Festus, Missouri – Who could have imagined that the Dexter Bearcats would have tallied a season=high 557 yards offensively and come up short on the scoreboard?  What an amazing season they have had doubling their wins from last year.  It was a bitter-sweet night in the Class 3, District 1 quarterfinals.  St. Pius was able to defeat the Bearcats 44 – 35.

“It was a good game,” commented Dexter head football coach Justin Peden. “Both teams were ready to play.  St. Pius made a lot of big plays and when it comes to the playoffs, you make big plays you win the game.  That’s what they did.  They were able to make more big play than us and that’s the story of the game.”

It was the Bearcats who put the first points on the board.  Jason Jarrell caught a 27-yard pass from quarterback Peyton Pollock.  Jarrells kick was good giving the Bearcats a 7-0 lead, but not for long.  On the kick-off return Issiah Hennessey returned the ball 70 yards to even the score 7-7.

Both teamed committed tow turnovers in the second quarter.  St. Pius scored with a 49-yard pass to Hennessey, a 4-yard run by Lance Ervin and a 35-yard pass to Tryson Thornton.   Dexter fought back scoring on 5-yard run by Dylan Bazarian and a 75-yard pass by Pollock to Ethan Stevens.  It was tied 28-28 going into the locker room at half-time.

"We played well for a stretch there, defensively," Peden said. "When they started trying to throw the ball we were able to get in there and get those two interceptions. Turnovers are key in a game like this and we were able to capitalize on both of them. It was good, and then they kind of got away from the passing and started putting the ball on the ground and we weren't able to respond."

Dexter took their second lead of the game when Pollock ran 15 yards to score a touchdown with 2:17 left in the 3^rd quarter.  Jarrell’s kick was good.  35-28 Bearcats!

It didn’t take the Lancers long to score.  They were quick at that!  With just 11:55 left in the game, Hennessey ran 4 yards for a touchdown; however the conversion failed.  Six minutes later the Lancers added a field goal to the mix.  Withrow hit a 40-yard field goal between the uprights.

“Their kicker is outstanding,” commented Peden.  “He is probably the best kicker I have ever seen in the 10 years I have been coaching.  Every kickoff was out of the end zone.  We never had a chance for a return and he kicked a field goal.”

Jarrell missed a 34-yard field goal with 4:30 left in the third period.

“We have a good kicker too in Jason Jarrell,” continued Peden.  “We tried a field goal for the first time this year.  It didn’t work out.  He hooked it a little bit, but he is an excellent kicker.  I think he has missed two extra points all season and both of those were blocked.  He’s an excellent weapon to have and next year we will really focus a lot more on using him in field goal situations and will be able to have that added dimension.”

The last touchdown of the season for the Bearcats came when Peyton Pollock through a short 3-yard pass to Austin Chesser with 2:22 remaining.  There was still a chance, but the clock was against the Bearcats.  Then St. Pius did what they do well and that’s score fast!  With just 30 seconds left Thornton ran 66 yards for another Lancer touchdown.

Peyton Pollock was 15 of 27 yards throwing.  He had three touchdown passes, threw for 269 yards and rushed for 183 yard against St. Pius.

Ethan Stevens had five catches for a team-high 158 yards. He also rushed for 85 yards and scored a touchdown.

"Offensively, we did really well," Peden said. "We threw the ball pretty well and we put the ball on the ground and were probably able to run it better than we had all year. Offensively, I was very pleased with what we were able to accomplish. This is a good football team and they obviously got a home playoff game for a reason. They were 6-3 in the regular season and being able to put points on the board against them was good. I liked our offensive performance, overall."

Peden said that quarterback Peyton Pollock tallied more than 2,000 yards offensively and Kronk had over 100 tackles.  Ethan Stevens racked up over 1,000 all-purpose yards this season.

Noah Kronk had 16 tackles and Jake Adams had 13 tackles for the Bearcats against St. Pius.

Dexter finished their 10 game season with a record of 4-6.  The Bearcats also tied for their Conference Title!  What a season!

