SPORTS
Jackrabbit husk turns over Callisburg three times in 16-14 win
The Bowie Jackrabbits found a way to win in their opening game on Friday night against Callisburg.
The Jackrabbits won a low-scoring game 16-14 thanks to a late field goal from kicker Nick Salazar in the fourth quarter and three turnovers from their defense.
Bowie is coming into this year following two one-win seasons. Coach Tyler Price, entering his second year, saw improvements in small ways last year, but needed to start seeing those results on the field.
Callisburg was coming off a modest 5-6 season and playoff berth. Price noted the team’s tough interior lineman and mobile quarterback as things to look out for heading into the game.
Thanks to lightning, the game kicked off about an hour later. Besides being humid and the turf being a little wet, weather did not play a factor in the game.
After the first offensive drives for both teams went nowhere, the Wildcats got on a bit of a roll. The offense consisted of runs up the middle from the running back on zone reads where it seemed the read was always to give instead of letting the quarterback keep it. In the passing game, a lot of quick receiver screens on the perimeter seemed to pick up consistent yardage.
Sometimes the quarterback would look to scramble and look downfield.
It paid off early in the game as a long 20 plus yard pass was caught behind the defense down inside Bowie’s 10 yard line. Also thanks to a few penalties earlier in the drive that extended it, Callisburg would eventually score on a short run to go up 7-0.
It looked like things were about to go south for the Jackrabbits as things got worse when they fumbled away the ball during the kick-off return. The Wildcats had the ball and momentum looking to go up double-digits.
The Bowie defense came through as a Callisburg pass down field this time was intercepted by safety Hunter Rodriguez. It staved off the Wildcats in the short term as the Jackrabbit offense tried to work through the early game kinks.
Bowie struggled to run the ball up the middle. Quick wide receiver screens were there, but not always working early in the game. Bad sacks also disrupted drives when looking to make a play.
Early in the second quarter, the Jackrabbit defense got another interception as cornerback Mo Azouak intercepted an errant quick pass. It looked like he was going to return in for a touchdown, but a penalty on the return prevented that.
Bowie took over about midfield and the offense found some plays that worked, specifically getting the ball to slot receiver Tyler Richey and tall outside receiver Braden Rhyne.
Then running back Justin Clark, who did not have a lot of room to operate running into a crowd most of the night, broke loose and stiff armed a defender off of him for a 14-yard touchdown run up the middle to tie the game up at 7-7.
Callisburg responded with a long drive.
The Jackrabbit defense was making the Wildcats earn everything and then got down inside the red zone. Bowie looked like it was going to pull off a goal line stand, with Callisburg facing a fourth and goal from the four yard line.
Unfortunately, the Wildcats punched the ball in and went up 14-7.
The Jackrabbit offense could not respond before halftime, but the defense came up big by stopping Callsiburg on fourth down from its own 17 yard line, preventing the Wildcats from scoring again.
The Bowie defense came out in the third quarter and shut down the Wildcats offense, forcing a three-and-out to start the second half off right for the Jackrabbits.
Bowie’s offense moved the ball a bit, but then struck on its most explosive play of the game. Quarterback Rayder Mann extended the play a little bit scrambling to his right before finding Boston Farris open in the end zone for a 27-yard touchdown pass.
Unfortunately, the extra point was not successful and the Jackrabbits trailed 14-13 midway through the third quarter.
Not much happened until early in the fourth quarter when Bowie was driving again. A play was blown dead and Mann continued to run after the whistle. A Callisburg player ran with him and slammed him down well out of bounds.
The ensuing penalty helped move the Jackrabbits to the Wildcat 12 yard line, but unfortunately the tackle caused some bleeding for Mann who had to miss the next three plays.
He came back in with Bowie facing a fourth down. A fade pass to Rhyne was not completed and the Jackrabbits missed an opportunity to take the lead.
After the defense got a stop, Bowie again drove down to inside Callisburg’s 20-yard line but was stalled again, this time around the 10 yard line. A field goal attempt was considered the previous drive, but with 3:55 left in the game this time the opportunity was taken by Price.
Kicker Nick Salazar lined up and using a straight ahead kicking motion redeemed his missed extra point by making the 27-yard field goal to give the Jackrabbits their first lead of the game 16-14.
Like it had been doing all half, the Bowie defense held with little drama, turning the Wildcats over on downs at the 31 yard line with 51 seconds left. With Callisburg only having two timeouts left, the Jackrabbits needed a first down to clinch the game.
