By Andrew Cato, ShowMe Times Sports Editor

BERNIE - The Bernie Mules and Holcomb Hornets faced off Thursday night in the semifinal round of the annual Bernie Invitational Tournament.

The Mules dominated the game early, and held a commanding 33-20 lead going into halftime. The Mules‘ hot outside shooting - they hit 13 three-pointers against Campbell on Tuesday - kept up, with Bernie hitting six three’s in the opening half.

”I thought we came out and played aggressively in the first half and played solid basketball,” Bernie head coach Brad Botsch said. “We guarded aggressively and did the things we set out to do.”


Holcomb’s defense was on fire in the second half, holding Bernie to just nine points in the third and four in the fourth. Aaron and Ryan Reeves hit big threes for the Hornets to propel them to a 15 point effort in the third quarter to cut Bernie’s lead to 42-35.

Aaron Reeves was good from downtown again in the fourth, and Holcomb big man, the 6’7” James Massey, dominated the boards to push the Hornets to a 48-46 victory.

“We seemed timid and afraid to attack their zone,” Botsch said. “Nobody was willing to step up and compete on the offensive end.”


“Holcomb did the things they need to do to beat us and competed harder than we did,” he continued. “They were the hungrier team tonight.”


The Mules will face off with the Bloomfield Wildcats for third place on Friday (Dec. 2) night. Holcomb advances to the title game for the first time since 1998, and will face off against Risco for the title, played immediately after the third place game.

ShowMe Scoreboard, 12.02.2011

 

High School Girls Basketball

• Naylor 42, Saxony Lutheran 31
• Kirkwood 58, Cape Central 38
• Delta 61, East Prairie 35
• Sumner 25,Farmington 62
• Notre Dame 71, Pacific 62
• Scott City 72, Charleston 61
• Ste. Genevieve 60, Valle Catholic 38 

High School Boys Basketball

• Bell City 83, Oran 68
• Risco 68, Bloomfield 45
• Holcomb 48, Bernie 46
• Woodland 71, Meadow Heights 40
• Scott County Central 88, Malden 57
• Cape Central 47, Fredericktown 33
• Scott City 53, Leopold 55
• Oak Ridge 53, Perryville 61
• Crystal City 84, Ste Genevieve 49

NCAA Men

• Kentucky 81, St. John’s 59
• Arkansas State 58. St. Bonadventure 52
• Murray State 70. Western Kentucky 59
• Ole Miss 70, DePaul 68

NCAA Women

• Southeast Missouri State 42, Northern Iowa 62
• Missouri S&T 66, Maryville 47
• William Woods 70, College of Ozark 60 (11-29)
• Henderson State 89, Texas A&M 75

By Andrew Cato, ShowMe Times Sports Editor

CAPE GIRARDEAU - The DHS Wrestling team hit the mats for their first match of the season on Thursday night, in a three team duel between Dexter, Notre Dame, and Sikeston. Both duels were close for the ‘Cats, but ultimately they were able to win both, with a 44-36 win over Notre Dame and a 43-36 win over Sikeston.

Trevor Waldner, the first of Dexter’s three returning State Qualifiers from the ’09-’10 season, picked up a big win in the 132-pound class.

The ‘Cats were tied up with Notre Dame up until the very last match of the duel - the heavyweights. Senior Dylan Heflin took on Notre Dame’s Sam Moses in the deciding match. Heflin was able to secure a win by fall to seal the victory for DHS.

“There were great match ups for us tonight,” head coach Rick Schwab said. “Heflin went out and had a great match and secured the victory for Dexter.”

Things weren’t looking good for the Bearcats early in the duel against Sikeston - the Bulldogs have some of the best lower/middle weight class wrestlers in the area, and they showed their skills on the mats. Schwab pointed out Sikeston’s talent, but noted that a little strategy can go a long way in wrestling.

“We really had to strategize in the Sikeston duel. Sikeston’s lower and middle weight classes are absolutely stacked, and by the time the 152 weight class came up, we were losing 30-6,” Schwab said. “We had to move kids to different weight classes to give us the best advantage in the upper weights.”


Hunter Hardin represented Dexter in the 152-pound match, and won a 11-10 judge’s decision over Courtney Hawkins. T.J. Stoner won by fall over Clay Porter in the 160-pound match. Freshman Dylan Bazarian - who looks to be one of the better young wrestlers in the area - won by fall over Cristian Crunkpecker in the 170-pound match.

Cody Stevens, the second of the Bearcats’ three returning State Qualifiers, won by fall in the 182-pound match. Zach Watson picked up his second win of the night - he won his match against Notre Dame by forfeit - in the 195-pound class against Tanner Hensen.


Zach Lacy, the third State Qualifier from last year, picked up a win over Austin Hensen in the 220-pound class; Lacy also picked up a win against Notre Dame by forfeit.

