SPORTS
Football Roundup
Nocona
The Nocona Indians stayed undefeated on the season with a high-scoring win against Trenton on a Friday night home game.
After the Indians gutted through a defensive struggle the previous week, Nocona had to score a lot against the Tigers to win 48-36.
Nocona knew it had a challenge with Trenton’s running game. The Tiger’s three-headed attack all brought different things while running behind a zone-blocking scheme that is different from the norm.
The Indians offense faltered on their first drive when a high snap lost a lot of yards and forced a punt. Trenton marched down to score the first touchdown when its quarterback kept the ball and ran up the middle for a 25-yard touchdown.
Nocona answered with a scoring drive that ended with quarterback Brady McCasland scoring on a short quarterback read run to tie the game at 7-7.
Rinse and repeat as both teams scored on their next two drives, ending in almost identical ways with both quarterbacks scoring with their legs again. McCasland’s second score was followed by a missed extra point which put the Indians behind 14-13 early in the second quarter.
Trenton looked to be on its way to scoring its third touchdown when the Indian’s Kasch Johnson forced a fumble on and teammate Jose Gomez recovered it on Nocona’s own 20-yard line.
The Indian offense took advantage and McCasland found leading receiver Charlie Fuller for a 28-yard touchdown pass to put Nocona up for the first time all game 21-14 after a successful two-point conversion.
The Indians did a little short pooch kick-off that was bobbled and then recovered by Gomez again to give them the ball right back. McCasland then dropped back to pass, scrambled up the middle before cutting to the right sideline and scoring on a 29-yard touchdown run to go up 28-14.
Believe it or not, Nocona pushed its luck on special teams with an intential onside kick and got the ball back again when Walker Murphey recovered the ball.
Again the Indian’s offense met little resistance and the drive resulted in McCasland scoring on another short run off a quarterback read play to put Nocona up 35-14.
The Tigers were not just going to lie down. Trenton responded with a touchdown drive with its quarterback scoring on a 24-yard run to cut Nocona’s lead to two scores 35-21.
With a little more than two minutes before halftime, the Indian offense had to move fast. They zoomed down the field before McCasland scored on an 18-yard run to put Nocona up 42-21 heading into halftime.
The Indian defense forced another turnover when Fuller recovered a fumble around midfield in the opening minutes of the second half.
The Nocona offense took advantage as McCasland would later score on a 15-yard run to put the Indians up 48-21 midway through the third quarter.
Nocona’s offense seemed to coast for the rest of the second half while its defense was able to get some more stops outside of forcing turnovers.
The run heavy Trenton offense had to start trying to force some passes, with most of them going to one its two running backs who scored a touchdown near the end of the game and the one to a receiver going for a touchdown back in the third quarter.
Still, the Indian defense held up to not let the game get much drama as Nocona won 48-36.
Saint Jo
The Saint Jo Panthers’ non-district schedule has been leading up to this game.
The Panthers make the long drive down to undefeated, state-ranked Union Hill on Friday to start off district play.
This is the fourth straight season the two programs separated by nearly three hours are playing each other.
The first two times were because both teams were ranked in the top 10 in the state and wanted to beef up their non-district schedules with a team near their level.
Last year and this year it is because the teams somehow are in the same football district despite nearly 200 miles separating them.
The Bulldogs own the series lead at 2-1, with last year’s game being the least competitive as Union Hill won 61-16.
The Bulldogs return two of their top playmakers from last year’s team and are undefeated on the season so far. The only close games have been one-score wins against Milford and Gold-Burg.
Saint Jo is 4-3 entering district, with a lot of new faces this season and few returners to lean on. The Panthers have been put the through the fire with one-sided losses against Crowell and state-ranked Knox City. The other loss was a competitive game against Gold-Burg.
Coach Mark Stevens has been preparing his team for this game all season. The players have been hearing about Union Hill since the first week of practice. Every rough stretch during games were for this game.
Forestburg vs Gold-Burg
Forestburg opens up district play facing fellow Montague County team Gold-Burg on Friday.
Both teams are coming off a bye-week in preparation for a district schedule that will be tough.
The Bears come in as favorites, having won the last four games and coming in with a 5-2 record. Gold-Burg is trying to reconcile coming back from back-to-back losses against Motley County and Union Hill, both games where the team had terrible starts before trying to dig itself out of the hole.
Before that, the Bears started 5-0 with only one game getting played past halftime in their win against fellow county team Saint Jo for the first time in more than a decade.
