Richland’s junior high basketball team just finished their last home game against the Cairo Pilots. The team is now looking forward to the Conference Tournament on November 10th through 13th. The Rebels have had an exciting season and are sad for it to come to an end. Along with the basketball team, the junior high cheerleaders have also had a great time learning new cheers and dances with their new cheerleading coach, Mrs. Anderson.
This year, the school and the basketball teams received a new head coach, Matt Cline, and a brand new assistant coach, Tyler Feller. This particular duo has previously coached basketball but this will be their first year coaching together at Richland. They are ecstatic about coaching not only junior high team but the high school team as well.
The junior high has two separate teams: one team consists of both sixth and seventh graders and the second team consists of only eighth graders. Both teams have had a fantastic season and for most of them, this was their first time playing the sport. Although most of the junior high teams in the community consist of all males, Richland is proud to have Liza King, a sixth grade girl, who enjoys the game and has excelled greatly throughout the season.
During the game against the Cairo Pilots, the sixth and seventh grade team quickly took the lead by scoring the first couple points. The Richland Rebels racked up points on the scoreboard and ended halftime, leading 26 to 10. The lead scorers of the first game were Garet Phillips and Josh Shidler, along with two notable players: Clayton H. and Riley Glass. The first game ended in the Rebels’ favor with a final score of 43 to 21.
The second game was played by the eighth graders and during the first two quarters, both teams were head to head. The score at half time was 36 to 24, with the Pilots in the lead. The Rebels lost their lead during the third quarter and things began to go downhill for the eighth grade boys. The final score was 62 to 48, leaving the Pilots with the victory of the second game. The top scorers were Devin Stoker and Josh Thorton, with two notable players: Jerry Craft and Preston Tilley.
Overall, both teams have had great seasons that had quickly come to an end this year. The eighth graders are looking forward to be playing on the high school team during the 2013 season and the seventh graders are anxious to keep improving themselves as a team.
Coach Cline and Coach Feller have really earned their stay at Richland, leaving the fans and community anxious and energized to see what happens with the high school basketball season that will officially start on November 26th through 30th at the Oran Invitational at Oran High School.
Jessica Snider SMT Writer
It’s been an exciting volleyball season for the Bernie Lady Mules to say the least. The very talented team has spent hours upon hours working to achieve their goal.
Open gyms and practices began early in the summer for the team. They walked into every practice with one thing on their mind and that was to improve all their skills and make 2012 a winning season.
The Lady Mules’ hard work on the court throughout many months has recently paid off as the team had the experience of a lifetime as they made it to the State Competition this weekend.
Many exciting nights of volleyball soon turned into the team’s dream of making it to the state competition. Many fans have sat through nail-biting games this season, and were tremendously proud to support their hometown Mules this weekend as they competed in more nail-biting action in the Show-Me Center.
There were more than just Bernie Mules there to cheer on the team, though. Many people from the surrounding area came out to support the Mules in their awesome experience.
The Bernie Mules qualified for state competition, made it to the final four, and then competed in the State Championship on Saturday at 3:00 against Winona.
It was an awesome atmosphere to be in as the Bernie Mules took the court for what would be many of the seniors’ last game ever. Each player was announced individually prior to the game.
Fans from both teams packed the bleachers and cheered after every point their team received.
Despite the great talent from the Bernie Mules, they ultimately fell in the championship to Winona in two sets.
Many of the players were upset in knowing that would be their last game to play with their teammates, but coaches and fans knew there was absolutely nothing this team should hang their heads about.
After the championship game, most everyone stayed around to watch the medals being handed out to both teams and also the coaches.
It was an emotional time for the Bernie Mules as they recognized their great accomplishments when they got their hands on that second place trophy. Along with individually getting second place state medals, Bernie head coach, Erin Hoffman, individually hugged each player and gave them a few words.
There shouldn’t be a single person who isn’t proud of this 2012 Bernie Mules volleyball team, as second place in the state of Missouri is an absolute awesome accomplishment!
Congratulations to all the girls on the team!
SMT Sports Writers
New Madrid, MO - The Dexter 6th Grade Football Traveling team went to New Madrid this week to take on an evenly matched group of 6th Graders. The 6th Grade Bearcats were unable to get enough points on the scoreboard to win the game and lost to New Madrid by a score of 16 to 14.
The inspired idea of pulling these young men together as a traveling team following the end of their normal DPR season was under the hope of building a team spirit. Having played the entire DPR season split up over four different teams, this traveling team allowed each athlete to begin to determine their role for next years middle school season.
The team had three outings with a jamboree style outing in Portageville, a weekend game against the Cape Girardeau Man Machine and this final game against New Madrid. The team was overall competitive and looks to have a good group of core athletes that will bring promise to the DMS program the next two years and ultimately to Coach Aaron Pixley's high school program.
"This is a great group of athletes and it was our pleasure to be able to work with them," commented coach Darrin Hillis.
"We simply wanted to begin to raise the expecations of these young men to higher levels for their future as Bearcats," Coach Hedrick added. "They should be a fun group to watch." Seth Rogers continued his dashing running skills against New Madrid, with strong runs behind his big offensive line. This age group is anchored with highly talented young men that have some size. These athletes could possibly play other positions but have quickly learned the importance of an offensive line to the success of the offense.