Bowie attempted to run a sweep to the outside, but unfortunately the player was called out of bounds which stopped the clock.
After a not so great punt, the Wildcats had the ball back around midfield with 26 seconds left which gave them a better chance than they thought they would have.
Thankfully the Jackrabbit defense came up with one more stop and did it in style as a hail mary heave to the end zone on the last play was picked off by Bradly Horton to seal the win for Bowie.
The Jackrabbits won 16-14.
To see stats and read the full story, pick up a copy of the mid-week edition of the Bowie News. To see more pictures, including the band, cheerleaders, fans and drill team, click here https://www.dotphoto.com/go.asp?l=bnews1&AID=6868469&T=1
Saint Jo vs Gold-Burg
The Saint Jo Panthers got some measure of revenge from last year by beating fellow Montague County team Gold-Burg on Friday.
The Panthers won the low-scoring game 26-22 against a Bears team that made them earn everything.
Saint Jo was coming into the game following a one-sided but disappointing win against Fort Worth THESA in week one.
Gold-Burg was trying to find answers after being on the receiving end of a one-sided beat down against Perrin-Whitt in week one.
The Bears broke their more than a decade long losing streak against the Panthers last year on Saint Jo’s homecoming. The Panthers were hoping not just to win, but to dominate.
Unfortunately for Saint Jo, it did not start the game off on a good note. The very first play saw the Panthers fumble the ball away to Gold-Burg, recovered by Caleb Epperson.
The Bears moved the ball, but eventually Saint Jo got the ball back when Damon Byrd intercepted a pass on the Panther’s own 15-yard line.
Saint Jo’s offense moved the ball down, but Gold-Burg looked like it might get a stop. Facing fourth and goal from the 10-yard line, the Panther’s Devin Stewart looked to pass, but eventually scrambled in for a touchdown run. Saint Jo went up 6-0.
At the start of the second quarter, the Panther defense forced another turnover, again from Byrd who intercepted another pass.
This time the Bear’s defense, with the help of some penalties against Saint Jo, forced the Panthers backwards. Eventually Gold-Burg forced a turnover on downs and got the ball back on Saint Jo’s own 18-yard line.
The Bears took advantage as Levi Hellinger found big Eli Freeland for a five-yard touchdown pass. The good extra point put Gold-Burg up 8-6.
The Panthers swiftly answered back.
Within 30 seconds they had moved all the way down the field before Wyatt Lucas scored on a short run to give Saint Jo back the lead, this time up 12-8.
Gold-Burg tried to answer, but the offense looked like it was going to stall. On fourth down the Bears tried to throw it deep, but was intercepted again, this time by Saint Jo’s Wade Lucas.
With 42 seconds left and the Panthers deep in their own territory, Gold-Burg was trying to keep it a one-score game heading into halftime. Then the Bears did the one thing they did not want to happen.
Saint Jo saw Stewart connect with Wade Lucas on a 49-yard touchdown pass with 13 seconds left. The Panthers went into halftime up 18-8.
Gold-Burg still believed it could come back. Unfortunately for the Bears, their first drive of the second half saw them turn the ball over. Saint Jo’s Mathew Sampson got the sack, forced a fumble and recovered the fumble for the Panthers around midfield.
Another score for the Panthers would have been a devastating mental blow for Gold-Burg. Fortunately for the Bears, their defense came through big.
Gold-Burg forced a fumble which was scooped up by Jayton Epperson who returned it 59 yards for a touchdown. The extra point cut the lead down to 18-16 and gave the Bears new life.
Neither team scored in either of its next two drives.
Saint Jo tried to answer, moving the ball down the field. Then Gold-Burg’s defense forced another turnover as Keelyn Case intercepted a pass in the end zone.
The Bears were driving down into the Panthers territory when Saint Jo’s defense forced another turnover as Jayden Curry recovered a fumble at his team’s 19 yard line.
Shortly after at the beginning of the fourth quarter, the Panthers gave the ball back when an errant toss on a run play missed its mark and Gold-Burg’s Zander Crawford recovered it at Saint Jo’s 22 yard line.
The Panther defense held up and forced a turnover on downs after allowing the Bears to move the ball only seven yards to their 15-yard line.
Saint Jo finally got some breathing room again in the second half when its offense moved down the field and scored, with Stewart scrambling for a 10-yard touchdown. Crucially, the team using its third kicker of the night, finally made an extra point to put the team up two scores instead of just one.
The Panthers were up 26-16 with three minutes left to play.
