Dexter, Missouri - As the Bearcats continue to grind through the 2012 football season, the 'Cats played host to the Park Hills Central Rebels.  Park Hills entered the contest ranked third in MSHAA 3A District 1 and maintained their district ranking by defeating the Bearcats by a score of 27 to 7.

The presence of Park Hills Central at Charles "Seed" Bland Stadium brought back bad 2011 memories to many Bearcat players and fans.  The Bearcats lost an overtime heartbreaker to the Rebels last year in round 1 district playoff action by a score of 28 to 29, ending Dexters hopes of extending deeper into the 2011 playoff system. 

The Rebels entered Friday night's contest with a record of 5 wins and 2 losses on the season, with losses to Sullivan in the season opener 6 - 34 and a narrow one point loss to St. Genevieve 21 to 22.  This was a game that the young Bearcats knew would be a challenge. 

Pre-game scouting reports indicated that the Bearcats could expect the Rebels to be quick and strong.  As the Rebels entered the field, it also confirmed that they were also big.  With the Rebels defensive line averaging over 225 pounds and over 6 feet tall, you could quickly see the 'Cats would need to bring their top game.

Receiving the opening kickoff, the Bearcats quickly found the defensive line to be as tough as the appeared.  The middle was completely stopped up with large 5' 10", 260 pound and 6'2" 220 pound bodies.  Running backs Ryan Joyner and Brad Wick found the inside game tough.

If you can't go through them, the Bearcat coaching staff created an excellent series of calls for the offense to go to the air.  Quarterback D. J. Dowdy found his favorite receiver Chase Young open along the right side of of the field for a 22 yard completion to initiate the movement of the offense on the opening drive.

Making something out of nothing, Dowdy eluded tacklers and scrambled out of the pocket for a 17 yard run.  Chase Young came back with a huge block on that play.  

The Bearcats remained very efficient with their 3rd down attempts by completing every attempt on the opening drive.  Dowdy continued with the air assault completing two back-to-back third down attempts to freshman Ethan Stevens.

After a penalty against the Bearcat offense, Dowdy delivered a perfect 14-yard pass over the Rebel defender to Ethan Stevens for a Bearcat touchdown at 7:02 in the first quarter with the extra point good.  Stevens' fade route to the left side of the endzone was a great reception by the young freshman.

After a 16-yard opening run by Central's running back Cody Harris, the Bearcat defense stiffened with big plays by Chase Noe and Jonathan Page.  An overthrown pass on third down force the Rebels to punt with 5:12 remaining in the first quarter.

The Bearcats second series of offense quickly ended as the Rebels made defensive adjustments to shutdown the passing game of the Bearcats.  The 'Cats were forced to punt after 3 and out series.

With great field position in Bearcat territory, the Rebels Cody Harris displayed his lightening speed gaining 14 yards on the first play from scrimmage.  Reed Lucas then took the ball for Park Hills and ran the ball down to the Bearcat 19 yard line.

The Rebels continued their grinding style of offense straight up the middle of the Bearcat defense.  With 1:42 remaining in the first quarter, Derek Mitchell took the hand off up the middle for the Rebels first touchdown.  The two point conversion was good making the score 8 to 7 in favor of Park Hills.

The Bearcats were unable to move the football on their next series and the 1st quarter ended with the score remaining 8 to 7.

Bearcat punter, Hunter Hayes started the 2nd quarter with a booming punt that the Rebel's Marler returned for 14 yards.  The Rebels offense went back to work pounding and grinding the ball down the field.  

The Bearcat defense gave rise holding the Rebels at one point to a 4th and 2 attempt.  The 'Cats nailed Central's running back Mitchell at the line of scrimmage but Mitchell gave second effort to pick up the first down to keep the drive alive.

Just when Park Hills began to look unstoppable, the troubled hand-off by the Rebels put the football loose on the ground.  The Bearcats quickly jumped on the ball for a drive stopping change in possession.

The 'Cats offense went back to work with solid gains by Chase Young and blasting runs by Brad Wick.  On third down, a quarterback keeper by Dowdy collected on an incidental facemask penalty giving the Bearcats a needed first down. 

The Park Hills defensive line continued their stingy ways against the Bearcats rushing game.  The Bearcat coaching staff provided an answer to the offensive dilemma with the pass.  Another incredible pass by QB D J Dowdy coupled to a more spectacular catch by Chase Young. 

Dowdy dropped back under pressure and launched a long pass down field, where Chase Young awaited with 3 Rebel defenders.  Young went up high and timed the ball perfectly to make the reception.  Quickly, Young spun out of the crowd and advanced the football down to the 3 yard line for the 'Cats.

Feeling the threat on their small lead, the Rebel defense turned the game around at this point of the game.  With two key quarterback sacks and tough inside defensive line play, the strong defensive stand kept the Bearcats out of the endzone and denied the Bearcats a score. 

