SPORTS
Indians take consolation at NCTC
The Nocona Indians was able to shake off the rust after the holiday break and win the consolation silver bracket at the North Central Texas College Holiday Tournament.
The Indians went 3-1 overall and took some hardware home with a win against Boyd to end the tournament on a high note.
The start of the tournament saw Nocona play site host Gainesville. It was tough and slow going in the first half as both teams struggled to make shots and execute offense while playing with full effort. The game was tied 18-18 at halftime.
The Leopards were able to get some things going in the third quarter and held a 34-27 lead heading into the fourth quarter.
The Indians were able to cut the lead to one point sometime in the fourth, but could not get over the hump as Gainesville closed the game out strong, winning 53-45. Jason Sparkman led the team with 10 points while Alex Diaz was second with nine points.
Nocona next played Era. After a 10-10 draw in the first quarter, the Indians were able to score big in the second quarter and led 29-19 at halftime. The Hornets could not dig much into the lead in a low scoring third quarter as Nocona led 35-26 heading into the fourth.
Era made a valiant comeback, but the Indians were able to just hold on to win 42-40. Diaz led the team with 15 points while Sparkman was second with six points.
Nocona played Valley View for a right to play in the consolation championship game. The Indians came out on fire, knocking down shots on offense and locking down the Eagles on defense. Nocona led 34-16 at halftime.
Valley View found its shot in the second half, but Nocona’s offense only slowed down in the fourth quarter to run some clock. The Eagles cut into the lead and got it to single digits, but the hole was just too big as the Indians won 56-47.
Carter Horn led the team with 14 points while Sparkman was second with eight points.
Nocona played Boyd in the consolation championship game. The first quarter was competitive, but in the second the Indians did not score any points. Thankfully, Nocona’s defense kept the game within range as they trailed 20-11 at halftime.
The Indian’s offense found it their groove in the second half while the Yellowjackets never did find their rhythm on offense. Nocona won 42-31.
Sparkman led the team with 16 points while Adan Delao, Rowdy Waters and Horn each chipped in six points.
To read the full story, pick up a copy of the mid-week edition of the Bowie News.
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.
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.
The 72nd Chisholm Trail Rodeo was a big success on Friday and Saturday nights at Nocona.
The rodeo had big crowds and saw some good competition from both local and far reaching talent.
Winners in the events included Zach Hibler in bareback riding, Lindsey Muggli in barrel racing, Ashley Goforth in breakaway roping, Leanardo Lima in bull riding, Cody McCartney in calf roping, Thomas Moellering in ranch bronc riding, Wacey Hathcock in saddle bronc riding, Renato Finazzi in steer wrestling, Rowdy Jones and Rance Doyal in team roping.
To see full results and more pictures, pick up a copy of the mid-week edition of the Bowie News.
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