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Bellevue comes back to beat Forestburg

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Bellevue’s Brycen Bancroft goes up to block Frostburg's Jesus Sanchez's shot at the rim.

The Bellevue Eagles were able to complete a thrilling comeback win in their regular season finale against Forestburg on Tuesday night.
The Eagles won 54-50, coming back from double-digits to take the lead in the final minute against the Longhorns.
Coming into the game, Bellevue was on a three-game win streak to get the team back into the playoff conversation. A win would mean the Eagles would battle Saint Jo for the third seed in a play-in game and a playoff appearance was guaranteed. A loss would mean a play-in game against Gold-Burg for the fourth and final playoff seed.
Forestburg had the second seed in the district standings wrapped up, but the team was coming off a disappointing loss to Prairie Valley at the buzzer and wanted a win to get momentum up going into the playoffs.
The Longhorns got out on top early on. Midway through the first quarter, Forestburg led by double-digits 13-2 and was using its size advantage with Kyler Willett in the post while Jesus Sanchez was scoring in-between. The Longhorns led 22-10.
The second quarter saw Forestburg’s Sanchez sit early on with two fouls. Bellevue’s defense tightened up on allowing passes into the post and the Longhorns tough mid-range shots just seemed to clang out.
The Eagles’ offense was still struggling to get anything going against Forestburg’s 2-3 zone defense.
Right before halftime, Bellevue busted out a full-court press defense that was a precursor for things to come though it didn’t help the Eagles before halftime.
The Longhorns led 32-19 heading into the second half.
The press from Bellevue just seemed to grow more and more ferocious as time went along for the Eagles.
It energized them in every facet of the game, chasing offensive rebounds, winning lose balls, playing more physical.
The offense Forestburg was executing so effortlessly in the first quarter was now gone as the team seemed to just be trying to hang on.
Just in one quarter, Bellevue had come all the way back and got within one point 36-35.
The Longhorns closed the quarter with two made baskets to get a little breathing room, but Bellevue had made it a game now trailing only 40-35 heading into the fourth quarter.
It was back and forth as Forestburg tried to hold onto its lead as the Eagles were nipping at the Longhorns heels while the team was trying to stall for time.
With 1:54 left in the game, Bellevue’s Kason Roper made both of his free throws to cut Forestburg’s lead back to one basket 48-46.
After both teams exchanged quick turnovers, the Longhorns Jesse Wadsworth scored before the Eagles Jayson Gill answered quickly to make it 50-48 with a minute left to play.
After 31 seconds ran off the clock, Bellevue forced a turnover and Roper scored quickly in transition while also getting fouled. He made the clutch free throw shot to give the Eagles their first lead of the game 51-50 with 23 seconds left.
Forestburg turned the ball over, but Bellevue immediately gave the ball back as the player tried to pass the ball ahead and it went out of bounds underneath Bellevue’s basket with nine seconds left.
The Longhorns tried a full-court pass that went out of bounds to give the ball right back.
The Eagles were then sent to the free throw line and Roper made two more clutch free throws to put Bellevue ahead 53-50 with six seconds left.
Forestburg again tried to quickly pass it up the court ahead of the press, but an errant pass was too far upcourt and went out of bounds back to the Eagles.
Bellevue’s River Trail made one more free throw to clinch the game in the final seconds to give the Eagles a 54-50 win.

To read the full story, pick up a copy of the weekend edition of the Bowie News.

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Tucker big in life as he was tall

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Temple Tucker graduated Bowie in 1954 and left indeniable impression on everyone encountered on and off the hardwood. (Courtesy photo)

