SPORTS
Bowie wins final home game
Bowie got to send the home crowd at Jackrabbit stadium away happy the final time this season with its win against Ponder.
The Jackrabbits held on to win 28-21 as the Lions made a late push to tie the score in the final seconds of the game.
Bowie overcame its second half woes, shutting out Ponder in the second half and taking the lead in the fourth quarter.
The Lions proved to be a tough team early in the game. They ran the wishbone offense that leaned heavily on the run and was unlike anything the Jackrabbits had played against.
Requiring every defender to cover their assignments, big plays can happen if one defender is out of position. Early on, Bowie was making those mistakes.
Ponder scored on its first possession as Terrance Clark scored on a 30-yard run up the middle to take a 6-0 lead. The Jackrabbits immediately answered back as running back Ty Harris scored on a 65-yard run. The extra point from Alan Miranda put Bowie up 7-6.
The two teams defenses got a hold of themselves after allowing the big plays, exchanging turnover on downs at around mid-field.
The Lions then scored on another big run from Clark, this one from 37 yards away. Ponder converted a two-point conversion to go up 14-7 as the game headed to the second quarter.
After the Jackrabbits punted the ball back to the Lions, Clark again scored on a big run from 57 yards away. Bowie’s defense just seemed a step behind the offense with all of the different options on each play.
Down 21-7 and with both the offense and defense struggling for consistency, it looked like it was the start of a long night for the Jackrabbits.
Bowie’s offense responded with its most effective drive of the game. Outside of Harris’ one big run, the Jackrabbits had not done much up to that point.
At Ponder’s 21-yard line, quarterback Colby Miller threw a pass up to receiver Ryder Richey, who was one-on-one on the outside. Richey went up and caught the pass and scored on the play, cutting the lead to 21-13.
The Lions were threatening to score once more before halftime. With time running down and timeouts limited, the run heavy offense tried to connect on some deep passes.
Thinking its taller receiver could make a play on Jackrabbits cornerback Camden Starnes, Starnes made Ponder pay as he intercepted a pass in the end zone on the final play of the first half, keeping the game within one score for Bowie.
This was familiar territory for the Jackrabbits. In three of their recent losses Bowie had trailed by only one or two scores heading into halftime only to lose by much more after a lackluster second half.
At this point in the season it seems both players and coaches are at a loss for the exact cause of this trend, but the Jackrabbits looked to reverse it on Friday.
Bowie took the opening drive down the field and Miller scored on 24-yard run. Harris converted the two-point conversion and just like that the Jackrabbits had tied the score 21-21 early in the third quarter.
The teams defenses kept the other from doing much with the ball. Bowie’s defense tightened its hold on Ponder’s wishbone. The big running plays from the first half were nowhere to be seen for the Lions as the Jackrabbits seemed to have made the proper adjustments to the attack.
While Bowie’s offense had trouble scoring with its passing attack being conservative, one thing that worked was handing the ball to Harris. The senior seemed to consistently make positive things happen with the ball in his hands.
Still, he wasn’t enough to overcome some untimely negative plays to keep scoring drives going.
The Jackrabbit defense created an opportunity for the offense late in the third quarter. Ponder went for a fourth down on its own 31 yard line and was stopped.
The Jackrabbits took advantage as Harris punched the ball in from four yards out to give Bowie its first lead 28-21 since the first quarter.
With almost nine minutes still to play, there was still plenty of time for the Lions to respond. With both teams mostly moving the ball through running the ball though, that time would go by fast.
After the defense got the ball back, the Jackrabbits’ offense looked to take as much time off the clock as they could. A score would potentially put the game out of reach. Early in the drive, Bowie had a big decision.
The Jackrabbits faced a fourth down and only had to pick up one yard. The problem was it was on their own 30-yard line. A turnover on downs would give the ball to Ponder with a short field and big momentum burst.
With Harris and the running game humming, it seemed likely Bowie would pick it up, but Coach Cory Mandrell still spent a time out to think about it. He went for it and the Jackrabbits converted.
Bowie made the Lions use all of their time outs as the clock wound to less than two minutes. The Jackrabbits’ offense stalled at Ponder’s 34-yard line, unable to convert another fourth down.
Needing to drive 66 yards with no time outs and 1:42 left in the game, against an offense that is designed to run the ball and had found little success in the second half, it looked like Bowie’s defense would seal the game.
The Lions’ offense found some life with their backs up against the wall. Some big plays started to spring including the first two pass completions of the night.
One was for 24 yards that went right through the hands of a Jackrabbit defender and moved the ball to Bowie’s five-yard line with 11 seconds left after a spike.
Unfortunately for Ponder, there was an unsportsman like penalty on called on them after the spike the moved the ball back to the Jackrabbits 20-yard line.
Still after several improbable plays had moved the Lions down the field, there was still a feeling Ponder could pull off some magic.
That was put to bed as linebacker Jre Donnell came around unblocked from the blindside and sacked the Lions’ quarterback to end the game. Bowie hung on to win 28-21.
To read the full story, pick up a copy of the mid-week edition of the Bowie News.
A solid day was had by Montague county high school tracksters at the State Track and Field Meet May 16 in Austin.
Bellevue’s Mattie Broussard had a pair of second place finishes in both the 800-meter run with a time of 2:21.41 and the 3,200-meter run with a time of 11:31.33. Broussard also was 4th in the 1,600-meters with a time of 5:22.18.
Her teammate Brylie Hager was 9th in the 110-meter hurdles in 19.93.
