If you’ve ever been one to think that all kids are alike, allow us to prove you wrong - meet Mr. Zach Lacy.

Zach is the son of Russ and Kim Lacy of Dexter. He is a young man that proves that manners and kindness can reside in the life of a young person. A gentle giant on the high school football team, Zach has a strong fan following among the members of Bearcat Nation.

As an athlete, Lacy has been a standout in both football and wrestling, now in his senior year at Dexter High School. He has been a team leader and someone that is considered a friend among all his peers. Lacy is one of the good guys - one that always has a smile on his face and an upbeat spirit that he is willing to share with anyone.

During his sophomore year, Zach became a starting offensive lineman for the Bearcats out of sheer size and ability. His performance as a young Bearcat exceeded all expectations of his coaches and fellow players.

Gaining valuable experience during the 2009 season for the ‘Cats, Lacy came into his junior year. A nagging shoulder injury continued to plague his performance during the season, but Zach was quick to grow his mental toughness by playing through the entire season with only being sidelined a few times during a game. You would always find him ready and willing to get back on the field every Friday night, regardless of any injury.

The Bearcat offensive line has been one that has drawn a lot of attention. Zach has been fortunate to surround himself with quality lineman in the past - Jake Bollinger, Theo Gaul, Tim Moore, and Jacob Stephens all come to mind - that have given him both motivation and valuable experience. His ability to be steady and solid on the field has brought him All-Conference and All-Region honors during his junior season as an offensive lineman.

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“Zach Lacy has been a pleasure to work with in the weightroom and on the football field,” head football coach Aaron Pixley said. “He has transformed his body from a boy as a freshman to a man as a senior."


“He has improved as a player every year, and most importantly, as a person.”, Pixley continued. "We are excited to see Zach have his best year yet."

Zach’s athletic abilities don't begin and end on the football field - he's also an outstanding member of the wrestling team. Lacy has wrestled at the varsity heavyweight division since his freshman year and has competed in District, Sectional and State-level competitions throughout his high school career.

His initial goal when he went out for the squad was to improve his footwork and mobility on the offensive line, but he found that he was actually great at the sport. He had a bit of a tough start during his freshman season, but at the end of his sophomore year, he was voted Most Improved Wrestler by his coaches and his junior year found him as a state tournament qualifier.

“Through hard work in wrestling and the weight room, Zach has been able to reshape his body into a force to be reckoned with on the athletic field”, commented football and wrestling coach, Rick Schwab. “He has greatly lowered his body fat percentage while increasing his 40 speed and increasing his numbers in the weight room.”

“Zach has a great work ethic, a determined mind and it has showed through his accomplishments in our athletic programs”, Schwab continued.

Lacy is extremely involved with activities both at school and around the community. He is one that is truly a standout in the Class of 2012. Both his infectious smile and friendly demeanor make you know that Russ and Kim Lacy have done something incredibly right in raising this young man.

By Andrew Cato, ShowMe Times Sports Editor

The Lady Bearcat Tennis team split a tough match with the Kennett Lady Indians Tuesday afternoon. The Varsity squad lost 3-6, while the JV won 7-4.

“Kennett is good and experienced - last year’s district champion,” head coach Leanne Dooley noted. “They didn’t lose many to graduation.”


Shanna Gant (8-4) and Erica Morgan (8-1) picked up the only singles wins at the Varsity level for the ‘Cats. Dooley noted Gant’s effort, saying that she played a “good match and played hard.” Morgan was praised for her good footwork and agressive play by Dooley.


Hailee Hubbard lost a tough match in a tiebreak (7-9) to Kennett’s Kelsey Washburn. Hubbard and partner Jamie Manuel picked up the only varsity doubles win (8-4) over Kennett’s Wasburn and Katherine White.


On the JV squad, Brannon Heaton skunked Kennett’s Mackenzi Carr, 6-0. Taylor Owens played the most competitive singles match for the JV squad, beating Laura White 6-4.

The Lady ‘Cats will be in action again Wednesday (Sept. 7) when they take on the Caruthersville Lady Tigers at home; the match is scheduled to get underway at 4:00 p.m.

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By Andrew Cato, ShowMe Times Sports Editor

CAPE GIRARDEAU - The Dexter Lady ‘Cats picked up another big win on Tuesday night against the Cape Central Lady Tigers.


Despite rolling through the first set 25-12, the squad faced some adversity in the second set, but still came out on top, 26-24.

