SPORTS
Panthers win bi-district game 92-67

The Saint Jo Panthers upset undefeated Avalon on Friday night in Keene to win their first playoff game since 2021.
The Panthers won 92-67, breaking their program’s scoring record in the process in a game that had 21 combined touchdowns between the two teams.
Saint Jo was coming into the game as the slight underdog, having drawn the tough game after losing its only regular season game the previous week against Union Hill to finish second in district for the third straight season.
Before that, the Panthers had some tough games in the pre-district, winning three games by one-score but only getting better as the season wore on and the team got more used to new Coach CJ Hantz’s offensive system.
Avalon on the other hand had beaten almost all comers easily, outscoring opponent 588 to 178, with only one close game in the mix when it beat Bynum by one score back in the third week of the season. The team was ranked ninth in the state according to Texas Football.
The Eagles showed right away what made them so dangerous as they drove down and field quickly running the back with Josh Novak, who scored on a short run a minute into the game. Avalon led 8-0.
Saint Jo seemed like it was going to struggle responding as its first drive faced a fourth down at midfield. Then Devin Stewart found Wade Lucas open behind the defense for a 48-yard touchdown pass to tie the game at 8-8 and the game was on.
The Eagles answered quickly with Novak scoring on a 25-yard run. The Panthers then hit on Wyatt Lucas scoring on a 28-yard run. Avalon saw Novack score untouched on a 38-yard run. Then Saint Jo had Lee Yeley scoop up an attempted onside kick and return it 45-yards up the sideline for a touchdown.
All four of those touchdowns happened with only 42 seconds coming off the game clock as the score was tied at 24-24 with 4:03 still left to play in the first quarter.
Finally, one of the defenses got a stop and it was Saint Jo that came through, turning Avalon over on downs as it seemed to get better filling the Eagles sweeping runs to the outside better.
This was the opening the Panthers needed and they took advantage. To open the second quarter they took their first lead when Stewart found Yeley open for a 27-yard touchdown pass. Saint Jo led 32-24.
Avalon was still dangerous as one mistake on the Panthers’ defense could still be catastrophic. The Eagles answered quickly as Novak ran for a 53-yard touchdown to tie the game.
Thankfully, Avalon’s defense had no hope stopping Saint Jo’s that was clicking on all cylinders now. On the Panthers first play of the next drive, Yeley ran for a 60-yard touchdown to give them back the lead 38-32.
The Eagles then drove down the field, helped by a big run that set up a short touchdown run from Novak. The missed extra point tied the score again.
Saint Jo’s offense stumbled a bit in its next drive, facing a fourth down it needed to convert at one point. The Panthers did and Wyatt Lucas would later score on a nine-yard run to put Saint Jo back in front 44-38.
The Panthers defense then came up big again, getting a stop by turning the Eagles over on downs. With 1:13 left, Saint Jo had to move the ball quickly to try and go two-scores up before halftime. With the Panthers receiving the ball to start the second half, it was a big opportunity to break the game open.
Saint Jo’s offense came through as Yeley scored on a 38-yard run to put the Panthers up 52-38 with only 38 seconds left before halftime.
Unfortunately, Avalon was able to get one score back as it quickly moved the ball to Saint Jo’s red zone before scoring on a 10-yard pass play due to a misread in the Panthers defensive secondary.
The Eagles scored with only four seconds left to cut the lead to 52-46 heading into halftime. While Saint Jo had played well, it also knew it had missed an opportunity to get some breathing room.
The Panthers opened the second half on a high note when Stewart recovered the onside kick and returned it 45-yards for a touchdown and improve their lead to 60-46.
Avalon answered on a drive into Saint Jo’s red zone where Novak scored on a short run to cut the lead to 60-54.
The Panthers offense looked like it might stumble facing a fourth and medium. Stewart passed the ball running to his left and it was tipped by a rusher.
Fortunately, it was tipped to his teammate Jayden Curry, who fought his way for a first down inside the Eagles red zone. Shortly after, Yeley scored on a short run to put Saint Jo back up by two scores 66-54 and the Panthers knew it had caught a break.
Saint Jo’s defense then was able to hold out on Avalon’s next offensive drive, forcing a turnover on downs at the Panthers 15 yard line. Saint Jo now had a chance to finally go up three scores and would feel a bit more comfortable.
Unfortunately, what followed was the Panther offense one big goof of the night. The first offensive play saw Saint Jo fumble the ball away trying to fight for more yards on a run.