Forestburg’s Brenna Briles was 4th in the triple jump with a 35’9 1’2” leap. Her teammate Jocelyn Rich was 4th in the pole vault with a 9’ leap.
For further details, pick up a copy of Thursday’s Bowie News.
Bowie had a pair of top four finishes at the State Track and Field Meet May 14.
Sophomore Brayden Willett made it onto the medal stand, finishing 3rd in the 1,600-meter run with a time of 4:17.89. Bowie junior Tyler Richey finished 4th in the pole vault after a 14’6” effort.
The top two finishers from Holliday, also in Bowie’s district, celebrated with him after he crossed the finish line.
“It was kind of surprising,” Willett said about Ryder and Noah Stroman embracing him in a celebratory hug. “They’re good guys, so it was kind of cool.”
For further details, pick up a copy of Thursday’s Bowie News.
This past week found your outdoor scribe doing some rather mundane things such as yard work, vegetable gardening and repairs around the old cabin. Oh, I also wrapped up a couple of magazine articles. I always enjoy sharing my adventures with all of you in this column but to be perfectly honest, not nearly as much as my ‘field work’ hunting and fishing which is an iatrical part of any good outdoor column. If you’re like me, you much prefer reading about an adventure that you can also partake.
I am far more comfortable telling you about an outdoor experience I had firsthand knowledge of rather than the reporting part of my job as an outdoor communicator. So, this week, I’d do a bit of ‘reporting’ and share some planned adventures I have scheduled for the next couple weeks. By the time you’re reading this, I will have already been in the woods in quest of a fat ‘eater’ hog and probably have some freshly caught blue catfish fillets in the freezer, details will follow in the next couple of weeks.
I’ll kick things off early in the week heading down to my friend Jeff Rice’s Buck and Bass Ranch located on the upper end of Lake Fork. Jeff produces our weekly TV show “A Sportsman’s Life” which airs on Carbon TV and YouTube. Our plan is to film a segment of our show on stalking wild hogs. It will be a challenge to capture the shot with all the thick grown spring vegetation. It could happen fast and require a fast shot. We will be breaking in my CVA Cascade scout rifle in 308 caliber. This short barrel little rifle is light and easy to handle in thick cover, ideal for this type of hunting. Our plan is to hit the woods during the last couple hours of daylight and ease along the trails, watching and especially listening for hogs. Wild porkers are vocal critters and it’s common to hear them before seeing them. We will play the wind and attempt to get downwind and then close the distance for a shot but you can never guess how a hog hunt will unfold. Wild pork or not, Jeff and I always have a great time together and I plan to bring a side of wild pork ribs already slow smoked and covered in brown sugar and BBQ sauce with a side of camp baked beans!
After a tasty dinner we plan to get a good night’s sleep and head out the next morning for a planned fishing trip with guide David Hanson at Lake Tawakoni. Both channel and blue catfish are on a very good bite right but it’s hard to pass up those snow white blue catfish fillets when the bite is good. David is, to my knowledge, the most veteran catfish guide on the lake and became friends close to a quarter-century ago when we first began fishing
together. The plan is to use freshy cut shad in shallow water and target eater size blues weighing between 2 and about 10 pounds but as every catfish angler knows, it’s always possible to connect with a big trophy size blue when fishing Tawakoni.
Next week, I plan to join my long-time friend J.C. McCollough on the Red River below the Texoma dam. I’ve been fishing and hunting with J.C. for many years and look forward to getting with him again. I would describe this to catching big catfish in a barrel but in this case the deep holes in the river are comprised of several acres. The water level in the river below Texoma are dictated by the water release at the dam by the Corp of Engineers. When there is a current in the river, fish move upstream to feed on baitfish coming through the dam. When the water recedes, they fish move into the deeper holes where baitfish also seek refuge from the falling water. Catching will be fast paced with the chance to connect with some big fish as well as limits of “eater” size fish. We’ll be rigging with big live gizzard shad fished weightless on a free line, using medium spinning gear. The bigger fish will often nail the frisky live shad and the fresh cut bait is a sure way to connect with lots of smaller fish. There is something very exciting about fishing big live baits on a slack line. One minute your bait will be darting around and you will occasionally feel it taking up slack and the next when a big blue catfish grabs the bait, the rod will bow and the fight will be on. There is usually no ‘setting the hook’, by the time you feel the fish, it will already be hooked and making a strong run to the nearest submerged brush. Your job will be to keep the drag set just enough to keep pressure on the fish but not so much as to cause the line to break.
J.C. uses his airboat to access these deeper holes because of the very shallow water. While it’s not impossible to portage a kayak or small boat in the river, it often requires a few miles travel to get to these deep holes, this is best accomplished by experienced kayakers with plenty of endurance. There was a time when I was game for this type fishing but I much prefer to do my river fishing these days from a boat designed to negotiate the shallow waters.
Squirrel season is underway in many of the east Texas counties and there’s some pretty good fox squirrel hunting here close to home in Kaufman county and I’ve been thinking about how tasty a big skillet of smothered squirrel with rice, gravy and biscuits would be. Bream are on the beds now and my friend Edgar Cotton invited me to come do some ‘perch jerking’ with him and his son David-it’s in the plans! Well, hopefully next week I will have a ‘sure nuff’ adventure of two to relate you you-I’m ready to get some relief from all this work around the homeplace! LC
You can contact Tawakoni/Fork catfish guide David Hanson at 902-268-7391. Contact J.C. McCollough at 580-372-0320.
Listen to Luke’s podcast, “Catfish Radio” just about everywhere podcast are found.
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