SPORTS
Boys Roundup
Nocona
The Nocona Indians easily won at Petrolia on Friday night to keep the good play coming.
The Indians won 59-34 against the Pirates to stay undefeated in district.
Nocona came into the game confident, having beaten Petrolia the first time with little trouble 52-31 despite missing half of its team at the time due to suspensions.
Still, the Pirates had an advantage with their post player being significantly taller than any Indian player which is why timing double-teams was so important for Nocona’s defense.
The Indians got out to a little bit of a lead 13-7 in the first quarter, but Coach Brody Wilson did not think his team played well in the first half.
“There were times in the first half where we were relaxed on defense and became lazy,” Wilson said.
Despite that, Nocona outscored the Pirates 18-10 in the second quarter and led 31-17 at halftime.
The third quarter was a low-scoring affair, but the Indians were still able to grow their lead a little bit while continuing to limit Petrolia. Nocona then finished strong offensively in the fourth quarter to end the game.
The Indians won 59-34.
Prairie Valley vs Forestburg
The Prairie Valley Bulldogs got to end their season with a buzzer beater in front of their home fans on Friday night.
Bulldog senior Tyson Easterling hoisted a desperation half-court heave to give Prairie Valley the 60-57 win against Forestburg.
Prairie Valley was playing its final game of the season with the Bulldogs outside of the playoff race.
The Longhorns had won the first game between the teams 52-34 and was sitting in second place in the district standings.
Forestburg got out to a bit of lead in the first quarter as Prairie Valley had no answer for the Longhorns big post player Kyler Willett. The Longhorns led 16-11 heading into the second quarter.
The Bulldogs did a better job of limiting Forestburg’s other scorers and was able to keep pace better. Prairie Valley outscored the Longhorns by one point as Forestburg led 27-23 at halftime.
The third quarter was low-scoring and close as the Bulldogs hung around the Longhorns without quite taking the lead. Forestburg’s lead was down to 37-32 heading into the final period.
The fourth quarter was an explosion of offense as both teams scored 20 or more points. It was Prairie Valley that really blew up, scoring 28 points and nearly equaling its three quarter total.
Unfortunately for both teams, the leading scorers both fouled out in the final period, Willett for Forestburg and Trae Campbell for Prairie Valley.
The Bulldogs had the lead in the final few seconds, but the Longhorns Jesus Sanchez made a 3-pointer to tie the game up at 57-57 with five seconds left.
Prairie Valley drew up a play following a time out and Easterling, put up a running shot just inside the half-court line as the buzzer sounded. It went in as his teammates and the home crowd went crazy.
The Bulldogs won 60-57.
Bellevue vs Saint Jo
The Bellevue Eagles got back against Saint Jo in a rematch on Friday night at home.
The Eagles won 93-36 against the Panthers in a game where one team kept up the high scoring pace from the previous matchup and the other did not.
Bellevue was coming into the game following a win against Gold-Burg that kept it in contention for the fourth spot in district.
Saint Jo was coming off a win against Prairie Valley and was sitting in third place in the district.
The first time the teams had met was a high-scoring, double overtime affair the Panthers had escaped with a 92-90 win.
It was Bellevue that kept that type of high scoring pace from the first game up from the start and never let up while Saint Jo struggled to get anything going.
The Eagles scored 20 or more points in three of the four quarter, with 18 being the lowest scored quarter during the second period.
Meanwhile, the Panthers scored in double-digits only in the fourth quarter.
Bellevue had five players score in double-figures. Ryan Jones led the team with 22 points including five 3-pointers. Jayson Gill was second with 19 points while Brycen Bancroft scored 17. Aaron Allison and Kason Roper both added 10 points.
For Saint Jo, Zeke Bonn led the team with nine points while Jayden Curry was second with seven points.
Gold-Burg
The Gold-Burg Bears were the latest team to play district champs Slidell in a one-sided game.
The Greyhounds won 85-28 as they have been beating every team in district by big margins.
Gold-Burg was coming off a disappointing loss at Bellevue and knew the goal was to just try and compete against a Slidell team that had obliterated all comers in district play.
Still, it is not fun to go through it even if you know what is coming. While the Bears like to press and play fast, the Greyhounds take it to another level to make it a track meet.
Coach Christian Healer thought it was one of the worst games he has seen the team play all district, even if the team was playing a team like Slidell.
To read the full story, pick up a copy of the mid-week edition of the Bowie News.
Saint Jo will have a new boy’s basketball coach this school year.
Jacob Nocktonick is coming to the district after spending the last two years at Bland as an assistant coach. It is his first head coaching job in basketball.
Nocktonick graduated from Princeton High School in 2015 where he played and loved basektball. He graduated in 2019 from Tarleton State University and despite playing basketball up until he graduated, he did not see coaching in his future. He worked for most of three years after college at a landscape supply company, but something was missing from his life.
“I realized after being out of it for three or four years, something was missing from my life that I really loved,” Nocktonick said. “That was playing the game I love and being around people that really love to be there.”
Nocktonick did not have much experience coaching before then, but through his experience at Bland, he knows he has found his true purpose.
“I missed that passion,” Nocktonick said. “I love it and love the kids I have been working with.”
Nocktonick is especially excited in his role in shaping young men for the future through basketball.
“At the end of the day, people aren’t going to remember me for my records,” Nocktonick said. “I get to touch lives in this role. It’s a lot different than other jobs because I have a lot of kids that look up to me. Even past players from Bland still hit me up, asking for life advice and it’s just different.”
He describes himself as the type of teacher who likes to climb up on his desk and get everyone involved more than just lecture through power point presentations. That extends to his coaching as well.
“I am extremely passionate and enthusiastic,” Nocktonick said. “I want kids to know when the time is to be serious, but know we are going to have fun, bond and become like family. I am not in this for the business. I am in this for the relationships.”
To read the full story, pick up a copy of the mid-week edition of the Bowie News.
The Bowie cheerleading team went to cheer camp on July 13-16 at Texas Women’s University.
It was a good opportunity for the team to learn new things to take into the school year, according to cheer sponsor Destanie Curry.
“They learn their job is not to just lead the crowds in cheers, but they are ambassadors of their school and community and how to fulfill that role to the best of their ability,” Curry said. “Of course, they also learn stunt safety, new stunts, new cheer material and how to incorporate all this into pep rallies, routines and games.”
It can be intense, with campers expected to eat, sleep and breathe cheerleading from morning until night, staying positive and spiritful in everything they do since councilors are always watching and looking to see who will earn extra awards.
At the end of the four days, the Lady Rabbits cheerleading team took home several team and individual awards.
The team won one spirit stick daily and one on the final day. They were awarded each night to teams who demonstrated leadership, positive attitudes, excellent class participation and who respect and encourage one another, their coaches and staff.
Bowie earned its National Federation of State High School Association’s squad credential. The group earned Stunt SAFE, which was presented to teams that displayed excellent skills in spotting and stunt technique.
The final team award was in the Game Day Championship trophy. The competition included crowd involvement with a game day chant and cheer learned at the camp.
They were judged on crowd leading effectiveness, use of props, incorporation of stunts, technique and execution of skills.
To read the full story, pick up a copy of the mid-week edition of the Bowie News.
Nocona got its new press box into place this week at Jack Crane Stadium. The old press box, which was in place for more than 60 years, was taken out in early June and moved to Indian Valley Raceway. The new press box was by the Southern Bleacher Company out of Graham. Athletic Director Black Crutsinger said they looked at a lot of press boxes and decided they liked the one at Lindsay High School and went with that model. Sean Hutson operated the crane from the Hurd Crane Service that put the press box up for Nocona.
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