Dexter, Missouri - Athletes earned their first time letters during the annual Fall Sports Recognition program.  The Bearcat Booster Club purchases the letter "D" for all first time letter winners.

Mr. Travis Miller and Mr. Hank Trout presented the letters.

Cross Country - Matthew Chesser, Nate Drivas, Lucas Goodrich, Cole Barker, Jonni Hill, Margo Nea and Shelby Smith.

Volleyball - Maycie Martin, Blair Rogers, and Megan Trout.

Football Cheer - Maci Rauls

Football - Luke Becker, Ryder Foster, Colten Gibson, Jake Harris, Haden Hillis, Mason Keena, Ethan Martinez, Brody Pollock, Joe Rice, Seth Rogers, Brock Simmons, and Dalton Warren.

Dexter, Missouri - There are nine seniors on the Dexter High School Kickin' Cats Dance Team.  Once these girls graduate there will be a big gap to fill by Lara Simmons, Kickin' Cats sponsor.

These young ladies practice as much as they can throughout the week to bring you one great entertaining half-time show during the evening basketball games.

Pictured are from left to right: Haley Cornett, Taryn Fortner, Myca Sutton, Caroline Powers, Jackie Kiger, Kelly Ash, Hailey Anderson, Kaylea Murdock, and Angel Maze.

Columbia, Missouri - The Missouri State High School Activities Association (MSHSAA) Board of Directors approved a recommendation at its November meeting, which would place a daily limit on pitching for student-athletes based on year in school.  This past June, the National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS) changed Baseball Rule 6-2-6 to state, “Each NFHS member state association will be required to develop its own pitching restriction policy based on the number of pitches thrown during a game to afford pitchers a required rest period between pitching appearances.”
 
The recommendation came to the Board from the Baseball Advisory Committee, which voted unanimously to use the Pitch Smart requirements that were suggested by USA Baseball and MLB.  Instead of using age groups we grouped them by grade.  The committee decided to be more restrictive on the Middle School group and limited their maximum number of pitches.

Senior/Junior Year in school have 105 Daily Max Pitches*, Required Rest Pitches 0 Days 1-30, 1 Day 31-45, 2 days 46-60, 3 Days 61-75 and 4 days 76+

Freshman/Sophomore Year in school have 95 Daily Max Pitches*, Required Rest Pitches 0 Days 1-30, 1 Day 31-45, 2 Days 46-60, 3 Days 61-75, 4 Days 76+.

Seventh/Eighth Graders 85 Daily Max Pitches*, 0 Days 1-20, 1 Day 21-35, 2 Days 36-50, 3 Days 51-65, 4 Days 66+

*Finish current batter when maximum pitch count is met.
*Can only pitch two days in succession and then a minimum one day rest period is required.
 
The need for pitch count restrictions comes from an increase in the number of overuse arm injuries in recent years.  Since the purpose of education based athletics is to focus on the intentional development of the educational, socials, physical and emotional well-being of each student athlete, developing a restriction to put the health the student ahead of the result of the game is the right thing to do.
 
 General Guidelines for Pitchers:
·   Do not exceed 100 innings pitched in any 12 month period
·   Take at least 4 months off from competitive pitching, including at least 2 months off from all overhead throwing
·   Make sure to properly warmup before pitching
·   Make sure a proper dynamic and static stretching plan is in followed prior to throwing
·   Avoid playing for multiple teams at the same time
·   Avoid pitching in multiple games on the same day
·   Avoid playing catcher after pitching

General Guidelines for Coaches/Parents:
·   Educate Pitchers on proper mechanics and throwing techniques
·   Monitor pitchers for signs of mechanical breakdown and fatigue
·   Take immediate action if a pitcher complains of pain
·   Consult a traner/doctor/trained coach upon completion of game pitching activity
·   Put in place and follow a prescribed pitching rehabilitation program.

Guidelines for Tracking:
·   Exchange verification forms prior to the start of the contest.  The opposing team will fill out your form
·   Track pitch counts for both teams to assure accuracy.  Coaches should verify pitch counts after each half inning.
·   The home team will be the correct count if there is a dispute.
·   Both teams will sign the forms at the end of the contest.
·   If a pitcher hits the MAX number during a batter, they are allowed to finish the batter in the box.
·   Pitch counts apply to regular and post season contests.
·   Pitch counts will be entered into the MSHSAA website within 24 hours of the contest.  Not entering the pitch count will result in a $25 fine.

Article provided by MSHSAA Communications Director Jason West
Missouri State High School Activities Association

Sikeston, Missouri - Not sure when the last time Dexter saw a Wednesday night game in the SEMO Conference, but with their win over Kennett on Tuesday evening, the Bearcats have earned another night on the court at the Sikeston Field House.  The No. 8 seeded Dexter Bearcats easily upset the #7 seeded Kennett Indians 63 - 41 to advance to a consolation semifinal on Wednesday, December 7th at 7:30 p.m. at the SEMO Conference Tournament.

This was also Dexter's first win of the season after losing to Charleston, Sikeston, and New Madrid County Central.  Yet another accomplishment for the Bearcats tonight was their first SEMO Conference Tournament game win since 2007 and the third one ever in the history of their participation in the conference according to local sources.

We saw an excited and confident team tonight on the court vs last night's less than appealing effort against NMCC.  Things had to change quickly for Coach Dowdy and his Bearcats and tonight there was a "new" atmosphere at the Sikeston Field House.

