SPORTS
Bowie boys play at holiday tournament in Bridgeport; Lady Rabbits pick up a win against Graham
Bowie boys
The Bowie Jackrabbits had an up and down holiday tournament at Bridgeport last week to get the rust off following the break.
The Jackrabbits went 2-2 during the two-day tournament, with a tough day one followed by a more enjoyable second day.
Bowie started the tournament playing a Boyd team Coach Ryan Dykes was coaching this time last year.
After a close first quarter, the Jackrabbits had a bad offensive stretch in the second quarter which allowed the Yellowjackets to take control. Bowie was playing catch up the whole second half, but nearly came back to steal the game at the end. Boyd held on to win by one point 47-46.
The Jackrabbits then played private school Liberty Christian which has former Dallas Cowboy tight end Jason Witten’s son on it as a freshman.
Bowie was actually in control early in the game, scoring well and holding a double-digit midway through the second quarter. The Warriors came back thanks to a tough full-court press defense that created scoring chances.
While the Jackrabbits scored well in the game, the myriad of good looks created by Liberty Christian’s press meant Bowie could not keep up offensively. The Warriors won 72-63.
The Jackrabbits then played fellow Montague County team Gold-Burg. Bowie used its size and experience to put the hurt on the smaller neighbor school, winning its first game of the tournament on day two 67-25.
The Jackrabbits finished the tournament by playing 4A Western Hills. The first half was very flip-floppy.
The Cougars initially went up by nearly double-digits in the first quarter. Bowie responded by doing the same in the second quarter and the teams went into halftime tied after two one-sided quarters.
The Jackrabbits came out in the second half and carried on what was working in the second quarter, limiting Western Hills to single-digit quarter totals while executing on offense.
Bowie pulled away and ended up winning by a comfortable margin 57-42.
Bowie girls
The Bowie Lady Rabbits played a warm-up game at home on Friday night against 4A Graham.
The Lady Rabbits won a low-scoring game 31-23 against the Lady Blues in a game which Bowie needed to try and get back on track.
The Lady Rabbits were coming off the holiday break with two losses in district play. The team lost their leading scorer shortly started and had to figure some things out on the fly.
While Bowie did not magically fix its offensive woes against Graham, it was a much needed pick-me-up for the team’s morale heading back into district play.
It also was a blue-print for the team of what it needs to do in order to win against good teams, which includes lights out defense.
The Lady Rabbits allowed only 14 points in the first three quarter, which allowed them to feel comfortable up 22-14 heading into the fourth quarter.
Even with the Lady Blues “exploding” for nine points in the final period, Bowie still won easily by the final score 31-23.
Kayleigh Crow led the team with 12 points. Katelyn McGehee and Emily Cueva each had four points.
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.
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