It looked like the Panther defense might be able to bail out the turnover as they had the Eagles in a fourth and goal situation from the nine-yard line. Unfortunately, Avalon came through as Novak scored on a run to start the fourth quarter, cutting Saint Jo’s lead to 66-61.
Just when it seemed like the Panthers momentum was running at their lowest after two straight disappointments, the team got a pick me up on special teams.
Yeley recovered an onside kick and for the third time in the game and his second of the night, he returned it 45-yards for a touchdown.
Saint Jo’s lead was back to two scores 74-61.
Still, Avalon would not go away. The Panthers made the Eagles work a bit, taking two minutes off the game clock which was crucial since Avalon needed to make up multiple scores. In the end, the Eagles scored on a nine-yard run from Novak to again make it a one-score game.
It did not take Saint Jo long to answer. Quickly, Stewart found Logan Hoover wide open for a 50-yard touchdown pass as the Panthers offense had put the turnover behind them. Saint Jo’s lead was 80-67.
Then the Panther defense was making Avalon work to move down the field again, burning crucial minutes from the game clock.
This time, Saint Jo also was able to get a stop as Stewart intercepted a pass in the end zone on fourth down.
The Panthers offense did not slow down despite having time on their hand and instead pushed their lead more.
Yeley scored a short time later on a 14-yard run to push Saint Jo’s lead to 86-67 and finally get its three-score lead it had been trying to get all game.
The Eagles had no quick response, taking more than two minutes on their next drive before the Panther defense again got a stop at its own 20-yard line with l:22 left in the game as Saint Jo could taste the victory.
The Panthers added one more score on their way to win. Wyatt Lucas scored on a 60-yard touchdown run to ice the game with 1:03 left to play.
Saint Jo won 92-67.
To read the full story, pick up a copy of the mid-week edition of the Bowie News. For more pictures from the game, click here https://www.dotphoto.com/go.asp?l=bnews1&AID=6870621&T=1
SPORTS
Bowie track runs at Peaster in final meet before district

The Bowie track team competed in its final meet before district last week on March 27 at Peaster.
The boy’s team finished fourth overall while the girl’s team got seventh place.
The boy’s team had three athletes who won their events.
Russell Anderson won the 400 meter race, Braden Rhyne won the triple jump and Tyler Richey won the pole vault events.
Some other highlights for the team included Cody West getting second in the shot put, the 4×400 relay team getting second place, Richey getting fourth in the 110 meter hurdles, Rhyne getting third in the 300 meter hurdles and Jorge De Leon getting fourth in both the discus and shot put.
Brayden Willett got second place in the 3200 meters, third place in the 1600 meters and fourth place in the 800 meter race.
The Lady Rabbit highlights included Dallie Monroe getting fourth in the shot put, Laney Segura getting fifth in the 800 meters and Olivia Richey getting sixth in the 100 meters.
The 4×200 relay got fifth place and the 4×100 relay got sixth place to earn points.
Bowie competes in the district rack meet this week at Iowa Park. The running finals are scheduled for 5 p.m. on April 4.
Results for all Bowie varsity athletes who finished sixth or better are in the weekly edition of the Bowie News.
SPORTS
Montague County has nine named all-region basketball players

Nocona’s Meg Meekins (above) not only earned all-region honors, she also earned all-state honors and was named the Texas Girls Coaches Association 1A-4A Player of the Year.
Other Montague County basketball athletes who were named to all-region teams including Rayder Mann from Bowie and Reagan Phipps from Nocona. From Saint Jo, Payzlie Cervantes, Taylor Patrick and Barrett Johnson were named to the all-region team. From Forestburg, Jesus Sanchez, Brenna Briles and Kyler Willett were named to the all-region team.
For pictures of all nine athletes, pick up a copy of the weekly edition of the Bowie News.
SPORTS
Baseball Roundup

Saint Jo
The Saint Jo Panthers lost a close game at home against Perrin-Whitt on March 28.
The Pirates won 8-3, only taking the lead in the seventh inning after the Panthers had come back to tie up the game.
Saint Jo was coming into the game after a close one-run loss in extra innings against Perrin-Whitt earlier last week.
The second game started with two scoreless innings before the Pirates got on the board in the third inning. A line drive into left field resulted in a fielding error that allowed one run to score. A double followed that drove in another run as Perrin-Whitt went up 2-0.