The Bearcats will graduate 17 seniors this year: Dylan Bazarian, Drake Mitchell, Peyton Pollock, Dalton Twomey, Noah Kronk, Austin Aldridge, Tim Spence, Jacob Murdock, Aaron Sandlin, Jackson Hubbard, Dakota Southerland, Matt Sims, Jacob Gonzales, Brandon Quertermous, Cameron Craft, Caleb Rae and Jason Mattison.

“This group of seniors is awesome!” commented Peden with a smile.  “I said one time in a radio interview ‘the highest compliment I can give is that I would let any of them watch my children.  I would let them look after my kids because they are a good group of kids.’  They have worked hard and are great young men.  I am proud to have been a little part of their lives just for a little while and hopefully the relationships I have with them will keep going into their adulthood and any time they need me they know I ma there for them.  It has been a real pleasure getting to know these guys!”

Final Score Dexter 34, St. Pius 44

Dexter   7    14   7    7  -  35

St. Pius  7    21   0  16  -  44

First Quarter

D - Jason Jarrell 27 pass from Peyton Pollock (Jarrell kick), 4:49

S - Issiah Hennessey 70 return (Brendan Withrow kick), 4:38

Second Quarter

S - Hennessey 49 pass from Mickey Karoly (Withrow kick), 11:42

S - Lance Ervin 4 run (Withrow kick), 6:51

D - Dylan Bazarian 5 run (Jarrell kick), 2:54

D - Ethan Stevens 75 pass from Pollock, 0:54 (Jarrell kick), 0:54

P - Tryson Thornton 35 pass from Karoly, 0:10 (Withrow kick), 0:10

Third Quarter

D - Pollock 15 run (Jarrell kick), 2:17

Fourth Quarter

P - Hennessey 4 run (conversion failed), 11:55

P - Withrow 40 yard field goal, 5:09

D - Austin Chesser 3 pass from Pollock (Jarrell kick), 2:22

P - Thornton 66 run (Withrow kick), 0:30

Team Stats

Individual Stats

Rushing - (Dexter) Peyton Pollock 18-157, Dylan Bazarian 16-85, Ethan Stevens 3-46. (Pius) - Lance Ervin 23-78, Issiah Hennessey 12-126, Tryson Thornton 8-94, Mickey Karoly 1-6, Andrew Sale 1-0.

Passing - (Dexter) Peyton Pollock 15-27-2 = 269. (Pius) Mickey Karoly 10-21-2 = 167, Issiah Hennessey 1-1-0 = 21.

Receiving - (Dexter) Ethan Stevens 5-158, Austin Aldridge 4-48, Noah Kronk 2-24, Jason Jarrell 1-27, Dylan Bazarian 1-4, Austin Chesser 1-3, Peyton Tinnin 1-5. (Pius) Hennessey 6-106, Tryson Thornton 3-67, Lance Ervin 2-15,

Punting - (Dexter) Ethan Stevens 2-49. (Pius) 2-61.

Dexter, Missouri – The Dexter Volleyball program is here to stay!  That is a fact!  The Lady ‘Cats proved they can compete well and now they are over the hump of winning a District Championship. Many of their fans can’t wait until next year’s season to begin!

In front of a packed Bearcat Event Center, Bishop DuBourg defeated Dexter 25-21, 17-25, 25-21 in a very close victory on Saturday afternoon.  The Cavaliers offense collected a combined 28 kills from their two best hitters.  Dexter fell right in line with seniors Shyann Jines and Jessica Lindsey tallying 25 kills.

“We matched up interesting because they have two big outside hitters that they go to and we have a couple big, strong middles we got to,” commented Dexter’s head volleyball coach Carmen Morgan.  “It was a good match-up.  They had a good scouting report and I am pretty sure we had a good one on them.”

Jessica Lindsey had a remarkable game with 17 kills and 13 digs.  Shyann Jines had 8 kills and 5 digs.  Julia Hahn tallied 8 digs and Brittany Brown added 4 digs.  Krysten Garrison added 5 kills.  Jines served the only ace for the Bearcats.

