Dexter, Missouri - It's been six long years since the Bearcats have extinguished the nasty fire breathing Dragons of Ste. Genevieve.
It was a sweet victory in their home opener on Friday evening!
Charles Bland Stadium was full of fans to the very end.
The first quarter ended with neither team scoring. Same thing happened last season on Ste. Gen's turf, unfortunately it was the Dragons who came out on top in the 2016 season. This year was a much different picture for the hard-working Bearcats. They had a goal to beath Ste. Gen and they accomplished that goal in style!
Junior Cat #21 Seth Rogers picked off a 4th down pass by the Dragons' quarterback Chad Donze and returned it 85 yards for the Bearcats' first touchdown of the game. The Cats were back and fired up!
"He is the perfect example of a kid who played all last year as a sophomore, takes every snap, works hard all summer long in the weight room and in practice and it completely payed off," stated head football coach Kevin Goltra with a huge smile on his face. "He was exactly where he was supposed to be on the exact play he's practiced against for 30 difference practices and it was successful. He is a great kid."
In the third quarter, with 3 minutes left, junior #31 Corbin Strong rushed in from the nine yard line to score the final Bearcat touchdown sealing their 16 - 8 win.
Dexter athletes ran across the field and celebrated with their fellow classmates and pep club as if they had won a state championship! It was great to see the football players excited about their win. (More than 1,000 photos of the game are posted in 13 albums on the ShowMe Times Facebook page. Check out the excitement!)
"I was getting a little worked up about it," commented Goltra. "We didn't win the Super Bow or anything. they made sure to let me know that that was important to them, and that was a goal. I have to realize, not that I haven't, but when you reach a goal, a milestone, you need to celebrate because those are hard. They have busted their tails since November 1, 2016 until tonight to achieve that goal of winning that first game against Ste. Gen."
Last year Dexter lost to Ste. Gen by a score of 35-6. Goltra credits working in the weight room, attitude and leadership as to how the Bearcats were able to overcome their goal.
On Offense: Senior quarterback Ben Sindle was 0 for 8 passing with 0 interceptions. He did have a 40 yard catch by Nick Trout for a touchdown, but it was called back on a holding penalty against the 'Cats. Caleb Hoggard had 25 carries for 100 yards along with Corbin Strong who had 79 yards on 10 carries. Dexter finished with a total of 165 yards rushing.
On Defense: Corbin Strong led with 13 total tackles. Jett Featherston tallied nine tackles and Bo McMullin finished the game with eight tackles.
Bearcats vs Dragons at Dexter August 18, 2017 Scoring
Ste. Genevieve 0 0 8 0 - 8
Dexter 0 8 8 0 - 16
Second Quarter - (DEX) Seth Rogers 85 yard interception (Caleb Hoggard ran in for 2)
Third Quarter - (DEX) Corbin Strong 9 yard rush (Strong ran in for 2); (STE. GEN) Camden Roe ran for 27 yards (Brewster run for 2)
The Dexter Bearcats (1-0) travel to Poplar Bluff on Friday, August 25th. Kick-off is 7:00 p.m. They will be back at home on Friday, September 1st against NMCC. It's Miss DHS Night so get there early for the crowning of Miss DHS at 6:30 p.m. Game time is 7:00 p.m.
Ste. Genevieve will take on Valle Catholic next.
Charleston, Missouri - The Lady Cats Tennis Team traveled to Charleston on Tuesday, August 22, 2017 earning their second straight win early in the season. Dexter's varsity girls won 9 - 0 while the junior varsity won 7 - 0.
Final Results Dexter vs Charleston Varsity Tennis:
VARSITY SINGLES
Morgan Aldridge vs C. Frazier 8-1
Nicole Sells vs. F. Wilson 8-0
Rachel Singh vs. Z. Curtis 8-0
Jadyn Northcutt vs. D. Williams
Abbie Dorton vs. A. Paris 8-0
Malia Cook vs. Z. Wilson 8-0
VARSITY DOUBLES
M. Aldridge & J. Northcutt vs C. Frazier & F. Wilson 8-2
N. Sells & A. Dorton vs. Z. Curtis & Z. Wilson 8-0
R. Singh & M. Cook vs. D. Williams & A. Paris 8-1
JUNIOR VARSITY SINGLES
Hannah Bollinger vs. T. Smith 6-1
Karlee Keirsey vs. R. Smith 6-0
Courtney Northcutt vs. K. Taber 6-1
Malia Rodgers vs. N. Pratt 6-0
Riley Thornton vs. R. Dowdy 6-0
JUNIOR VARSITY DOUBLES
H. Bollinger & K. Keirsey vs T. Smith & N. Pratt 6-0
C. Northcutt & M. Rodgers vs R. Smith & R. Dowdy 6-4
The Lady Cats Tennis Team will be back on the court on Thursday, August 24, 2017 at Cape Central. Match time 4:00 p.m.
