SPORTS
Indians win play-in game
The Nocona Indians basketball team fought for their season on Friday night in a play-in game against Henrietta for the final playoff spot in the district at Chico.
The Indians came through, beating the Bearcats for the second time last week by the score of 44-34.
Nocona knew it would be a tough game. While it had beaten Henrietta only three days earlier at home by 16 points, the Bearcats also had come back to win in the final seconds by one in the team’s first matchup in January.
In the third game, there was nothing either team had left to hide and it came down to who made shots and executed its gameplan better.
The Indians did not let Henrietta’s press affect them. Nocona ran its halfcourt sets and got points inside from post player Jason Sparkman and point guard Landry McCasland driving to the hoop.
Shots from outside went in as Carter Horn and Blake Gauna knocked in 3-pointers as well as the Indians got a bit of a lead 12-8 to get the team on the right track.
In the second quarter the Bearcats started to make shots from outside, making three 3-pointers during the quarter, but they did not have much luck scoring any other ways.
Nocona made a couple of 3-pointers as well, but really started to get to the free throw line, making five of its six attempts and building its lead. The Indians led 25-18 heading into halftime.
Nocona’s lead reached double-digits at one point in the third quarter, but Henrietta made its big run to cut the lead down to six points.
The Indians did not flinch as it got points inside the arc from Sparkman, Horn and Lyndon Fenoglio to not let the Bearcats get any closer.
Nocona led 35-26 heading into the fourth quarter.
The Indians ran clock at every opportunity and forced Henrietta to foul them and send them to the free throw line.
Nocona did not shoot great from the line, shooting just better than 50 percent but made nine of its 17 attempts to stay in front.
Cautious of any late run from the Bearcats that would come like the first game, the Indians closed the game out in solid fashion to win 44-34.
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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