“The first game we struggled,” Morgan stated.  “I felt like we were ready to go out and just take care of business, but we were a little tight.  That’s been our M.O. the whole year.  We knew they were hard-hitting so we were trying to really work on their hitters.  We had a lot of balls going off our hands on the block, but once we started getting our block set and our passes up we were able to run some things we like to run offensively, the pendulum turned and we were hitting at them. We have got to hit at teams, that’s what we do.”

Dexter completed their season with an impressive 29-4-1 record.  St. Pius beat Miller Career Academy 25-2, 25-8 in the other Class 3 sectional.  St. Pius then defeated Bishop Dubourg 25-21, 18-25, 25-23 to earn their 5^th straight trip to the final four which will be hosted in Cape Girardeau on Friday and Saturday.  Bishop DuBourg finished their season 27-8-1 and Miller Career Academy finished 18-15.

The Lady ‘Cats had an awesome season finishing undefeated in regular-season SCAA play for a second straight season, they won the SCAA Tournament two years in a row, won the 48 team Dig for Life Classic for the first time in school history and won their Class 3 District Tournament for the first time in 14 years.  They have much to be proud of and the seniors can hold their heads high knowing they had a terrific year under Coach Morgan.

“Dexter to me got over the hump,” stated a very teary eyed Morgan.   “We got a lot of firsts this year.  That district was a big hump for these girls.  It has been an amazing year with some wonderful girls who have worked hard, played hard, and I want to emphasize it takes a team pulling together and playing together.  You can’t win 29 games without that.”

“When I came Jessie and Shyann were sophomores.  I dearly love those two girls.  They have stayed with me and I can’t tell you how much I will miss them.  I am so proud they are going on and playing at the college level, and probably on the same team.  They don’t have another high school game.  The last thing I said to them was ‘we are walking out there with our head up!”

Jessica Lindsey and Shyann Jines both graduate this year and they will be missed on the court.  It has been a pleasure to watch these girls play and the Dexter Community and the ShowMe Times wish them well in their future endeavors!

Dexter, Missouri – It was a nail biter from beginning to end, but the Lady ‘Cats of Dexter pulled out a District Title win, the first in 14 years.  The Lady ‘Cats (29-3-1) won 10 straight District Titles from 1991 – 2000 and on Wednesday night they claimed their 21^st District Championship in school history.  The Dexter community is extremely proud of the girls and how well they conquered their fears and drove home a win in front of a packed Bearcat Event Center!

After losing the first set 21-25, the girls knew they needed to pull it together if they wanted to win.  Dexter’s volleyball coach Carmen Morgan said, “I tell my players rhythm is your friend in volleyball and hesitation is your enemy.”  And they did just that, got into the rhythm and won the next two sets 25-19, 25-23.

When asked how the ‘Cats regrouped after the first set.  “Everybody took a deep breath in the huddle and relaxed,” stated Dexter senior hitter Jessica Lindsey.  “We started playing in rhythm like we should have the whole game.  I am so happy with the way we played!”

It was definitely a night to remember!  Dexter’s quest for a District title came down to the wire with neither team leading in the 3^rd set by more than 2 points until Krysten Garrison (She’s a Freshman!) put the ‘Cats out on top 19-16 and forced Perryville to call a timeout.

“The last timeout when we were in the huddle I felt confident with the girls,” stated Morgan.  “We began to settle down.  We were way too tight that first set and honestly, we haven’t lost very many first games, but that first game we were way too tight. I felt like confidence was on our side during the last timeout.”

Senior Jessica Lyndsey led the Bearcats with 15 digs and tallied 13 kills.  Senior Shyann Jines tallied 11 digs and led the Bearcats with 15 kills. 

“Those two are our seniors and those two will always leave it on the floor and we know that about them,” commented Coach Morgan.  “I kept saying you have got to hit the ball.  We wanted Perryville to have to play our game and we didn’t want to have to play Perryville’s game. “

“We had trouble tonight on pulling our double block over,” stated Shyann Jines.  “#2 (Perryville) kept swinging across her body and we thought she was going to go the other way…Just getting a touch on any ball is better than nothing, so that’s what I kept in my head.” 