After taking over on downs, Reed Lucas of Park Hills ran the ball up the middle but received a smashing blow from the Bearcat defense jarring loose the football.  The Bearats quickly jumped on the ball giving them 1st and goal from the 7. 

However, the "Red Zone" has haunted Dexter this season and they have not had the ability to complete the drives on offense.  Once again, the Bearcats were unable to convert on the Rebel turnover.

The Bearcat defense had one more test before the half would end.  Rebel's Harrison broke loose on a run was off for the green grasses of the endzone, when Austin Aldridge came up with a touchdown saving tackle.  Following this play, the 'Cats defense got busy with a blitz from Ethan Stevens that resulted in Stevens, Holden Bruce and Jonathan Page sack on the quarterback of 10 yards.  On 4th and 20, the 'Cats were able to hold Austin Caldwell of Park Hills short of the first down to close the first half with the score Park Hills 8 and Dexter 7.

To begin the second half, the Bearcats kicked off to the Rebels.  The Bearcat defense once again was showing signs of strength against the power sets of Park Hills, holding them to minimal gains.  But in a gutsy 4th and 3 situation, the Rebels were able to pick up the necessary first down out to mid field.   They continued to grind down the field until Lucas took the ball in from 1 yard out for the Rebels second score.  Austin Aldridge had a great defensvie play to deny the two-point conversation making the score 14 to 7.

The Bearcat offense went back to work moving the ball down the field with good runs by Brad Wick and Ryan Joyner.  Aided by a defensive pass interference penalty, the Bearats continued to move down the field.  The drive stalled with excellent play by the defensive backs for Park Hills and a strong rush on Dowdy.

The Rebels took over on offense and quickly answed with Daniel Marler getting loose for a 58 yard touchdown run at the 1:48 mark.    Extra point was good.  Park Hills widened their lead making the score 21 to 7.

From that point forward, the Bearcats struggled to get anything going.  The Rebels provided one more scoring drive in the fourth quarter,  Park Hills Logan Comfort took the ball up the middle with 1:16 remaining in the game to make the final score 27 to 7.

This win takes the Park Hills Rebels record to 6 and 2 on the season and drops the Bearcats to 1 and 7.  With only one game remaining in the season at Malden next Friday, the Bearcats look to be slated to travel to Fredericktown for their district playoff game. 

Bearcats offensive rushing individual leaders on the night were D J Dowdy with 13-yards, Chase Young with 11-yards, and Brad Wick with 9-yards.  The passing game was very strong tonight with D J Dowdy completing 8 Passes on 17 attempts for a total of 146-yards and one touchdown.  He was sacked 5 times for a minus 32 yards and had no interceptions. 

Chase Young and Ethan Stevens were on the receiving end of Dowdy's passes.  Young lead the Bearcats with 4 catches for a total of 108-yards, averaging 27-yards and a longest catch of 66-yards.  Freshman Ethan Stevens collected 4 passes as well for a total of 38-yards. 

Defensively, the Bearcats were lead by Jonathan Foels and Logan Quertermous, both with 11 tackles on the night.  Noah Kronk and Holden Bruce followed up with 8 tackles each.

 Even though it was a hard fought victory in which the Bearcats never gave up, the defensive line dominated the Bearcats rushing attempts and began to apply pass rush pressure to the passing game of the 'Cats.  The Bearcats were simply limited to what they could do against the Rebels.  The 'Cats gave good effort throughout the night but in the end, were simply over matched. 

Thursday night the Middle School Lady Bearcats traveled to Neelyville to take on the Lady Tigers.  Both of the Middle School teams played well in a game that had the Bearcats facing teams that were as tough as they have seen all year.

In the first game of the night the 7th grade Lady 'Cats played a Neelyville team that played very good on defense.  The Bearcats played consistent in the first half and managed to score 14 points to the Tigers 6. 

Dexter came out and responded with good defense of their own and shut out Neelyville in the third quarter while adding six points to their total.  Neelyville came charging back in the fourth quarter, scoring 11 points and holding Dexter to a mere three points. 

It was enough however, for the 7th grade Lady Bearcats to hold on for the 23-17 win.  Taylor Wells led all scorers with eight points, while Hannah Thurmon scored seven.

The 8th grade Lady 'Cats looked like they might have met their match as the first half wore on.  With good play on defense the Neelyville Lady Tigers were playing with the 'Cats, only down 12-9 after the first quarter. In the second quarter it was much the same as the Tigers kept the same pace and only trailed 13-19. 

In the second half the Bearcats offense began to pick up and was too much for the defense of the Lady Tigers.  Dexter slowly wore down Neelyville Tigers with good defense and a big three pointer by Cidney Gathings (two three pointers on the game).  Cheyenne Mosby led all scorers with 11 points while Sydney Rogers and Harley Allen had nine and eight respectively.

The 8th grade Dexter Lady Bearcats won the game by the final of 40-24.  Both teams played well and are continuing to get better under the coaching of Eric Sitze and Chad Allen. 

