SPORTS
Panthers go 2-2 at tournament
The Saint Jo baseball team did well competing against bigger schools’ JV teams at last weekend’s Poolville tournament.
The Panthers went 2-2 before losing to 2A power Lindsay on Tuesday 17-2.
Saint Jo first played Peaster’s JV team on March 11 in what was the team’s worst performance during the three days of the tournament.
The Panthers got out to a lead first with two runs in the first inning. The Greyhounds would respond with four runs to take the lead before exploding for nine in the second inning to take a 13-2 lead.
Following a scoreless third inning, the game was called due to time.
Saint Jo started off March 12 with a game against Paradise’s JV team. The Wildcats got out to a lead first scoring runs in the first three innings.
The Panthers came back in the fourth inning to cut the lead to 3-2. Paradise scored two more runs and looked like it might get the win with the game getting called after five innings.
Saint Jo put together four runs in the final inning to win 6-5.
The Panthers then played Godley on the same day. The Wildcats got out to an early lead scoring two runs in the first inning. Saint Jo tied the score with two runs in the second inning.
The score stayed tied after the teams exchanged one run each in the fourth inning. The Panthers took the lead scoring one run in the fourth inning, but Godley came back to score three runs to take a 6-4 lead.
The game was called after that due to time giving the Wildcats the win.
Saint Jo ended the tournament on March 13 with a game against Bridgeport. The Panthers scored four runs in both the first and second innings to build an 8-1 lead.
The Bulls scored one run in the third and made a late run scoring four in the fourth inning to cut the lead to 8-6. The game was called due to time to secure Saint Jo’s win.
To read the full story, pick up a copy of the weekend edition of the Bowie News.
SPORTS
District awards for 1A released
With the baseball and softball seasons over for the area 1A schools, district awards have been released.
Listed below are those earned honors on the field and in the classroom for Saint Jo and Bellevue.
Softball
Saint Jo
Honorable mention
Utility player: Taylor Patrick; Catcher: Jordyn O’Neal
Baseball
Superlatives
Offensive MVP: Devin Stewart, Saint Jo
Newcomer of the Year: Bryce Ramsey, Bellevue
Pitcher: Trent Gaston, Saint Jo
Outfielder: Jayden Curry, Saint Jo
Second team
Pitcher: Charlie Barclay, Saint Jo
Infielder: Brycen Bancroft, Bellevue; Sam Martin, Saint Jo
Outfielder: Rylan Forrester, Saint Jo
Catcher: Charlie Evans, Saint Jo
Utility: Logan Hoover, Saint Jo
DH: Amzy Barclay, Saint Jo
Honorable mention
Cody Gaston, Saint Jo; Xander Joyner, Saint Jo
To see academic awards from Saint Jo players, pick up a copy of the weekend edition of the Bowie News.
SPORTS
Forestburg coach retiring
Eldon Van Hooser is leaving Forestburg better than he found it.
The head boy’s basketball coach is retiring after more than 30 years, spending the last five at Forestburg.
Van Hooser did not come to this decision because of a lack of fire or feeling tired after decades in the profession. He had to for family reasons.
“My wife has MS (multiple sclerosis) and it’s a disease where you have trouble standing and walking and she needs help,” Van Hooser said. “I am able to so I am going to step away from teaching and coaching to be there for her.”
Van Hooser was hired in 2019. Along with being the boy’s basketball coach, he also was the football team’s defensive coordinator.
There were some lean years for Forestburg on the boy’s athletic side, with numbers being low and the available athletes being mostly underclassmen.
For two years, the Longhorns’ boy’s basketball team won few games and one of those seasons saw the team field five players on the high school team.
“One of those years we had COVID-19 and the other we had five kids,” Van Hooser said. “It was very rough. After that we worked with the kids and we had a good freshman group coming up. Next year they are going to be seniors.”
That group has helped to turn the program around. Last year the young Longhorns team contested for a playoff spot and just barely missed it finishing fifth in the district.
This season, that same group took a leap and finished second in district with a record of 7-5.
Despite losing its last two regular season games in dramatic fashion heading into the playoffs, the team stepped up in the bi-district game.
Playing against an athletic Newcastle team, Forestburg led for most of the game.
Unfortunately, the previous game against Bellevue saw the Longhorn team blow the lead late in the fourth quarter against a hard pressing style team and they were suffering the same fate against the Bobcats down the stretch.
Fortunately, Forestburg held on just enough to win 53-46. It was the first boy’s basketball playoff win in nine years for Forestburg.
“It was huge for our program,” Van Hooser said. “This new year we will have new goals. The new coach will have some goals of his own, but I set some for the team and think that we have come a long way.”
To read the full story, pick up a copy of the weekend edition of the Bowie News.
SPORTS
Bowie Sports Banquet
The Bowie sports banquets was on Monday night. Olivia Gill and Tucker Jones were named Jackrabbit and Lady Rabbit of the year. Pick up the mid-week paper for all of the sports team awards and pictures.
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