During the rest of 2022, The Bowie News will be celebrating its 100th anniversary. There will be many activities throughout the year.
Sports Rewind will offer up a few sports headlines from the past 100 years of Bowie News coverage including its predecessor The Bowie Booster.
This month, with basketball season in full swing, I decided to look back at the beginning of the season of the most recent state champion basketball team.
The 2017-2018 Bowie Jackrabbits team is now five years ago so it’s long enough to now look back with nostalgia even though for many it feels like yesterday.

Oct. 21, 2017, the Bowie News
Headline: Bowie reigns supreme (Jackrabbits top TABC Class 3A poll)
The Bowie High School boy’s basketball team is gearing up for the upcoming season, which they will enter as the top-ranked Class 3A team according to the preseason polls released Monday by the Texas Association of Basketball Coaches.
High expectations don’t seem to phase Bowie Head Basketball Coach Doug Boxell, who is instead focused on the hard work and dedication being put forth by his team.
“Expectations are high, a lot of our starters are returning from last year, but it basically comes down to the kids learning to play together and play hard,” explained the coach. “If we do those things, we have a chance to have a pretty good year.”
The Jackrabbit team returns multiple players from the 2016 Jackrabbit squad that advanced to the quarterfinals, who spent the off-season working together and playing in shoot-out tournaments around the state, from San Antonio to hosting their own tournament earlier this fall.
The Jackrabbits also brought home the first place trophy from the Texas Basketball Championships Summer State Tournament, Conference 3A-4A, after defeating Holliday in the champion game.
However, the coach continues to push his players in hopes of making the ultimate goal a reality- winning a state championship.
“You can always work harder. Never be content. The team is close but small town kids are around each other all the time, from a coaches standpoint you can never be satisfied, you can always get better and the bond can always be stronger,” said Boxell.
The Jackrabbits will be taking on a competitive non-district schedule in hopes of being fully prepared when it truly counts.
“We have a tough non-district schedule. What we want to do is try to get better every day and be prepared to make a run in the playoffs,” explained Boxell.
The Jackrabbits will compete in two scrimmages, one against Aubrey and Ponder on Nov. 4, and against Rider on Nov. 11 before opening the season at the Slidell tournament from Nov. 16-18.
The team will continue the tradition of competing at the American Airlines Center in Dallas on Nov. 25, and will face Hirschi, Burkburnett and Saint Joseph Academy in the pre-district season.
The game at the American Airlines Center is expected to sell out, but Bowie basketball coaches still have a couple tickets for sale.
Please contact Boxell at [email protected] if interested in attending.
Multiple tournaments are also on the books for 2017, including a tournament in Decatur and one on their home court.
The Jackrabbits open the district slate on the road against top-ranked Nocona on Dec. 19.
The team will take part in the Whataburger Tournament from Dec. 28-30 before returning to district action at home against Jacksboro on Jan. 2.
The team will face one of the more difficult district slates in the state, which includes Nocona, Jacksboro, Holliday, Henrietta, Boyd and Paradise.
“Everybody is tough in our district. All the coaches are doing a good job. Based on last year, Nocona did the best in our district after making it to the regional tournament. Holliday has a great squad back so we’ve got some of the toughest teams in the region in our district. It’s going to be really tough but it’ll get us prepared for playoffs. Our district is as tough as anybody’s,” predicted Boxell.
However, the team will remain focused on making it past the district season when facing those tough opponents.
“Our goal is to win district and make a run in the playoffs. The ultimate goal is to win a state championship,” said Boxell.
The first official day of practice will be Wednesday, Oct. 25.

