SPORTS
Lady Indians break 17-year playoff drought
The Nocona Lady went 2-1 since last week, securing the program’s first playoff appearance in 17 years.
The Lady Indians picked up wins against Alvord (9-6) and Chico (9-2) while also losing to Muenster (16-1).
Nocona came into the second round of district with a 3-2 district record and losses against the two the teams sitting in first and second place.
The Lady Indians played one of those teams, Muenster, on April 8 and it did not go well.
The Lady Hornets scored 14 runs in the first inning and went on to win 16-1 after three innings due to run-rule.
Reagan Phipps drove in Heidi Atteberry, who had the team’s only hit in the game, but that was the only highlight.
Nocona bounced back on Friday playing Alvord. The Lady Indians had beaten the Lady Bulldogs in the first round of district play 12-6, but knew they had to play well to win since Alvord was not just going to roll over.
The teams changed leads four times in the first four innings, with Nocona scoring four runs in the bottom of the fourth inning to go up 6-5.
From there, the Lady Indians added one run in the fifth inning and two more in the sixth inning after Alvord had scored once as well earlier. Nocona closed things out in the seventh inning, winning 9-6.
Kaitlyn Tiffner led the team with two RBIs. The team had seven players drive in at least one run each, showing off the depth of their lineup. Nocona finished with eight hits and drew four walks while also taking advantage of seven fielding errors from Alvord.
On the mound, Phipps allowed six runs on 10 hits while striking out eight batters. The defense committed one fielding error.
The win secured the Lady Indians a playoff appearance, the program’s since 2008. With it being the team’s senior night, it made it even more special for the team.
Nocona then played at Chico on Monday to try and keep its third place in the district standings.
The Lady Indians scored two runs to start off the game, but the Lady Dragons cut it to one in the fourth inning. The teams exchanged one run each in the fifth inning before Nocona was able to get some distance.
The Lady Indians reeled off five runs in the sixth inning to extend their lead to 8-2. Nocona added one more run in the seventh inning to make the final score 9-2.
The team got RBIs from Skye Kirby, Kylea Wallace, Ashlynn Brown, Tiffner and Phipps.
Nocona finished with eight hits and drew four walks while taking advantage Chico committing five fielding errors.
On the mound, Phipps allowed two runs on five hits while striking out 11 batters. The defense committed zero fielding errors in the game.
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.
The Maskat Shrine Oil Bowl is this week on June 6-7 and graduating athletes from Bowie, Nocona and Saint Jo are confirmed to be playing.
In total, seven athletes from Bowie, five from Nocona and three from Saint Jo are planning to play in the all-star games this week. Nocona also will have a pair of coaches participating as well.
The girl’s basketball game kicks off events on June 6, scheduled for 6 p.m. at Wichita Falls Memorial High School. In the game, the east team will have Nocona players Avery Crutsinger, Meg Meekins and Reagan Phipps playing while Kyler Spitzer and Clayton Brown coach them one last time.
On the west team, Saint Jo’s Payzlie Cervantes is confirmed to be playing.
The boy’s basketball game is scheduled to follow at 7:30 p.m. On the east team, Bowie’s Boston Farris and Nocona’s Jose Gomez Jr. will be playing.
On June 7, the volleyball games are scheduled to start at 4 p.m. with the small school game. On the west team, Nocona’s Kaygan Stone and Saint Jo’s Taylor Patrick are confirmed to play. On the east team, Saint Jo’s Aubrey Morman will get to play her teammate.
There are no local athletes confirmed to be playing in the big school volleyball game.
The final event is the football game, scheduled for 7:30 p.m. at Memorial Stadium. It is an all Bowie affair with six players confirmed to be playing for the east team: Justin Clark, Jorge De Leon, Hunter Fluitt and Braden Rhyne, Preacher Chambers and Moh Azouak.
To read the full story, pick up a copy of the weekly edition of the Bowie News.
Nocona Independent School District officials looked inward for a new athletic director/head football coach, selecting Jeff Hill for the position.
Hill, who served last year as Nocona football’s offensive coordinator and also led the softball program to the playoffs for the first time in a while as its head coach, was upgraded to the role.
This came on the heels of former Athletic Director Blake Crutsinger, who served in the role the last four years, resigned in May.
For Hill, the choice to apply for the position was a no brainer. His one year in Nocona had impressed upon him and his wife that it was the place they would like to be long term.
“I’m looking for a town to raise my kids in and Nocona has treated my family really well,” Hill said. “There are some really good people. The kids work hard. Everything I am looking for in a hometown is right here in Nocona and I want to try and make it as best as it can be, especially through athletics.”
Before Nocona, Hill served as the athletic director at S&S Consolidated while also spending time at Hebron and Whitewright in his coaching career.
Hill expresses great respect for the departing Crutsinger and besides changing a few small things in how he personally wants to do things, he is not trying to come in with a sweeping restructuring of the whole athletic department.
The program had five of its six team sports make the playoffs, with volleyball playing in the regional final and the girl’s basketball team winning the state championship.
That along with two athletes competing at the state championship in cross country and track with one earning a gold medal, it was one of the more successful school years in athletic program history.
“Coach Crutsinger was awesome and did a great job so honestly just little tweaks, a little bit of structure and cohesion amongst the coaching staff between boys and girls,” Hill said. “I hope to keep the winning tradition going overall in the athletic department.”
To read the full story, pick up a copy of the weekly edition of the Bowie News.
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