Kristen Garrison tallied 7 kills and led the team with 13 assists.  Shyann Jines tallied 4 of the teams 7 blocks.

“Our game is a hard-hitting style coming at you,” Morgan said.  “We know Perryville is a good defensive team, but we also know they can hit so we didn’t want them to have the opportunity to get the ball up and hit at us, and they did some.  Perryville is also the tip queens. They will drop the ball in on you and they do it very well.  They are a good team.”

Shyann Jines had 8 assists and Julia Hahn tallied 7 assists.  Lexie Barnes served Dexter’s only ace of the night. 

“Actually our defense was better tonight than our offense and that’s usually not the case,” continued Morgan.  “Perryville is a very good defensive team as well.  You cannot ever put a ball down and think it is down because they will pick it up.  We had to scramble a little bit, but at the end I felt like we began to power them down a little bit and wear them down.”

Dexter will host the Class 3 sectionals and quarterfinal on Saturday afternoon beginning at 3:00 p.m.  They will play Bishop DuBourg first.  The other sectional game is between Millar Career Academy and St. Pius at 4:30 p.m.

When asked about how it felt to win the Districts….Coach Morgan said, “It’s HUGE!  I told the girls tonight that DEXTER is here to stay.  We are sending a loud, clear message to people we are her to stay.  TAKE NOTE!  We are not going anywhere.  We are going to be up there and we are going to be coming at people.”

“I think Dexter had to get over that hump,” she continued.  “There is a little hump there.  Perryville is used to winning districts and they have got that on their side a bit.  When you win a district it’s always good for your young kids to see that.  We had a good group of young kids sitting there and it’s good for them to see that they can do it.  It’s a trickle-down effect.  We needed to get over that hump and we did that tonight!”

Coach Morgan added, “We appreciate all the support from the fans, the Dexter School, and the community during our tournament.  It’s a joy having the students cheering for us as well.”

Dexter, Missouri -The ShowMe Times is proud to highlight the outstanding performance of two Dexter Bearcat Football athletes.  Each week the ShowMe Times will choose two players – one offensive player and one defensive player who will be featured as Players of the Week.  Leadership on the athletic field is often a good indicator of the future development of our young students and is a perfect training ground for future leaders.

The ShowMe Times is pleased to announce the ShowMe Times Players of the Week #9 against the Malden Green Wave are Jason Jarrell and Ethan Stevens.

Ethan Stevens earned a team-high 7 tackles on the field against Malden.  He also punted for 98 yards and rushed for 17 yards offensively.  He is your Defensive Player of the Week!

Congratulations Ethan!

Jason Jarrell stepped in as quarterback in the fourth quarter and ran for a 12 yard touchdown against Malden.  He was also able to run in for 2 extra points giving the Bearcats their only score of the game.  He also led the team with 37 yards rushing.  He is a sophomore at Dexter High School and is your Offensive Player of the Week.

Congratulations Jason!

Both of these young men are impressive football players and the Dexter community is proud of their accomplishments.  For the entire Dexter vs Madlen football article click  HERE.

Malden, Missouri – The Bearcats knew going into the game that it was going to be difficult.  The Malden Green Wave program has had an impressive year defeating every opponent.

Malden wasted no time scoring against Dexter.  They recorded 28 points effortlessly in the first and second quarters of the game.  At half it was 56-0 and the Bearcats knew it was almost unreachable at that point, but they never stopped playing the entire game and for that fans are very proud of our Bearcats.  They played with great sportsmanship and never gave up.

“It was a disappointing game,” commented head football coach Justin Peden.  “I really thought we would come out and play them a lot closer.  They got on us quick and we made some mistakes in all aspects of the game.  Malden capitalized.  When you do that with teams that are good they are going to put it away quick and that’s exactly what they did.”

The first half was all varsity play, but as the night progresses it was time for the underclassmen to show their stuff! Jason Jarrell, sophomore took over as quarterback late in the fourth quarter and rushed the ball 12 yards for the only Bearcat touchdown of the game.

“At the end of the day we got some younger guys some experience,” Peden said.  “I think the guys tried hard and were still fighting even though it was out of reach to win.” 

