SPORTS
Saint Jo football beats Forestburg
The Saint Jo Panthers beat county rival Forestburg on the road Friday night.
The Panthers won 54-8, with the game getting called with 6:47 left to play in the fourth quarter due to the mercy rule.
Saint Jo came into the game following its first loss against Crowell. The Longhorns were hoping they could get their first win of the season after only playing a quarter and half the previous week due to lightning.
While the Panthers had dominated the previous four games the two teams had played together, Forestburg was hoping this year would be different. The Longhorns returned an older, experienced group while Saint Jo’s roster was mostly filled with players new to varsity football until this season.
The Panthers got a boost from one of its few returning varsity players when Devin Stewart took the opening attempted onside kick back for a touchdown to open up the game.
After a stop on defense for Saint Jo, the Panthers then scored on their first drive with Lee Yeley scoring on a short run to put them up 14-0 heading into the second quarter.
Despite the Longhorns next drive stalling as well, they were not just going to roll over. Forestburg’s defense got its first stop when it recovered a fumble early in the second quarter.
Saint Jo responded with Wade Lucas recovering a fumble right back shortly after to give the Panthers the ball back.
After both team’s offenses stalled on back-to-back drives followed, Saint Jo got back into the end zone when Stewart scored on a 10-yard run to make it 22-0.
With time running out before halftime, the Panthers’ defense got another stop and the offense took advantage. Yeley found Stewart open for an 18-yard touchdown pass with 1:11 left to play.
Saint Jo then recovered the onside kick to get another possession. Yeley located Stewart again, this time scoring on a 22-yard touchdown pass to give the Panthers a 34-0 lead heading into halftime.
It looked like the end was coming fast when Saint Jo’s Wyatt Lucas intercepted a pass to start the third quarter. The Panthers were backed up near their own goal line when they fumbled the ball away to Forestburg’s Hayden Lawson.
Recovered at Saint Jo’s five-yard line, Forestburg got into the end zone when Jesus Sanchez found Kayden Dill open for a five-yard touchdown to cut the lead to 34-8.
The Longhorns kept up the momentum briefly when their defense got another turnover when Nathan Payne intercepted a pass on the next drive.
Unfortunately for Forestburg, the offense could not take advantage and turned the ball over on downs deep in the Panther’s territory.
Saint Jo got out of its rut and saw Stewart connect with Wade Lucas on a 45-yard touchdown pass to put the Panthers up 42-8.
After Saint Jo’s defense got another stop, the Longhorn’s defense forced their third turnover of the quarter when Sanchez intercepted a pass. It did not lead to anything as the game moved to the fourth quarter.
With the Longhorns fighting to try and avoid getting the mercy rule, the Panthers looked to strike.
Yeley got loose for Saint Jo on 59-yard run for a touchdown. The Panthers Wyatt Lucas recovered the ensuing onside kick before Stewart found Wade Lucas for a five-yard touchdown to end the game.
Saint Jo won 54-8.
To read the full story, pick up a copy of the mid-week edition of the Bowie News.
With the baseball and softball seasons over for the area 1A schools, district awards have been released.
Listed below are those earned honors on the field and in the classroom for Saint Jo and Bellevue.
Softball
Saint Jo
Honorable mention
Utility player: Taylor Patrick; Catcher: Jordyn O’Neal
Baseball
Superlatives
Offensive MVP: Devin Stewart, Saint Jo
Newcomer of the Year: Bryce Ramsey, Bellevue
Pitcher: Trent Gaston, Saint Jo
Outfielder: Jayden Curry, Saint Jo
Second team
Pitcher: Charlie Barclay, Saint Jo
Infielder: Brycen Bancroft, Bellevue; Sam Martin, Saint Jo
Outfielder: Rylan Forrester, Saint Jo
Catcher: Charlie Evans, Saint Jo
Utility: Logan Hoover, Saint Jo
DH: Amzy Barclay, Saint Jo
Honorable mention
Cody Gaston, Saint Jo; Xander Joyner, Saint Jo
To see academic awards from Saint Jo players, pick up a copy of the weekend edition of the Bowie News.
Eldon Van Hooser is leaving Forestburg better than he found it.
The head boy’s basketball coach is retiring after more than 30 years, spending the last five at Forestburg.
Van Hooser did not come to this decision because of a lack of fire or feeling tired after decades in the profession. He had to for family reasons.
“My wife has MS (multiple sclerosis) and it’s a disease where you have trouble standing and walking and she needs help,” Van Hooser said. “I am able to so I am going to step away from teaching and coaching to be there for her.”
Van Hooser was hired in 2019. Along with being the boy’s basketball coach, he also was the football team’s defensive coordinator.
There were some lean years for Forestburg on the boy’s athletic side, with numbers being low and the available athletes being mostly underclassmen.
For two years, the Longhorns’ boy’s basketball team won few games and one of those seasons saw the team field five players on the high school team.
“One of those years we had COVID-19 and the other we had five kids,” Van Hooser said. “It was very rough. After that we worked with the kids and we had a good freshman group coming up. Next year they are going to be seniors.”
That group has helped to turn the program around. Last year the young Longhorns team contested for a playoff spot and just barely missed it finishing fifth in the district.
This season, that same group took a leap and finished second in district with a record of 7-5.
Despite losing its last two regular season games in dramatic fashion heading into the playoffs, the team stepped up in the bi-district game.
Playing against an athletic Newcastle team, Forestburg led for most of the game.
Unfortunately, the previous game against Bellevue saw the Longhorn team blow the lead late in the fourth quarter against a hard pressing style team and they were suffering the same fate against the Bobcats down the stretch.
Fortunately, Forestburg held on just enough to win 53-46. It was the first boy’s basketball playoff win in nine years for Forestburg.
“It was huge for our program,” Van Hooser said. “This new year we will have new goals. The new coach will have some goals of his own, but I set some for the team and think that we have come a long way.”
To read the full story, pick up a copy of the weekend edition of the Bowie News.
The Bowie sports banquets was on Monday night. Olivia Gill and Tucker Jones were named Jackrabbit and Lady Rabbit of the year. Pick up the mid-week paper for all of the sports team awards and pictures.
-
NEWS1 year ago2 hurt, 1 jailed after shooting incident north of Nocona
-
NEWS6 months agoSuspect indicted, jailed in Tia Hutson murder
-
NEWS1 year agoSO investigating possible murder/suicide
-
NEWS1 year agoWreck takes the life of BHS teen, 16
-
NEWS10 months agoMurder unsolved – 1 year later Tia Hutson’s family angry, frustrated with no arrest
-
NEWS1 year ago
Sheriff’s office called out to infant’s death
-
NEWS1 year agoBowie Police face three-hour standoff after possible domestic fight
-
NEWS1 year ago
Driver stopped by a man running into the street, robbed at knifepoint