SPORTS
Bowie loses but is not out yet
The Bowie Jackrabbits lost a tough game on the road Friday night against Vernon that puts their playoff hopes in the hands of fate going into their bye-week.
The Lions won 51-26, pulling away in the second half after the Jackrabbits had clawed their way back into the game in the second quarter.
Bowie came in as the underdog, playing a Vernon team with 5-2 record that had a lot of playmakers that could break the game open. Still, the Jackrabbits were fresh off their first district win and were already in survival mode if they likely wanted to keep their playoff hopes alive.
The game did not start out well for Bowie. Vernon drove down the field and scored on a short run to take the lead. The Lions followed it up with a long catch and run to the running back for 33 yards for another score.
Down 14-0, the Jackrabbit offense hit on a big pass play. Rayder Mann found running back Justin Clark streaking wide open down the middle of the field for a 44-yard touchdown pass. It cut the lead to 14-7.
Unfortunately, still in the first quarter, Vernon came right back to score on a big play. The Lions running back got loose for a 74-yard touchdown run to go up 21-7.
Early in the second quarter, Bowie was able to hit on another big pass play. Mann found tight end Zac Harris open down the seam for a 32-yard touchdown pass. Unfortunately, Vernon blocked the extra point and returned it the other way for two points. The Lions led 23-13.
Still, the Jackrabbit defense got a stop and the offense drove down the field into Vernon’s red zone. There, rolling to his right, Mann found Tyler Richey who caught a tightly contested pass for an eight-yard touchdown pass. It cut the lead to 23-19.
Unfortunately, that would be as close as Bowie would get. Hoping to hold that score until halftime, Vernon had other ideas. The Lions drove down the field and scored on a short pass right before halftime to extend their lead to 30-19 heading into the second half.
Vernon was able to feed off that momentum to start the third quarter since it was receiving the ball first. The Lions then scored quickly when their quarterback scrambled for a 54-yard touchdown run.
The earlier four-point deficit had changed in a hurry as now Bowie found itself down 37-19.
The offense struggled in the second half as explosive plays in the passing game were harder to come by. The Jackrabbits were not able to take their time running the ball for short gains like they usually like to establish since they were down multiple scores for the entire second half.
Vernon’s offense scored twice more on short runs after long drives to push its lead up to 51-19. Bowie scored once more at the end of the game when Lane Whitfield found the end zone after a five-yard run.
It made the final score 51-26.
To read the full story, pick up a copy of the mid-week edition of the Bowie News.
Bowie had six players play in the Maskat Shrine Oil Bowl football all-star game. For pictures from not just the football game, but the basketball and volleyball games as well that feature athletes from Bowie, Nocona and Saint Jo, click here https://www.dotphoto.com/go.asp?l=bnews1&AID=6875584&T=1
Nocona is welcoming back Coach Sandy Langford, former coach and alumnus for the Lady Indians, as its new volleyball head coach.
Langford comes back to Nocona after spending the past 11 years leading the Glen Rose volleyball program.
Her circumstances with her family allowed her to jump at the opportunity once she became aware the position at Nocona was available.
“My youngest graduated and is playing football at Midwestern (State University),” Langford said. “All of our family is here and I knew that Coach Kara (Lucherk) was leaving. We were eventually going to retire here. Our oldest son plays college football at West Texas A&M and we’ll be two hours closer to him as well.”
She again will lead the Lady Indians volleyball program, one that she led all the way to the state title game in 2011, which is the farthest the volleyball program has ever gone in its prestigious history.
Langford kept up that level of success during her 11 years at the bigger 4A Glen Rose. She won less than 20 games only twice during her time, winning her 500th career game back in 2023. Her teams were ranked among the top 10 in the state five times and Langford led Glen Rose to the state tournament in 2017, the best finish in program history.
With the Lady Indians also having its own string of success, appearing in back-to-back regional finals while finishing atop the district standings both years, Langford is excited to not just keep the success going, but shoot for the stars.
“We are not expecting anything less than a state championship,” Langford said.
She has stacked the non-district schedule with strong, state-ranked 3A and 4A teams as well as big tournaments that will test Nocona’s mettle early next season in the hopes it will prepare them for a long playoff run.
To read the full story, pick up a copy of the weekly edition of the Bowie News.
The Red River High School Bass Club competed this past weekend, May 31 – June 1, at the State Tournament on Lake Conroe for the two-day tournament.
Two of the teams from Montague County traveled south to try their best at the culmination of the year for the state title. Teams were able to pre-fish on Friday before the Saturday and Sunday competition. On Friday, there was a flipping contest for the youth and Cooper Johnson won third overall and won a $500 scholarship and an Academy gift card.
The club’s two teams who competed were Lane Smith/Colt Henry with boat captain Jimmy Smith. The team placed 63rd with a total of 16.22 pounds. The second team of Cooper Johnson/Corbyn Patton and boat captain Jayson Toerck placed 169th with a total weight of 2.29 pounds.
To read the full story, pick up a copy of the weekly edition of the Bowie News.
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