SPORTS
Lady Indians heading back to regionals
The Nocona Lady Indians are heading back to the regional tournament this weekend after beating Cisco on Tuesday night in Graham.
The Lady Indians won 56-48 against the Lady Loboes in a game that got harry at the end.
Nocona came into the game as favorites, with 31 wins and ranked ninth in the state in 2A according to the Texas Association of Basketball Coaches poll, and second in Max Preps rankings.
It was not expected to be an easy game for the Lady Indians which they had made it look like since the beginning of January.
Cisco had 27 wins and were ranked 15th in the state in the TABC poll and sixth in the Max Preps rankings.
Not only that, the Lady Loboes were Nocona’s stylistic opposites.
The Lady Indians are used to playing with a size disadvantage, either vertically or horizontally which they overcome with feisty help defense and fast paced play on offense.
Cisco had a player who both towered over and had much more size than any Nocona player. Brooklyn Hurtado was listed at 6’3” and had several pounds on the Lady Indians post player Avery Crutsinger who is listed at 5’8.”
It was not just size though as the Lady Loboes whole offense is predicated on trying to get Hurtado the ball in the post and working from there.
The first quarter was competitive and close as Nocona made four 3-pointers and led 12-11.
The Lady Indians defense started to lock in on really preventing Hurtado from touching the ball, which threw off Cisco in the second and third quarters as the team failed to score in double-digits.
Skyler Smith carried Nocona’s offense in the second quarter, scoring eight of the team’s 18 points as the team started to pull ahead even with Meg Meekins falling into foul trouble. The Lady Indians led 30-19 at halftime.
Nocona kept it up in the third quarter on offense, with Meekins carrying the load and scoring nine points and Reagan Phipps making two 3-pointers.
The Lady Indians led 47-28 and looked like they were going to cruise to an ending with little drama in the final period..
Nocona took the gas off the pedal offensively to run some clock per Coach Kyle Spitzer’s instructions, though the directive was not to hold the ball.
That got the Lady Indians out of their offensive groove which left the door open for the Lady Loboes.
Cisco’s Hurtado had scored only four points in the first three quarters and Nocona was daring her teammates to beat them from the 3-point line.
The Lady Loboes had some relative success at it, making four 3-pointers in the first three quarters. With their backs against the wall with the season on the line, Cisco players took more chances and were more aggressive offensively.
The Lady Loboes made three 3-pointers in the final period and players who Nocona expected to not make shots were coming through for them.
Cisco had come all the way back to cut it to six points 49-43 with 53 seconds left when Smith fouled out for the Lady Indians.
Thankfully, Nocona was able to take care of the ball and were forced onto the free throw line four times in the final minute.
Meekins came through, going 7-8 at the line in the quarter while scoring all nine of the Lady Indians points in the final quarter.
It was enough to hold off the Lady Loboes as Nocona won 56-48.
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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