SPORTS
Bowie football season ends
It was a tough final game for the Bowie Jackrabbits to close against a playoff bound Vernon team.
The Lions won 42-7 against the Jackrabbits, pulling ahead in the second half after competitive first one that was not reflected in the final score.
Bowie came into the game with nothing to play for but pride with its playoff hopes gone. Vernon needed to win to hold onto its third place finish.
The Jackrabbits started the game well, driving right down the field running the ball down the Lions throats in short, tough runs. It ended with Seth Mann scoring on a 12-yard touchdown run to put Bowie up 7-0.
The start would be the highlight of the game.
Vernon answered with a one-play drive, scoring on a 52-yard run to tie the score up at 7-7.
After the Jackrabbit offense punted the ball away, the Lions then took their time driving a long way for their second touchdown.
The drive started at the end of the first quarter and ended with 4:42 left in the second quarter when Vernon scored on a short run to take the lead 13-7.
Bowie was hoping to answer back before halftime and drove into Lions territory. Unfortunately, an interception was thrown with 29 seconds left.
The Jackrabbits did get one more chance. Shortly after, linebacker Zac Harris intercepted a pass near midfield to give Bowie the ball with four seconds left. Unfortunately, the Jackrabbits could not take advantage and the score was 13-7 at halftime.
The second half saw Vernon pull away with big plays on offense. A 72-yard touchdown pass to start the second half set the tone and Bowie could not pull itself out of it.
Touchdown runs covering 47, 53 and 33 yards followed from Vernon. Add in a recovered onside kick and an interception in the end zone when the Jackrabbits were trying to score right before the game ended, and it capped off another frustrating game for Bowie.
The Lions won 42-7.
Jax Johnston led the team with 80 yards rushing while Justin Clark was second with 64 and Mann rushed for 49 yards and one touchdown. The team combined for 220 yards rushing, which was its eighth time to break the 200 yard mark this season and one of the few bright spots.
Unfortunately, the passing game failed to complete a pass which made recovering from negative plays nigh impossible.
And while the defense did some good things, too many explosive touchdown plays compounded against Bowie and cut into the team’s morale.
To read the full story, pick up a copy of the mid-week edition of the Bowie News.
With the baseball and softball seasons over for the area 1A schools, district awards have been released.
Listed below are those earned honors on the field and in the classroom for Saint Jo and Bellevue.
Softball
Saint Jo
Honorable mention
Utility player: Taylor Patrick; Catcher: Jordyn O’Neal
Baseball
Superlatives
Offensive MVP: Devin Stewart, Saint Jo
Newcomer of the Year: Bryce Ramsey, Bellevue
Pitcher: Trent Gaston, Saint Jo
Outfielder: Jayden Curry, Saint Jo
Second team
Pitcher: Charlie Barclay, Saint Jo
Infielder: Brycen Bancroft, Bellevue; Sam Martin, Saint Jo
Outfielder: Rylan Forrester, Saint Jo
Catcher: Charlie Evans, Saint Jo
Utility: Logan Hoover, Saint Jo
DH: Amzy Barclay, Saint Jo
Honorable mention
Cody Gaston, Saint Jo; Xander Joyner, Saint Jo
To see academic awards from Saint Jo players, pick up a copy of the weekend edition of the Bowie News.
Eldon Van Hooser is leaving Forestburg better than he found it.
The head boy’s basketball coach is retiring after more than 30 years, spending the last five at Forestburg.
Van Hooser did not come to this decision because of a lack of fire or feeling tired after decades in the profession. He had to for family reasons.
“My wife has MS (multiple sclerosis) and it’s a disease where you have trouble standing and walking and she needs help,” Van Hooser said. “I am able to so I am going to step away from teaching and coaching to be there for her.”
Van Hooser was hired in 2019. Along with being the boy’s basketball coach, he also was the football team’s defensive coordinator.
There were some lean years for Forestburg on the boy’s athletic side, with numbers being low and the available athletes being mostly underclassmen.
For two years, the Longhorns’ boy’s basketball team won few games and one of those seasons saw the team field five players on the high school team.
“One of those years we had COVID-19 and the other we had five kids,” Van Hooser said. “It was very rough. After that we worked with the kids and we had a good freshman group coming up. Next year they are going to be seniors.”
That group has helped to turn the program around. Last year the young Longhorns team contested for a playoff spot and just barely missed it finishing fifth in the district.
This season, that same group took a leap and finished second in district with a record of 7-5.
Despite losing its last two regular season games in dramatic fashion heading into the playoffs, the team stepped up in the bi-district game.
Playing against an athletic Newcastle team, Forestburg led for most of the game.
Unfortunately, the previous game against Bellevue saw the Longhorn team blow the lead late in the fourth quarter against a hard pressing style team and they were suffering the same fate against the Bobcats down the stretch.
Fortunately, Forestburg held on just enough to win 53-46. It was the first boy’s basketball playoff win in nine years for Forestburg.
“It was huge for our program,” Van Hooser said. “This new year we will have new goals. The new coach will have some goals of his own, but I set some for the team and think that we have come a long way.”
To read the full story, pick up a copy of the weekend edition of the Bowie News.
The Bowie sports banquets was on Monday night. Olivia Gill and Tucker Jones were named Jackrabbit and Lady Rabbit of the year. Pick up the mid-week paper for all of the sports team awards and pictures.
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