SPORTS

HIGH SCHOOL BOYS BASKETBALL: Time for area teams to contend

Published

8 years ago

11/27/2015

Four of the seven schools The Bowie News covers had boys’ basketball programs qualify for the postseason last year.
Bowie advanced all the way to the Conference 3A regional quarterfinals before falling to Ponder, who was eliminated by Van Alstyne in the next round.
Bellevue made it to the regional quarterfinals as well in Conference 1A, falling to Miller Grove – the same school that ousted Forestburg in the area round.
Nocona was eliminated from the playoffs by Whitesboro in the bi-district round, and the Indians had an interesting path to the postseason – which included a coin flip.
The University Interscholastic League state championships, like last year, will take place at the Alamodome in San Antonio from March 10-12.
Here are capsules from every team.

Bowie

District 3A-9 most valuable player Chase Hall returns for his senior season, fresh off a successful football campaign.
Point guard Keck Jones, shooting guard Jeffery Howard and swing forward Zeke Vaughan join Hall to form part of a potent starting lineup for the Jackrabbits, along with Kaden Ogle, Trace Hardee, Tilghman Parr, Gary Mosley, Daniel Mosley, Cade Roth and Taylor Pigg.

Nocona

Nocona, under first-year head coach Bret Botard, is off to a strong 4-1 record after its play at the Blue Ridge Tournament last weekend.
Kameron Hill, who tallied 40 points in a game versus Coram Deo Academy of Flower Mound, is the unquestioned leader for Nocona at a swing forward spot. Guards Brenton Vineyard and Riley McCasland and forward Barkley Hayes also are part of the rotation.

Bellevue

Forward/center Layne Morris is back to lead Bellevue, the defending District 1A-21 champion.
The Eagles lost at Poolville to open the season, but head coach Colby Broussard likes assembling a difficult schedule to challenge the team – which includes this weekend’s Fantasy of Lights Tournament at Wichita Falls.

Forestburg

Steve Sandusky is the dean of area coaches now in his 11th season, and the Longhorns have plenty of talent this season.
“A concern I have is how long it will take to get our basketball legs under us,” said Sandusky, noting Forestburg had its first practice of the season Monday due to the Longhorns reaching the area round of the football playoffs.
The starting lineup features returners Malaci Moore and Skyler Sandusky at forward spots and Taten Vann at guard.

Gold-Burg

Gold-Burg won just two games a season ago, and the Bears have a new leader this year in Principal Aaron Tefertiller.
The team returns three talented starters in forward Anthony Rios and guards Kasen Allen, a senior, and Rayge Gardner.
Expect Gold-Burg to play more up-tempo this season, and mix man and zone on defense.

Prairie Valley

Prairie Valley is off to a rough start at 0-2, but there’s reason for optimism because the Bulldogs have so much depth.
The team returns four starters from a season ago with center Tyler Carter, guard Alec Ducharme, power forward Lane Roof and swing forward Anthony Roof. Forward Chase Edwards and center Brett Smith also are back.

Saint Jo

Second-year Saint Jo head coach Brian Blank is starting from scratch.
The starting lineup is laden with freshman and newcomers including guards Blake Anderson, J.C. Dunn and Preston Lyons and forwards T.J. Lindenborn and Bret Haney.
Forward Gene Hermosilla and guards Juan Sanchez and Brady Hilton also are part of the Panthers’ rotation. See complete team capsules in the Nov. 25 Bowie News.

Prairie Valley’s Lane Roof goes up for a shot during a game versus Christ Academy from Nov. 17. The Bulldogs will have more depth this year, and head coach Jack Williams hopes it translates into wins. (News photo by Kayla Jean Woods)

SPORTS

District awards for 1A released

Published

22 hours ago

05/18/2024

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Bellevue’s Bryce Ramsey was named his district’s newcomer of the year.

With the baseball and softball seasons over for the area 1A schools, district awards have been released.
Listed below are those earned honors on the field and in the classroom for Saint Jo and Bellevue.

Softball
Saint Jo
Honorable mention
Utility player: Taylor Patrick; Catcher: Jordyn O’Neal

Baseball
Superlatives
Offensive MVP: Devin Stewart, Saint Jo
Newcomer of the Year: Bryce Ramsey, Bellevue

Pitcher: Trent Gaston, Saint Jo
Outfielder: Jayden Curry, Saint Jo

Second team
Pitcher: Charlie Barclay, Saint Jo
Infielder: Brycen Bancroft, Bellevue; Sam Martin, Saint Jo
Outfielder: Rylan Forrester, Saint Jo
Catcher: Charlie Evans, Saint Jo
Utility: Logan Hoover, Saint Jo
DH: Amzy Barclay, Saint Jo

Honorable mention
Cody Gaston, Saint Jo; Xander Joyner, Saint Jo

To see academic awards from Saint Jo players, pick up a copy of the weekend edition of the Bowie News.

SPORTS

Forestburg coach retiring

Published

22 hours ago

05/18/2024

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Forestburg boys basketball coach Eldon Van Hooser helped lead the program to its first playoff win in nine years in his last year coaching.

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.

SPORTS

Bowie Sports Banquet

Published

4 days ago

05/15/2024

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The Bowie sports banquets was on Monday night. Olivia Gill and Tucker Jones were named Jackrabbit and Lady Rabbit of the year. Pick up the mid-week paper for all of the sports team awards and pictures.