SPORTS
Nocona boys win first district title in 35 years
Nocona
The Nocona Indians won their first district title since 1988 with their win against Archer City on senior night Tuesday.
The Indians blew the Wildcats away by winning 61-32 in a game that was expected to be close.
Nocona needed to win to avoid being in a three-way tie for first place with Seymour and Archer City. The Indians won the first game between the teams by only six points 48-42 and knew with the stakes high they could not come out flat.
So Nocona came out and played its most complete game from the jump. All five starters made at least one basket, scoring in multiple ways, sharing the ball on smart cuts to the basket, drives and four made 3-pointers.
On the flip side, Nocona defensively were pests all night, pressuring the ball full-court in tough man-to-man sets that just seemed to overwhelm the Wildcats.
The Indians led 25-7 after the first quarter and never looked back.
While Nocona’s offense cooled off the next three quarters, Archer City did not score in the double-digits until late in the fourth quarter when the game was out of reach and the Indians had pulled back their press and intensity.
With the lead growing past 30 points at certain times in the second half, it was the type of game where end of the bench rotation players, some of whom are seniors, got to play big stretches of minutes and were encouraged to throw up shots with the game already in hand.
In the end, Nocona won 61-32.
Saint Jo
The Saint Jo Panthers came up short against Slidell on Tuesday night.
The Greyhounds won 54-48 to seal up another district title.
The Panthers came into the game hoping to upset Slidell’s senior night and maybe keep alive the chance to move up in the district standings.
The Greyhounds came out scoring well in the first half and were up 37-25. Saint Jo made some defensive adjustments and limited Slidell to only 19 points in the second half which gave the Panthers a shot.
Some late 3-pointers got the game close and Saint Jo had opportunities to either tie or take the lead, but ultimately just could not convert. Slidell escaped with the win, 54-48.
Forestburg vs Bellevue
The Forestburg Longhorns ended their season on a high note with a win at Bellevue on Monday night.
The Longhorns won 55-54 against the Eagles.
Forestburg got out to a big lead up 23-11 after the first quarter. The pace slowed to a crawl in the second quarter as the team’s combined to score seven total points. The Longhorns scored only one point during that time, but still led 24-17 heading into halftime.
The pace picked back up in the second half for both teams as they made shots. The Longhorns lead was picked away at, but they still held 42-37 lead heading into the final period.
In the fourth quarter, Forestburg survived three Bellevue 3-pointers by making just enough free throws to eek out the win by one point 55-54.
To read the full story, pick up a copy of the weekend edition of the Bowie News.
It was announced last week Nocona Athletic director/football coach Blake Crutsinger is resigning from his position at the school after serving four years.
Crutsinger said now is the time for his family to make the move, with his daughter Avery graduating after spending four years at Nocona and with his son Kellar about to enter high school and wanting the same for him at another school.
“With her going off to college, she had a really good four years here and just looking at Keller heading into high school and exploring some opportunities that might be better for him, it is just time,” Crutsinger said.
Crutsinger went 19-22 overall, helping the Indians to two playoff appearances in 2022 and 2023. The team’s best season was 2023, when it went 8-2 and won the district title, the first one in 11 years for the program.
To read the full story, pick up a copy of the weekly edition of the Bowie News.
Saint Jo senior Payzlie Cervantes signed her letter of intent to play college basketball last week at Highland College in Kansas. She also played volleyball, softball and ran track at Saint Jo. “After talking with Coach Tana Coleman, I really connected with her and loved the campus vibe and direction she wants for the team,” Cervantes said. “I’m looking forward to continuing my basketball career while getting my associates degree in nursing to become a registered nurse.”
To read the full story, pick up a copy of the weekly edition of the Bowie News.
Last week Montague County had five girls from Bowie and Saint Jo compete at the state tennis tournament, and one team brought back some hardware.
Sisters from Bowie, junior Heidi and freshman Willow Siebert brought back a bronze medal competing in the 3A girl’s doubles bracket.
The pair were the first people from the program to make it back to state since their half sisters, Meagan and Myah Russell, advanced nine years previously.
The Sieberts came into state as a two-seed, having finished second at the regional tournament the previous week.
The duo was ready as they blew through their first two matches. They beat a team from Hondo in the first round with the scores being 6-1, 6-1 and dominated even more in the second round against a team from Tatum, winning 6-0, 6-1.
That got them through to the second day of the tournament, but Coach Dayna Boothe was worried they had had it too easy on day one.
Playing in the semifinals, the Lady Rabbits faced a familiar foe, a team from Peaster they had beaten in the regional tournament the previous week. Unfortunately, near the end of the first set, with the Sieberts fighting to stay alive, Heidi went after a high lob and slammed into the fence. She hurt her right arm and had to play through it for the rest of the match.
They lost the match with the scores being 6-3, 6-3.
It was an all Peaster final, with the other side of the bracket producing the team that both beat the Sieberts at the regional tournament and won their second straight state title.
Still, despite the disappointment, Bowie is bringing back a bronze medal. According to Boothe, after contacting people who would know dating back to the late 1970s, it could possibly be the program’s first medals from the state tournament in tennis.
Of course, Bowie was not the only school represented. Saint Jo had Taylor Patrick competing in girl’s singles and the team of Bailie Nobile and Maxey Johnson competing in girl’s doubles in the 1A classification.
Senior Patrick was making her third appearance at the state tournament, but her first in the singles competition.
She finished third at the regional meet which meant she had a tough first round matchup against a second seed from Fort Davis.
It took everything from Patrick in a match that lasted two and a half hours. She went down in the first set 6-2, but rebounded in a tight second set to win 6-4 to force a third and final set. She had the momentum and won 6-2 to move on.
She had to summon the energy to play later that day against a fresh one-seed player from Utopia. Patrick lost 6-1, 6-1 to end her Saint Jo career. Her opponent would go on to finish second.
Juniors Johnson and Nobile were making their first appearances at the state meet after finishing second at the regional tournament. In the first round they played a tough match against a team from Marathon. It seemed evenly matched throughout, but small mistakes at inopportune times cost them throughout the match. In the end, the team lost by the scores of 6-3, 6-3.
To read the full story, pick up a copy of the weekly edition of the Bowie News.
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