SPORTS
Panthers win bi-district 74-38
The Saint Jo Panthers won their bi-district playoff game on Thursday night against Leverett’s Chapel.
The Panthers won 74-38 in a game with little drama outside of an injury scare after Saint Jo took a two touchdown lead into the second quarter.
With the Panthers last regular season game against Perrin-Whitt being forfeited due to COVID-19 from the Pirates, Saint Jo came into the game fresh.
The Panthers opening drive of the game saw them gain consistent but small amounts of yards on running plays. They had to convert a fourth down before running back Logan Brawner finally got loose for a 16-yard touchdown run put Saint Jo up 8-0.
The Lions offense featured a lot of short quick passes that forced the Panthers to tackle well in space. Chapel’s players were also willing to freelance with improvised laterals and passes during plays that were clearly not designed with these things in mind.
The Panthers defense forced a turnover on downs near midfield to get the ball back. Two plays later, it was Brawner scoring on a 35-yard run to put Saint Jo up 14-0.
The Lions came back and scored on their next drive. Short passes to their athletic players in space sprung some big plays, ending with a 17-yard touchdown pass to cut the lead to 14-8.
A deep kickoff pinned the Panthers back on their own nine-yard line, but Brawner quickly made that obsolete. He found the corner and ran for a 71-yard touchdown to end the quarter, Saint Jo up 20-8.
Chapel was not going to roll over though. The Lions offense scored on their second play in the next drive on a 34-yard touchdown pass to cut the lead to 20-14.
On the kickoff, Brawner got the ball and was trying to hurdle a player. He got upended and flipped violently.
It looked like the Panthers were going to get tested with their best offensive weapon sidelined for the moment as Jonathon Diaz picked up some yards and Cade Stevens finding Jase Johnson on a short pass.
Brawner came back in and scored on a four-yard touchdown run to go up 28-14 as he dove for the corner. He must have felt bad after the dive because he did not play for the rest of the quarter.
The Saint Jo defense picked up its intensity after pushing the Lions back for losses on consecutive plays, forcing a turnover on downs near midfield.
With Diaz running on three consecutive plays, the Panthers faced a fourth and six. Stevens rolled out to his left and found Tyler Cook open for a 27-yard touchdown pass. Stevens completed the pass despite playing most of the game with one of his fingers pointing the wrong way.
Up 36-14, the Panthers especially did not want to let the Lions score before halftime since they would also get the ball to start the second half.
Chapel drove down into Saint Jo territory, getting help with a roughing the passer penalty on third down. The Panthers defense held and forced another turnover on downs to keep the lead heading into halftime.
The Lions offense found some success to start the third quarter completing an 11-yard pass and a 16-yard run to get within scoring range. A bad snap allowed the Panther’s Chance Bennett to dive on the ball to force a turnover at Saint Jo’s own 23-yard line.
Brawner came out with his pads on and looked to give it a go. His first run was for a loss and the coaching staff initially thought he was not himself and put Diaz in. A big run came back because of holding and put the Panthers into a big hole.
Brawner came back in and ripped a 13-yard run to make the fourth down manageable, but Chapel’s defense held to force a turnover on downs at Saint Jo’s 20-yard line. The Lions took advantage scoring on a nine-yard touchdown pass to cut the lead to 36-20.
In case there was any doubt whether Brawner would contribute for the rest of the night, they were answered on the kickoff. He recovered the short kickoff and took it 56 yards for a touchdown to put Saint Jo back up 42-20.
Chapel would not go away though. The laterals and the freelancing picked up as the game went on. It became harder to make those tackles in space as fatigue came in to play even as substitutions were made.
The Lions drove down the field, converting another fourth down before scoring on another short touchdown pass from eight yards away. Scored in the final minute of the third quarter, Saint Jo’s lead was still solid at 42-26 as long as the offense kept scoring.
The offense obliged as Brawner scored on a 40-yard run on the first play of the fourth quarter make the score 50-26.
Chapel continued to show heart though. A Saint Jo player slipping while trying to come up and make a tackle after short completion led to a 37-yard touchdown pass as the Panther defense seemed to struggle more as the game wore on.
The Panthers offense made sure the Lions were never getting close.
After one big run and a missed opportunity in the passing game, another perfectly blocked sweep play allowed Brawner to bust through for another touchdown run, this one from 19-yards out. The kick from Kyler Dunn made it 58-32.
Saint Jo could not catch a break on its next defensive series. A pass interference call and a facemask call helped move the ball down the field.
From there, Chapel was able to score on a 15-yard run as the Panthers could not push the running back out of bounds. The touchdown made the score 58-38 with half the quarter still to play.
Just like the last drive, a couple of runs from Brawner and Bennett eventually led to Brawner scoring from 18-yards out to keep Saint Jo’s spirits high.
Just in case there was any doubt left which team would win, Brawner jumped a pass on defense and took the ball back 55-yards for a defensive touchdown to put the final score on the board.
Saint Jo’s defense forced one final turnover on downs to end the game with a kneel down to end the game, the Panthers winning 74-38.
To read the full story, pick up a copy of the weekend edition of the Bowie News.
A solid day was had by Montague county high school tracksters at the State Track and Field Meet May 16 in Austin.
Bellevue’s Mattie Broussard had a pair of second place finishes in both the 800-meter run with a time of 2:21.41 and the 3,200-meter run with a time of 11:31.33. Broussard also was 4th in the 1,600-meters with a time of 5:22.18.
Her teammate Brylie Hager was 9th in the 110-meter hurdles in 19.93.
