Written by
Dee Loflin, SMT Manager/Editor
Dexter, Missouri – Football players, cheerleaders, cross country runners, volleyball players, coaches, parents and administrators all gathered together in the DHS cafeteria to celebrate the Fall Sports Season and recognize Dexter High School Bearcat students for their accomplishments.
The evening kicked-off with the traditional meal provided and served by the Dexter Bearcat Booster Club. They have done this for a number of years and it shows their commitment to the Dexter activity programs.
At the conclusion of the meal, Athletic Director Derek Urhahn performed the duties of MC and welcomed everyone to the Fall Sports Banquet. Urhan also introduced all the guests and members of the School Board. He continued by thanking many in the community for their support.
The first presenter of the night was Kurt Lovelady, the Coach of the Lady ‘Cats Tennis Team. Coach Lovelady recognized all of the girls, both JV and Varsity and thanked them for their hard work this season. He went on to say that they had a record of 11-5 only losing to Kennett and Notre Dame; however each time they competed against them they improved. “I am really impressed on how the girls have improved over the season,” stated Lovelady. "They practiced hard and it showed over the course of the season."
Taylor Owens received the Most Singles Win with a record of 11-2 on the season. She unfortunately was unable to attend the banquet. MaKayla Waldner received the Most Doubles Win with a record of 11-1 in regular season of play and 9-3 in tournament play. The Tennis MVP Award was given to senior Kendra Stevenson who has played tennis all 4 years and earned a trip to State with sophomore MaKayla Waldner. The team earned a nickname of Team MAKendra.
Girl’s Volleyball was next on the agenda, and Head Coach Carmen Morgan thanked all those associated with the program including the assistant coach Rhonda Robinson, maintenance staff, parents, the Booster Club, and all those who kept the stats and scores. “Kicking butt is our business and business is good!” stated Morgan.
“We had a 27-5 Varsity season and earned first place in the Stoddard County Tournament, Stoddard County Conference Champs and 2nd place in the SEMO tournament,” continued Morgan.
Coach Morgan sang the praises of her JV and Varsity teams and even told a short story with some laughter! “Give effort! That’s what I ask of you and when we break the huddle it’s with Taking Care of Business and that’s what we did”
She went on to recognize her seniors, Alyssa Spear and Ashley Brown. Spear issued 58 serves and Brown who "might be little, but she is mighty" led the team in digs. Juniors Shyann Jines and Jessica Lindsey were also recognized. Jines set 2 rotations, had 188 assists, 45 blocks 213 kills and the list goes on. “She always came in smiling!” stated Morgan. Jessica Lindsey led in kills, had 52 blocks and earned a 1st team spot All-District and All-Tournament.
Sophomores Julia Hahn, Kendall Adams, Delaney Pullen, and Ashlynn Wayman were honored next. Hahn had a 97.3% serve record. Adams improved the most from last year. "She’s quiet, but effective with 108 kills". Pullen was 95% from the line serving and has lots of power. Wyman is one to watch as she improves and works hard. “Truly a team. They know the meaning of TEAM!” added Morgan.
Setter Award was presented to Alyssa Spear with 295 assists. Jessica Lindsey received the Offensive Award/Kills with 300 kills and Ashley Brown earned the Defensive Award with 107 Digs.
Those earning 1st Time Letters are Kendall Adams, and Delaney Pullen. Those earning Letter Certificates and have already lettered in volleyball or another sport are Ashley Brown, Julia Hahn, Shyann Jines, Jessica Lindsey, Alyssa Spear, and Ashlyn Werneck.
Mr. Urhahn introduced Leonard Morse, Cross Country Coach. “We had our first home meet since 1989,” stated Morse. “We first thought it was back in 1972, but later learned it was 1989. That’s still a long time and we hope to have many more home meets.”
He noted that the Cross Country Team had 24 personal records and 8 season bests. “I always said that Cross Country is an individual team sport!”
Outstanding Male Runner was presented to Joshua Ladd. Senior Katie Justice received two awards, Outstanding Female Runner and the Outstanding Leadership Award.
The football cheerleaders were recognized as well. McKenzie Anthony, Kelly Ash, Afton Harris, Kelsey Kendrick, Jackie Kiger, Caroline Powers, and Myca Sutton all received 1st year letters. Tayler Allen, Faith Anderson, Reale Cook, Chandler Crowley, Madison McGowan, Moriah Payne and Victoria Trammell also received Letter Certificates.
The final coach to speak at the Fall Sports Banquet was our newest addition to the "sports family" and that was Coach Justin Peden. Peden thanked the parents for helping him and his family and welcoming them to the community.
"The players put in an insane amount of time this summer getting ready for the season," commented Peden. "It has been an amazing experience and these memories will last forever."
He spoke very highly of several of the players and though the scoreboard did not reflect their efforts this season they worked very hard and were determined to be the best. He said he looks forward to next season and hopefully we will see a much improved team on the field now that the players and coaches are more familiar with each other.
Most Valuable Back -was presented to D.J. Dowdy who received for 718 yards on 30 catches. Most Valuable Defensive Player went to Dylan Bazarian who led in the tackles. Most Valuable Lineman went to Drew Mason who moved from center to tackle this year and did an excellent job. And finally the Most Valuable Player of the Year was awarded to D.J. Dowdy for his dedication and true spirit of the game. He came to every camp and every conditioning. He also performed as quarterback as well.
Football players earning their 1st Letter were Jake Adams, Jose Aquilar, Jared Deal, Carson Dean, Jackson Hubbard, Peyton Pollock, Noah Rains, Caleb Rea, Aaron Sandlin, Matthew Sims, Kyle Stearns, Tyler Stevenson, and Gaven White.
Football player Austin Aldridge came to the podium to recognize Dr. Bobby Jibben for his work with the football team. Accepting the honor on his behalf was Corey Blocker.
Congratulations to all of the students for their letters and awards. We look forward to your future endeavors and wish you a great school year.
For the final presentation of the evening, Brett Dorton was introduced to present the winner of the coveted Charles Bland Award. The Bland Award honors the most outstanding senior student athlete from the Bearcat football team.
The Bearcat that is selected to win this award must meet very strict criteria and excel in all areas of the scholar-athlete life, which includes: scholastic ability, school participation, community involvement, leadership, attitude and athletic ability. In no way is this award to be viewed as an award strictly for athleticism. "Charlie Bland brought a dream to reality was the voice of the Bearcats for many years. He was a part of the sports at DHS for over 60 years," commented Dorton.
The voting is done by the coaching staff, the statistician, a school counselor, a school teacher, the athletic director, and by a representative for Charlie Bland.
The winner of the 2013 Bland Award was Holden Bruce. He becomes the 20th winner of the Bland Award, which began in 1994. This year's voting was tight again, with only 3 votes separating the top 4 spots.
Congratulations to all of the Fall Sports students. You have given us a great beginning to a fantastic school year!