“We did well in the first set - I saw much better hitting from my girls than I did in the previous three games we've played this season,” coach Lauren Hutchcraft said.  “The second set, Cape came out more fired up and ready to play, and we only won that one by two.”

“[Cape Central] did a good job on pulling my middle blockers to one side and attacking from the other for a cleaner one-on-one attack,” Hutchcraft continued.  “This made it harder for my three girls on backrow defensively with not having a double-block on the majority of their attacks in that second set. However, we pulled the win off by two points in that second set.  The one thing I'm really proud of my girls for is staying mentally ‘up’ and not dwelling on mistakes.”

The ‘Cats were nearly flawless from the service line in the contest - Lindsey Hindman, McKenzie MItchell, Erika Mouser, Hannah Noe, and Lauren Ward were all perfect on the night.


Freshman standout Jessica Lindsey had another solid performance, with 5 digs, 6 kills, 2 blocks, and 2 aces in the contest.


The JV ‘Cats also won their match in straight sets, 25-12, 25-7, and both squads move to 4-0 on the season.


The ‘Cats won’t be in action again until the SEMO Tournament, held this Friday and Saturday (Sept. 9 & 10) in Cape Girardeau, Mo.

The Lady ‘Cats will get a preview of an upcoming district opponent - the Notre Dame Lady Bulldogs, who have been nothing short of dominant in the district for the last decade. The ‘Cats usually don’t see this matchup until much later in the season - this year, the contest with ND is the last of the year before the district tournament - so this could be a vital ‘scouting tool’ for the Lady ‘Cats.

“The SEMO Tournament will be a good tournament for anyone wanting to watch some good volleyball in the area!  We actually play a district rival on Friday night at 4:30--Notre Dame!,” Hutchcraft said.  “They have literally won districts for the past 10 years, so this will be a good progress report for my girls and I to see how we're doing so far and what we need to do when it comes down to the end of the season.  We normally wouldn't play them until the last regular season game, and then the following week is districts - it'll be nice to play a team that's in our district so early on, especially the one that is known as the team to beat.”

“On Saturday, we have one more pool play game against Meadow Heights,” Hutchcraft added.  “The top team from each pool will advance to the Gold bracket; the second team will go to the Silver; and the third team will go to the Bronze.”


The tournament will be held in various locations across Cape, but mainly the ShowMe Center and Notre Dame Regional High School. Make sure to get to Cape this weekend to check out all the great volleyball action!

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The full bracket for the tournament can be printed out here.

 

By Andrew Cato, ShowMe Times Sports Editor

The Dexter Bearcat Booster Club’s dodgeball tournament is almost here!

The tournament will be held on Saturday, October 8 at 5:00 p.m., as a culmination of the week’s Football Homecoming festivities.


This great event will be held at the Dexter High School Gym - the gym attached to the school, not the BEC - with a full concession stand provided. Admission is $3 per person, with children under the age of five admitted free of charge.

The deadline to enter your team or sponsor the event is September 16. For your convenience, you can print your team’s registration form here.

This form can be filled out and turned in to any booster club board member, along with your team's registration fees. Be sure to include a contact number with the form - an informal Team Captain's meeting will be held prior to the tournament.

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For more information, contact Dana Adams at 573.421.1411 or danaadams@montgomerybank.com.

The Labor Day Holiday was not observed at Charles "Seed" Bland Stadium this past Monday evening as the Junior Varsity Bearcat met the Malden Greenwaves. With the change in the weather, it was a great night to watch the football action.

D J Dowdy is a young incredible quarterback that does nice job handling the offense for the Bearcats. He is surrounded by young talent from the junior, sophomore and freshman classes at DHS. These young men don't often see much action during the Friday night contests and this is a formidable opportunity for them to see action and perfect their skills.

The first quarter found the Bearcats dominating the play on the field and the clock. The first drive took up about 5 minutes but ended with a 4th down and 1 yard attempt that failed. After a turnover by Malden, the Bearcat offense came back on the field with a new pace to their offense.

At around the 3:06 mark of the offensive machine got rolling with a pass completion from D J Dowdy to Stevie Payne. Brad Wick picked up his running game with powerful stiff arms used against the Greenwave defense. Jonathon Foels, a sophomore running back that returned to the Bearcat squad this year, began to show his talent as a running back as he picked up 7 to 12 yards per carry.

