runs in the first two innings before Saint Jo answered with three runs scored in the third inning. Perrin-Whitt added one run in the same inning and three in the fourth inning.
The Panthers cut the lead down to two runs after scoring three more runs in the fifth inning, making the score 8-6 heading into the sixth inning.
Unfortunately, Saint Jo had an inning from hell, allowing eight runs on five singles, a triple, two walks and a hit batter. The final run scored ended the game early.
Perrin-Whitt won 16-6.
Charlie Barclay led the team with two RBIs while Devin Stewart, Trent Gaston, Charlie Evans and Rylan Forrester each drove in one run. Saint Jo finished with eight hits and drew seven walks.
Unfortunately, the Panthers gave up 12 hits and walked seven batters while committing two fielding errors.
Bellevue
The Bellevue Eagles only played one game last week due to weather concerns later in the week and lost to Perrin-Whitt.
The Pirates won 15-0 after four innings, winning by run-rule in a game the Eagles hopes to forget.
Bellevue had one from Brycen Bancroft and River Trail drew the only walk in a game where not much went right. Eight fielding errors from the Eagles, eight walks issues and six hits added up really fast.
To read the full story, pick up a copy of the weekly edition of the Bowie News.
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