Gold-Burg tried to quickly move the ball, but it was slow going. Eventually, the Bears cut the lead back to one score when Jayton Epperson scored on a five-yard run.
With the score 26-22 with 41 seconds left and too few timeout remaining for Gold-Burg, it all came down to the onside kick. Saint Jo recovered it with little drama kneeled the ball to run out the clock to win.
Nocona
The Nocona Indians improved a little bit, but the result still wasn’t good in their loss at Electra on Friday night.
The Tigers won 28-0 as the Indians are still struggling to make things work offensively while on defense they are trying to do too much.
Nocona was coming into the game following a tough lopsided loss to Lindsay in week one. Electra had won a low-scoring game against Santo in week one.
The first quarter saw the Indian defense hold despite the offense turning the ball over on their first possession. The Nocona defense eventually forced a turnover on downs at their own 14 yard line late in the quarter to keep the game tied at 0-0 heading into the second quarter.
Eventually, the Tiger offense started to get rolling and hit on some big plays. Electra scored twice in the second quarter and looked to be trying to score once more before halftime. The Indians Jose Gomez intercepted a pass to give Nocona the ball back to keep the score 14-0 at halftime.
The second half saw the Tigers score two more times on long touchdown plays. Nocona’s offense could not answer and fumbled the ball away in the third quarter.
Electra won 28-0.
Forestburg
The Forestburg Longhorns lost a tough game at Wichita Christian on Friday night.
The Stars won by mercy-rule 58-8 in the third quarter in a game where the Longhorns actually hung with them a bit in the first half.
Forestburg was coming off a one-sided with against Savoy in week one. Wichita Christian was as well against San Jacinto Christian Academy.
The first quarter saw neither team able to score until the final minute. Then the Stars struck first on a long touchdown run. Seconds later on defense, Wichita Christian then intercepted a pass and returned it for a touchdown.
The Stars then did it again on the next drive to start the second quarter to go up 22-0 after a little more than a minute of game action.
The Longhorns settled down and drove the ball down the field before quarterback Sanchez connected with Kyler Willett on a 30-yard touchdown pass.
It cut the lead to 22-8. Forestburg had another chance before halftime to score and possibly cut the lead further down, but could not come through.
Coach Greg Roller thought his team had played well despite the score in the first half and felt they had a good chance to come back.
Unfortunately, the Longhorns did not play well in the third quarter.
The Stars scored four offensive touchdowns and returned a fumble for a touchdown to pull away and win 58-8.
To read the full story, pick up a copy of the mid-week edition of the Bowie News. For pictures from the Gold-Burg vs Saint Jo game, click here https://www.dotphoto.com/go.asp?l=bnews1&AID=6868626&T=1
Former longtime Bowie Coach Hubert Boner will be inducted into the Bowie Hall of Honor during halftime at this week’s home varsity football game on Sept. 13.
Coach Hubert Ellis Boner was born on June 21, 1943, to parents Hubert Lee and Edith Mae (Rowe) Boner. Coach married the love of his life Lois Evelyn Sisk on March 25, 1966, in Alvord. The Boners were blessed with two children, daughter Kristi and son Kenny, six grandchildren and two great grandchildren and one on the way.
Boner attended Alvord High School where he lettered all four years in football, basketball, track and two years in baseball. Boner was twice named all-district honorable mention in 1959 and 1960 in football.
After graduating Alvord High School in 1961, Boner attended North Texas State University, graduating with a Bachelor of Science degree in secondary education and a Master’s degree in education.
Coach Boner took his first coaching job in 1966, under Head Coach Charles Blanton. Boner later moved to Amarillo and then to Grapevine.
In 1970, he made his return to Bowie, teaching eighth grade science, physical education and coaching seventh and eighth grade boys. Boner remained in Bowie for more than 30 years of his 33-year career of teaching and coaching, retiring in 1999.
During those 30 plus years of coaching at Bowie Junior High, he had two undefeated football teams and one undefeated basketball team. His teams amassed a win/loss record of 161 wins and 75 loses in football and in basketball 209 wins and 65 loses and in track eight district titles. One of his favorite memories was winning a district track meet with no first-place finishers.
Boner started coaching to increase his involvement with his students and for the love of athletics along with making a little extra money. He stated, “I coached for the love of competition.”
He also stated, “I feel like I accomplished more at this (junior high) level to prepare students for athletics and future challenges they would face in life.”
He was a 30-year member of the Texas High School Coaches Association and is a current member, Sunday school teacher and deacon at Southside Baptist Church.
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