SPORTS
My look back at 2018 state title
It has been only two years and a little less than four months since the last state title team from Montague County, the Bowie boy’s basketball team, won it all.
Like most things looking back, it feels simultaneously like it was long ago and just yesterday.
While I could tell the state title was a big deal for the town and community, it also felt like a big deal for me personally. I was brand new at the paper during the run.
My first day at the paper was Dec. 1, 2017. I was just coming off of getting laid off at my previous job at the Kaufman Herald when they terminated the sports editor position the week before Thanksgiving.
Luckily, I got a job interview at The Bowie News the very next week, though unfortunately it came because of the tragic death that befell the new hire before me. I was able to find housing in less than a week and moved from the metroplex to Bowie.
I had covered some state level events at Kaufman. There was a cross country and tennis team coming up just short of winning the state title along with some individual track medalists, but never the overall state champion.
I did not get into covering sports to exclusively cover winners and champions.
I was taught in college to try and keep a neutral position covering your teams that I have tried to keep, even though I have seen some high school sports editors embraced for their homerism like coverage.
My ideal team to cover is one that makes their season interesting. That does not always equate to winning or losing. Blowouts are not fun to write about or watch, whether it’s the team I am covering or otherwise.
When I was hired I was told the Bowie boy’s basketball team was rated number one in the state during the preseason. Despite the Kaufman area having pretty great sports year round, I had never covered a basketball team that had any type of expectations beyond winning the district title and winning a playoff game or two.
My first game was the Jackrabbits playing in the Decatur tournament against Weatherford. Even though they are not a household name, the Kangaroos were still a 6A program with a size advantage. I watched in awe as that did not seem to matter at all as Bowie easily controlled and won the game 73-56.
Of course I first noticed the biggest and best player on the team Daniel Mosley. It was hard not to. I had covered guys similar in size and athleticism, but not one with the type of consistent motor, fundamentals and ability to dominate the game with just his presence beyond just scoring in the post.
It was not just Daniel though since Bowie played as a true team. Over time I came to appreciate every player for the role they played, big or small, which I saw in this cog.
I did not realize the impressive resume Coach Doug Boxell had at the time. While I never had a casual conversation with him like I do with some coaches, he was always able to give me exactly what I needed after games in usually less than two minutes.
With his experience and the team’s state level expectations, his post game quotes were the only thing that made writing about a lot of the blowouts interesting for me. They were always in service towards building towards a state title.
The team had its stumbles in the brutal pre-district schedule. The lowest I saw them was at the Whataburger Tournament, where Bowie scored only 12 points in three quarters in a loss to Central Heights 38-32. From the outside it seemed like there were line up issues and players were still trying to figure out their roles.
The team was good and was mostly winning, but it seemed like everyone was waiting for them to go to another level since they had realistic state level expectations.
District was mostly a breeze after playing bigger schools besides two teams that easily would have won the district title in any other year.
That Nocona team was one of the best in school history, with an all senior starting five with few holes. Holliday had the size to match up with Bowie along with a guard who could get anywhere he wanted on the court that was hard to contain.
No one knew it, but the Eagles 46-43 win on their court would be the last game the Jackrabbits would lose that season.
From the outside it seemed like Bowie simplified its game plan after that game. There seemed to be a renewed effort to play inside-out instead of letting it fly so judiciously from 3-point land.
With a frontline featuring the Mosley brothers, no team had the overall size and athleticism to shut both down or keep them off the offensive glass. Why not play up that advantage.
After close games against the Indians and a rematch win against Holliday, the rest of the games seemed mostly easy even as the playoffs started.
I distinctly remember how uninterested the team seemed after every win during this time. They seemed so locked in on trying to get to state, most of the playoff wins rolled right off of them. Banner pictures after every win, usually filled with beaming smiles, were mostly stoic affairs.
As the competition got harder, I thought Peaster seemed like it might be a bad matchup from what I saw on film. As a good shooting team, all it would take was one hot night from 3-point range to end Bowie’s season.
