SPORTS
Information to know about Super Bowl Sunday
In case you weren’t invited to a party already or somehow avoid sports news like the plague, I am saving you the surprise when your Sunday night show is delayed because Super Bowl Sunday is this weekend.
Starting at 5:30 p.m. on Fox in Glendale, AZ, the Philadelphia Eagles will play the Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl LVII (or 57 if you don’t know roman numerals).
This is a fun catch-up for people whose only exposure to football might be the few minutes they glassily stare at the screen at said Super Bowl party or family get together and want to know who is even playing in this game.
The bad news for the casual fan who loves to root for an underdog story is that neither of these teams fit that bill. Both were probably picked on some expert’s list before the season began and neither have had a remarkably unlikely trip outside of dealing with some untimely injuries at quarterback.
Philadelphia
It’s good to have a Super Bowl come along where I have a team I can root against with all my heart not to win.
The Cowboy fan in me cannot stand another Philadelphia Eagles Super Bowl win, with the one five years ago and the franchises first one ever still being unbelievable to me.
The fact the franchise is back after most of that team blew up and was rebuilt in the ensuing years is at once infuriating and begrudgingly impressive as the Eagles have arguably been the best team in the league from start to finish.
They had their conference best record 14-3 record, winning their first nine games and with two of their losses coming late in the season when their young, hot shot quarterback Jalen Hurts was out with a sprained throwing shoulder.
While he is apparently still dealing with the aftereffects of the injury, he is just one cog in the machine of this team instead of carrying it on his back like some other quarterbacks have to. On both sides of the ball their big guys up front are some of the best in the league.
On offense it allows Hurts and running Miles Sanders make up one of the best rushing attacks in the league. Not to be one dimensional, Hurts has big play receivers to throw it to with the beefed up A.J. Brown or the skinny/smooth Devonta Smith catching touchdown passes.
On defense, that line allows Philadelphia to get after quarterbacks as a unit instead of just relying on one star pass rusher. The Eagles led the league in sacking the quarterback, which is a big reason it has had success and could be a big key going against the Chiefs banged up offensive line.
Philadelphia has been dominant in its two playoff wins against the New York Giants (38-7) and the San Francisco 49ers (31-7) even without awesome performances from Hurts throwing the ball. Because of all this, the Eagles are 1.5 point favorites according to the Caesars Sportsbook as of Wednesday.
Kansas City
You might remember hearing about Kansas City either being in the Super Bowl or even winning one the last several years and you would be right. The Chiefs won the Super Bowl in 2020 and then lost the next year in 2021.
This has been one of the league’s best and most fun teams since quarterback Patrick Mahomes took over as starter in 2018. The former Texas Tech Red Raider has been arguably the best quarterback in the league during that stretch as he makes throws not many humans can make let alone attempt.
Kansas City also went 14-3, but its losses came earlier in the season when it was still discovering itself after losing speedy receiver Tyreek Hill in the offseason. Mahomes adapted and doubled down on his favorite receiver, tight end Travis Kelce who was the best player at his position this season.
His new look receivers on the outside have gotten the job done, but some recent injuries limited them in the playoffs. More importantly, Mahomes suffered an ankle injury in the playoffs and had to fight through it to get his team close wins against both Jacksonville (27-20) and its nemesis Cincinnati Bengals (23-20).
All have been practicing this week which is usually a good sign they will play.
Defensively, the Chiefs are usually just good enough to not be a liability as long as their offense is putting up points. The biggest star on that side of the ball is defensive tackle Chris Jones who has been one of the best players at his position as well.
To read the full story, pick up a copy of the weekend edition of the Bowie News.
Nocona
The Nocona Indians picked up dominant wins against Chico in their series against the Dragons last week.
The Indians won both games 11-0 by run-rule after five innings to get their first district wins of the season.
Nocona was coming off losing both games against Lindsay the previous week in its first district series and bounced back in a big way.
In the first game at home last week, the Indians scored six runs in the first inning and five in the third inning which proved to be all the offense they needed.
Kutter Cabrera led the team with three RBIs while Miller Jentry was second with two RBIs. The team finished with nine hits and drew eight walks.
On the mound, Walker Murphey pitched a shut out while striking out seven and allowing three hits. Defensively, the team committed one fielding error.
The second game saw Nocona score all of its runs in the first three innings, highlighted by scoring six runs in the second inning.
Murphey hit a three-run home run to lead the team while Brody Langford and Landon Fatheree each had two RBIs.
On the mound RJ Walker had a big day, throwing a perfect four innings which means he did not allow a hit or walk anyone. He also struck out eight batters, which put him over 100 career strikeouts in high school. The defense committed no fielding errors.
Saint Jo
The Saint Jo Panthers lost their series against Bryson last week.
The first game was a close 3-0 loss, but the second game was 11-0, done after four and half innings due to run-rule.
The Panthers were coming off close losses to Perrin-Whitt from the previous week. They were hoping they could turn their fortune around playing another 1A program.
Unfortunately in the first game, the Cowboys got off to a good start, scoring three runs in the first inning, with two coming with two outs due to an error and a dropped third strike.
Saint Jo’s pitching and defense tightened up after that to not allow another run in the final six innings. Unfortunately, the Panthers had only two hits and four base runners all game as they lost the close game 3-0.
Charlie Evans and Rylan Forrest had the only two hits for Saint Jo in the game as the team struck out 18 times. Trent Gaston ended the game allowing three runs (one earned) on six hits while striking out five batters and walking two in six innings of work. The defense committed five fielding errors.
Unfortunately, things did not go as well several days later in game two. Bryson scored three runs in both the first and second innings before scoring five runs in the third inning. Saint Jo was not able to get a hit and drew two walks in the game.
The Panther defense committed six fielding errors which led to only three of the 11 runs given up were earned by the pitching staff who gave up five hits, walked six and hit four batters.
Bellevue
The Bellevue Eagles played Perrin-Whitt last week in a series.
The Pirates won the first game 11-1 by run-rule and the second game score was not updated on Game Changer.
The Eagles were coming off one-sided losses to Bryson the previous week in their first district series and was hoping to play better.
Bellevue did get out to an early lead in the first inning. River Trail hit an RBI single in the top of the first inning to go up 1-0, which proved to be the highlight of the game.
Perrin-Whitt scored three runs in the first inning, one in the second inning, two in the fourth inning and five in the fifth inning to win 11-1.
To read the full story, pick up a copy of the weekly edition of the Bowie News.
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