"Yes, it did get better," stated Dexter head basketball coach Josh Dowdy.  "I had a friend of mine today tell me it is like we have two teams and tonight was that other team that I didn't see last night.  I hope I get to see this team more often."

Kennett trailed at the end of the first quarter 19 - 9.  That lead increased to 37 - 12 by halftime.

Junior Bearcat Ben Sindle was on fire tonight.  He stuffed four of his six 3-pointers in the first half and finished with a game-high 18 points.  All on treys.

"With Ben, it is all about confidence and belief and we want him locked and loaded. He didn't look anywhere else but that rim.  Even later in the game we still wanted him shooting since he was shooting so well.  Great kid and we are going to need that shooting later on."

Senior Jason Jarrell recorded 14 points.

Juniors Clay Mullins and Gabe Jackson each contributed 12 points.

"Good for them for coming back after playing so poorly last night.  We played real well tonight." Dowdy said.  "Gabe had his struggles last night, for various reasons,.  They were packing things down on him and he just didn't handle that very well.  I am just glad he came back tonight and had a new approach."

Kennett (1-3) was led by Jad Kenny who finished with 12 points and Jarvis Stewart who added 10 to the scoreboard.

Dexter (1-3) will take on Notre Dame on Wednesday, December 7th at 7:30 p.m. in the Sikeston Field House for a chance to play in the consolation Championship on Friday night.

When asked about Wednesday's game Dowdy said, "To be honest, I wasn't even expecting to play on Wednesday night.  We are happy, and I am very happy for them.  We went to bed pretty upset last night and to come back after playing so poorly we had a good showing tonight!"

Final Score Dexter 63, Kennett 41

Dexter   19   18   16  10  -  63

Kennett   9     3   14  15  -  41

Dexter (63) - Jason Jarrell 14, Alan Pippins 3, Ben Sindle 18, Clay Mullins 12, Ryan Mayo 3, Chad Smith 1, Gabe Jackson 12.  FG 25, FT 6/12, F 13. (3-pointers: Ben Sindle 6, Ryan Mayo 1.  Fouled Out: None).

Kennett (41) - Jay Davis 4, Patrick Maddox 8, Cameron West 2, Jarvis Stewart 10, Jaylean Kinnon 5, Jad Kenny 12.  FG 15, FT 9/13, F 19. (3-pointers: Patrick Maddox 1, Jarvis Stewart 1.  Fouled Out: None).

"You have to have fun playing the game and that's where it starts.  One or two slaps on the floor it  becomes contagious," continued Dowdy.  "My first few words in the locker room tonight were - no practice tomorrow, it's game time!!!!" 

Sikeston, Missouri - New Madrid County Central improved their record earning their fourth straight win upsetting the Dexter Bearcats 50 - 36 at the Sikeston Field House on Monday, December 5, 2016 during the SEMO Conference Play-In game.

NMCC's defense all but stopped Dexter's 6'4" Gabe Jackson proving to be a great advantage.  Jackson, who scored double digits in his first two games of the season against powerhouses Charleston Bluejays and Sikeston Bulldogs was held to just 6 points in the first half and very little playing time in quarters number three and four.

The Bearcats also had 22 turnovers to the Eagles' 10 and trailed by 8 points at the half.

Frustrated by his team's lack of offense, Coach Josh Dowdy said, "At this time we are having to focus on coaching effort, attitude, and communication.  Those factors have to be a standard for any basketball team to be successful."

New Madrid County Central forced the Bearcats into seven turnovers in the first quarter.

Junior Clay Mullins led the Cats with 13 points and eight rebounds.  Six of those points were on 3-pointers.

Kole Kelley, Alan Pippins, and Ben Sindle each recorded one trey. 

"We have yet to have five kids routinely sprint the floor," commented Dowdy.  "Sprinting the floor is a basic part of the game.  We will work on that in the coming weeks."

NMCC was led by Jaurous Haynes with 14 points and Javarcus Word who added 10 points to the scoreboard.

Final Score Dexter 36, NMCC 50

Dexter   4   10   9   13   -  36

NMCC  15   7   11   17  -  50

Dexter (36) - Kole Kelley 3, Jason Jarrell 3, Nate Gargas 2, Alan Pippins 3, Ben Sindle 3, Clay Mullins 13, Ryan Mayo 2, Gabe Jackson 6.  FG 1, FT 9/10, F 8 (3-pointers: Kole Kelley 1, Alan Pippins 1, Ben Sindle 1, Clay Mullins 2.  Fouled Out: None).

NMCC (50) - Palmer Campbell 9, Johnny Walker 4, Craig Beasley 1, Javarcus Word 10, Eddie Grandberry 9, Ronnie King 3, Jaurous Haynes 14.  FG 20, FT 4/5, F 13.  (3-pointers: Palmer Campbell 3, Javarcus Word 2, Eddie Grandberry 1, Ronnie King 1.  Fouled Out: None).

"We have a good group of kids that I feel want to represent our program the right way," continued Dowdy.  "There is a difference in wanting it to happen and actually making it happen.  We will work on finding that right mix."

"Fortunately it is early in the season and we have time to clean it up," stated Dowdy.  "Once we buy in to the basic standards, then we can move forward with the X and O's."

Dexter will face Kennett at 8:30 p.m. on Tuesday, December 6, 2016 at the Sikeston Field House.  The winner will play Notre Dame at 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday, December 7, 2016.