Gold-Burg is led heavily by its senior playmakers, but the team has shown enough from its other players to have options in the tough test ahead.
Coach Christian Healer emphasized his team has to have enough discipline heading into this game to take Forestburg seriously and start fast and not rest on their performance in non-district since these games will start to count towards the playoffs.
The Longhorns are counting on teams maybe looking past them and surprising them. Forestburg has a 1-5 record despite having an experienced team heading into the season. Part of that was the non-district schedule was tough, with multiple games against really tough teams to get Forestburg ready for the district schedule. Part of that was just the team not playing as well as Coach Greg Roller would have liked.
Roller did his best to prepare his team for what is ahead because the district is brutal.
Traditional state-power Strawn is 5-2 and defending district champs Newcastle is 6-1. Only two teams will make the playoffs meaning two or more losses earns a team no postseason play.
To read the full story, pick up a copy of the mid-week edition of the Bowie News.
SPORTS
Girls basketball roundup
Prairie Valley
The Prairie Valley Lady Bulldogs were able to pick up a win on homecoming night on Friday against Christ Academy.
The Lady Bulldogs won 32-27 against the Lady Warriors.
Prairie Valley started off the game on a great note going up 10-1 in the first quarter. The Lady Bulldogs seemed to effortlessly drive to the basket against Christ Academy’s man-to-man defense. On the other side of the court, Prairie Valley’s pressure out its 3-2 zone defense seemed too much for the Lady Warriors.
The second quarter was more even as the Lady Bulldogs small bench meant a slow pace and a lot of energy expended by their lead ball handlers.
Christ Academy adjusted to the physicality and eventually started to use their size advantage to just kind of will points to come in the paint.
Still, Prairie Valley led 18-8 at halftime.
The third quarter saw the Lady Warrior players seem to match up better with the Lady Bulldogs to not allow drives to the basket be so easy. Fatigue also played a factor as Prairie Valley only scored four points.
Thankfully, the Lady Bulldogs were able to hold on to a 22-17 lead heading into the fourth quarter.
The final period saw Christ Academy take its first lead of the game up 24-22 before Prairie Valley tied it back up 24-24. Then it was back and forth down the stretch.
Linzie Priddy scored on a layup to give the Lady Bulldogs back the lead with less than two minutes left to play. The Lady Warriors answered quickly with only their second 3-pointer of the game to answer back and get back the lead.
Prairie Valley then saw Renee Stout’s running floater go in to get back the lead.
After getting a stop, the Lady Bulldogs made one free throw extend their lead to 29-27 with 24 seconds left. Prairie Valley then sealed the game as Stout stole the ball in the backcourt and Priddy scored on a layup. One final free throw made by Natalee Young made the final score 32-27 for Prairie Valley.
Nocona
The Nocona Lady Indians crushed Olney on the road on Friday to pick up its third district win.
The Lady Indians won 84-20 against the Lady Cubs in a game that was never close.
Nocona came in confident after easily winning its first two games in district by one-sided scores, last losing a district game in 2019 when it was competing in 3A.
Olney was 1-1 in district and had a similar season record while playing mostly small schools.
The Lady Indians led 21-6 after the first quarter and 36-14 at halftime.
Nocona seemed to pick it up even more in the second half, limiting the Lady Cubs to only six points total. The Lady Indians scored 29 points in the third quarter before gearing down to 19 points in the fourth quarter even as they sat some of their starters.
Nocona won 84-20.
Saint Jo
The Saint Jo Lady Panthers beat 2A Archer City on Friday night to head into the break on a good note.
The Lady Panthers won a competitive game 54-46 against the Lady Cats.
Payzlie Cervantes led the team with 14 points and seven steals. Aubrey Morman was second with 10 points. Krista Reeves, Jordyn O’Neal and Kamron Skidmore each scored eight points.
Taylor Patrick grabbed a team high 16 rebounds to go with five assists.
Forestburg
The Forestburg Lady Horns won a good game against Community Christian at home on Friday to go into the holiday break on a positive note.
The Lady Horns won 50-30 against the Lady Warriors.
Forestburg started off the game well going up 18-9. The second quarter saw the Lady Horns slow down a little, but their lead grew a little as they led 29-16 at halftime.
The third quarter was Forestburg’s last great push as Brenna Briles scored 10 of the team’s 16 points as it led 45-22. The fourth quarter saw the Lady Horns hold the ball which limited scoring opportunities for both teams as they scored less than double-digits for the first time all game.
