SPORTS
Jackrabbits lose at Ponder 36-21
The Bowie Jackrabbits traveled to Ponder on Friday night in hopes of scoring their first win of the season.
It was not meant to be as the Lions led most of the game on their way to beating the Jackrabbits 36-21.
Bowie was trying out a new offense with the loss of quarterback Colby Miller for the season. Running back Ty Harris lined up at quarterback and did a lot of read-option plays with Hunter Pullen at running back.
Despite only a week to get the offense ready, the Jackrabbits took their opening drive for a touchdown when Harris got loose for a 65-yard run. Bowie led 7-0, but it would not last long.
Ponder drove down the field in a little more than a minute mostly running the ball, scoring from 17 yards out. The Lions went for two and converted to take the lead 8-7.
The defenses settled down and forced punts on the next two possessions. The Jackrabbits had the ball near midfield and it was fourth and long. Bowie elected to go for it and did not convert.
Ponder turned the things around and scored on a 27-yard run to extend the lead to 16-7 after another good two-point conversion.
The Jackrabbits were able to get another drive going as early penalties backed them up in previous drives. Bowie drove all the way down to the goal line where Pullen scored from three yards out to cut the lead to 16-14.
Unfortunately, the Lions turned things around as their quarterback scrambled around for an 89-yard touchdown run. The Jackrabbits snuffed out the two-point conversion to make the score 22-14.
Bowie had another drive going, but a lost fumble near midfield put an end to that as the teams went into halftime.
The Jackrabbits needed a good start to the second half, but things did not work out that way. Ponder received the ball and scored on a 49-yard run in less than a minute to make the lead 30-14.
Bowie tried to respond on offense, but another drive stalled out at midfield with a failed fourth down conversion. The Lions capitalized as they threw a bubble screen to a receiver who took the ball 44 yards for a touchdown. The Jackrabbits trailed 36-14 heading into the fourth quarter.
Bowie’s offense struggled as the game went along as the limited playbook became predictable for a Ponder defense that keyed in on trying to stop Harris, who still was making plays with his legs, but they came less often the longer the game went on.
The Jackrabbits were finally able to complete a pass down the field as Harris threw a pass to Tyler Darland behind the defense for a 64-yard touchdown pass.
The lead was cut to 36-21, but with 3:37 left in the game, it would require a miracle of things for Bowie to have a chance to come back with so little time left. No such magic occurred as Ponder won.
To read the full story, pick up a copy of the mid-week edition of the Bowie News.
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.
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.
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