SPORTS
Bowie boys win a close game at Alvord 45-40
The Bowie Jackrabbits played their final non-district game before district play on Friday night at Alvord.
The Jackrabbits won a tough game 45-40 against the Bulldogs.
Bowie was coming off a tough overtime loss against Whitesboro earlier in the week and wanted to head into the start of district with some positive momentum.
It slow going to start the game, but the Jackrabbits were in control. Bowie got scoring contributions from seniors Tucker Jones and Andrew Sandhoff as they combined to score all 11 points for the Jackrabbits in the first quarter as they led 11-9.
Both teams picked up the scoring pace in the second quarter and Bowie again was able to just outscore Alvord enough to extend its lead by two more points. The Jackrabbits had six different players make at least one basket during the stretch as they led 27-23 at halftime.
The third quarter saw the scoring take a dip a bit for both teams.
The Bulldogs made three 3-pointers and got to the free throw line eight times.
Bowie was led by Jones who scored nine of his team’s 11 points during the quarter.
It was enough to not let Alvord make up more than one point of the deficit as the Jackrabbits led 38-35 heading into the fourth quarter.
The pace slowed down to a crawl as Bowie tried to limit the Bulldog possessions so they could not come back. The Jackrabbits scored only seven points, with Rayder Mann scoring five of the team’s points.
It was enough as Bowie limited Alvord to only five points in the final period as it won 45-40.
To read the full story, pick up a copy of the mid-week edition of the Bowie News.
SPORTS
District awards for 1A released
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.
SPORTS
Forestburg coach retiring
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.
SPORTS
Bowie Sports Banquet
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.
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