Still, the Lady Horns won by 20 points, 50-30.
Missing scores
The Bowie News did not receive scores from Bellevue coaches from Friday’s game.
To read the full story, pick up a copy of the mid-week edition of the Bowie News. For more pictures from the Prairie Valley game, click here https://www.dotphoto.com/go.asp?l=bnews1&AID=6871308&T=1
SPORTS
Boys basketball roundup
Prairie Valley
The Prairie Valley Bulldogs had a good win against Christ Academy on Friday night in which they were celebrating homecoming and its first hall of honor celebration.
The Bulldogs won 54-40, catching fire in the second half after a slow start against the Warriors.
Prairie Valley was trying to shake off its most recent loss against Bryson as the young team and new Coach Kent Caruthers work through early season hiccups.
The start to the game saw the Bulldogs struggle to score against Christ Academy while the Warriors were able to can in a couple of 3-pointers to help them take a 10-4 lead.
The second quarter saw Prairie Valley’s 3-2 zone increase in intensity and pressure, mixing in some full-court presses after made baskets to keep Christ Academy on its toes.
The Bulldogs limited the Warriors to only one made basket while continuing to attack the basket. Prairie Valley tied the score up at 14-14 heading into halftime.
The third quarter saw both team’s offenses explode relative to the first half. After the team made only one 3-pointer in the first half, Trae Campbell caught fire for the Bulldogs as he made three in the quarter.
Prairie Valley more than doubled its first half production as it led 31-26 in what was still a competitive game.
Then the fourth quarter saw the Bulldogs run away with it as Jarrett Horton scored 11 of the team’s 19 points, including making three 3-pointers. Christ Academy could not keep up as Prairie Valley won by double-digits 54-40.
Nocona
The Nocona Indians were able to start off district play right with a win at Olney on Friday.
The Indians beat the Cubs 51-42 in a game with a lot of runs for both teams.
Nocona was coming off a disappointing loss to Holliday in its previous game, but the Indians were hoping to play better against schools its own size.
It did not start well for the Indians. Olney jumped out to a 7-0 lead and it looked like Nocona was not playing engaged.
The Indians answered in the first quarter, coming back to tie the score at 7-7. In the second quarter, Nocona exploded for 20 points as four players made at least one basket each. The Indians limited the Cubs to only seven points again as they led 27-14 at halftime.
Nocona’s offense kept the pressure on in the third quarter even if the defense did not. Olney more than doubled its first half total in the quarter, scoring 17 points. Still, the Indians led by double-digits 42-31 heading into the final period.
Nocona’s offense slowed down in the fourth quarter as the team got sloppy with the ball. The Indians scored only nine points after two explosive quarters. Still, it was enough to beat the Cubs 51-42.
Forestburg
The Forestburg Longhorns dominated Community Christian at home on Friday to head into the holiday break feeling great.
The Longhorns dominated the Warriors 70-31, with most of the damage coming in three quarters as the starters sat out the fourth.
Forestburg jumped out to a 27-4 lead and it never got much better for Community Christian. The Longhorns slowed down a bit in the second quarter as the Warriors equaled them 14-14 during the period.
Forestburg had one more stretch of dominance in the third quarter, growing its lead as it outscored Community Christian 22-8. The Longhorns led 63-26.
The final period saw most of Forestburg’s starters sit to give the inexperienced bench some much needed minutes. While the Longhorns held the Warriors to only five points, the team only scored seven themselves.
Still, Forestburg won big 70-31.
Gold-Burg
The Gold-Burg Bears had a tough final game before district play on Thursday as they lost to Victory Christian Academy in Decatur.
The Patriots won 48-26 against the Bears they got off to a slow start that put them behind the eight-ball.
Gold-Burg was coming off a tough loss against Garner after having an up and down tournament at Saint Jo the previous week.
The first quarter was the lowest point for the Bears.
Victory Christian seemed one step ahead of Gold-Burg’s 3-2 zone, able to find the open player ahead of the defensive rotation and dribble into open spots.
The Patriots made three 3-pointers and seemed to get whatever they wanted.
On the other side, the Bears offense tried to attack Victory Christian off the dribble but could not get an easy or clean shot anywhere.
Every shot was tough and unfortunately none went in during the first eight minutes of the game.
The Patriots led 19-0 after the first quarter.
Thankfully, Gold-Burg had nowhere to go but up and the defense tightened up. The Bears used their size and fight inside to not allow easy shots near the basket as only two 3-pointers from Victory Christian were the only points given up.
