SPORTS
Baseball Roundup
Nocona
Nocona Indians lost a tough game at home on Tuesday against Alvord.
The Bulldogs won 19-1 after five innings due to run-rule against the Indians.
Nocona had played some competitive and close district games recently, losing by close single-digits to Lindsay last week which was a far cry from last year’s district games.
Unfortunately, that good defensive play was not there for the Indians on Tuesday while the bats continued to struggle.
Alvord scored two runs in the first inning and one in the third inning. The real times the game was broken open was in the second inning when the Bulldogs scored seven runs and then in the fifth inning when they scored nine runs.
Nocona scored one run in the fourth inning following the only defensive scoreless inning in the game for the team.
Brody Langford led off by drawing a walk. Landon Fatheree followed by hitting a double to put two runners in scoring position.
Konnor Harrington then grounded out to first base, but it was enough to get Langford home for the Indians only run.
The only other hit for Nocona was from Miller Jentry on a single. The team drew three walks otherwise to get baserunners on.
Saint Jo
The Saint Jo Panthers beat Chico at home on Tuesday night.
The Panthers won 3-2, holding on after the Dragons made a run in the final inning.
Saint Jo struggled the previous week in its series against Perrin-Whitt.
The Panthers got the lead early in the game. In the first inning, Charlie Evans drove in two runs on a single with the bases loaded to put Saint Jo up 2-0.
The teams would then exchange four scoreless innings before the Panthers added to their lead.
With two runners on base and two outs, Sam Martin hit a single that drove in one run to extend Saint Jo’s lead to 3-0 heading into the final inning.
Chico was able to get some runs on the board. After a leadoff single ended up on third base with one out, a single scored the first run for the Dragons.
Following a double that put two runners in scoring position, Devin Stewart came in to pitch and get the save for the Panthers. He induced a pop out to center field, but it was deep enough to score one run and cut the lead down to one.
With the tying run on third base following a stolen base, the next batter then hit a fly ball to right field, but it landed safely in the outfielder’s glove for the third and final out.
Saint Jo won 3-2.
Missing scores
The Bellevue baseball team’s Gamechanger page was not updated from its scheduled game earlier in the week against Perrin-Whitt.
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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