Sports

   Bay City Tourism Council members considered different locations for the statue of Bay City Olympian Joe Deloach that’s nearly complete at an Oklahoma studio.
   Bay City Tourism Manager Heidi Martinez also provided drawings of possible pedestals that will support the 8-foot-tall sculpting of the 1988 Olympic champion at the Tourism Council meeting at Hampton Inn last week.
   Deloach won the 200-meter gold medal in the 1988 Seoul Olympics
   Possible sites for his concrete statue include: downtown at the intersection Avenue G and 6th Street, near Homestead, Liberty Park, Meriwether Park near the USO Center (Services Building), at Bay City High School, near the Texas Theater that’s under renovation.

To read more, please log in or subscribe to our digital edition.

   Bay City Blackcats will face District 18-6A Westbury here Friday night in a contest between two schools with a lot to prove.
   Both schools have incurred three losses in the young season, but in Westbury’s case, those three defeats have been by lopsided margins.
   The Westbury Huskies lost 55-6 to Baytown Lee Aug. 31, to Fort Bend Willowridge 41-9 and to Houston’s Benjamin Davis 49-7.
   Against Gregory-Portland last Thursday, Sept. 13 - in a game moved back a day because of the coastal storm conditions - Bay City put up a dominating first half, going 14-0 into halftime.
   The third quarter started promising enough, as the Blackcats scored a touchown and the PAT gave them a 21-0 lead over the Wildcats at the 9:06 mark.
   But that was the end of the Blackcats’ scoring, as Gregory-Portland scored 24 unanswered points in a stunning comeback that ended with a final score of 24-21, leaving Bay City with three losses.

   Van Vleck has one more non-district game Friday before district play begins Sept. 28 against East Bernard.
   The Leopards will put their untarnished 3-0 record in a home game against Second Baptist Eagles from Houston, Friday, Sept. 21. 
   The District 23-Freelance Eagles enter the match with a 3-0 record after their 28-21 non-league win over Tomball’s Concordia Lutheran.
   Van Vleck is coming off a lopsided, 67-6 victory over Kashmere last Thursday in Houston.
   Van Vleck had 225 yards passing from senior quarterback Cameran Hudson, who was 7 for 9 with 157 yards and two touchdowns, and junior quarterback Joshua Delarosa went 3 for 4 for 68 yards and a touchdown.
   Hudson, senior DJ Vargas and senior Nicholas Tucker all had rushing touchdowns.
   Senior running back De’mitri Monroe had 126 yards on 12 carries for an average of 10.5 yards per carry and two touchdowns. 
   Van Vleck had 156 total yards rushing.

   Bay City Tourism Council members are working on approving an action plan for the location of the Joe Deloach statue.
   “The statue looks amazing,” said Bay City Tourism Director Heidi Martinez.
   “We’ve been tasked with choosing the statue’s location and picking the granite etching. We’d really love to get this downtown since we’re getting some seating around the base, too. We always need more seating downtown.”
   Martinez showed a mock-up bronze statue to the board so they knew what to expect.
   “The real statue will be about eight feet tall and cast in full bronze,” she added.
   “The base is projected to cost $12,000 so that we can have some seating around it. We want it to be located on the business-side of downtown, not the courthouse side.”
   Several options were mentioned including in front of the Matagorda County Museum and the corner of Ave. G and Sixth St. before the discussion was sent to the arts sub-committee.

   Bay City High School Blackcats will play a Gregory-Portland squad that’s 2-0 and fresh off a 26-22 win over Victoria East last Friday.
   Kickoff will be 7:30 p.m. Friday, Sept. 14, at Ray Akins Wildcat Stadium, 4601 Wildcat Dr., in Portland.
   The District 15-5A-2 Wildcats started off the season with a 19-0 victory over Corpus Christi Carroll.
   Gregory-Portland is guided by senior quarterback Brian Hayek, who has thrown for 288 yards, three touchdowns and no interceptions in two games.
   The Wildcats’ leading rusher is junior running back Joe Sauceda who has 218 yards on the ground – a 109-yard average – and four touchdowns in G-P’s first two games. 
   Among the Wildcats he’s by far had most of the ball carrying.
   While Hayek isn’t a prolific passer, he’s hit six receivers who have double-digit catches.  

   VAN VLECK – The Van Vleck Leopards used a stingy defense and timely offensive plays to defeat the Wheatley Wildcats 21-6 here Friday night, Sept. 7.
   With the win, Van Vleck moves to 2-0 on the season.
   “I was happy to get the win after a wild week,” said Leopard Head Coach Robert Blackmon. 
   “We didn’t get much practice in due to the holiday and weather, and it showed at times. But the kids held up and stayed after it, especially in the second half. It just proves how important practice is,” Blackmon commented.
   The Leopards wasted no time breaking in their new upgraded stadium by scoring on their first drive. 
   Van Vleck took the opening kickoff from their own 27-yard line and went to work. 
   Leopard running back De’Mitri Monroe got the bulk of the carries, busting off a 36-yard run to set Van Vleck up at the Wildcat 5-yard line. Monroe would take it up the middle on the next play for the score. 

   Due to inclement weather and a forecast featuring at least 80 percent chance of rain all weekend long, several events have been canceled and rescheduled for a later date.
   Serve Outdoors Matagorda’s annual fundraiser and banquet was scheduled for Friday and Saturday Sept. 14-15 but has been canceled and moved to next month.
   “Due to impending weather we will be rescheduling our fall Serve Outdoors Matagorda fundraising banquet to Oct. 26-27,” said Serve Outdoor Matagorda volunteer Clint Hewitt via Facebook Tuesday afternoon.
   “The safety of our community and our participants is our first concern. Mother Nature has her own plans and we must adapt. Mark your calendars for the new dates. Be safe my friends and keep an eye on the gulf. Look forward to seeing you there.”
   This year’s Relay for Life Matagorda County was set to kick off Saturday, Sept. 15 downtown, but has changed date with a venue to be determined at a later date.

 Bay City Head Coach Patrick Matthews gathered the Blackcats together after they mounted a furious second-half comeback against the No. 6-ranked Cuero that came up short, 49-42, at Gobbler Stadium last Friday, Aug. 31.
   “Get your head up,” Matthews told his team. “Y’all ought to be proud.”
   The Blackcats trailed Cuero 34-14 at half and the Gobblers had scored on every first-half drive in a game that was Bay City’s first game of the season, but it was Matthews’ first as head coach.
   Just as senior quarterback Dylan Davidson had scored a 72-yard touchdown run on the first Bay City play of the game, junior running back RJ Mitchell returned the second-half opening kickoff 91 yards for a touchdown.
   The second half seemed to belong to Bay City, especially the fourth quarter. 
   The defense made stops, forced a fumble and Mitchell blocked a punt to set the Blackcats on the Cuero 9 and he scored from there.