On offense, Gold-Burg still was not able to shake the sticky man-to-man defense, though the team did earn three trips to the free throw line and made two baskets.
Still, the Bears were down 25-5 at halftime.
The shots started to go in during the second half for Gold-Burg as the team scored in double-figures in the final two quarters.
Unfortunately, the Patriots had one more successful offensive quarter in the third to make sure the Bears could not make the game close.
Victory Christian won 48-26 in the end.
Missing scores
The Bowie News did not receive scores from Friday’s games from Saint Jo and Bellevue coaches.
To read the full story, pick up a copy of the mid-week edition of the Bowie News.
For more photos from the Prairie Valley game, click here https://www.dotphoto.com/go.asp?l=bnews1&AID=6871309&T=1
For photos from the Gold-Burg game, click here https://www.dotphoto.com/go.asp?l=bnews1&AID=6871307&T=1
SPORTS
Bowie basketball teams play tough district games at Jacksboro
Girls
The Bowie Lady Rabbits head into the holiday break starting 2-0 in district after winning a close game at Jacksboro on Friday.
The Lady Rabbits took the lead when Laney Enlow put an offensive rebound back in with 36 seconds left to secure the win 44-42 against the Lady Tigers.
Bowie came into the game knowing it would be tougher than its district opener where it beat Iowa Park by double-digits. Jacksboro was 1-1 in district, coming off a close win against Henrietta.
The Lady Rabbits started out the game as well, limiting the Lady Tigers to only three points in the first quarter. On offense, Bowie had four different players score make one basket, including Lanie Moore who sunk two 3-pointers as the Lady Rabbits led 13-3.
The second quarter saw Jacksboro get back into the game on offense, with four different players scoring points as the Lady Tigers scored 14 points. Thankfully, Bowie’s offense was not slowing down as the team first approach continued. Six different players scored at least one point as the Lady Rabbits scored 15 points, growing their lead by one point as they led 28-17 at halftime.
Unfortunately, the third quarter was one in which everything seemed to go wrong for Bowie. The Lady Rabbits made only two free throws all quarter. Coach Matthew Miller thought the shots his team were taking were good, but just none went in during this period.
This left the door open for Jacksboro to make up ground and the team did. Leaning on its leading scorer Hayden Walker, who scored 10 of the team’s 18 points during the period, the Lady Tigers took the lead 35-30 heading into the fourth quarter.
Bowie’s offense got back on track in the final period. Four different players made at least one basket as the Lady Rabbits climbed back. Most importantly, Bowie’s defense limited Jacksboro to only seven points during the quarter.
Still, it came down to the final minute before the Lady Rabbits went ahead for good on Enlow’s offensive put back. Bowie’s defense was able to hold as the team won 44-42.
Boys
The Bowie Jackrabbits lost a close game at Jacksboro on Friday in their district opener right before the holiday break.
The Jackrabbits lost 46-44 to a tough Tigers team full of upperclassmen.
Bowie came into the game on the heels of a good showing at a tournament in Graham the previous week and had extra time to prepare for the game with a bye earlier in the week.
Jacksboro had a lot of recent wins, but almost all of its opponents were smaller 2A or 3A schools. Also, the Tigers three-round playoff run in football meant the team had only been together for a little less than three weeks.
Still, when the teams meet it was Jacksboro that took the lead early, attacking the paint and limiting Bowie’s chances to score as the Tigers led 11-7.
The Jackrabbits started to use that physicality against Jacksboro, shooting 12 free throws in the second quarter alone. The Tigers shot seven themselves in the quarter as both teams scored 11 points.
Bowie trailed 22-18 at halftime.
The third quarter started off poorly by the Jackrabbits. Jacksboro got off to a great start and led by as many as 11 at one point. Thankfully the team rallied and had the best offensive performance of the game. The Tigers lead was cut down to 35-34 heading into the fourth quarter.
The final period was back and forth throughout as neither team had much luck getting free throws like it had in the second quarter. Every point was tough to score for both Bowie and Jacksboro.
The Jackrabbits rode the hot hand of Bradly Horton who scored eight of the team’s 10 points during the quarter. His 3-pointer down the stretch cut the lead to one basket and a free throw cut it to two points.
Unfortunately, Bowie never got a chance to tie the game as the Tigers were able to keep possession and hold on to win 46-44.
To read the full story, pick up a copy of the mid-week edition of the Bowie News.
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