Nov. 25, 2017, The Bowie News
Headline: Bowie dominates Krum (Jackrabbits defeat Bobcats 63-52 in season opener)
The season-opener for the Bowie Jackrabbits did not disappoint as the top-ranked team came away with a 63-52 win against Krum Tuesday.
Four Jackrabbits put at least five points on the scoreboard during the win.
The Mosley brothers powered the offense, with Gary leading the scoring with 20 points and Daniel right behind with 19.
Kason Spikes put in another 11 points while Justin Franklin had five, leaving fifth-year Head Bowie Basketball Coach Doug Boxell cautiously optimistic on the season outlook.
“It was our first game and Krum’s third, so it felt a little rusty,” said Boxell. “We are just starting the season out and I am encouraged about some things but there are still a lot of things to work on.”
The Krum Bobcats trailed Bowie by just one point at the end of the first quarter and matched the Jackrabbits point-for-point in the fourth.
However, Bowie still pulled out an 11-point win, but will spend time on defense as they continue to improve in preparation for district.
“We will work on blocking out and talking on defense,” explained Boxell. “There are things we need to stress this year to separate us and make us the team we want to be.”
Gary Mosley grabbed five defensive rebounds, while Daniel Mosley grabbed three on offense and three on defense.
Keck Jones provided six assists for the Bowie Jackrabbits.
While Krum trailed Bowie by only one point at the end of the first, the Jackrabbits topped the Bobcats 14-9 in the second.
Bowie out scored Krum 17-12 in the third and tied in points 16-16 in the fourth.
The Jackrabbits also defeated Krum in 2016 at the American Airlines Center.
Bowie will be in action there today against Springtown.
The game is made possible as part of the Dallas Maverick’s Court of Dreams program. The game has become an annual event for the Bowie Jackrabbits.

By BARBARA GREEN
[email protected]
During 2022, The Bowie News is celebrating its 100th anniversary.
Throughout this year we will offer glimpses back into old editions of The Bowie News to see the top news or community items from the past 100 years of our newspaper.
This month I look back at the Centennial edition of the Bowie News published July 24, 1958. This was a celebration of Montague County’s Centennial and encompassed 92 pages, a massive undertaken for the small staff. The actual birthday for the county was Aug. 2, 1958.
This commemorative edition was prepared during the transition of Mr. and Mrs. Harlow E. Tibbetts buying the newspaper from H.I. Trout in April 1953. The Tibbetts began working on the project in January researching receiving, writing and editing a compilation of county history.

