SPORTS
Bowie made it official this week, hiring the district’s new boy’s basketball coach Andy Atkins.
Atkins has spent time as an assistant coach at huge 5A-6A programs in the metroplex like Keller, Flower Mound, Lewisville and most recently Marcus since 2004. Besides the boy’s basketball coach, Atkins also will be the boy’s cross country coach.
Athletic director Cory Mandrell said Atkins had everything he was looking for in a coach.
“He has 15 years of experience and is a great program guy,” Mandrell said. “He really gets what it takes to be a part of a great program so that all sports can be successful.”
Atkins was looking for a place to call home for him and his four sons, three of them who he raises with his wife Ashley. He thinks he found it at Bowie.
“When I walked in and was greeted by Cory and Mr. Enlow I just felt like it was a great family atmosphere,” Atkins said. “I think it will be good for my boys being at a smaller school so they will have a chance to do a lot of different things.”
His first experience seeing the Bowie community also impressed him. In the wake of the F1 tornado that damaged several parts of the town, Atkins was pleased to see how the community rallied together to help cleanup.
Beyond that, Bowie’s great basketball tradition is one that attracts many coaches to the program. With six state titles, with the most recent one coming in 2018, Atkins is excited to try and build the program up to that point again after a disappointing season where the team missed the playoffs.
He will have his work cut out for him. The Jackrabbits return only one starter and will have only one returning varsity player who will be a senior.
“Whenever you have an inexperienced team, you have to keep things simple,” Atkins said. “We will have to slowly build them up so they can gain that confidence. Success may not happen right away, but if we stay the course good things will happen.”
Despite several years of experience, this will be Atkins first varsity basketball head coaching job. After working under so many head coaches, Atkins has seen many different styles and approaches to the job. The best thing he has learned is being true to ones self.
“I bring a lot of energy and enthusiasm,” Atkins said. “I tend to try and look at the positives in situations so I can try and build athletes up to succeed.”
To read the full story, pick up a copy of the weekend edition of the Bowie News.
Bowie, playing on a short rest, held with host Jacksboro for most of the volleyball match Oct. 1, but the Tigerettes pulled away late and defeated the Lady Rabbits 3-1 (26-24, 12-25, 25-14, 22-25).
The match was scheduled for Oct. 2 but was moved. Both teams are now 2-2 in District 6-3A.
Jacksboro got out to a quick lead in game one before Olivia Stewart’s kill and a three-point Olivia Richey serving run put the visitors up 8-7. Junior Abby Reneau broke things open with a six-point string to give Bowie a 15-8 cushion and force Jacksboro into a timeout.
The Tigerettes came back and took an 18-16 lead. KP Rutherford’s kill broke the serve and allowed Molly Enlow to tie the game at 18.
For further details, pick up a copy of Thursday’s Bowie News.
Gold-Burg Football Coach Austin Norman called his Bears’ 35-32 loss to host Perrin a “barn burner”.
It most definitely was as Gold-Burg, now 1-5 for the year gave the 5-1 Pirates everything they wanted for four quarters. Gold-Burg scored on the last play of the first half on a Peyton Epperson run with the two point conversion cutting the deficit to 20-16.
The Bears were their own worst enemy to open the third quarter with face mask and offside penalties moving the Pirates downfield setting up a first-and-goal at the Bear three. Defense by Epperson, Keelyn Case and Barrett Allen and a pair of Perrin penalties helped stop the drive and force a turnover on downs.
Gold-Burg was slapped with an intentional grounding penalty on the first play, giving Perrin a safety and extending the Pirate lead to 22-16. Defense by Epperson and JoJuan Grace after a first down run closed out the third quarter.
For further details, pick up a copy of Thursday’s Bowie News.
Nocona and Prairie Valley cross country teams took part in the Prairie Valley Invitational Sept. 20 while Bowie varsity runners competed in the Lubbock Invitational.
Lubbock
Leading the Rabbits was Kellen Rater who finished 10th among 162 runners with a time of 17:24.50. Finishing behind Rater was Shawn Willett with a time of 19:33.20. Hayden Sutton ran a 20:27.10 followed by Taven Melton in 20:39.20, Coleman Holloway in 20:53.80 and Jaxon Castro with a time of 21:31.60.
Laney Segura led the Lady Rabbits with a time of 14:41.30. She was followed by Kylee Waldrep in 15:56.80, Bella Lozano in 16:04.80, Angeles Alvarez with a time of 16:15.40, AnDee Miller in 16:23.70 and Isabella Caswell in 16:51 flat.
For further details, pick up a copy of Thursday’s Bowie News.
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