By Andrew Cato, ShowMe Times Sports Editor

We’re entering the fifth week of the Pigskin Pick’Em Challenge, and so far, it’s been an excellent experience.

There have been some great games across the football landscape so far - the Cowboys/49ers game Sunday was outstanding - and even more great ones coming up - my mind instantly jumps to the OU/Mizzou game this weekend.


Right now we are conducting a survey of our users, and we want to know: What do you think of the game so far? What improvements/changes do you think need to take place? If we decide to branch out to include other sports later in the year, what do you want to see?


If you’re playing the game, take a second to fill out our survey here.

If you aren’t, playing is simple: click the Pigskin Pick’Em Challenge button on the SMT Homepage (directly below the weather, on the left-hand side). Create your account and play to win some great prizes from our sponsors, including Montgomery Bank, Ann-Marie’s, Hideaway Pizza and Package, Pro Tire, and more!

Thank you to everyone that is playing the Pigskin Pick'Em Challenge - we wouldn't be able to do this without the support of our outstanding readers and sponsors!

By Andrew Cato, ShowMe Times Sports Editor

The Lady Bearcats improved to 9-5 on the season with a dominant sweep of the Woodland Lady Cardinals on Monday night at the BEC.


In JV action, the Lady ‘Cats picked up 25-6 and 25-11 wins to continue their unbeaten streak on the season.


In Varsity action, Dexter won 25-9, 25-14, and had a great showing in their offensive game.


Head coach Lauren Hutchcraft was pleased with her squad’s effort, but felt the intensity wasn’t quite there for the Lady ‘Cats.

“The intensity could have been higher; because the BEC is such a big gym, the crowd is so disconnected from the courts here, it’s hard for the girls to get fired up sometimes,” Hutchcraft said. “They played well - just need more intensity. We had some missed serves, but that can be fixed. We also had some good kills, and our passing was better this game.”

Hutchcraft noted the performance of Lauren Ward, as well as her front-row hitters, in the contest.

“Lauren Ward is a very smart player, she knows where to place the ball. Especially on the second hit, she can dump, she knows what’s going on,” Hutchcraft continued. “I thought Brittany Harris hit well; Jessica Lindsey and McKenzie Mitchell also had some great kills tonight.”

Ward, one of the squad’s seniors, was perfect from the service line, and nailed 24 serves and 5 aces while getting 15 assists in the contest.

Harris, Lindsey, and Mitchell combined for 15 kills against the Cardinals.


Despite the lopsided scores, Hutchcraft was quick to commend Woodland’s team.

“Woodland is a good team, and they have some good players. They had some girls that could hit well, and they did that tonight,” Hutchcraft said.


The Lady ‘Cats will be in action again on Thursday night, when they face the Bell City Lady Cubs at the Bearcat Event Center. “One name - Jasmine Johnson,” she said. “She’s a really strong, talented player. It will be a great game.”


JV action is set to get underway at 6:00 p.m., with the Varsity game immediately following.

By Andrew Cato, ShowMe Times Sports Editor

The Lady ‘Cats picked up another ‘W’ on Monday afternoon when they faced off against Farmington.


Coach Leanne Dooley’s squad was able to finish the day with 6 - 3 Varsity and 14 - 0 JV wins.


In varsity action, Jessica Snider and Shanna Gant both dropped their singles matches in tiebreakers, but Dooley was pleased with their effort.


“[It was a] very good match in Varsity singles,” Dooley said. “The #1 and #2 were very close and hard-fought. Varsity will get another shot at them Saturday at the Farmington tournament.”

Baylee Cooper, Jamie Manuel, Erica Morgan, and Hailee Hubbard were all able to pick up wins in Varsity Singles.

On the JV side, the Lady ‘Cats were dominant throughout the match - the young ‘Cats went 6 - 0 across the board in singles, and 6 - 1 in two of the three doubles matches.


The Lady ‘Cats will be in action again on Tuesday afternoon, when they take to the courts against the Notre Dame Lady Bulldogs. The match is scheduled for a 4:00 p.m. start.

From Jeff Weseloh, SBU Director of Athletics Media Relations

Hays, Kan. - The SBU Bearcats football team had an electrifying 30-28 victory over Fort Hays to move their overall record to 2-1 on the season. The Bearcats offense clicked, scoring a season high 30 points, while the defense provided big stops and forced three turnovers in the win.

Fort Hays jumped out to an early 7-0 lead before the Bearcats responded later in the first quarter. After a 26 yard field goal by John Colliver, the Bearcats would then turn a Tigers fumble into seven points when Thaddeus Everson punched in the first Bearcat touchdown on the day from one yard out to give SBU a 10-7 lead. However, Fort Hays responded with 14 straight points, giving the Tigers a 21-10 lead.

SBU didn't back down, as Justin Duhaney broke free for a 44 yard touchdown run late in the second quarter to pull SBU with in four at 17-21. The Bearcats then forced Hays' second turnover of the game, a Clayton Davis interception, which quickly resulted in a 28 yard touchdown reception by Nathan Mourik from Dan Connors to give the Bearcats a 24-21 halftime lead.

The Bearcats would add another Colliver field goal in the third before Hays would score another touchdown and take a 28-27 lead, before Colliver would hit the eventual game winning field goal from 25 yards out early in the fourth quarter. The Bearcats defense was stellar in the second half, allowing only three points. As a team, SBU has yet to allow any points in the fourth quarter.

The Bearcats offense was spectacular against MIAA opponent Fort Hays. Connors responded well in his first start at quarterback, completing 16 of 18 passes for 146 yards and one touchdown. The running game was outstanding for SBU, with a combined 223 yards on the ground. Everson lead all rushers with 110 yards on 22 attempts, and one touchdown, while Duhaney had 72 yards on 14 attempts with one touchdown. Duhaney also lead the Bearcats with 53 yards receiving.

The Bearcats will be back in action next weekend when they face St. Joseph's (Indiana) on the road. Kickoff is set for 12:00 p.m.

---

Southwest Baptist University is a four-year evangelical Christian university that was established in 1878. The main campus is located about 30 minutes north of Springfield, Missouri, in Bolivar, a town of approximately 10,000 people.

DHS alum Glen Johnson is a defensive lineman for the Bearcats.

For more information on SBU Bearcat Athletics, visit sbubearcats.com.

The Blue team's Spencer Owens (#20) fights upfield for a few yards during Saturday morning's opening game of the 2011 Dexter Parks & Recreation Little League Football season.

The Little 'Cats will be on the field for the next few Saturday mornings, with games at 9:30 and 11:30 a.m.

The youngsters will even get the chance to play under the lights of Charles Bland Stadium for one game this season!