In what was a longer time coming than many would have liked, Bowie picked up its first win on Friday at Clyde.
The Jackrabbits controlled the game in a steady 21-14 win against the Bulldogs.
Bowie has had several close games this season that could have resulted in wins. Games against Bridgeport (63-62) and Henrietta (29-26) during pre-district were close losses.
Last week’s overtime loss to Iowa Park (25-22) was just the latest game that could have been.
Clyde came into the game after two district losses to Vernon and Jim Ned dampening its 4-1 non-district record and proving this district was a different story.
Who knows how the two and half hour bus drive affected Bowie, but it did not show during the game.
The first half did not feature a lot of scoring. The Jackrabbits were able to finish off a drive in the first quarter as running back Matthew McCarty scored on a five-yard run to put Bowie up 7-0 which would be all the scoring in the game heading into halftime.
The Bulldog defense was dropping eight defenders into coverage to try and limit the Jackrabbit passing attack. Bowie called the bluff and decided to lean on the run for most of the game.
The biggest passing play of the game for the Jackrabbits came in the third quarter as quarterback Brody Armstrong found A.J. Whatley for a 40-yard touchdown pass.
The score put Bowie up 14-0 heading into the fourth quarter.
Clyde’s offense had more success moving the football most of the night through the air and running. Still, while the Jackrabbit defense was bending, it was not breaking as three interceptions in the game helped as well.
The Bulldogs finally got on the board early in the fourth quarter as their quarterback Tucker Jones found Landrum Wells for a six-yard touchdown pass to cut it to 14-7.
While the Jackrabbits failed to score on their next drive, it took up about five minutes of clock before punting the ball back to the Bulldogs on their own 21-yard line.
Bowie’s defense later got its third interception from Braden Rhyne. This set up the Jackrabbit’s final touchdown as Armstrong ran one in from two yards out to put Bowie up 21-7 with time running low.
Clyde responded quickly, moving down field with big plays before scoring on a short run from Fabian Gomez to cut the lead back to one touchdown 21-14 and needing to recover the onside kick.
Fortunately, Bowie recovered the kick and was able to run out the clock and secure the win.

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