The Nocona Lady Indians won their area round playoff match on Saturday at Weatherford beating a tough Hawley team.
The Lady Indians won 3-1 against the Lady Cats in a match where three of the four sets were won with little drama.
Nocona was confident heading into the match after easily defeating Seymour while Hawley had nearly been defeated in its previous match that went five sets. Still, the Lady Cats were a 30 win team and a district champion as well.
The first set proved to be the closest of the match and it could have gone either way. In the end it was the Lady Indians that executed at the end to win 25-23 to take the early lead.
Nocona then parlayed that win into the start of set two where it took control and never let go.
The Lady Indians won with a lot more wiggle room 25-16 to take firm control 2-0 and it looking like it might be a short match.
Hawley was not going to go down like that though. The Lady Cats came out with their backs against the wall in set three. Nocona was a little less intense being up and it allowed Hawley to grab control.
The Lady Indians were playing from behind and could never make up the difference as the Lady Cats won 25-15 to cut the lead to 2-1.
Having given Hawley hope it could turn the match around, it was important Nocona start set four playing well to not allow the Lady Cats a chance to come back.
Nocona played well with an early lead and pulled away to win 25-16, winning with little drama 3-1.

To read the full story, pick up a copy of the mid-week edition of the Bowie News.

Saint Jo
The Saint Jo Panthers came up just short on senior night against district rival Union Hill on Friday for the district title.
The Bulldogs won 40-32 to take their third straight district championship, with the Panthers finishing runners-up as a result as well.
It looked like this year would be Saint Jo’s year. The Panthers came into the game undefeated at 9-0, had won three close games along the way, with one of the wins coming against a Perrin-Whitt team that beat Union Hill earlier in the season by several scores.
The Bulldogs were 7-2, but had a younger nucleus than in years past. Combined with the two and half hour drive to Saint Jo, the Panthers wealth of senior talent playing in front of its home fans and the team playing better every week, all signs were pointing to Saint Jo getting some pay back.
Instead it was Union Hill that started out on top, leading 26-12 at halftime. The Panthers cut the lead to one score multiple times, but could not come back to tie or take the lead at any point.
The wet weather made throwing the ball more difficult for Saint Jo which did not help. The Panthers had one last opportunity at the end of the game to tie the game up with a touchdown, but did not come through.
The Bulldogs held on to win 40-32.
Devin Stewart completed four passes for 60 yards and one touchdown, which went to Wade Lucas on a 40-yard touchdown pass. On the ground, Stewart led the team with 127 yards rushing and three touchdowns. Lucas was second with 51 yards rushing and scored one rushing touchdown as well.

Nocona
The Nocona Indians’ tough season ended in a rough manner at district champion Tioga last week.
The Bulldogs won 62-0 against the Indians.
Nocona knew the game was going to be tough, having struggled scoring on offense during district play while Tioga had scored 34 or more points in its undefeated district run.
The Bulldogs passed the ball heavily out of the shotgun formation and it proved too much for the young Indians team.
Logan Gaston led the team with 47 yards rushing and had a team high nine tackles. Kasch Johnson forced a fumble and Walker Murphey recovered it as well.

Forestburg
The Forestburg Longhorns came up short at Fannindel on Thursday night as they missed the playoffs.
The Falcons won 43-26 against the Longhorns to earn the district’s final playoff spot as Forestburg’s season ends.
Coming into the season there was talk about how it was going to be a down year for Fannindel since the team had young players and some trouble finding a coach.
Then the Longhorns had to deal with a season full of things like injuries to key players, players leaving and reappearing, an assistant coach that resigned and more.
A team at the start of the season that had the most depth it has had in any recent years ended the season with eight players.
The Falcons actually came into the game with the better record at 4-5 to Forestburg’s 2-7, but the Longhorns still felt like they could come through.
The first half saw Forestburg’s defense make Fannindel earn every point. The Longhorns offense struggled despite playing their cleanest game of the season, but scored once as Jesus Sanchez found Tristan Cumby for a 14-yard touchdown.
Forestburg trailed only 19-6 at halftime.
The Longhorns then got a boost when Aiden White returned an interception for a touchdown to cut the lead down to one score 19-12 to start the second half.
Unfortunately, the Falcons were able to bust four long touchdown runs in the second half which grew their lead.
Forestburg could not keep up. It did score twice more as John Carranza found White for a 10-yard touchdown pass in the third quarter. To end the game, Jesus Sanchez scored on a nine-yard run.
It made the final score 43-26 in favor of Fannindel.

To read the full story, pick up a copy of the mid-week edition of the Bowie News.