Malden secured the #1 seed in Class 2, District 1 and has an impressive record of 9-0.  They play Charleston Friday night in District Quarterfinal contest.

“They have some serious speed,” Peden said of Malden.  “Their receivers are off the line block extremely well.  They did a really good job of setting the edge all night.  Their receivers were driving our guys back.  We hadn’t seen anything like that all year.  They are a bunch of really good, athletic kids who play hard.  They play hard the whole time and you have got to take your hat off to Malden in that situation.  Those guys just play really hard, they wanted this game and they are an extremely good football team.”

Ethan Stevens had a team-high 7 tackles for the Bearcats.

Dexter is seeded #5 in Class 3, District 1 and will play St. Pius of Festus on Friday, October 24^th at 7:00 p.m.  (We will post directions to the football field on our Facebook page).

Park Hills received the #1 seed followed by Potosi and Ste. Genevieve as the top three seeds.  Kennett earned the #6 seed, Fredericktwon #7, and New Madrid County Central the #8 seed spot.

“We need to regroup after a game like this and make sure we have our focus going into the playoffs,” stated Peden.  “St. Pius is a good team, but we can win and set up a rematch with Park Hills tat I am sure our guys would like to have.  We have just got to make sure after a night like tonight we don’t stop wanting to play football and want to keep going.  I think these guys are resilient, are good young men and will want to keep going and erase this from people’s memories.”

The ShowMe Times will be at the St. Pius vs Dexter game taking great photos and posting scores on the ShowMe Times Facebook page as well as Twitter.  It’s Black-Out Friday so wear your favorite Bearcat shirt and let’s beat those Lancers!!!!

Final Score Dexter 8, Malden 76

Dexter     0    0    0   8   -   8

Malden  28  28  14   6  -  76

First Quarter

M - Dremond Robinson 6 run (Chapen Riley kick), 10:00

M - Cortez Dobbins 14 run (Riley kick), 8:00

M - Parker McCormick 40 pass from Riley (Riley kick), 6;51

M - Dobbins 10 run (Riley kick), 2:54

Second Quarter

M - Shaeen Perkins 99 interception return (Riley kick failed), 9:15

M - Dexter safety, 8:19

M - Nick Thompson 10 pass from Riley (conversion good), 7:12

M - Robinson 40 run (Riley kick failed), 6:01

M - Dobbins 14 pass from Riley (Riley kick), 3:13

Third Quarter

M - Dobbins 19 run (Riley kick failed), 6:42

M - Jamilyn Criglar 5 run (conversion good), 0:38

Fourth Quarter

M - Dee Triplett 1 run (conversion failed) 9:58

D - Jason Jarrell 12 run (conversion good), 4:04

Team Stats

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

Rushing - (Dexter) Dylan Bazarian 9-25, Tim Spence 9-14, Peyton Pollock 6-29, Ethan Stevens 5-8, Jason Jarrell 4-35, Tyler Conaway 1-1. (Malden) Dremond Robinson 8-155, Cortez Dobbins 3-43, Shaeen Perkins 2-30, Tyler Currie 2-26, Bryce Nelson 2-21, Nick Thompson 2-19, Dee Triplett 2-6, Howie Payne 2-4, Malcom McBride 2-1, Jeremy Jones 1-30, Jamilyn Criglar 1-5, Tray Stevenson 1-1

Passing - (Dexter) Peyton Pollock 12-28-1 = 44. (Malden) Chapen Riley 6-7-0 = 119, Ben Owens 1-1-0 = 2

Receiving - (Dexter) Payton Tinnin 3-2, Noah Kronk 2-7, Austin Aldridge 2-1, Ethan Stevens 2-4, Austin Chesser 2-20, Nick Trout 1-10 (Malden) Parker McCormick 2-54, Cortez Dobbins 2-32, Jeremy Jones 1-23, Nick Thompson 1-10, Ethan Harris 1-2.

Punting - (Dexter) Ethan Stevens 3-98, Drake Mitchell 1-39. (Malden) Chapen Riley 1-55.