Forestburg’s Brenna Briles was 4th in the triple jump with a 35’9 1’2” leap. Her teammate Jocelyn Rich was 4th in the pole vault with a 9’ leap.
For further details, pick up a copy of Thursday’s Bowie News.
Bowie had a pair of top four finishes at the State Track and Field Meet May 14.
Sophomore Brayden Willett made it onto the medal stand, finishing 3rd in the 1,600-meter run with a time of 4:17.89. Bowie junior Tyler Richey finished 4th in the pole vault after a 14’6” effort.
The top two finishers from Holliday, also in Bowie’s district, celebrated with him after he crossed the finish line.
“It was kind of surprising,” Willett said about Ryder and Noah Stroman embracing him in a celebratory hug. “They’re good guys, so it was kind of cool.”
For further details, pick up a copy of Thursday’s Bowie News.
This past week found your outdoor scribe doing some rather mundane things such as yard work, vegetable gardening and repairs around the old cabin. Oh, I also wrapped up a couple of magazine articles. I always enjoy sharing my adventures with all of you in this column but to be perfectly honest, not nearly as much as my ‘field work’ hunting and fishing which is an iatrical part of any good outdoor column. If you’re like me, you much prefer reading about an adventure that you can also partake.
I am far more comfortable telling you about an outdoor experience I had firsthand knowledge of rather than the reporting part of my job as an outdoor communicator. So, this week, I’d do a bit of ‘reporting’ and share some planned adventures I have scheduled for the next couple weeks. By the time you’re reading this, I will have already been in the woods in quest of a fat ‘eater’ hog and probably have some freshly caught blue catfish fillets in the freezer, details will follow in the next couple of weeks.
I’ll kick things off early in the week heading down to my friend Jeff Rice’s Buck and Bass Ranch located on the upper end of Lake Fork. Jeff produces our weekly TV show “A Sportsman’s Life” which airs on Carbon TV and YouTube. Our plan is to film a segment of our show on stalking wild hogs. It will be a challenge to capture the shot with all the thick grown spring vegetation. It could happen fast and require a fast shot. We will be breaking in my CVA Cascade scout rifle in 308 caliber. This short barrel little rifle is light and easy to handle in thick cover, ideal for this type of hunting. Our plan is to hit the woods during the last couple hours of daylight and ease along the trails, watching and especially listening for hogs. Wild porkers are vocal critters and it’s common to hear them before seeing them. We will play the wind and attempt to get downwind and then close the distance for a shot but you can never guess how a hog hunt will unfold. Wild pork or not, Jeff and I always have a great time together and I plan to bring a side of wild pork ribs already slow smoked and covered in brown sugar and BBQ sauce with a side of camp baked beans!
After a tasty dinner we plan to get a good night’s sleep and head out the next morning for a planned fishing trip with guide David Hanson at Lake Tawakoni. Both channel and blue catfish are on a very good bite right but it’s hard to pass up those snow white blue catfish fillets when the bite is good. David is, to my knowledge, the most veteran catfish guide on the lake and became friends close to a quarter-century ago when we first began fishing
together. The plan is to use freshy cut shad in shallow water and target eater size blues weighing between 2 and about 10 pounds but as every catfish angler knows, it’s always possible to connect with a big trophy size blue when fishing Tawakoni.
Next week, I plan to join my long-time friend J.C. McCollough on the Red River below the Texoma dam. I’ve been fishing and hunting with J.C. for many years and look forward to getting with him again. I would describe this to catching big catfish in a barrel but in this case the deep holes in the river are comprised of several acres. The water level in the river below Texoma are dictated by the water release at the dam by the Corp of Engineers. When there is a current in the river, fish move upstream to feed on baitfish coming through the dam. When the water recedes, they fish move into the deeper holes where baitfish also seek refuge from the falling water. Catching will be fast paced with the chance to connect with some big fish as well as limits of “eater” size fish. We’ll be rigging with big live gizzard shad fished weightless on a free line, using medium spinning gear. The bigger fish will often nail the frisky live shad and the fresh cut bait is a sure way to connect with lots of smaller fish. There is something very exciting about fishing big live baits on a slack line. One minute your bait will be darting around and you will occasionally feel it taking up slack and the next when a big blue catfish grabs the bait, the rod will bow and the fight will be on. There is usually no ‘setting the hook’, by the time you feel the fish, it will already be hooked and making a strong run to the nearest submerged brush. Your job will be to keep the drag set just enough to keep pressure on the fish but not so much as to cause the line to break.
J.C. uses his airboat to access these deeper holes because of the very shallow water. While it’s not impossible to portage a kayak or small boat in the river, it often requires a few miles travel to get to these deep holes, this is best accomplished by experienced kayakers with plenty of endurance. There was a time when I was game for this type fishing but I much prefer to do my river fishing these days from a boat designed to negotiate the shallow waters.
Squirrel season is underway in many of the east Texas counties and there’s some pretty good fox squirrel hunting here close to home in Kaufman county and I’ve been thinking about how tasty a big skillet of smothered squirrel with rice, gravy and biscuits would be. Bream are on the beds now and my friend Edgar Cotton invited me to come do some ‘perch jerking’ with him and his son David-it’s in the plans! Well, hopefully next week I will have a ‘sure nuff’ adventure of two to relate you you-I’m ready to get some relief from all this work around the homeplace! LC
You can contact Tawakoni/Fork catfish guide David Hanson at 902-268-7391. Contact J.C. McCollough at 580-372-0320.
Listen to Luke’s podcast, “Catfish Radio” just about everywhere podcast are found.
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