Written by

Jessica Snider, SMT Writer

Jonesboro, Arkansas - Saturday afternoon, the Arkansas State Rugby opened the 2013 spring season with a 70-7 victory over Texas A&M in a Division 1-A pre-season match. This match up was featuring the "A" squad, and another victory for Arkansas State was taken by their "B" team over A&M's "B" team.

The Arkansas State "B" team left with a huge 96-0 win over A&M on Saturday afternoon. These two matches marked the first competition of the new year since the rugby team won the national college 7s championship in December.

First year head coach Alex Houser commented on the match, "I know this may sound a little strange because of the big score, but we really did not play that well in the first match.We were impatient and turned the ball over a lot."

Coach Houser stated that he was much more pleased with the play of the "B" team during the second match. "We played a lot better. The guys played with more discipline and more patience. We played really good rugby."

As many people may know, Dexter's Theo Gaul is a member of the ASU Rugby team this year. Gaul is a 2012 Dexter High School graduate and is currently in his freshman year at Arkansas State.

Gaul is a member of the B team, which plays after the A team on most matches. Gaul commented that being on the B team as a freshman is not bad especially since they're the # 2 ranked college rugby team in the nation.

"Saturday was the first game of the season so we're still a little bit rusty," said Gaul.

The Red Wolves return home to play an intrasquad game, weather permitting, set to be held Saturday, February 9th at 1:00 P.M. at ASU'S Rugby Stadium.

"We are looking forward to a challenging spring schedule as we try to build from the momentum the program has gained from our recent success in finishing second in the nation in 15s last spring and winning the national championship this fall in sevens," Houser said.

You can stay tuned to the ShowMe Times for more information on the Arkansas State Rugby Team as their season progresses!

Written by

Jessica Snider, SMT Writer

Dexter, Missouri - Friday night the Dexter Bearcats traveled to Advance for what they knew would be a tough match-up. The Bearcats walked into the home of the Hornets on homecoming ready for the strong competition.

After losing to Advance in the Stoddard County Tournament and the inury of starter Chase Young also during the tournament, the Dexter Bearcats had to get back in the gym for a few days of practice to adjust some things.

The Advance crowd was fired up and the pressure was on for the Bearcats. The Dexter team picked up the momentum close to half-time and gained some points to descrease Advance's lead. At the half, the Bearcats were within two points of the Advance Hornets.

Dexter's head coach Rob Nichols went in at half-time and must've said the right things to his Bearcat team, because the third quarter was a very strong point for Dexter.

After missing a lot of very small shots right underneath the goal in the first quarter, Dexter started running some plays to get the person under the basket open and it worked flawlessly for a few possessions. The Bearcats struggled from the free-throw line Friday night, however.

In the 4th quarter, the chance of victory started slipping away from the Dexter Bearcats. Throughout the third quarter, many Bearcat fans just knew Dexter would walk away with a victory, but something happened in the fourth quarter and it got too far away for the Cats.

Many turnovers were made by the Bearcats, and the Advance offense was almost unstoppable. Advance's Ethan Barr posted 29 points during Friday night's match-up.

After a game full of many ups and downs, the Dexter Bearcats ultimately fell 65-43 to the Advance Hornets.

The Bearcats will be back in action on Tuesday as they travel to Bell City for a Junior Varsity game at 6:00 P.M. and a Varsity match-up directly following.

Written by
Dee Loflin, SMT Writer

Bernie, Missouri – The Bernie Mule fans were shocked by the outcome of this Homecoming game Friday night.  Simply put the Mules were outhustled by the Bulldogs.  The fans of Notre Dame were excited to be in the Mule Barn and their “little blue man” got the crowd cheering at almost every basket.

The Notre Dame boys basketball team were motivated and had just spoiled Jackson's Homecoming game last week.  The Bulldogs have been hovering around the .500 mark all season, but were beginning to improve.  Coach Kevin Roberts stated last week after the win over Jackson, "This was our first good full game so far this season.  Now we have to prepare for the state-ranked Bernie Mules next week and that game will be a tough one to win."

The Bulldogs came to the Mule Barn to show Bernie that they are competitive, perhaps a little inexperienced, but not to count them out just yet.  They had momentum and were not going to back down. 

“Notre Dame whipped us physically in the 2^nd quarter and we didn’t put up much of a fight.  They took it to us and we backed down for the majority of the game,” commented Coach Brad Botsch of the Bernie Mules.

“It is kind of a surprise to me as I felt our kids have been playing better and with more confidence, but something seemed amiss tonight and most of it, had to do with our lack of consistent effort and focus on the defensive end,” continued Botsch.

Both David Baker  #31 and Troy Kirkpatrick #14 scored 16 points against Notre Dame.   Baker was able to capitalize on four 3-pointers to help the Mules, but the Bulldogs hit right back with Quinn Paythress #4 and Cody DeBrock #2 who had a combined 31 points and Dereck Hulshof #42 who had 10 points.

Coach Botsch further explained, “They got way too many open looks from there and around the basket and they really hurt us on the backboard.”  The Notre Dame Bulldogs had nine players with baskets during the game, five being 3-pointers.

The Bernie Mules will have to work hard in practice this week and begin to prepare for Hayti on Tuesday, February 5^th.  “Hopefully, we will take some of these lessons from this game and work hard for district which are in two weeks,” commented Botsch.

Final Score Bernie Mules 50, Notre Dame Bulldogs 64.  Bernie’s record drops to 18-4.

It was no different for the JV team.  The Junior Varsity record dropped to 18-2 for the season as the Notre Dame Bulldogs completely out played them Friday night as well.

