SPORTS
Bellevue boys beat Gold-Burg 62-49
The Bellevue Eagles won their senior night on Tuesday against Gold-Burg to keep their playoff hopes alive.
The Eagles won 62-49 in a game they controlled for all but a furious run in the third quarter from the Bears.
Gold-Burg came into the game with a one game lead on Bellevue in the standings. Both teams are gunning for fourth place and the final playoff spot in district, which would break a drought for either program.
The Bears won the first game between the teams back in mid-January 64-55, but knew it would be different with the Eagles being at home and emotional on senior night.
Bellevue seemed to pass around and through Gold-Burg’s 3-2 zone defense when everything was clicking, cutting to the basket for clean layups or crashing the offensive glass to get second and third looks at baskets.
The Bears were able to get by the Eagles man-to-man defense initially, but long arms from help defenders in the post meant tough contests at the basket were hard to convert for Gold-Burg consistently.
Passing it out for 3-point shots were hot and cold all game for the Bears offensively.
At halftime, Bellevue led 32-18.
The Bears turned up the pressure and started to employ a full-court press.
This upped pace and while the Eagles offense still scored in the double-digits, it really favored a Gold-Burg team that caught fire to get back into the game.
Down as much as 17 points midway through the third quarter, the Bears went on a 17-5 run to close the period. Bellevue’s lead was trimmed down to five points, leading 45-40 heading to the fourth quarter.
Gold-Burg ran out of steam as the Eagles reset to get back on track in the final period.
Taking advantage of the open corner 3-pointers Bellevue was able to generate for its best shooter Ryan Jones while limiting turnovers, the Eagles were able to comfortably get a big lead again.
The Bears offensive explosion had died down as Bellevue’s lead grew to double-digits again and time wound down.
The Eagles won 62-49.
To read the full story, pick up a copy of the weekend 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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