With a quick switch of possession with back to back fumbles by each team, the scoring for the Bearcats got started. Jonathon Foels took a hand off from QB D J Dowdy and raced 20 yards for the Bearcat's first touchdown of the night. The two point conversion was good as Dowdy rolled out and delivered the pass to Holden Bruce. With 0:25 seconds left in the 1st quarter, the score was Bearcats 8 and the Greenwaves 0.

Second quarter action found the Bearcat defense holding the Greenwaves on a 4th down and 2 yard attempt at the 8:28 of the 2nd quarter. This was a critical turnover by downs as Noah Cronk came up with a big tackle.

Loss on the first play from the Greenway 46 … with a lateral pass had a loss of 3 yards

Brad Wick used his powerful running style with an 18 yard run from scrimmage. That was followed by a 26 yard completion by DJ Dowdy to Stevie Ray Payne to setup Dexter for a 1st down from the 7 yard line. Jonathon Foels followed with a quick run off right tackle for a Bearcat touchdown. Dowdy found open daylight around the left end to make the 2 point conversation good.

The Greenwaves found the Bearcats defense tough. Dillon Bazarian came up on a big 3rd down tackle in the next defensive series. However, Malden was desperately trying to get things going and was able to convert on their 4th down attempt. Malden was able to put together a long run to the outside but eventually the Bearcats were able to sniff out the reverse by the Greenwaves and stop them on a 4th down attempt.

With 3:08 remaining in the half, the Bearcat offense picked up their game immediately with an 18-yard pass completion to Jordan Miller from Dowdy. Jonathon ls followed with a long 15-yard run from scrimmage taking the football down to the15 yard line. The offense continued to take their steps 15-yards at a time and the third play had D J Dowdy connecting up again with Jordan Miller for another 15-yard. Miller was stopped short of a touchdown at the 1-yard line. Brad Wick had no problem powering through the Malden defense for another Bearcat Touchdown. The 2-point conversion attempt failed leaving the score at 22 to 0 in favor of the Bearcats.

A booming kickoff out of the end zone by Brad Wick gave Malden the ball on 20-yard line with 2 1/2 minutes remaining in the half. The defense provided good containment on Malden's running back, Cortez Dobbins. The Bearcats created another turnover as Logan Quertermous put a huge rush on the Greenwaves quarterback causing a misfire the pass that ended as an interception by Bearcat defensive back Jordan Miller. Miller returned the ball all the way down to the Greenwave's 23-yard line. However, the 'Cats were unable to take advantage of the turnover and went in at halftime with the score of Dexter 22 and Malden 0.

Brad Wick started the second half with a little excitement again as he kicked a bullet at the front line of the receiving team. The football was mishandled by Malden and the fumble was recovered by the Bearcats to start the 2nd half.

Very quickly, the "Jonathon Foels' Show" started as Foels was picking up first downs and averaging about 8 to 12 yards per carry. With 4:24 remaining in the 3rd quarter, Brad Wick ran the ball in from the 4 yard line for another Bearcat touchdown. The two point conversion failed.

Defense became the name of the game, as Dakota Southerland began to stack up tackles. Southerland is a big young freshman that show a lot of promise on the field. Defensive end Stevie Payne also dominated, delivering a rush into the backfield that caused another turnover on downs by the Greenwaves with two minutes remaining in the 3rd quarter.

With a solid lead, the Bearcat coaching staff began to rotate in some of the freshman talent into the lineup. They mounted a solid drive as Tim Spence made several great runs. Also contributing to the running game was running back Dillon Bazarrian and quarterback Jason Madison. With a long sustaining drive, the young Bearcats deliver eight more points as Tim Spence took the ball into the end zone from 6 yard out. The two point conversion was good by #35 Dillon Bazarrian.

The Greenwaves mounted up a drive late in the 4th quarter. A touchdown saving tackle by Bearcat Matthew Fulkerson on Edwin Hale prevent what seemed to be a sure play for Malden. Unfortunately, Malden was able to toss a pass into the flats that was turned into a 30-yard touchdown with only 2:30 left in the game.

It was an excellent showing by the Junior Varsity Bearcats. This has traditionally been a group that knows how to win and they are only improving with time.

"Our guys displayed great discipline tonight and played a great game", commented Coach Greg Lummakka. "As they continue to work and take advantage of our weight program, we can expect good things in the future from these guys."

It was a fun night and nothing better than ending it with a 36 to 8 victory for the Bearcats.

Special thanks for Travis Miller for supplying the pictures to the ShowMe Times of the JV Football Action!!