SPORTS
Forestburg coach retiring
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.
Bowie, playing on a short rest, held with host Jacksboro for most of the volleyball match Oct. 1, but the Tigerettes pulled away late and defeated the Lady Rabbits 3-1 (26-24, 12-25, 25-14, 22-25).
The match was scheduled for Oct. 2 but was moved. Both teams are now 2-2 in District 6-3A.
Jacksboro got out to a quick lead in game one before Olivia Stewart’s kill and a three-point Olivia Richey serving run put the visitors up 8-7. Junior Abby Reneau broke things open with a six-point string to give Bowie a 15-8 cushion and force Jacksboro into a timeout.
The Tigerettes came back and took an 18-16 lead. KP Rutherford’s kill broke the serve and allowed Molly Enlow to tie the game at 18.
For further details, pick up a copy of Thursday’s Bowie News.
Gold-Burg Football Coach Austin Norman called his Bears’ 35-32 loss to host Perrin a “barn burner”.
It most definitely was as Gold-Burg, now 1-5 for the year gave the 5-1 Pirates everything they wanted for four quarters. Gold-Burg scored on the last play of the first half on a Peyton Epperson run with the two point conversion cutting the deficit to 20-16.
The Bears were their own worst enemy to open the third quarter with face mask and offside penalties moving the Pirates downfield setting up a first-and-goal at the Bear three. Defense by Epperson, Keelyn Case and Barrett Allen and a pair of Perrin penalties helped stop the drive and force a turnover on downs.
Gold-Burg was slapped with an intentional grounding penalty on the first play, giving Perrin a safety and extending the Pirate lead to 22-16. Defense by Epperson and JoJuan Grace after a first down run closed out the third quarter.
For further details, pick up a copy of Thursday’s Bowie News.
Nocona and Prairie Valley cross country teams took part in the Prairie Valley Invitational Sept. 20 while Bowie varsity runners competed in the Lubbock Invitational.
Lubbock
Leading the Rabbits was Kellen Rater who finished 10th among 162 runners with a time of 17:24.50. Finishing behind Rater was Shawn Willett with a time of 19:33.20. Hayden Sutton ran a 20:27.10 followed by Taven Melton in 20:39.20, Coleman Holloway in 20:53.80 and Jaxon Castro with a time of 21:31.60.
Laney Segura led the Lady Rabbits with a time of 14:41.30. She was followed by Kylee Waldrep in 15:56.80, Bella Lozano in 16:04.80, Angeles Alvarez with a time of 16:15.40, AnDee Miller in 16:23.70 and Isabella Caswell in 16:51 flat.
For further details, pick up a copy of Thursday’s Bowie News.
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