SPORTS
Sports district realignment released
On Thursday morning, the University Interscholastic League released the district realignment for the 2024-2026 school years.
When the cutoff numbers came out during December, there were no big splashes for any area school moving up or down from the current status quo, but that does not mean there were no big changes.
Bowie is in an almost brand new football district, with only Iowa Park and Vernon returning. The other schools are familiar, but have not recently been in the Jackrabbits district.
The teams are Boyd, Paradise, Peaster, Ponder, Iowa Park and Vernon. While more than half the teams made the playoffs last year, only Paradise threatened for the district title.
The big news is there is no blue-blooded state-ranked every year opponent sitting at the top of the district that Bowie will have to endure like Brock or Jim Ned were expected to be.
Bowie had no other changes to its district layout in other sports. Holliday, Henrietta, Jacksboro, City View, Iowa Park and Vernon return to compete in every other sport.
Outside of district play is the news state power Brock is not just removed from the region, but out of the conference as the Eagles move up to 4A. Playoff runs will no longer die at the hands of Brock like so many Bowie teams have in the past.
For Nocona, the Indians staying in 2A was the biggest news back in December. Looking at the new football district, there is only one difference. Alvord, Tioga, Tom Bean, Trenton and Whitewright are all back. The district added one new team, Wolfe City. The Wolves finished in third place in their district the previous three seasons.
The basketball district stays the same except for the addition of Electra. Nocona will stay be in a district with Archer City, Olney, Petrolia, Seymour and Windthorst.
The biggest change is the Lady Indians volleyball district. Nocona moves from region II to region I and has a whole new district. Archer City, Olney and Petrolia are in it, but the big news is the inclusion of volleyball state power Windthorst.
For the 1A programs, some big changes came in the football districts. Gold-Burg and Forestburg moved out of region II to region III and will again be in a district with only Fannindel.
After two tough seasons sharing a district with Newcastle and Strawn, going back to a familiar opponent and a scenario where one win can get a team into the playoffs is welcomed.
For Saint Jo, the only change to its football district comes with the inclusion of Leverett’s Chapel, a team that won its district with ease the past two seasons. The Panthers will again have a long trip and tough team to play for the district title with Union Hill returning as well.
Campbell and Savoy have not been challenging for Saint Jo the past several seasons, so the addition of another playoff team will make the district schedule tougher.
The basketball district stays almost the same as Bellevue, Gold-Burg, Saint Jo, Forestburg, Prairie Valley and Midway return. The big news is the departure of district power Slidell as the Greyhounds moved up to 2A. With both boy’s and girl’s teams having won the district title almost every year for the past decade, it’s a big deal for the rest of the schools.
Also included in the good news is the departure of state-power Graford, which moved up to 2A, and Gordon moving out of the region.
In volleyball, the district stays the same as only area schools Bellevue, Forestburg, Saint Jo, Gold-Burg and Prairie Valley return.
The biggest change comes with two-time defending state champs Blum moving out of the region. Saint Jo has fallen each of the last two seasons to the Lady Cats in the regional final. Still, Harrold is coming off a state tournament appearance and will prove tough for the Lady Panthers in the upcoming season, according to volleyball Coach Kelly Skidmore.
This is just the district alignment for football, basketball and volleyball high school sports. Alignments for all other events will be releases in the spring of 2024.
To see the full breakdown of all of the new districts across the state in those three sports, you can go to the UIL website at https://www.uiltexas.org/alignments.
To read the full story, pick up a copy of the weekend edition of the Bowie News.
Saint Jo hosted its own volleyball tournament Sept. 10-12.
In its first match, the Lady Panthers bested Sam Rayburn in a b est-of-three match 2-1 (25-11, 23-25, 25-14.) In the opener, senior Tatum Morman staked the Lady Panthers to a 4-0 lead with help from Kamron Skidmore and Olivia Johnson kills. The Lady Rebels would come back and tie the game at seven.
Savannah Hill’s kill broke serve and allowed Abby Carter to string together seven points. An ace and a Hill kill helped keep the drive alive. Hill later rolled off six points in a row, helped by two aces, to go up 23-10. Sam Rayburn broke serve but Saint Jo finished the game with a single Morman point.
Sam Rayburn came right out of the gate firing in the second game leading 4-0. A single Carter point, thrown down by a Hill block, and Hill’s four-point skein put the Lady Panthers up 8-6. Sam Rayburn tied the game at eight.
For further details, pick up a copy of Thursday’s Bowie News.
Forestburg’s volleyball team gave visiting Chico a solid test Sept. 8, but the Lady Dragons rebounded from a third-set loss to pull out the 3-1 win (25-23, 25-19, 25-27, 25-19).
The Lady Longhorns got out to a quick start with aces from freshmen Madi Wadsworth and Lacie Shotwell staking the squad to a 4-1 lead in game one. Wadsworth later broke a 4-all tie with a kill.
Addy Conway rolled off four straight points, helped by a Wadsworth kill to give Forestburg an 11-9 lead. Chico took a 16-14 lead but a Brenna Briles ace and Jocelyn Rich’s two points forced Chico into a timeout down 17-19.
The respite worked as it would be Forestburg’s last lead of game one, the Lady ‘Horns not having another serving point.
For further details, pick up a copy of Thursday’s Bowie News.
After splitting the first two games with Vernon Northside, Bowie’s volleyball team turned things out and wound with a 3-1 match win (25-17, 15-25, 25-17, 25-17).
Molly Enlow used two aces amidst a four-point string to give the Lady Rabbits a 5-1 lead in game one. Senior KP Rutherford’s pair of points extended the lead to 8-3.
Northside cut the deficit to 10-11 before Rutherford’s kill broke serve.
Bella Culwell’s point, aided by an Ellie Mowery kill, put Bowie up 13-10. Northside tied the game at 13 before Rutherford came through with another pair for a 17-14 lead. Lillie Maddox also had a deuce for a 20-15 lead and force a Lady INdian timeout.
Northside broke serve but a Sophie Maddox block and Lillie Maddox three-point string gave the squad game point at 24-16. The squads exchanged side outs to end the game.
For further details, pick up a copy of Thursday’s Bowie News.
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