The Bowie Jackrabbits started district play on Friday by taking on perennial state power Jim Ned at home on Friday.
The Jackrabbits gave the Indians a competitive first half, but the game got away from them in the fourth quarter as Jim Ned won 48-18.
Bowie came into the game following a bye week and is hoping district play can be a fresh start for the team after a disappointing pre-district run of 0-5.
The Indians have been one of those programs that have been among the top 10 in the state the past several seasons. This year’s team though had a 2-3 pre-district record which was more losses than the previous two seasons combined.
Bowie was hoping it could shock the Texas High School football world and show things were going to be different during district play.
For most the first half, the Jackrabbits showed that. Jim Ned took the lead in the first quarter, capping off a drive with its run heavy attack on a short touchdown run to make it 7-0.
Bowie came back and scored a short touchdown as quarterback Brody Armstrong found Brycen Park for a four-yard touchdown pass. It was 7-6 heading into the second quarter.
The Indians scored again, this time on a six-yard pass to extend the lead to 14-6. The Bowie defense answered back as Park intercepted a pass and took it 43 yards for a touchdown to cut the lead down to 14-12.
Bowie had the ball back with the chance to go ahead, but unfortunately an interception was returned by Jim Ned deep in Bowie territory. This set up a short touchdown run to make it 20-14 heading into halftime, taking some of the wind out of the Jackrabbits sails after a competitive two quarters.
More of that momentum went to the Indians’ side to start the third quarter. On Jim Ned’s first possession, the team executed an offensive drive that was punctuated by a 20-yard touchdown run. This put the Indians ahead 27-12.
Bowie was not just going to lay down as it had come back from bigger deficits this season. The defense buttoned up for the rest of the quarter, but the offense kept getting in its own way.
Big plays were hard to come by and anything that put the Jackrabbits behind the sticks, like negative plays or penalties, proved to be drive killers.
It was the same score at the start of the fourth quarter. The Bowie defense that had been battling against a big Indian line and a bruising offensive attack started to wear down the Jackrabbits.
Jim Ned took advantage, scoring three touchdowns in the quarter on a 31-yard run, an 11-yard pass and a one-yard plunge to run away with the game up 48-12.
With the time running out on the chance for a come back, the Jackrabbits got one last thing highlight for the night. Jaden Hopson got his first carries of the season and while not all of them produced good results, he did break off a 61-yard touchdown run to make the final score 48-18.

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