SPORTS
Saint Jo falls to 2nd ranked Abbott in the area round
The Saint Jo Panthers could not pull off another playoff upset on Friday night against second ranked Abbott.
Abbott was able to snowball a huge second quarter run into winning 70-24, ending the game early in the second quarter due to mercy-rule.
Saint Jo knew it had a tough game in front, but it was the third game in a row for the team that felt like it could compete with any team in the state. Saint Jo had upset the 10th ranked team in the state the previous week, Avalon. The team was 9-0 to start the season before falling to Union Hill in a winnable game in the finale to lose its shot at the district title and a one-seed which would have made its playoff schedule easier.
Abbott started the season ranked second after returning everyone besides its coach from a team that went 12-1, losing in the quarterfinals to eventual state champion Gordon. So far, the team had lived up to that ranking, going undefeated with only one game not ending early due to mercy rule.
Abbott jumped out to a two touchdown lead with two rushing touchdowns, leading 16-0. Saint Jo’s offense answered as Devin Stewart found Jayden Curry for a nine-yard touchdown pass to cut the lead to 16-8.
Abbott answered with a 28-yard touchdown pass to go up 22-8 heading into the second quarter.
Saint Jo was able to start the second quarter on a good note. The offense moved down the field and Stewart eventually scrambled for a 14-yard touchdown run. It made it a one-score game again, with Saint Jo trailing just 22-16.
Abbott was able to go back up by two scores with a 26-yard touchdown run to make it 30-16. Still, Saint Jo’s offense had some explosion as Stewart found Lee Yeley for a 50-yard touchdown pass to cut the lead to 30-24.
It looked Saint Jo was in another high scoring dogfight like it was last week as long as its offense could keep executing at a high level. Unfortunately, even with almost half of the second quarter gone, this is where the game turned for the worse for Saint Jo.
Abbott answered with a quick 45-yard touchdown pass. After kicking the ball deep back to Saint Jo, the Abbott defense forced a turnover, recovering a fumble at the six-yard line. The team then converted the turnover into a short touchdown run as Abbott led 46-24.
There was still enough time for Saint Jo to try and score before halftime. The team drove down the field before facing a fourth down at Abbott’s 12-yard line. Heaving up a prayer to the end zone, Abbott intercepted the pass in the end zone for a turnover.
The team then capitalized on having the ball again despite having less than a minute before halftime. Abbott scored on a 60-yard touchdown run to make 54-24.
With less than a minute left, that was enough time for more things to go wrong. A long kickoff pinned Saint Jo at its nine-yard line. Abbott’s defense was quickly able to drive the offense back for a safety, scoring it two points and getting the ball back.
Saint Jo was able to pin Abbott back to its own eight-yard line and finally felt a little safe with only seconds left before halftime. Then Abbott connected on a 72-yard touchdown pass.
Abbott led 64-24 at halftime as the shell-shocked Saint Jo team tried to recover.
In what was a one-score game midway through the second quarter, Abbott had scored 34 unanswered points, including 24 in the final minute of play.
Saint Jo was going to have to get back into it with its defense since it was going to be kicking off to start the second half. Abbott only needed to score once more to end the game due to the 45-point mercy-rule.
Unfortunately, Saint Jo did not recover the attempted onside kick and the defense could not slow down Abbott. The team scored on a 41-yard run for the final play of the game.
Abbott won 70-24 with eight minutes to play in the third quarter.
To read the full story, pick up a copy of the mid-week edition of the Bowie News.
It was announced last week Nocona Athletic director/football coach Blake Crutsinger is resigning from his position at the school after serving four years.
Crutsinger said now is the time for his family to make the move, with his daughter Avery graduating after spending four years at Nocona and with his son Kellar about to enter high school and wanting the same for him at another school.
“With her going off to college, she had a really good four years here and just looking at Keller heading into high school and exploring some opportunities that might be better for him, it is just time,” Crutsinger said.
Crutsinger went 19-22 overall, helping the Indians to two playoff appearances in 2022 and 2023. The team’s best season was 2023, when it went 8-2 and won the district title, the first one in 11 years for the program.
To read the full story, pick up a copy of the weekly edition of the Bowie News.
Saint Jo senior Payzlie Cervantes signed her letter of intent to play college basketball last week at Highland College in Kansas. She also played volleyball, softball and ran track at Saint Jo. “After talking with Coach Tana Coleman, I really connected with her and loved the campus vibe and direction she wants for the team,” Cervantes said. “I’m looking forward to continuing my basketball career while getting my associates degree in nursing to become a registered nurse.”
To read the full story, pick up a copy of the weekly edition of the Bowie News.
Last week Montague County had five girls from Bowie and Saint Jo compete at the state tennis tournament, and one team brought back some hardware.
Sisters from Bowie, junior Heidi and freshman Willow Siebert brought back a bronze medal competing in the 3A girl’s doubles bracket.
The pair were the first people from the program to make it back to state since their half sisters, Meagan and Myah Russell, advanced nine years previously.
The Sieberts came into state as a two-seed, having finished second at the regional tournament the previous week.
The duo was ready as they blew through their first two matches. They beat a team from Hondo in the first round with the scores being 6-1, 6-1 and dominated even more in the second round against a team from Tatum, winning 6-0, 6-1.
That got them through to the second day of the tournament, but Coach Dayna Boothe was worried they had had it too easy on day one.
Playing in the semifinals, the Lady Rabbits faced a familiar foe, a team from Peaster they had beaten in the regional tournament the previous week. Unfortunately, near the end of the first set, with the Sieberts fighting to stay alive, Heidi went after a high lob and slammed into the fence. She hurt her right arm and had to play through it for the rest of the match.
They lost the match with the scores being 6-3, 6-3.
It was an all Peaster final, with the other side of the bracket producing the team that both beat the Sieberts at the regional tournament and won their second straight state title.
Still, despite the disappointment, Bowie is bringing back a bronze medal. According to Boothe, after contacting people who would know dating back to the late 1970s, it could possibly be the program’s first medals from the state tournament in tennis.
Of course, Bowie was not the only school represented. Saint Jo had Taylor Patrick competing in girl’s singles and the team of Bailie Nobile and Maxey Johnson competing in girl’s doubles in the 1A classification.
Senior Patrick was making her third appearance at the state tournament, but her first in the singles competition.
She finished third at the regional meet which meant she had a tough first round matchup against a second seed from Fort Davis.
It took everything from Patrick in a match that lasted two and a half hours. She went down in the first set 6-2, but rebounded in a tight second set to win 6-4 to force a third and final set. She had the momentum and won 6-2 to move on.
She had to summon the energy to play later that day against a fresh one-seed player from Utopia. Patrick lost 6-1, 6-1 to end her Saint Jo career. Her opponent would go on to finish second.
Juniors Johnson and Nobile were making their first appearances at the state meet after finishing second at the regional tournament. In the first round they played a tough match against a team from Marathon. It seemed evenly matched throughout, but small mistakes at inopportune times cost them throughout the match. In the end, the team lost by the scores of 6-3, 6-3.
To read the full story, pick up a copy of the weekly edition of the Bowie News.
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