SPORTS
Panthers win bi-district 74-38
The Saint Jo Panthers won their bi-district playoff game on Thursday night against Leverett’s Chapel.
The Panthers won 74-38 in a game with little drama outside of an injury scare after Saint Jo took a two touchdown lead into the second quarter.
With the Panthers last regular season game against Perrin-Whitt being forfeited due to COVID-19 from the Pirates, Saint Jo came into the game fresh.
The Panthers opening drive of the game saw them gain consistent but small amounts of yards on running plays. They had to convert a fourth down before running back Logan Brawner finally got loose for a 16-yard touchdown run put Saint Jo up 8-0.
The Lions offense featured a lot of short quick passes that forced the Panthers to tackle well in space. Chapel’s players were also willing to freelance with improvised laterals and passes during plays that were clearly not designed with these things in mind.
The Panthers defense forced a turnover on downs near midfield to get the ball back. Two plays later, it was Brawner scoring on a 35-yard run to put Saint Jo up 14-0.
The Lions came back and scored on their next drive. Short passes to their athletic players in space sprung some big plays, ending with a 17-yard touchdown pass to cut the lead to 14-8.
A deep kickoff pinned the Panthers back on their own nine-yard line, but Brawner quickly made that obsolete. He found the corner and ran for a 71-yard touchdown to end the quarter, Saint Jo up 20-8.
Chapel was not going to roll over though. The Lions offense scored on their second play in the next drive on a 34-yard touchdown pass to cut the lead to 20-14.
On the kickoff, Brawner got the ball and was trying to hurdle a player. He got upended and flipped violently.
It looked like the Panthers were going to get tested with their best offensive weapon sidelined for the moment as Jonathon Diaz picked up some yards and Cade Stevens finding Jase Johnson on a short pass.
Brawner came back in and scored on a four-yard touchdown run to go up 28-14 as he dove for the corner. He must have felt bad after the dive because he did not play for the rest of the quarter.
The Saint Jo defense picked up its intensity after pushing the Lions back for losses on consecutive plays, forcing a turnover on downs near midfield.
With Diaz running on three consecutive plays, the Panthers faced a fourth and six. Stevens rolled out to his left and found Tyler Cook open for a 27-yard touchdown pass. Stevens completed the pass despite playing most of the game with one of his fingers pointing the wrong way.
Up 36-14, the Panthers especially did not want to let the Lions score before halftime since they would also get the ball to start the second half.
Chapel drove down into Saint Jo territory, getting help with a roughing the passer penalty on third down. The Panthers defense held and forced another turnover on downs to keep the lead heading into halftime.
The Lions offense found some success to start the third quarter completing an 11-yard pass and a 16-yard run to get within scoring range. A bad snap allowed the Panther’s Chance Bennett to dive on the ball to force a turnover at Saint Jo’s own 23-yard line.
Brawner came out with his pads on and looked to give it a go. His first run was for a loss and the coaching staff initially thought he was not himself and put Diaz in. A big run came back because of holding and put the Panthers into a big hole.
Brawner came back in and ripped a 13-yard run to make the fourth down manageable, but Chapel’s defense held to force a turnover on downs at Saint Jo’s 20-yard line. The Lions took advantage scoring on a nine-yard touchdown pass to cut the lead to 36-20.
In case there was any doubt whether Brawner would contribute for the rest of the night, they were answered on the kickoff. He recovered the short kickoff and took it 56 yards for a touchdown to put Saint Jo back up 42-20.
Chapel would not go away though. The laterals and the freelancing picked up as the game went on. It became harder to make those tackles in space as fatigue came in to play even as substitutions were made.
The Lions drove down the field, converting another fourth down before scoring on another short touchdown pass from eight yards away. Scored in the final minute of the third quarter, Saint Jo’s lead was still solid at 42-26 as long as the offense kept scoring.
The offense obliged as Brawner scored on a 40-yard run on the first play of the fourth quarter make the score 50-26.
Chapel continued to show heart though. A Saint Jo player slipping while trying to come up and make a tackle after short completion led to a 37-yard touchdown pass as the Panther defense seemed to struggle more as the game wore on.
The Panthers offense made sure the Lions were never getting close.
After one big run and a missed opportunity in the passing game, another perfectly blocked sweep play allowed Brawner to bust through for another touchdown run, this one from 19-yards out. The kick from Kyler Dunn made it 58-32.
Saint Jo could not catch a break on its next defensive series. A pass interference call and a facemask call helped move the ball down the field.
From there, Chapel was able to score on a 15-yard run as the Panthers could not push the running back out of bounds. The touchdown made the score 58-38 with half the quarter still to play.
Just like the last drive, a couple of runs from Brawner and Bennett eventually led to Brawner scoring from 18-yards out to keep Saint Jo’s spirits high.
Just in case there was any doubt left which team would win, Brawner jumped a pass on defense and took the ball back 55-yards for a defensive touchdown to put the final score on the board.
Saint Jo’s defense forced one final turnover on downs to end the game with a kneel down to end the game, the Panthers winning 74-38.
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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