SPORTS
2021 Year in HS Sports Review
Bowie
To start the year, both of Bowie’s basketball teams made the playoffs. The boy’s team got the unfortunate matchup of state-ranked Peaster that ended its season, but for a team coming off its first non playoff appearance in many seasons the previous year, new coach Andy Atkins and the inexperienced roster pushed the program back to respectability.
The Lady Rabbits again went three rounds deep in the playoffs, punctuated by a dramatic win against Brock, before the mostly senior led crew and Coach Joe Crabb again fell to state power Jim Ned.
The start of some spring season redemption came with the girl’s powerlifting team. The team finished third at the regional meet and had four girls compete at the state meet.
With state being cancelled literally the day before it was supposed to start the previous year, this year was time for redemption. While it was not Jessie Henry, Ashley Aguirre or Kerstin Kindsfather’s day, it was for Chelsea Price. The senior set a new personal record of 980 total pounds and finished second in the 220 pound weight class.
The same could be said for the golf program. The season was cancelled before it could really get underway, but both teams were rolling before then. Despite some key graduations, the team came back stronger than ever under Coach Matthew Miller. Both the boy’s and girl’s teams swept the team district titles and went on to the regional meet.
While the Lady Rabbits season ended there, the boy’s team rebounded from a bad first day to a great second day to finish third and qualify for the program’s first state appearance. The Jackrabbits then did well to finish sixth playing against the state’s best.
Further into spring, the baseball team had barely played a month before the previous year’s season was cancelled.
With new Coach Tyler Price and a team filled with players who had little experience of varsity baseball, the team exceeded expectations by finishing second in district play and beating Bangs in the playoffs. The season came to an end in the area round against state-ranked Jim Ned.
The tennis team sent several players to the regional meet while the boy’s team won the overall district title.
Going into the fall season, the volleyball team was able to finish third in district play and make the playoffs again. Along the way, senior libero Taygon Jones collected her 3,000th career dig. Unfortunately, the Lady Rabbits lost in the first round to Brock.
The boy’s cross country team finished as district runner-up to qualify for the regional meet again, finishing 20th.
Nocona
To start the year, both Nocona basketball teams made the playoffs again. The Lady Indians won their third straight district title and went three rounds deep in the playoffs before losing to Peaster.
The boy’s team again made the playoffs as a fourth seed for the second straight year, but lost its playoff game to state-power Brock.
In the golf program, Laci Stone was able to qualify for the regional tournament individually where she finished eighth overall.
In the fall season, the volleyball team finished district play in fourth place and qualified for the playoffs. Unfortunately, state-ranked Peaster ended the team’s season in the first round.
Both cross country teams ended up qualifying for the regional meet, with the girls finishing second and the boys finishing third at the district meet.
Saint Jo
The Saint Jo program started the year with its boy’s basketball team having a good run. The Panthers finished second in district play and got playoff wins against Bryson and Ector before losing to state-power Graford.
In tennis, Jacqueline Hanna was able to make it all the way to the state tournament competing in the tough girl’s singles division.
The Panther baseball team was able to go three rounds deep in the playoffs before losing to state-power Dodd City.
In track the boy’s team won the district title and the program had a list of kids qualify all the way to the regional meet.
In the fall season, every team did well. The football team won its third straight district title and won its playoff game against Leveretts Chapel. The team lost a tragic game to Coolidge in the area round.
The volleyball team overcame its youth to finish with the co-district title and qualify for the playoffs before it lost to county rivals Prairie Valley.
The boy’s cross country team finally broke through to win the district title while Aubrey Morman qualified for the regional meet individually.
At the regional meet, the team got fifth overall while Collin Thomas and Devin Stewart would qualify for the state meet individually. Thomas would earn his first medal at state while finishing 10th while Stewart finished 80th.
Prairie Valley
In the spring the program had some great individual performances. In track, Mason Allen came out of nowhere to not only qualify for the state meet in the high jump, but jump 6’ 1” and win the bronze medal.
The tennis team also had some athletes reach the state level. The mixed doubles team of Isaac Yeargin and Veronica Gutierrez qualified for the state meet where they lost in the first round.
In the fall season, the volleyball team was able to battle through a tough district to qualify for the playoffs again. Even as a third seed, the Lady Bulldogs were able to win against rival Saint Jo and Evant before falling to district foe Bryson in the third round.
In cross country, both teams were able to qualify for the regional meet with the girls finishing second and the boys third. At regional, the boy’s team finished ninth and the girls 15th, but the programs had something to celebrate individually.
Eli Croxton and Linzie Priddy both qualified for the state meet where Priddy finished 79th and Croxton finished 82nd.
Gold-Burg
The program had its biggest accomplishment in the spring in tennis as the girl’s doubles team of Shadie Whitaker and Kelly Contreras qualified for the state meet. The team won the regional tournament despite not winning the district title the previous week. At state the team was knocked out in the first round.
In the fall season, the football team got a lot of attention. Coach Joe Helms and the Bears built on their success from the previous year and turned in the best season in school history while setting several program firsts: winning nine games, winning an outright district title and beating Lueders-Avoca in the first round of the playoffs.
The ride came to an end in the area round against Gordon, but it was a fun ride for Gold-Burg football.
In cross country, Isaac Renteria exceeded everyone’s expectations by qualifying all the way up to the state meet. He finished fifth at the district meet, 19th at the regional meet and 48th at the state meet.
Forestburg
Playoff appearances did not happen for Longhorn teams and no one qualified all the way to the state meet, but athletes at Forestburg still did well despite the odds. The boy’s track team finished tied for third at the district meet and were only one point behind second place. The girls finished fourth despite only three girls competing. Reagan Ladewign scored in four different events. Several athletes qualified all the way up to the regional meet.
The football season had its host of challenges. With new Coach Greg Roller dealing with a roster full of almost all underclassmen and with depth being an issue that led to one game being cancelled, winning three games is more than impressive.
None more so than the epic seven overtime battle against Vernon Northside on homecoming where the Longhorns came out on top for their first win of the season.
Bellevue
The Bellevue program had several great accomplishments this year. The Lady Eagle basketball team again qualified for the playoffs where they won in the first round against Newcastle before falling to state-power Dodd City.
In track, Sky-Lar Embry won the district title in the 100, 200 and 400 meter races. She was then able to qualify all the way up to the state meet in the 100 meter where she would finish ninth overall.
In the fall in cross country, the girl’s team would return to the regional meet after finishing third at the district meet. At regional, the Lady Eagles finished 16th overall.
To see pictures from every school, pick up a copy of the mid-week 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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