The Pirates added to the lead in the fourth inning, driving in a run on a single to extend its lead to 3-0.
Saint Jo answered back in the same inning. Charlie Evans drove in one run with a single. Later in the inning, with a runners on second on third base, the Perrin-Whitt pitcher balked twice, an illegal pitching motion, that allowed both runners to advance to home plate. The Panthers had tied the score at 3-3.
After a scoreless fifth and sixth inning, the Pirates had the pressure on in the seventh inning.
With the bases loaded, a hit batter and later a walk scored two runs for Perrin-Whitt. Then a bases clearing double scored three more runs to break the game open in the final inning.
Saint Jo tried to answer in its final at-bats, getting two singles and drawing a walk but could not get enough things going to score.
The Pirates won 8-3.
Evans led the team with one RBI and two hits as the team finished with five hits and drew six walks.
Sam Martin allowed eight runs (two earned) on seven hits while striking out six and walking three batters in 6.2 innings of work. The defense committed three fielding errors overall.
Nocona
The Nocona Indians had a tough start to district last week, losing both games in their series against Lindsay.
The Knights won 11-4 and 7-3 against the Indians last week as Nocona hopes to get back into the playoffs.
Nocona was coming off a string of good wins the previous week against smaller schools, but knew Lindsay would be tough.
The first game saw Lindsay continually score runs in the first four innings, building a 9-0 lead before the Indians could get on the board in the bottom of the fourth inning with two runs.
Nocona added two more runs in the fifth inning to cut the lead to 9-4 and get some momentum heading into the final two innings.
After a scoreless sixth inning, the Knights scored two runs in the seventh inning to extend their lead and eventually win 11-4.
Miller Jentry led the team with two RBIs while RJ Walker also drove in two runs. The team had only two hits, but drew nine walks in the game.
Brody Langford allowed six runs (two earned) on five hits while striking out three in three innings pitches. Landon Fatheree allowed five runs (two earned) on seven hits while striking out one and walking four. The defense committed five fielding errors.
Nocona knew it could play better and tried to in the second game later in the week while playing on the road at Lindsay.
The Knights again took the early lead, scoring in three of the first four innings and going up 6-0. The Indians scored two runs in the fifth inning and one in the top of the sixth inning to initially cut the lead to 6-3. Lindsay answered with one run in the bottom of the sixth inning and held on to win 7-3.
Walker Murphey led the team with two RBIs after hit a double. Kutter Cabrera drove in the other run for Nocona. The Indians finished with three hits and drew only two walks, making the most of their limited opportunities.
Walker got the start on the mound and allowed seven runs (two earned) on eight hits while striking out six batters and walking two in six innings of work. The defense committed six fielding errors overall.
Bellevue
The Bellevue Eagles started district last week playing a series against fellow 1A team Bryson.
Unfortunately, the Cowboys won both games handily 11-1 and 10-1.
Bellevue was coming off a tough week where it hung tough playing 2A teams Nocona and Chico, not getting wins but competing well against the more experienced and bigger schools.
Unfortunately against Bryson in the first game, a few bad defensive innings threw away a good start to the game. Bryce Ramsey drew a leadoff walk in the first inning and stole his way around to second base, third base before eventually coming home on a steal.
Bellevue led 1-0 after the first inning.
That was the highlight as the Cowboys scored four runs in both the third and fourth inning to take control of the game. Bryson eventually added three more in the sixth inning.
The Eagles needed to score at least one run to avoid getting run-ruled and play the seventh inning, but could not do it. The Cowboys won 11-1.
Walker Strahan, Ryan Jones and Ramsey each had one hit to lead the team. With the Eagles drawing only one walk, it was a tough day swinging the bats for Bellevue.
Defensively, the Eagles allowed 12 hits and walked four batters, though avoided committing any fielding errors.
The second game on the road was not much better.
Bryson built up a 6-0 lead before Bellevue scored in the fifth inning. Cam Blaylock scored on the base paths to cut the lead to 6-1. The Cowboys responded in the same inning scoring four runs to go up 10-1.
The game cuts off on the Game Changer app from there.
Ramsey led the team with three hits in the game and Strahan was behind him with two hits as the team finished with six total and drew one walk.
Defensively, Bryson had nine hits and drew eight walks, but Bellevue did not commit any fielding errors.
To read the full story, pick up a copy of the weekly edition of the Bowie News.
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