Each of the 12 sections offers a window into each community of Montague County. Their unique history, founding pioneers and businesses.
The sections were printed from April 7 to May 5, with the front page showcasing the complete centennial program that featured programs in Ringgold, Spanish Fort, Saint Jo, Forestburg, Bowie, Nocona, Montague, a county-wide program at the courthouse and a bonfire ceremony that was the climax of activities that ran July 27-Aug. 2.
Community programs included parades historical reviews, music, lunch, a queen coronation for Sylvia Hamilton the 1958 Centennial Queen, an old style “revue,” marker dedication, fiddler’s contest and several street dances. It was noted that Mrs. Mose Johnson was the 1858 Queen of Bowie.
The bonfire ceremony that wrapped up the week sounds fantastic. On Aug. 2 at 9:30 p.m. bonfires were lighted simultaneously on four high points in the county and one place in Oklahoma.
It was expected they could be seen from most places in the county. Bonfires were set at Queen’s Peak near Bowie, Jim Ned Lookout between Montague and Forestburg, Gordon’s Mountain near Saint Jo, Blue Mound near Nocona and Ketchum’s Bluff due north of Nocona in Oklahoma.
The bonfires were under the auspices of the Boy Scouts, assisted by the Forestburg 4-H Club. It was sponsored by Historical Committee chaired by Glenn Wilson.
If anyone reading this has recollections of this event, I would love to hear about it. Email [email protected] or call 872-2247.
While the edition was filled with centennial items, it also had some news of the day. Here are some of the highlights.
Page one, section two
State Park At Lake Amon Carter Urged by Rep. Tony Fenoglio
Three improvements to Lake Amon Carter are suggested by Rep. Tony Fenoglio, he told the News this week.
“To build the lake as an attraction to tourists and to make it more useful for Montague County citizens, I will work for a paved farm-to-market road around the lake; the creation of a state park at the lake and the completion of the farm-to-market road south to Crafton,” he said.
Rep. Fenoglio said he felt a state park was badly needed in this area and that Lake Amon Carter was a logical spot for it to be located.
“I am going to work for all three projects,” he emphasized but added that it would be easier to get the paved road around the lake if it were to be declared a state park area.
Noting that the location of a state park her would “build Bowie tremendously,” Fenoglio urged support for the proposition from all county citizens.
Fenoglio is seeking re-election from the 71st legislative district this year.
Page one, section five
Late Lee Bailey Had Framed Copy Of First Paper Published In County
The late Lee Bailey furnished The Bowie News a framed copy of the first newspaper published in Montague County – The Frontier News. it is believed tht the Frontier News as the first paper in the county as its states in its first issue of June 6, 1876 under the head “Salutatory.” “The publication of a paper in this county is an untried experiment.”
W.L. Lyles was listed as editor of the paper and Lyles & Ryan as publishers.
Lee Bailey came into possession of the first copy as his sister, Ellen Bailey, Later Mrs. R.D. Rugeley, was “keeping company” with W.L. Lyles. Lee was told that Lyles kept the first copy of the paper off the press and when he called upon Miss Ellen Bailey that night he handed her the first copy of the paper off the press.
Price of this county’s first newspaper was $2 per year. The paper has three columns on each page and was 9 inches X 12 inches. The following advertisements of Montague firms appeared in the first issue of The Frontier News.
J.B. Ryan & Co., dealers in dry goods.
R.J. Furgeson, attorney at law.
Stephen and Matlock, attorneys at law.
A.J. Talley, drug goods.
J.M. Loving, livery stable.
Montague Hotel, W.J. Brown, prop.
The newspaper had the following articles head “Rail Road:”
Just now, no people should be more interested in a railroad than the inhabitants of Montague and immediate vicinity.
The Dallas and Wichita railroad promised the people of Montague town, that if they will give one-half of their town property, that the road shall be built within a quarter of the public square; should they do this, let us inquire from a financial standpoint. This road is the only one pointing west of here that has offered us anything. It is the only road that can be induced to come to us; for the Sherman, Wichita and Panhandle Road will run up Red River, north of us 17 miles.
The Rail Road which is in prospect from Coffeyville, Kansas will run west of 20 miles, so we can expect nothing from either of them. Then let us stubbornly refuse the offer of the Dallas and Wichita Road and our town is ruined for unless we do give the Dallas and Wichita Road what they ask, the road will be built up Denton Creek and a depot will be built ten miles south of us and our improvements lost, which are today worth $500 will be worth $100. But should we give half of the lot that is today worth $500 will then be worth $15,000 so you see the gain.

Section 8, page one
First Chamber of Commerce Was Probably Organized Here In 1893
The first record that can be found of the organization of a chamber of commerce is Bowie is one that gives Jan. 21, 1893 as the date of the meeting at which the chamber was organized.
D. Davis acted as secretary of that meeting and his minutes are in possession of the local chamber of commerce. The Mayor, J.H. Matthews was elected chairman of the meeting and later president of the organization…
The name of “Bowie Chamber of Commerce” was adopted. The only project mentioned in the minutes was the following: “Wade Atkins made reference to the meeting of the Bob Stone Camp of Ex-Confederate Veterans of Montague County, which will meet in our city the first Monday in February and recommended that some public action be taken looking toward their entertainment by our citizens.
The Bowie chamber has had much to do with the growth of Bowie. One of its most recent projects was the building of the garment factory for the company which employs more than fifty women.

During the rest of 2022, The Bowie News will be celebrating its 100th anniversary. There will be many activities throughout the year.
Sports Rewind will offer up a few sports headlines from the past 100 years of Bowie News coverage including its predecessor The Bowie Booster.
This month as we are halfway through the football season, I decided to look back just 10 years ago to where all five of Montague County’s football programs were after their opening games of the season.