The Bowie Jackrabbits were able to win their final game at home on Friday night against Iowa Park in a classic shootout style game, but unfortunately the Hawks are headed to the playoffs while the Jackrabbits’ season is done.
Bowie scored with 19 seconds left in the game to win 49-48, but because of a three-team playoff fight, it was actually the loser Iowa Park that gains the final playoff spot.
The Jackrabbits came in with the better overall record at 4-5, but were 1-4 in district. Iowa Park had a 3-6 record, but had a 2-3 district record, including most importantly a win against a Ponder team that had beaten Bowie in district.
Because of scores and everything, the Jackrabbits needed to not just win the game, but win by 15 points to make the playoffs. Iowa Park needed to just win to get in or at least lose by less than three points, otherwise Ponder would get the final playoff spot.
From the beginning both team’s offenses were driving right down the field against the other’s defense. The Hawks struck first on a short run and the Jackrabbits answered as Justin Clark ran in a seven-yard touchdown.
Tied at 7-7, Bowie brought out a surprise onside kick that Lane Whitfield recovered. The Jackrabbits took advantage as Rayder Mann connected with Tyler Richey on a screen pass he took 21 yards for a touchdown.
Bowie led 14-7 heading into the second quarter.
Iowa Park answered on its next drive. Converting two fourth downs, including the scoring play on a four-yard run, the Hawks tied the score at 14-14 early in the second quarter.
Bowie answered back immediately on its first play of its offensive series. Mann got loose and weaved his way from one side of the field to the other on a dazzling 75-yard touchdown run to put the Jackrabbits back up 21-14.
With how its offense was playing, Bowie needed to get some stops since it would need to go up multiple scores eventually if it wanted its playoff hopes to stay alive.
It looked like the Jackrabbits were going to get it as they had the Hawks in a fourth and long situation. Unfortunately, broken coverage in the secondary allowed Iowa Park to connect on a wide open 32-yard touchdown pass.
It cut the lead to 21-20.
Bowie’s offense finally faltered for a drive. Facing a fourth and long situation, Iowa Park intercepted a pass at its own four-yard line. Thankfully the Jackrabbit defense also came up with a stop heading into halftime still leading by one.
Bowie got back on track offensively to start the second half. On its first play, Whitfield broke through and scored on a 70-yard run to push the Jackrabbits lead to 28-20.
Bowie’s defense then was able to summon a goal line stand at its own seven-yard line to get the ball back with a chance to go up by multiple scores and potentially extend its lead to 15 points like it needed.
Unfortunately, the Jackrabbit offense could not come through and had to punt the ball back to the Hawks. Iowa Park again drove down to Bowie’s goal line. Again it was fourth down, but this time the Hawks came through on a two-yard run, which cut the Jackrabbits lead to 28-26.
Bowie answered back as a quick drive down the field was ended when Mann scored on his own short run to put the Jackrabbits up 35-26 heading into the fourth quarter.
Bowie needed a stop with time running out, but again Iowa Park’s offense, which had seemed to wear down the Jackrabbits with its interior running game, would not be denied. The Hawk’s scored on a 10-yard run to cut the lead to 35-32.
There was still 10:53 to go in the quarter, but there were only so many possessions left as Bowie still needed to score twice more while preventing any more scores from Iowa Park.
Unfortunately, the Jackrabbit offense was stalled around midfield on their next drive. The Hawks took advantage and scored on a short run to take their first lead since the first quarter 40-35.
With 6:06 left in the game, Bowie now needed to score three touchdowns which was looking less likely like it would happen.
The Jackrabbits next offensive drive ended with an interception and now Bowie was more in a mode of just trying to win the game.
The Jackrabbit defense came up with a stop and Bowie was able to take back the lead as Mann found Richey for a 32-yard touchdown pass. The Jackrabbits were up 43-40 with 2:55 left.
Iowa Park would not go away though. The Hawks hit on its biggest pass play of the game, scoring on a 48-yard touchdown pass to retake the lead 48-43 with 2:08 left to play.
Bowie could not strike back in a quick strike fashion like it had earlier and instead drove down the field into Iowa Park’s red zone.
With seconds left, Mann found Zac Harris for a two-yard touchdown pass to put the Jackrabbits up 49-48 with 19 seconds left.
Despite losing the game, Iowa Park ran the remaining time off in victory formation, since it lost within range to earn the final playoff spot.

To read the full story, pick up a copy of the mid-week edition of the Bowie News. For more pictures from the game, click here https://www.dotphoto.com/go.asp?l=bnews1&AID=6870466&T=1