SPORTS

STORM CENTER: A little bit of a smorgasbord for you

Published

7 years ago

07/22/2017

When I lived in South Dakota, there was a radio program called “The Great Afternoon Smorgasbord,” which featured a little bit of everything.
The word smorgasbord is Swedish. According to Merriam-Webster dictionary, a “smorgasbord” is a buffet offering hot and cold meats, salads, etc. – very much like the Longhorn Café here in Bowie.
“Smor” is Swedish for butter, “gas” is a clump (of butter) and “bord” means table. The word has increased in usage, especially after World War II.
The Great Afternoon Smorgasbord discussed a myriad of topics, including current events, and it was like an auditory buffet. The presenter was a man named Grant Peterson of Brookings, S.D., who was of Norwegian descent.
His radio program was popular all throughout the Dakotas for its downhome, folksy style, which other on-air talent couldn’t quite replicate.
Well, this column will be a little bit like that, a smorgasbord of different topics. So please follow along accordingly.

High school football

As usual, Dave Campbell’s Texas Football provides Texas high school football fans with plenty of hype entering a season.
Here’s a two-part message I want to share with every football player in our county.
One, championships or district titles are never won on paper, and you should look at your predicted order of finish as nothing more than a guide from one pundit or prognosticator.
(An aside, I’ve decided not to have district predictions in our special fall sports section coming out on Aug. 30.)
Two, please remember that you are in control of your own destiny by your actions both on and off the field.
There’s nothing more upsetting to me than a player who doesn’t keep his grades up to remain eligible to play. Read more in the July 22 Bowie News.

Editor’s Note: The Storm Center column is the expressed written views of sports editor Eric Viccaro and not The Bowie News.

Nocona’s Jeremy James and the rest of the Indians have high expectations heading into the 2017 season, if you read Dave Campbell’s Texas Football Magazine. The Indians are considered a ‘dark horse’ by the publication in Class 3A-Division II. (File photo by Donovan Winkler)

SPORTS

District awards for 1A released

Published

8 hours ago

05/18/2024

bowienews

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

9 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

3 days ago

05/15/2024

bowienews

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.