Sept. 5, 2012, The Bowie News
Headline: Rabbits run passed Hirschi
The Jackrabbits used their ground game to edge out a 21-12 victory against Hirschi Aug. 31 in the football season opener.
“We are glad to start off 1-0. It’s a big confidence builder,” said Bowie Head Coach Dylan Stark. “We did a lot of stuff well, but there is lots to fix.”
Bowie kept the ball on the ground through most of the game. The Rabbits ran for 201 yards, with eight players carrying the ball. Marcus Vaughn led the team with 75 yards, while Corey Brady had 50 yards and two touchdowns.
The team attempted just eight passes and completed only one, a 19-yard touchdown from Garland McCoy to Austin Brock. Stark said he is not concerned about the passing game, adding that passing was not part of the game plan against the Huskies.
“Hirschi has so much speed that throwing against them is dangerous,” he explained. “A tipped pass could quickly become an interception returned for a touchdown. We felt we would do much better running the ball.”
Bowie threatened to score on the opening drive, but stalled out inside the 30.
The team hit pay dirt on its second possession as Brady scored on a 28-yard run. Hirschi answered on the next drive, but a blocked extra point gave the Rabbits an edge.
With a halftime score of 7-6, Hirschi took the second half kick, but Bowie’s defense came out ready to work. The Rabbits forced Hirschi backwards until Tod Jackson grabbed an interception and sent Bowie’s offense back to work. Bowie made short work of the 21-yard field with Brock’s scoring catch.
“Our goal at halftime was to score before them and we did that,” Stark said. “Getting that score was pretty important. We did not want to get behind Hirschi.”
The defense kept the pressure on the Huskies and forced a punt. A bad snap gave Bowie another short field to work with. Brady capped off the drive with a one-yard score.
Hirschi was able to reach the end zone again on a big pass play. Bowie stopped the two-point conversion attempt to set what would be the final score.
“Hirschi had a couple of big plays, but I thought our defense played well against their speed,” said Stark. “We did what we had to do on offense to get the win.”
The coach added that the offensive line will be a focus this week as the new players in that position have gotten a little experience.
Bowie has not started the season 1-0 since 2008, the last time the Jackrabbits dropped to 2A. That season, Bowie was 7-4, reaching the playoffs for just the second time since 1982.
Up next for the Jackrabbits will be Lake Worth in Bowie’s first home game of the season. The Frogs defeated North Side 53-7 in their season opener.
“Lake Worth is fast, it’s going to be a lot like Hirschi. They are coming off a big win so they will have a lot of confidence,” Stark said. “We are just going to focus on getting better at what we do. There will be no big overhaul to get ready for this week.”
Bowie will host Lake Worth at 7:30 p.m. in Jackrabbit Stadium.

Sept. 5, 2012, The Bowie News
Headline: Nocona wins shootout
Nocona’s season opener turned into a shootout Friday at Whitewright. The Indians were able to convert their early success into a 55-47 victory.
Playing without starting quarterback Hayden Hill, Nocona Head Coach Brad Keck was pleased with how the team performed.
“I thought the offense did really well,” he said. “Hayden is good for at least 150 to 200 yards a game, so we’ll be that much better when he plays.”
The Indians’ offense produced 511 yards. The team ran for 309 yards and threw for another 202.
“We had a good spring and summer throwing the ball, so I thought the passing game would be pretty good,” Keck added. “Most of our pass yards came off play action.”
Running back Tate Fenoglio took snaps for the Indians and the threat of the runner helped open up Nocona’s passing game. Fenoglio still led the team with 177 rushing yards and three touchdowns.
“Edward Cardoza had a big game catching the ball. I knew he could catch, but I wasn’t sure if Take could get it to him,” Keck laughed.
Cardoza had 82 receiving yards with three scores. Bryce Dingler had one catch for 43 yards and ran for 36 yards. John Jennings added 96 yards on the ground with one touchdown.
Nocona’s defense had its hands full with Whitewright quarterback Tyrone Swoopes. The QB accounted for 305 of the team’s rushing yards and threw for another 175 yards.
“Swoopes is really good. I think the only time we stopped him was when we had to at the end of the game,” Keck said. “The defense played well at times, but got tired.”
While the Indians had a solid performance, Keck feel there is still plenty of room for improvement.
“After watching the film, I told them I felt like we beat a very good player,” he explained. “We made a million mistakes and stopped using good technique when we got tired. I don’t feel like we would have beat a good team.”
Nocona will host Muenster at 8 p.m. Friday in Jack Crain Stadium. Muenster will enter the game coming off a 24-13 victory against Ponder.
“Muenster is a good team,” Keck added. “We have to play good to beat them.”

