SPORTS
HIGH SCHOOL BASKETBALL: Bowie girls keep rolling
The Bowie High School girls’ basketball team has turned Lipan into some pretty cozy confines.
The Lady Rabbits won the H.D. Howard Classic last weekend, and on Tuesday they throttled Lipan by 30 points, 61-31, in the Lady Indians’ home gymnasium.
Bowie improved to 12-1 heading to an extended break before Tuesday’s District 3A-8 opener with Boyd. The Lady Rabbits lost to the Lady Jackets at Boyd a season ago.
“We have sort of found ways to win,” said Bowie head girls’ basketball coach Chuck Hall. “We have been able to be better than any team we have played. We have been fortunate.”
Bowie came into the game ranked 20th in the Texas Association of Basketball Coaches Conference 3A poll. Lipan was rated in the 1A poll.
So a closer game was expected, but that didn’t materialize.
Bowie unranked in TGCA polling
While the Bowie High School girls’ basketball team jumped into the Texas Association of Basketball Coaches Conference 3A poll, they weren’t able to do the same elsewhere.
The Texas Girls Coaches Association poll was released on Monday, and Bowie wasn’t on the list.
The Lady Rabbits are 11-1 overall, which including Tuesday night’s comfortable 30-point win at Lipan – ending a long stretch of road games in the Mineral Wells area.
In Conference 1A, Dodd City is No. 1 with Hermleigh second, Ira third, McLean fourth and McMullen County fifth.
Eula is 11th, Knox City 13th and Lipan in a tie for 15th among area teams of note.
Martin’s Mill is tops in Conference 2A with Chireno second, Irion County third, Claude fourth and Woden fifth.
In Conference 3A, Franklin is No. 1 with Hitchcock second, Odem third, Tuscola Jim Ned fourth and Palacios fifth.
Bowie’s Madison Hill drives through the lane during a Nov. 22 game against Wichita Falls Rider. Hill netted 10 points in the Lady Rabbits’ 61-31 victory over Lipan on Dec. 6.
SPORTS
District awards for 1A released
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
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
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.
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