Dexter, Missouri - It's been many years since Dexter has sent anyone to state in Cross Country. Could this be the year? Coach Morse and his runners seem to think so and they believe they will have a very good season.
"Our goal every year is always so send as many runners to state as possible," commented head Cross Country Coach Leonard Morse. "It's been many years since we have sent anyone. I believe that drought will end this year. We will have a very competitive team this year both on the boys' and the girls' sides. I believe we have the runners to get to state thsi year. I also believe we will see the school records for boys and girls broken this year and most likely several times each."
Cross Country is an individual team sport; however Coach Morse believes his runners this year have meshed into a team, a competitive team and a good group of individuals who are working together to build up a great Bearcat Cross Country program.
"I believe that this team will continue to improve over the positive steps it took last year," continued Morse. "We have hungry runners who are working hard and I think that hard work will pay off in a very positive way. We also have some very talented freshmen runners joining us this year who will push the varsity runners."
There are 13 seniors this year. Leading the Bearcat pack are Emily Ladd on the girls Cross Country side.
"She has been my number one girl all through high school," stated Morse.
Also returning are seniors Jonni Hill and Shelby Smith who are also showing signs of great improvement.
"Sophomore Margo Nea is my returning number two girl. They will be joined by freshman Madelyn Haynes. While we only have one junior, Hannah Smith, we have a new crop of sophomore girls that are new to the team. I believe that we will have several solid female runners emerge from this group which is good for this year and great for the next couple of years as well."
On the boys side there are six varsity runners returning. Dawson kasting, Lucas Goodrich, Sean Rybolt, Nate Drivas, Matthew Chesser, and Dylan Long are extremely competitive.
"These six have been working hard this year. Senior Blake Bolin returns from last year's team. Jacob Chamness and Chris Seabaugh rejoin the team this year after taking their junior years off. We also have a transfer runner in Dakota Morlan. They will be joined by sophomore Dylan Homan and Wyatt Parker. Then, we have three up and coming freshmen in Gavin Cartwright, Carter Dorton, and Andrew Ellinghouse. I expect great things from these three throughout their high school careers."
Dexter will host an Invitational on Saturday, October 21st as well as the Class 3, District 1 meet on Saturday, October 28th.
"Hopefully we will perform well at districts on our home course. While I am hopeful we will advance to the state meet, the District meet will give some of our seniors one last chance to run in front of family and friends at home."
Class 3, District 1 competition is tough in this part of southeast Missouri. The Dexter Bearcats are up against several impressive schools such as Festus, DeSoto, Herculaneum, North County, Notre Dame, Potosi, Ste. Genevieve and Windsor. Newcomers to the group are Kennett and Perryville and they continue to improve.
"I do believe that we will make a strong showing at Districts this year on both the boys' side and girls' side," Morse said.
Seniors are Blake Bolin, Jacob Chamness, Matthew Chesser, Nate Drivas, Lucas Goodrich, Dawson Kasting, Dylan Long, Dakota Morlan, Sean Rybolt, Chris Seabaugh, Jonni Hill, Emily Ladd, and Shelby Smith.
The only junior cross country member is Hannah Smith.
Sophomores are Dylan Homan, Wyatt Parker, Keaira Craft, Samantha Glore, Shelby Haynes, Hailee Mayfield, Grace Milam, Margo Nea, AnnMarie Slaton, and Alexis Williamson.
Freshman are Gavin Cartwright, Carter Dorton, Andrew Ellinghouse, and Madelyn Haynes.
Managers for Cross Country are Jacob Smith, Andreus Garrett, Demi Cecil, and Sophie Freeman.
Dexter will compete in Class 3, District 1 with DeSoto, Doniphan, Kennett, Festus, Herculaneum, North County, Notre Dame, Perryville, Potosi, Ste. Genevieve and Windsor