Sept. 5, 2012, The Bowie News
Headline: St. Jo comes back to win
Saint Jo came from behind Friday to defeat Harrold 40-34 in a game that went down to the wire.
The Panthers got on the scoreboard first, but would trail by 10 at halftime. Harrold took advantage of a Saint Jo mistake and returned a fumble for a touchdown to take the lead in the second quarter. The Hornets make it a two-score game before the half was up.
Saint Jo rallied in the second half. While the team began putting more points on the board, it did not take the lead until less than two minutes remained.
“They had a chance to lay down, but didn’t,” said Saint Jo Head Coach Chad Tallon. “You can’t see how much heat a team has in practice. They played harder than any team I’ve coached.”
Shawn Cannon threw two touchdown passes to Tyler Coates. They were the Panthers’ only two completion s of the night. Saint Jo rushed for 264 yards. Nathan Cannon and Cody Brimer each had two rushing scores. Brimer led the Panthers with 119 yards on the ground. Cory Fitch had two interceptions on defense.
“It’s always exciting to get the first win,” Tallon added. “Last season ended on a bad note and these kids were a part of that. I let them take time to enjoy the win, but we got back to work Monday.”
The coach said he was pleased with the team’s tackling, the blocking of the offensive line and the quarterback’s ability to protect the ball.
“We made a lot of mistakes, but they are all fixable,” he said. “Mental mistakes are the biggest problem, but those can be fixed with practice.”
Saint Jo will host Chillicothe at 7:30 p.m.

Sept. 5, 2012, The Bowie News
Headline: Longhorns fall to Hill
Forestburg played a tough game against Fort Worth Hill High Friday, but turnovers cost the Longhorns in a 39-25 loss.
The Horns had eight turnovers, including an interception returned for a touchdown to set the final score.
“I was disappointed,” said Forestburg Head Coach Nathan Winn. “We could have played better.”
The team came back from a 32-6 third quarter deficit to be down by just one score late in the fourth quarter.
“I was proud of their fight,” Winn added. “It would have been easy to just roll over, but they kept pushing.”
A.J. Nolan scored two rushing touchdowns for Forestburg. Tristen Hill threw two score scores, both to Justin Hurd.
The Horns had seven players most of the game. The team’s conditioning looked solid as it played hard through the game. Winn also was pleased with the teamwork and communication of the players and how the team executed the plays.
“We definitely have things to work on,” added the coach. “The fundamentals and technique are going to be a focus.”
Forestburg will travel to Fannindel Friday. Winn said the team will put an emphasis on tackling, blocking and protecting the ball during this week’s practices.
“If we play like we played Friday, but without the turnovers, we have a good chance to win,” the coach said.

Sept. 5, 2012, The Bowie News
Headline: Bryson bests Gold-Burg
Gold-Burg’s season opener did not go as the Bears would have liked as the team fell to Bryson 51-0.
“Overall, I thought we played well,” said Gold-Burg Head Coach Stephen Conner. “We just need to work on fumbles and covering onside kicks.”
The Bears lost seven of eight fumbles. Conner said the team was doing a good job of driving the ball down the field prior to the turnovers.
“They are improving every week,” added the coach. “We are getting our blocks down. We just have to protect the ball.”
Zack Ingram led the Bears with 65 yards. Conner also noted Ingram had no turnovers.
The Bears will play their first road game of the season Friday at Wichita Falls Christian and will get themselves focused on the upcoming game.
“I told them Bryson is done and over with,” said Conner. “That’s in the past, we have to focus on the next team.”
After watching film of the Stars, Conner feels his team is a good match up.
“We should be able to hold our own,” he added. “They run the spread offense. Their favorite play is for the center to block then release and catch the ball. We’ll be ready for that.”
Gold-Burg will face Wichita Fall Christian at 7:30 p.m. in Wichita Falls.