Saint Jo
The Saint Jo Panthers picked up two big wins last week against Forestburg and Prairie Valley.
The Panthers beat the first place Longhorns 50-39 before beating the Bulldogs 56-39.
Saint Jo was came into last week coming off a disappointing loss at Bellevue at the buzzer. With it being senior night on Feb. 4 and playing a Forestburg team that was undefeated in district play, it was the perfect time to flip the script.
It was close and competitive for three quarters as the Longhorns led 27-25 heading into the fourth quarter. In the final period, the Panthers exploded for 25 points, doubling their three quarter total and pulling away from Forestburg as it could not keep up. Saint Jo won 50-39.
Barrett Johnson led the team with 27 points and Trent Gaston was second with nine points as the Panthers gave the first place Longhorns their first stumble in district while also giving Saint Jo hope it could move up in the standings.
On Friday the Panthers traveled to Prairie Valley to play a young Bulldogs’ team. It was close after the first quarter with Saint Jo leading 11-10, but the second quarter saw the Panthers pull away, outscoring Prairie Valley 18-4 as they led 29-14 at halftime.
That was enough to keep the Bulldogs at bay in the second half as Saint Jo won 56-39.
Johnson and Gaston both had 13 points to lead the team while Lee Yeley had 10 points.

Nocona
The Nocona Indians had an up and down week, going 1-1 against Seymour and Archer City.
The Indians lost to first place Seymour 57-44 before blowing out Archer City 55-28.
Nocona came into last week following two tough losses and were hoping it could give pull an upset against a Panthers team that was undefeated in district, but not so dominant that it was dream.
The Indians played Seymour tough in the first half, trailing only 27-22. Unfortunately, the Panthers had a great third quarter, outscoring Nocona by 11 points to open up a double-digit lead 46-30 heading into the fourth quarter.
The Indians had their best scoring stretch to finish the game, but it was not enough to come back even if they would have shut down Seymour. The Panthers scored just enough to keep Nocona at bay as they won 57-44.
Karson Kleinhans led the team with nine points and four assists. Landon Fatheree was second with eight points and grabbed a team high seven rebounds. Jose Gomez Jr. scored seven points and Zyrus Moreno added six points.
Nocona next played Archer City at home and was able to run away with the game with only one blemish in the second quarter.
The Indians led 18-7 after the first quarter, but took their foot off the gas as they were outscored 9-6 in the second quarter and led 24-16 at halftime.
Coach Brody Wilson made sure his team had no more lapses in the second half. Nocona outscored the Wildcats 31-12 and won easily 55-28.
Fatheree led the team with 16 points and Kleinhans was second with 12 points. Gomez Jr. scored eight points and grabbed a team high seven rebounds.

Forestburg
The Forestburg Longhorns had their first stumble in district play with a loss to Saint Jo last week, but bounced back with a win against Gold-Burg.
The Longhorns lost on the road to the Panthers 50-39, but then won at home against the Bears 73-30.
Forestburg came into last week undefeated in district play, having just beaten second place team Midway for the second time.
Still, not all of the wins had been easy up to that point, including the first game against Saint Jo that was won by only eight points.
The second game lived up to expectations. The Longhorns trailed by only one point 20-19 at halftime and then led 28-25 heading into the fourth quarter.
Forestburg was dealing with some foul trouble and some late game miscues that Coach Curtis Enis took the blame for afterwards that allowed the Panthers to explode for 25 points in the final period to pull away.
The Longhorns could not keep up as they lost 50-39.
Jesse Wadsworth led the team with 15 points, Jesus Sanchez was second with 11 and Kyler Willett had 10 points.
It was a disappointing loss for Forestburg as the team had played so well up to that point despite playing several close games.
The Longhorns bounced back on Friday at home with a big win against Gold-Burg. Forestburg scored 21 points in the first quarter and 27 in the second quarter to build a 48-15 lead at halftime.
While the Longhorns explosive scoring took a step back in the second half, their defense never did as they limited the Bears to single-digits in both quarters as they won 73-30.
Sanchez led the team with 16 points, Josiah Wadsworth scored 15 points, Jesse Wadsworth had 14 and Willett finished with 10 in a balanced effort.

Prairie Valley
The Prairie Valley Bulldogs lost both games last week against playoff teams in their district.
The Bulldogs lost 81-54 against Bellevue and 56-38 against Saint Jo.
The young Prairie Valley team was hoping it could show improvement since the first games against both of these teams.
On Feb. 4 against the Eagles, the Bulldogs initially led 17-12 after the first quarter. Unfortunately, Prairie Valley had trouble stopping Bellevue in the final three quarters and could not keep up in the high scoring affair.
Trae Campbell led the team with 15 points while Hunter Camden was second with 13 points.
Playing against Saint Jo on Friday, the first quarter was again close as the Panthers led 11-10. Then the Bulldogs struggled to score in the second half which allowed Saint Jo to pull away and Prairie Valley could not make up the difference in the second half.
Campbell led the team with 23 points and Kasey Caruthers was second with six points.

Missing scores
The Bowie News did not receive scores from the Bellevue and Gold-Burg coaches before the deadline.

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