The 7th grade Lady Bearcats next games are at the NMCC tournament at New Madrid on the 15th and 16th.  The 8th grade girls next games will be at the Girls Basketball Tournament that they are hosting at the Bearcat Event Center in Dexter, Oct. 20-22.

Dexter, Missouri- Friday night the Dexter Bearcats will face off against the Park Hills Central Rebels at Charles "Seed" Bland Stadium at 7:00 P.M. They will look to upset the Rebels that sit at 5-2 on the season. 
This game against the Rebels is Senior Night for the Bearcats as it will be their last home game as football players for Dexter.

The Central Rebels will bring with them a tough style of football, that is coming off a rout of the Perryville Pirates in league play.  The Rebels traveled to Perryville last Friday and beat the Pirates handily by the score of 35-0.

The Central Rebels football team earned a share of the MAFC Conference championship on Friday with their shut-out of the Perryville Pirates. The Rebels will share the Conference title with Maplewood and Ste. Genevieve with all three finishing conference play with 4-1 records.

The Rebels feature several talented football players on offense. One of these athletes is a talented running back Derek Mitchell, who ran the ball 16 times in the game for 103 yards in the game against Perryville.

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The Rebels defense is also just as dangerous as the offense. With two minutes left before the half against the Pirates, the Rebels pinned Perryville down at the 20 yard line, forced a fumble, and recovered the ball in the end zone for a score. Reid Lucas led their defense with 17 tackles.

If Dexter hopes to win this game against the Central Rebels they will have to play good defense, limit their turnovers and take advantage of any turnovers they can get from the Rebels.  They will also need to play well on offense and establish the running game to set up their passing game.

This game will be very special for the Senior football players. Friday night is Senior Night the Bearcats and they will surely be fired up and give it everything they have to come away with a win.  Be sure to come out to Charles Bland Stadium on Friday at 7:00 and support these Seniors in their last home game as Bearcat football players.

The 2012 Dexter Bearcats' Football Homecoming will long be remembered as a miserably cold, rainy night of football that ended with shivers and another disappointing loss for the Bearcats.  Evenly matched with the Bluejays of Charleston, Dexter was unable to get the offensive machine rolling, losing by a score of 16 to 8. 

"It was really cold on our boys Friday night," commented Coach Aaron Pixley.  "If you weren't going both ways (on offense and defense), you were standing on the sidelines shivering".

The Bearcats were able to find several strong individual performances on the field, but the hard hitting Bluejays delivered a helmet to Bearcat running back Ryan Joyner early in the contest.  With Joyner sidelined, an opportunity opened up for our SMT Week 7 Offensive Player of the Week - Senior Brad Wick.

Brad Wick was able to lead the Bearcats offensively with 50-yards on 16 carries.  In the second half, Wick was able to establish several key runs that set the Bearcats up for their only score of the night.  Wick has been a straight ahead, hard-hitting athlete from any position on the field.  His ability to step in when he was needed Friday night made him the SMT WEEK 7 Bearcat Offensive Player of the Week.

From a defensive perspective, the Bluejays were tough to handle in the first half of play.  With two touchdowns and successful two point conversions, the Bearcats found themselves on the wrong side of a 16 to 0 scoreboard.  Long breakaway runs are always the threat with the speed and quickness that Charleston brings in the athletic package. 

Our SMT WEEK 7 Defensive Player of the Week is Senior defensive end Jonathan Page.  Page was instrumental in keeping containment on the outside speed of the Bluejays to hold them scoreless in the second half of the game. 

Many times, the performance of this position cannot be measured by the number of tackles accrued, but by the execution of the defensive end's responsibilities to allow no one around the outside of the defense.  Page performed his duties extremely well making him the SMT WEEK 7 Defensive Player of the Week. 


The ShowMe Times is proud to highlight the individual performance of two Dexter Bearcat Football student-athletes each week as the SMT Players of the Week.  No one individual's contribution wins a game or makes the team strong.  Yet the coordinated effort of many make for a winning combination.

Stoddard County Volleyball Tournament action started for the Dexter Lady Bearcats last night as they traveled to Bell City to take on the Richland Rebels.

It was a quick win for the Bearcats as they took the victory in just two sets. The Bearcats came onto the court for their first SCAA tournament game with great serves and major kills that couldn’t be stopped by the Rebels.

Junior Hannah Noe came out strong in last night’s game as she led the team with eleven kills.

The Bearcats’ defense was strong as well during last night’s competition. Sophomores Ashley Brown and Shyann Jines both worked hard for seven digs last night as they were determined to let nothing hit the floor on their side of the court.

The Dexter Bearcats took the first set with a 25-13 win over the Rebels. Dexter came out even stronger and kept Richland from scoring much in the second set as they took a second set victory of 25-7.

The Bearcats will continue to compete in the SCAA Tournament action being held in Bell City as they take on the Bernie Mules Thursday night at 8:00 P.M.