Caleb Ellenburg had an awesome 31 points for the Bernie Mules, but the Bulldogs just kept fighting back.  Final Score Notre Dame 60, Bernie Mules 45.

Check out the ShowMe Times Facebook page for exciting pictures of the JV and Varsity game with Homecoming highlights.

The Richland Rebel Basketball Team took on the Risco Tigers tonight on their home court. The game should be labeled as one of the most intense games of the season this far. The game was very quick-paced and every player was on their feet and ready as the ball was passed quickly around, leaving the crowd on the edge of their seats for a large portion of the night.

During the first quarter, the Rebels instantly got the tip off due to senior Richard Forshee. The ball was quickly rebounded and taken by the Tigers as their top scorer of the night sank the first three pointer of the night while in midair. The Rebels retaliated and got a layup as both teams began to compete for the ball. Passing quickly and efficiently was crucial and while time was ticking, the players moved too fast and the ball continuously fell into the wrong hands.

The two teams were constantly tied or had a difference of one point nearly the whole first quarter. For a few moments, the Tigers had the lead of five points but the Rebels quickly got the ball and in less than a minute, took the lead back. With many fouls and free throws, the lead was passed back and forth between both teams but the Rebels ended the first quarter with senior Jesse Barnes snatching the ball and going in for a layup on the buzzer, bringing the quarter to the Rebels’ favor at 20 to 19.

The Rebels started off strong in the second quarter and the teams were tied at 22 for a long while until the Tigers took the lead after hitting two three pointers right in a row, creating a fairly large gap that the Rebels couldn't keep up with. The Tigers continue to stay in the lead by making free throws after multiple fouls. The Tigers held a ten point lead, which would almost be constantly held for the rest of the game. The Rebels attempted to close the gap but let up on their defense and allowed the Tigers to keep scoring. Forshee grabbed each rebound for his team but the players could not get down the court quick enough, resulting in the Tigers taking the second quarter at 45 to 34 with sophomore Marcus Grayson scoring at the buzzer.

While the teams rested and created a new game plan during half time, the Pep Band performed. The band played Land of 1000 Dances, Ipso Funko, Go Big Red, Iron Man, and the crowd’s favorite: Crazy Train. The Pep Band is made up of both junior high and high school band students and they perform at every home game.

When the third quarter began, the Rebels took the ball and scored at the very beginning, but they were still down by ten and could not seem to get passed that gap that the Tigers created. The Rebels would begin to collect points but Risco was never far behind them and would sustain the lead once again. Senior Nick Daniels hit a three pointer and the Rebels were only down by six. With a foul called on Risco, the players got another chance while junior Adam Lane made both of his free throws. The Rebels only trailed by 3 points but the sudden hope in the team and in the fans was diminished once there were multiple fouls called on Richland, resulting in the Tigers scoring single points off of free throws and leading by ten again.

The Rebels seemed to lose their hope in the fourth quarter and the ten point lead held by the opposing team turned into a fifteen point lead. The players fought for their team but the Tigers eventually took the win with a final score of 96 to 76. After four straight wins on Richland’s court, the Rebels fell to the Tigers.

Written by
Dee Loflin, SMT Writer

Poplar Bluff, Missouri - Dexter Bearcat wrestling team traveled to Poplar Bluff on a very cold and windy Thursday evening to compete in a dual with Cape Central Tigers and the Mules.

It was Senior Night for the Mules and they were up for the challenge in a head to head dual with Cape and Dexter.

The Mules were ready to wrestle the Bearcats and there was no stopping this night.  Dexter’s James Mullins 120# weight class, Trever Waldner 132# weight class, Ethan Stevens 145# weight class, Dylan Bacarian 152# weight class, and Logan Quertermous 182# weight class were able to win their matches. 

The Mules were able to capitalize on their strength and agility to win 51 to 24 over Dexter and they were also strong enough to dominate the Cape Central Tigers as well. 

However, Cape Central Tigers were no match for the Dexter Bearcats.  Several of the Bearcat wrestlers won their matches.

In the 106 lb weight class division Brandon Twomey of Dexter won by forfeit.

In the 113 lb weight class Logan Wright of Cape Central won by pinning Dexter’s Steven Parks in 4 minutes 54 seconds.

In the 120 lb weight class James Mullins of Dexter won by pinning Samuel Rees of Cape Central in less than 1 minute.

Storm Massey of Dexter won by technical fall over Bailey Sheehan of Cape Central in the 126 lbs weight division, 15-0.

Trever Waldner of Dexter won by pinning Anton Aleksandrov of Cape Central in under two minutes in the 132 lb weight class.

In the 138 lb weight class Tremaine Grant of Cape Central won by decision over Ty Harmon of Dexter 5-0.

Ethan Stevens of Dexter won in the 145 lb weight class over Alex Davis-Carter of Cape Central by decision 11-6.

In the 152 weight class Dylan Bacarian of Dexter won by pin over Jordan Franklin of Cape Central in under a minute.

Nathan Sterns of Cape Central was able to pin Brandon Quertermous of Dexter.  It took 5 minutes and 31 seconds in this 160 lb weight division.

In the 170 lb weight division Michael Hurst of Dexter won by forfeit.

Logan Quertermous of Dexter won by pinning TJ Marquis in just 29 seconds in the 182 lb weight class. 

Jason Mattison of Dexter won by forfeit in the 220 lb weight class.

Chris Bryant of Cape Central won by pinning Cameron Craft in 29 seconds in the 285 lb weight class division.

The Dexter Bearcats were able to beat the Cape Central Tigers with a total score of 56 to 21.  Way to go wrestlers!