The Bowie community lost one of its most well-known graduates with the passing of Temple Tucker on Dec. 7.
Tucker moved to Bowie in junior high after first living in Mercedes and Corpus Christi. He cut an impressive first impression for his classmates as even back then he was on his way to standing 6 feet 10 inches.
“He was tall,” echoed classmates Gail White and Ben Hill.
At first his height seemed to hinder him more than help on the basketball court as he is described as tripping over himself.
“He couldn’t chew gum and walk down the street at the same time,” White said.
It took good tutoring, first from principal Paul Tover and then Coach Raymond Mattingly to turn Tucker into one of the best basketball players in the state.
Tucker graduated in 1954 and has the distinction of being possibly the most accomplished athlete in program history, no matter the sport. He was a part of four straight state championship basketball teams, where he featured as the team’s center down low back when post play ruled the sport. He was named to the all-state team his last three years.
Playing in an era where more than 10 of his teammates went on to play college basketball and coached by Raymond Mattingly, who was inducted into the Texas High School Basketball Hall of Fame and was a member of the Texas High School Coaches Association Hall of Honor, Tucker was far from a one-man show.
His last two seasons saw Bowie go on a 69 game winning streak, only snapped the year after Tucker and his teammates graduated.
He then went to Rice University and played for the Owls. Freshman were not allowed to play back then so when he starred as a sophomore he averaged 22.1 points and 12.7 rebounds and was a third team All-American selection and a second team all-southwest conference selection.
As a junior, he averaged 15.1 points and 10.5 rebounds while earning second team All-SWC again. His senior year he averaged 13.5 points and 8.8 rebounds while being picked as Rice’s most valuable player.
He was later inducted into the Texas High School Basketball Hall of Honor, the Rice University Athletics Hall of Fame and the Bowie High School Hall of Honor.
Tucker then was drafted in the fourth round of the NBA draft by the Philadelphia Warriors. Instead of pursuing professional sports, which were much less lucrative than they are now, he decided to use his bachelor of arts degree in economics to work for Northwestern National Life Insurances as a financial advisor. He lived in the Houston area and was living in Cypress with his wife of 41 years, Anita, when he passed. He was previously married to Doris Neville.
“He was my gentle my giant,” Anita said. “Everyone knew that is what I called him.”
Described as a humble person, many of his family and friends only learned later from other people and from discovering packed up trophies in boxes the extent of Tucker’s athletic achievements.
He had five children: Kevin, Brian, Carol, Rick and Marva. His oldest, Kevin, described Tucker as the stereotypical Christian-centered father growing up.
“If you had to define a father, he was a great traditional father that grew up in a Christian household,” Kevin said. “Taught us about the great outdoors, sports and how to live life.”
Kevin said the seeds for his faith were planted throughout his life by his dad. When he eventually came to embrace it while in college, his father was there ready to forgive him.
A big part of Tucker’s life was being apart of and then spending time as the president of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes Greater Houston chapter. His father was a minister and Tucker’s faith was a big part of his life even as a teenager says his classmates.
“I never heard anyone say a derogatory word about Temple Tucker,” 1954 senior class president Gail White said. “He didn’t run around with the guys, but he was always with us when we were in a big group.”
“He was the best of us,” Ben Hill said.
The only time Hill, his teammate and the last surviving starting five member from the 1954 team, said he heard Tucker swear was a funny story.
Several of the key basketball players failed to hide from Coach Mattingly in the gym during track practice and were forced to run the 4×440 yard relay against the varsity track team.
“Temple was running the first leg and I was running the second,” Hill said. “The race started and old Temple come around the first curve. It’s a gravel track and he has on tennis shoes. He dropped the baton and when he turned around to get it he fell down in the gravel. Of course I was just on the ground laughing. He got up and got his baton and he wanted me to keep running. He said run, you SOB, run.”
It was one of several stories the two shared in their last phone call earlier this year.

To read the full story, pick up a copy of the weekend edition of the Bowie News.

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Montague County 11-man football all-district lists released

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Bowie running back Justin Clark was named second team all-district.

Bowie
First team
Rayder Mann, quarterback; Tyler Richey, wide receiver; Hunter Fluitt, offensive lineman; Noah Metzler, defensive lineman; Hunter Rodriguez, free safety
Second team
Justin Clark, running back; Preacher Chambers, defensive lineman; Griffin Richey, linebacker; Moh Azouak, cornerback
Honorable mention
Lane Whitfield, linebacker; Bradley Horton, strong safety; Hayden Rodriguez, offensive lineman; Jorge De Leon, defensive lineman; Zac Harris, tight end; Austin Cheney, outside linebacker; Jett Black, offensive lineman; Braden Rhyne, wide receiver; Boston Farris, cornerback
Academic all-district
Moh Azouk, Austin Cheney, Justin Clark, Jorge De Leon, Boston Farris, Hunter Fluitt, Simion Givens, Zac Harris, Hayden Rodriguez, Robert Stice, Rayder Mann, Hunter Rodriguez, Bradley Horton, Griffin Richey, Tyler Richey

Nocona
First team
Matthew Johnson, offensive lineman; Jake Pribble, defensive lineman; Kasch Johnson, defensive lineman
Second team
Jax Fuller, running back; McCrae Crossen, linebacker
Honorable mention
Jayce Lehde, defensive back; Matthew Johnson, defensive lineman; Walker Murphey, linebacker

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Bowie soccer club kicks off with first games

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The Lady Rabbits club team came back from 2-0 to beat Burkburnett 4-2 on Tuesday. (Courtesy photo)

The Bowie soccer club played its first games of the season on Tuesday night to make history.
The Lady Rabbits beat Burkburnett 4-2 while the Jackrabbits lost against Wichita Falls Memorial 2-0.

Girls
The Bowie girls found themselves behind 2-0 early on against the Lady Bulldogs. The first goal of the season was scored by midfielder Heidi Siebert in the 23rd minute, which cut the lead to 2-1.
Right before halftime, midfielder Willow Siebert scored from 25 yards out to send the Lady Rabbits into the second half with momentum and the score tied at 2-2.
Early in the second half, striker Grayson Mares, who is in junior high, put Bowie in front with a goal in the 49th minute which was assisted from Willow Siebert.
The Lady Rabbits defense was able to hold for the rest of the second half. Late in the match, midfielder Adamari Alonso clinched the win by converting on a penalty kick to make the final score 4-2.
Willow Siebert was named player of the match, not just for her goal and assist, but her defending as well.
The defense played great after the initial two scores. Goalkeeper Yaquelyn “Yaq Yaq” Alvarez had three saves in the match. The defense allowed only two shots in the second half.
Coach Chad Word liked what he saw from his team considering they got the win against a 4A program.

Boys
The Jackrabbits fell behind early as WF Memorial converted on a penalty kick in the 13th minute. The Mavericks added one more goal early in the second half. Despite that, the defense challenged the Mavericks thanks to goalkeeper Zac Ivy, centerback Jerry Wymore and midfielders Sebastian Martinez and Corban Word. Word and Wymore also served as captains.
While Bowie lost 2-0, it was good showing playing against a 5A program and it being the team’s first ever game. Coach Chad Word saw some good things, but knows there are still things to work on.

To read the full story, pick up a copy of the weekend edition of the Bowie News.

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