Sports

    The Cobras finished their season as Bi-District Champions with a 6-2 record and second place in the district. They earned the Bi-District level by beating Nixon-Smiley with a final score of 62-34.
    “This season has been a roller coaster for injuries, we were doing really well at the beginning but it put us out of sorts,” said Head Coach Kristy Bradford.
    “It took us a while for us to get back on track and meshing but I feel like in the past couple of weeks the girls really bought into the system and figured some things out. I think when the girls were playing well and playing hard, they were playing harder than I’ve ever seen them play.”
    She said when some players aren’t used to playing rough they don’t mentally deal with it very well, and the Cobras were getting into a place where they could handle rougher play from other teams without being affected.

    The Edna Cowgirls were a young team this year, and landed in fifth place with a record of 2-8. Head Coach Brett Nidey said they had a decent year despite their youth.
    “I only had one senior and three straight out of junior high,” Nidey said. “I was hoping to go 500 games and make the playoffs in the fourth spot, those were my realistic goals, we just missed out.
    His one senior was Shermeka Thompson, and his three freshman were Acajia Dickerson, Laynee Hyden and Lexi Reyes. Nidey said Marquisa Callis and Dickerson showed the most improvement over the year, and Callis led in scoring and rebounding in the district.
    “Twins Kirstie and Ashley Soto showed solid leadership, and Bailey Brown was our defensive base,” he said. “Lexi was very consistent throughout the year starting every game at point guard as a freshman.”

    Although the Maidens basketball team didn’t have the record this season they may have wanted, they played their hearts out and never gave up. Head Coach Bryan Branch said despite the record he was pleased with the season.
    “I told the girls I may have had teams that had better records, but none were more enjoyable to coach than these girls. They came to practice everyday with great attitudes and worked as hard as they could to get better every day,” he said. “In every game they left everything on the court.”
    Branch said officials and opposing coaches would tell him after games the Maidens played harder than opposing teams despite winning games. He said officials commented on how impressed they were at how hard the team competed and how hard they played.

The Industrial Cobras welcomed the Edna Cowboys in playing the last district game of the season. With their win of 48-38, the Cobras earned District Champs with an undefeated season of 10-0. From left Cowboy Cade Orsak keeps up with Cobra Logan Gabrysch.

    Ganado freshman Luke Alvarez loves baseball, and now he’s in high school the need to turn that love into a career has grown strong. So strong he’s become involved with Under Armour, the popular athletic gear who holds national tryouts and camps for student athletes.
    Luke was referred to the UA Baseball Factory National Training by his high school coach, Kris Cavazos. He connected with UA and they asked to see how he looked and tried out in UA’s National Tryout Tour.
    “I had a contact from Under Armour ask me if there were any kids I thought would be able to play at the next level and was looking for younger talent. I gave him a list of names that I saw had enough potential to play,” Cavazos said. “Luke was contacted and had a tryout for the team. I wasn’t able to make it but talking to Luke and his mother Lorisa it sounded like he had a great tryout. From there the rest is history.”

    Edna senior Marquis Bates signed with Sam Houston State University to play college football. At 6'4 his height could've been a help or a hindrance, and Marquis capitalized on it, stretching his body to make receptions in football games that always caused fans to rise up in the stands. Originally he was committed to play at Texas State, but things changed.
    "The coaches offered me a gray shirt at Texas State and I wasn’t too happy with it so I went and looked at other colleges. They offered me a full ride to Sam Houston last week when I visited so I went with them," he said.
    As for the change in setting, Marquis feels good about it. "I’m looking forward to a better college experience, I feel like I’ll fit in better there because their offense fits me."

Edna Cowboy senior Dylan Kallus signed to play football with Hardin-Simmons University and continue being a Cowboy.

Athletic Director Huey Chancellor said one of the biggest things about Kallus, aside from his strength on the field, is the leader he was and has become. "When we met he told me he had a dream of playing college football, and he was a vocal leader with the team, and a good work ethic. He was a big part of our offensive line," he said.

Kallus will being training in August with his new team.

An article can be found in the Feb. 10 issue of the sports section.

Edna Cowboys senior Marquis Bates has signed to play college football with Sam Houston State. Originally committed to Texas State, he went with the Bearkats due to a full ride. His 2015 statistics were 22 catches, six touchdowns, a gain of 630 yards with an average of 28.63 yards per catch.

Athletic Director Huey Chancellor said Bates was impressive looking when they met. "He had potential to be something special early on and has continued to improve day by day, year after year, and that work paid off. He was a tremendous blocker for us and also made some big plays. I'm proud of him," he said.

Bates will begin training directly after graduation.

An article can be found in the Feb. 10 issue in the sports section.

    Ganado Maidens played against the Schulenburg Lady Horns in a district game on Jan. 22 and lost with a score of 58-45.
    Chelsea Rohrman started the game with a two-pointer and the remainder of the quarter was found in free throws. Cheyenne Galindo and Sierra Salazar each scored a point, while Kira Cardenas scored two free throws.
    The first quarter was 12-6 in the Lady Horn’s favor.
    Cardenas started the second quarter with a free throw, and Rohrman did the same. Galindo scored a two-pointer before Alexis Mojica scored a three-pointer. Cardenas followed up again with a free throw shot, and Rohrman scored two free throw shots. Mojica had a two-pointer, and Rohrman scored another two-pointer.
    Salazar started stealing balls left and right from the Lady Horns, and got the crowd’s attention because of it. At halftime the score was 26-20 in Schulenburg’s favor.

    Ganado Indians welcomed the Schulenburg Shorthorns for a district basketball game on Jan. 22 and lost in a close game with a final score of 48-40.
    Caleb Thedford started off the evening with a two-pointer, and Christian Palacios followed up behind a three-pointer. Thedford scored another two points, and then Matt Bridges scored another two points. Palacios ended the quarter with a three-pointer.
    The Shorthorns led the first with a score of 13-12.
    Bridges started the second quarter with two points, and Logan Hurt scored a three-pointer to tie the score at 17 all three minutes into the second quarter. Jorge Campuzano scored two points, and Thedford scored two more points to end the second. The Shorthorns were still leading at halftime, 24-21.