The score was now 37-30 in the Bearcats’ favor, sealing the win after a huge comeback at the end of the match. Sikeston’s heavyweight Clayton Drikill won by fall over Dylan Heflin to take the score to 37-36, and a forfeit by Sikeston in the 106-pound class improved Dexter’s margin of victory to 43-36.

“Ultimately [moving people around] worked,” Schwab said. “We won every match from 152-pounds to 220-pounds.”

The Bearcats will be in action again on Tuesday (Dec. 6), when they travel to New Madrid for a head-to-head duel against the Eagles.

Thanks to SMT Reader and Bearcat Dad Bob Waldner for the photos!

By Andrew Cato, ShowMe Times Sports Editor

POPLAR BLUFF - The Annual SEMO Conference Banquet was held Wednesday night at the Black River Coliseum, with Bearcat coaches and players all receiving awards after a great football season.

Dexter head coach Aaron Pixley was named SEMO Central Coach of the Year for the second consecutive year. In the last two seasons under Pixley’s tutelage, the Bearcats have amassed a 17-7 record, back-to-back District Titles, a SEMO Conference Championship, and made it to the state quarterfinals in the ’09-’10 season. Pixley is the winningest coach in DHS history, with a 76-50 career record, including four District Titles since his first season in 2000.

DHS Left Tackle Zach Lacy was given the Lineman of the Year award for the SEMO Central division; he was joined by Farmington’s Ethan Hennes and Zach Estes of Scott City.


The SEMO Conference’s most prestigious award, the Carr Trophy, went to Caruthersville’s Elbie Fonda. The running back ran from 1,889 yards and 25 touchdowns during the regular season, leading the SEMO Conference in both aspects, and led the Tigers to an 11-2 record - their only two losses came in a 56-55 shootout against the Bearcats, and in the State Quarterfinals, where they fell 36-29 to Maplewood-Richmond Heights.

The other finalists for the Carr Trophy were Sikeston's James Watson, who rushed for 1,485 yards, Farmington quarterback Chase Busenbark, who threw for 1,698 yards, Chaffee's Tyson Estes, who ran for 1,431 yards, and DHS quarterback Cody Stevens, who threw for 1,375 yards and ran for 1,184 yards.


Stevens was the first Bearcat in school history to throw and run for over 1,000 yards in a season, and he also became the only second-generation member of the 1,000 Yard Club - his father, Nate, ran for over 1,000 in the ’85 and ’86 seasons.

Farmington linebacker Roper Garrett was presented with the inaugural Derland Moore Award for the most outstanding defensive player in the conference. Garrett was an integral part of the Knights‘ defense, with 127 tackles (82 solo, 45 assists), six sacks, and three forced fumbles.

Moore, a native of Poplar Bluff, was a walk-on defensive lineman at the University of Oklahoma and had a 14-year NFL career with the New Orleans Saints. At the time of his drafting, Moore was the highest-picked walk-on player in NFL history.

After a 41-year career, Jackson assistant coach Bob Sink was given the Same Giambelluca Lifetime Achievement Award. Sink announced his retirement last month, during Jackson’s Football Banquet.

The Bearcats were well represented on the All-Conference Team, with 11 First Team members. They are:

By Andrew Cato, ShowMe Times Sports Editor

The DMS Bearcats fell to the Sikeston Bulldogs in the next to last game of the season on Tuesday night at the Bearcat Event Center.


The seventh grade squad found themselves on the receiving end of a 61-46 decision, while the eighth grade squad lost a close 56-52 contest that went right down to the wire.


The seventh grade ‘Cats were tied at 11 with the Bulldogs at the end of the first quarter, but Sikeston’s offense exploded with a 20 point effort in the second to take a 31-20 lead going into the half.


Jason Jarrell took the Bearcat offense under control during the second half, scoring 22 of Dexter’s 26 points in the second half and 36 of 46 in the entire game. The Bulldogs had another big offensive quarter in the third, putting up 17 points opposed to Dexter’s 10.


The Bearcats were able to outscore Sikeston 16-13 in the fourth quarter, but it was too little, too late for the seventh grade squad, as they fell 61-46.

The eighth grade contest was an exciting, action packed game. When these two teams met in their seventh grade seasons, Sikeston was able to nudge a one point victory.

The score was tight through all four quarters, with many ties and lead changes throughout. Ethan Flowers knocked down a three early in the first quarter for the Bearcats and spark a 21 point effort by the team in the opening frame. Cole Renken was dominant on the boards throughout the contest, and was able to chip in eight points in the first quarter alone.

The ‘Cats led by five at the end of the first, but the Bulldogs were able to hold Dexter to just six points in the second to tie the game at 27 heading into halftime.

Austin Chesser hit threes in the third quarter to help the ‘Cats to a 42-37 lead at the end of the frame.

Sikeston’s speed and physicality shocked the Bearcats at times, and helped Sikeston to a big fourth quarter comeback and a 56-52 victory.


The Bearcats will close the 2011 season Thursday (Dec. 1) night at Charleston.