It turned out it was the opposite as the Jackrabbits made nine 3-pointers and won by 26 points. Only then did I really start to believe this team might have it.
After hearing the story of how the previous year ended against Brock, it seemed destined these teams were going to meet. Throw in the father-son coach dynamic and this storyline writes itself.
It was my first drive that far west of Texas and the farthest I had ever driven for work. Missing two days in the office, including a deadline day, only something as important as a chance for a state tournament birth would have made it worth it.
The Jackrabbits 54-47 win against the Eagles was not only the first close game Bowie had had in a month, it was the most emotion I had seen from the team all season. The scene was almost on pair with winning a state title in my estimation as tears flowed easily in the post game celebration.
What is your favorite memory from that season? Email me at [email protected].
To read the full story, pick up a copy of the weekend edition of the Bowie News.
The Nocona Indians were able to beat Saint Jo at home on Thursday night in a tight contest.
The Indians won 55-48 against the Panthers in a game where both teams played hard, but made plenty of early season mistakes.
Nocona came into the game following a low-scoring win against Bells earlier in the week 35-30. For a young Indians team that only has a few players with varsity experience this year, every early season win builds confidence.
For Saint Jo, the Panthers were still without several returning starters since football is still going on. Despite that, new Coach Jacob Nocktonick is trying to build what he can with his group of basketball first players that include several key players even when the football team is integrated.
Despite Saint Jo being the smaller school, overall it had the height advantage in the front line since Nocona features only one player, Kasch Johnson, who is built like a post player. That is nothing new for the Indians, who featured a short team the previous year as Coach Brody Wilson emphasizes full-court pressure on defense and pushing the ball in transition in his system that makes up for a lack of height and size.
Initially Nocona’s pace and energy, grabbing several offensive rebounds, got it the lead 9-3. Eventually, the Panthers adjusted and trailed only 12-11 after the first quarter.
Saint Jo got the lead early in the second quarter. Post Trent Gaston took advantage of his size advantage, especially when the Indians had Johnson out, and led 17-12. Both teams had trouble scoring in a rough second quarter as open perimeter shots just were not going in and shots at the rim were tough to convert.
The Panthers led 23-20 heading into halftime.
Both teams had better offensive success pushing the ball when it could in the second half.
Saint Jo broke Nocona’s press and punished the Indians with quick baskets. Nocona ran whenever it could and seemed to put up an array of perimeter shots and drives, getting offensive rebounds it seemed at will to keep the pressure up and infuriate the Panthers coach.
The Indians got a big push from Landon Fatheree in the second half. After scoring eight points in the first half to lead the team, he scored 10 of his team’s 14 points in the third quarter.
Nocona got the lead back, but only led 34-33 heading into the final period.
The Indians had a comfortable lead up 44-36 when Saint Jo’s Gaston fouled out with 4:56 left in the game. Still, the Panthers did not give up and a minute later had whittled Nocona’s lead down to one basket 44-41 with 3:45.
The game stayed a one-possession game for the next two minutes as Saint Jo had several chances to tie or take the lead not go through.
Nocona made its free throws down the stretch to win with a little more comfort, with the final score being 55-48.
To read the full story, pick up a copy of the weekend edition of the Bowie News. To see more pictures, click here https://www.dotphoto.com/go.asp?l=bnews1&AID=6870682&T=1
Nocona senior Meg Meekins signed her official letter of intent to play college basketball at Lubbock Christian University on Wednesday. Meekins, the daughter of Brandi and Lance, is a four-year starter on the volleyball and basketball court. She has earned several accolades like being named to the All State Teams for TGCA, TABC, Associated Press and was selected to the All Tournament Team at the UIL State Basketball Tournament in San Antonio last year.“The coaching staff and the community of the LCU program and just knowing you have a staff that coaches you, but also looks over you just like Coach (Kyle) Spitzer did here was a huge part in the recruiting process,” Meekins said. She plans to pursue a degree in either physical or occupational therapy.
