SPORTS
Saint Jo hires new boy’s basketball coach
The Saint Jo Panthers will have a new boy’s basketball coach this school year.
Ryan Bruce takes over for Lyndon Cook to lead the Panthers.
Bruce comes to Saint Jo after spending last year serving as an assistant coach at Nazareth High School. Before that Bruce had no high school coaching experience, having spent the last several years hanging fiber optic cables from telephone poles.
“I played college basketball for several years and always wanted to coach, but kind of got sidetracked trying to chase money more than dreams,” Bruce said. “I enjoyed what I did, but it wasn’t the same as coaching. It was just a matter of time before I got into it.”
Bruce graduated from Glen Rose High School in 2009 before spending time playing basketball at the University of Texas in Arlington and the Northwestern Oklahoma State University before finally graduating from Tarleton State University.
Bruce said what attracted him to Saint Jo was the returning talent the basketball team has along with its recent success.
“They seemed to be pretty successful last year and I saw they are returning seven seniors,” Bruce said. “I watched some film on them and was really impressed with all the guard play. The size of the post. The athleticism for a 1A school. They have a point guard (Kile Thurman) that is a true basketball leader and his IQ is through the roof.”
Bruce expects to change some stuff on defense, but with the team’s continuity and success he doesn’t want to mess too much with what the team has been doing on offense.
To read the full story, pick up a copy of the weekend edition of the Bowie News.
Saint Jo clinched a playoff spot in their home finale. Nocona and Gold-Burg both suffered regular season losses.
Brief summaries of the games follow:
Tioga 50, Nocona 0
After losing a Nocona High students a few days before the Nov. 5 game, the Indians never fully recovered and wound up on the short end of the stick to the Bulldogs.
Nocona had just 95 yards of offense. Quarterback Brody Langford was 6-11 passing for 21 yards. Logan Gaston had 53 yards on 10 carries. McCrae Crossen had 22 yards on eight carries with Jax Fuller adding 18 yards on four totes.
For further details, pick up a copy of Thursday’s Bowie News.
Looking to get back to the State championship, Nocona’s volleyball team got off to a quick start in its area round matchup with Coleman Nov. 3.
A bit of a letdown in the middle games was rectified in game four, allowing the Lady Indians to post a 3-1 (25-12, 26-24, 22-25,25-13) victory. Nocona Coach Sandy Langford said getting back to its style of game helped.
“We’ve had to overcome a lot this week,” Langford said in reference to the school losing a student in an accident two days prior. “We talked during a timeout about getting back to playing fast which is more our style. Coleman had us playing a slower style of play and they took advantage of it.
The fast style of play benefitted the Lady Indians, who got out to a 4-0 lead in game one courtesy of Paige Davis. Maddyn Bowles added a kill to keep things moving.
For further details, pick up a copy of Thursday’s Bowie News.
When you’re gunning for a playoff spot, playing error free football is paramount.
Or is it?
In a District 4-3A Division I battle for the fourth and final playoff spot, Bowie had made five turnovers in the first nearly three quarters but still managed to lead 21-17 late in the third quarter. The Jackrabbits received a pep talk from their coaches and did not turn the ball over again while receiving some clutch defense down the stretch in a much closer than it looked 42-17 win over the Boyd Yellowjackets.
With the victory, Bowie clinched its first playoff spot in football since 2017. The Jackrabbits, 1-3 in district and 5-5 overall, will travel to Cisco for a 6 p.m. Nov.13 game vs. defending state champion Wall, who is ranked No. 4.
For further details, pick up a copy of Thursday’s Bowie News.
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