It has been only two years and a little less than four months since the last state title team from Montague County, the Bowie boy’s basketball team, won it all.
Like most things looking back, it feels simultaneously like it was long ago and just yesterday.
While I could tell the state title was a big deal for the town and community, it also felt like a big deal for me personally. I was brand new at the paper during the run.
My first day at the paper was Dec. 1, 2017. I was just coming off of getting laid off at my previous job at the Kaufman Herald when they terminated the sports editor position the week before Thanksgiving.
Luckily, I got a job interview at The Bowie News the very next week, though unfortunately it came because of the tragic death that befell the new hire before me. I was able to find housing in less than a week and moved from the metroplex to Bowie.
I had covered some state level events at Kaufman. There was a cross country and tennis team coming up just short of winning the state title along with some individual track medalists, but never the overall state champion.
I did not get into covering sports to exclusively cover winners and champions.
I was taught in college to try and keep a neutral position covering your teams that I have tried to keep, even though I have seen some high school sports editors embraced for their homerism like coverage.
My ideal team to cover is one that makes their season interesting. That does not always equate to winning or losing. Blowouts are not fun to write about or watch, whether it’s the team I am covering or otherwise.
When I was hired I was told the Bowie boy’s basketball team was rated number one in the state during the preseason. Despite the Kaufman area having pretty great sports year round, I had never covered a basketball team that had any type of expectations beyond winning the district title and winning a playoff game or two.
My first game was the Jackrabbits playing in the Decatur tournament against Weatherford. Even though they are not a household name, the Kangaroos were still a 6A program with a size advantage. I watched in awe as that did not seem to matter at all as Bowie easily controlled and won the game 73-56.
Of course I first noticed the biggest and best player on the team Daniel Mosley. It was hard not to. I had covered guys similar in size and athleticism, but not one with the type of consistent motor, fundamentals and ability to dominate the game with just his presence beyond just scoring in the post.
It was not just Daniel though since Bowie played as a true team. Over time I came to appreciate every player for the role they played, big or small, which I saw in this cog.
I did not realize the impressive resume Coach Doug Boxell had at the time. While I never had a casual conversation with him like I do with some coaches, he was always able to give me exactly what I needed after games in usually less than two minutes.
With his experience and the team’s state level expectations, his post game quotes were the only thing that made writing about a lot of the blowouts interesting for me. They were always in service towards building towards a state title.
The team had its stumbles in the brutal pre-district schedule. The lowest I saw them was at the Whataburger Tournament, where Bowie scored only 12 points in three quarters in a loss to Central Heights 38-32. From the outside it seemed like there were line up issues and players were still trying to figure out their roles.
The team was good and was mostly winning, but it seemed like everyone was waiting for them to go to another level since they had realistic state level expectations.
District was mostly a breeze after playing bigger schools besides two teams that easily would have won the district title in any other year.
That Nocona team was one of the best in school history, with an all senior starting five with few holes. Holliday had the size to match up with Bowie along with a guard who could get anywhere he wanted on the court that was hard to contain.
No one knew it, but the Eagles 46-43 win on their court would be the last game the Jackrabbits would lose that season.
From the outside it seemed like Bowie simplified its game plan after that game. There seemed to be a renewed effort to play inside-out instead of letting it fly so judiciously from 3-point land.
With a frontline featuring the Mosley brothers, no team had the overall size and athleticism to shut both down or keep them off the offensive glass. Why not play up that advantage.
After close games against the Indians and a rematch win against Holliday, the rest of the games seemed mostly easy even as the playoffs started.
I distinctly remember how uninterested the team seemed after every win during this time. They seemed so locked in on trying to get to state, most of the playoff wins rolled right off of them. Banner pictures after every win, usually filled with beaming smiles, were mostly stoic affairs.
As the competition got harder, I thought Peaster seemed like it might be a bad matchup from what I saw on film. As a good shooting team, all it would take was one hot night from 3-point range to end Bowie’s season.
It turned out it was the opposite as the Jackrabbits made nine 3-pointers and won by 26 points. Only then did I really start to believe this team might have it.
After hearing the story of how the previous year ended against Brock, it seemed destined these teams were going to meet. Throw in the father-son coach dynamic and this storyline writes itself.
It was my first drive that far west of Texas and the farthest I had ever driven for work. Missing two days in the office, including a deadline day, only something as important as a chance for a state tournament birth would have made it worth it.
The Jackrabbits 54-47 win against the Eagles was not only the first close game Bowie had had in a month, it was the most emotion I had seen from the team all season. The scene was almost on pair with winning a state title in my estimation as tears flowed easily in the post game celebration.
What is your favorite memory from that season? Email me at sports@bowienewsonline.com.

To read the full story, pick up a copy of the weekend edition of the Bowie News.