For more pictures, click here https://www.dotphoto.com/go.asp?l=bnews1&AID=6870680&T=1
The Bowie Lady Rabbits got more than they bargained for when they traveled to Bellevue on Tuesday night.
The Lady Rabbits escaped with the win 44-40, taking the lead with less than a minute to go after trailing whole game.
Bowie came into the game confident. The larger 3A school was supposed to play Windthorst, but had to reschedule because the Lady Trojans volleyball team was playing in the state tournament.
Finding a last minute replacement, the Lady Rabbits thought they would have an easy game playing the 1A program down the road. Little did they know.
Bellevue had a couple of players out with injury to limit its depth a bit and a new coach in Celsey Hoffman, but the Lady Eagles were coming off of nearly beating a Nocona team the previous week. While the Lady Indians were missing four starters who were still in volleyball, it still showed this was not a 1A team to take lightly.
Bellevue came out fast showing tough defensive pressure despite giving up size at nearly every position. Within a few minutes the Lady Eagles had used that pressure to force turnovers and convert those steals into transition opportunities.
Also, the energy showed in other areas as Bellevue seemed to grab every loose ball and fought for offensive rebounds despite lacking in height compared to Bowie.
After a little more than four minutes into the game the Lady Eagles led 15-0. The Lady Rabbits had barely been able to set up their offense or attempt a shot against the pressure.
Bowie Coach Matthew Miller had to reset his shell-shocked team during multiple timeouts. The young ballhandlers was reminded how the team was going to break the press defense so it could set up its offense.
Bellevue led 19-4 after the first quarter, led by Mary Grace Broussard and Brittany Gill who each scored six points.
The Lady Rabbits settled down and made some good progress in the second quarter. Their defense switched between man-to-man and 1-3-1 to keep the Lady Eagles off balance. With them taking care of the ball better, there were less chances for Bellevue in transition and the Lady Eagles offense struggled to consistently find ways to score against Bowie’s length.
The Lady Rabbits offense found some success as well. Five different players made at least one basket and the team made two 3-pointers.
While the game was physical from the start, now that Bowie knew what type of game it was in the team responded back. It was not pretty and only enough fouls were called to make the game watchable, but individual foul trouble affected Bellevue harder than the Lady Rabbits in the second quarter.
The Lady Eagles still led heading into halftime, but Bowie had gotten it down to single digits trailing 25-19.
The third quarter was more even between the two teams as both had trouble consistently scoring baskets. Bellevue made three baskets and a couple of free throws to keep ahead.
The Lady Rabbits got a big lift from Lanie Moore, who knocked in all three of her 3-pointers in the quarter, scoring nine of the team’s 12 points.
Bowie still trailed, but had cut the lead down to one point earlier in the quarter and one basket 34-31 heading into the fourth quarter.
Bellevue grew the lead to 38-32 early in the final period. The Lady Rabbits struggled to get anything going offensively and trailed 40-34 midway through the quarter.
Bowie’s Kendall Fallis made a 3-pointer in transition to cut the lead to one basket 40-37.
The score stayed there for the next several minutes even as the Lady Eagles had two starters, Karis Denson and Mattie Broussard, foul out of the game.
With a little more than a minute left, the Lady Rabbits drew up and out of bounds play that got Laney Segura an open shot in the corner. Despite not having made a basket all game, she sunk the 3-pointer to tie the game at 40-40 with a minute still to play.
Bowie had been in a pressure defense for the second half of the fourth quarter to prevent Bellevue from passively running clock. Still in the defense, the team next stole the in-bounds pass and Railey Martin made the undefended layup to give the Lady Rabbits their first lead of the game 42-40 with 48 seconds left.
The Lady Eagles could not tie the score on their next offensive possession. Bowie would made two more free throws to make the final 44-40.
To read the full story, pick up a copy of the weekend edition of the Bowie News. For more pictures from the game, click here https://www.dotphoto.com/go.asp?l=bnews1&AID=6870678&T=1
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