Big Luke Boyer and Garrison Collier are obvious lineman with a great size and strength for the position. They are madman in there. Brock Simmons, Hunter Lawrence and James Robinson that are tremendous athletes that are agile and quick and able to play anywhere on the field. These kids did a great job of taking on the role of the offensive line during the traveling season.
The team alternated between quarterbacks Joe Rice and Nate Gargis, with each athlete bringing different talents to the position. Corbin Strong also added some strong runs from his fullback position.
Braxton Foster highlighted the night with a second touchdown of the young Bearcats team with a 15-yard pass over the middle of the New Madrid defense. He had a couple of catches on the night, proving that he has a good set of hands to add to the air-game of the future.
Defensively, Luke Boyer was crashing and bashing his way into the backfield giving the New Madrid team all they wanted up front. Garrison Collier and James Robinson also added to the rush provided by the 'Cats during the contest. Hunter Lawrence played well at his middle linebacker position.
Exceptional play was given by the teams defensive end core of Colby Powers and Braxton Foster. A position that requires athletes to be more responsible than to simply attack, these two players were noted as two that understood their job and got the job done this season.
A surprise on the night was Travis Propst. Travis is an excellent kicker but his aggressive play during this weeks practice earned him a chance to sub in at the defensive line and linebacker positions, where he had an excellent performance. Overall, the 'Cats performed well against New Madrid but a few big plays allowed the young New Madrid team to gain a lead and maintain it, winning by the narrow margin of 2 points.
"We were very happy with the boys as we accomplished what we wanted to in this short season," noted Brett Dorton. "These kids are young but very talented. Our goal was to gel them as a team, increase their skills and I think we did that."
Special thanks to Loyd Rice, who played a major role in organizing the games and the practices for the team. Loyd also acknowledged the support of Jamie Rowe and Dexter Parks and Rec. The team was able to continue to use their uniforms and equipment to finish the season.
The 8th grade Wildcats had an offensive machine with Tim and Jacob Hector, who combined for a total of 37 of the 62 points on the night. Tim Hector was the leading scorer for Bloomfield with 23 points and Jacob Hector followed with 14 points.
The Wildcats jumped out to a quick first quarter lead of 24 to 6. The quick moving unselfish offense for the Wildcats was just too much for the Bernie 8th grade team. The Wildcats pumped in an additional 17-points in the 2nd quarter, making the half time score 41 to 15.
Bloomfield pulled their starting lineup early in the 2nd half allowing the entire team to get some game experience. The Mules were able to rally in the 2nd half outscoring the Wildcats 29 to 21.
Gage Stogsdale and Alex Gibbs each had 6-points in the contest. Brad Massingill followed with 4-points, Kyle Anderson had 3-points and Joey Clary, Austin Phillips and Dallas Monroe had two-points each.
In the 7th grade game, the story was reversed as the Bernie Mules continued their undefeated season with a powerful full court press. The Mules are exceptionally quick and created a number of turnovers in the backcourt against the Wildcats. The Mules quickly exchanged these turnovers for points to jump out to a 1st quarter 18 to 2 lead. Bloomfield made a run in the 2nd quarter, outscoring the Mules 10 to 8 and again in the 3rd quarter 13 to 9. But the Mules jumped back into the full court pressure and walked away with the fourth quarter 17 to 7. The Mules defeated the Wildcats by 20 points (52 to 32) but it was actually a better game than the score shows.
Bloomfield will host the Dexter Bearcats middle school teams this Thursday, November 1st. This should prove to be an excellent contest as both teams are evenly matched this season.
Sports Writers
The 8th grade 'Cats were led on the night by their strong performing Jason Jarrell. Jarrell has continued to be a strong force for the Bearcats on the middle school level and is an exceptional athlete.
He is surrounded also by other talent on the team such as Gavin Northcutt, Jackson Babb, and Riley Mason. This is an overall a good group of ball players that really work well together on the court. Most fans feel we will see this group continue to improve as they get more game time experience together.
"Our decision making in transition was excellent tonight (against the Rebels)", noted middle school basketball coach, Josh Dowdy. "We are doing a great job of making the extra pass which is resulting into easy buckets." Jarrell ended the night with 22 points, with Northcutt having 11 and Babb with 9. Mason Riley and Ryan Mayo each contributed 4-points to the win. Bryce Simmons continues to be a strong person inside for the 'Cats, as he and Zach Potts each added two points on the night.
The 7th Grade group continues to improve in their 2012 season. They quickly jumped out to a commanding lead in the 1st quarter creating a 16 to 4 margin. But the Rebels of Richland were quick to battle back with 16 points of their own in the 2nd quarter leaving the Bearcats a 3-point lead at halftime. Richland continued to give the 7th grade Dexter team trouble in the 3rd by cutting the Bearcat lead by 1. But the Bearcats Nick Trout helped his team rally in the 4th quarter with 6-points combined with Bo McMullin's 4-points to give the 'Cats a 54 to 43 win over the Rebels.
"McMullin continues to be a workhorse for us all over the floor," commented Dowdy. "Marcus Woodson also came off the bench and provided a lot of energy. He hit some key buckets and played fearless tonight."
"Richland played well and hit a lot of buckets," Dowdy added. "We are not playing very good defense right now but it is to be expected since this is first time these kids have played man to man. We will improve with time as these kids want to get better."
The Middle School 'Cats will play again on Thursday night against the Bloomfield Wildcats at Bloomfield High School.
