By Andrew Cato, ShowMe Times Sports

POPLAR BLUFF, Mo. - Coming off an incredible victory last night against Notre Dame, the Dexter Lady Bearcats entered tonight’s basketball game against the Poplar Bluff Mules as possibly the underdogs. The Poplar Bluff Mules were currently ranked 1st in the SEMO Conference, but nothing is impossible for the way the young Bearcat ladies have played this season.

With an approximate crowd of 1,500 fans on hand, Coach Chad Allen commented that the season is building to the playoff level frenzy that accompanies this time of year. Currently 2nd in the SEMO Conference, the Lady Bearcats had an opportunity to become co-leaders in the conference with a win over the Mules.

The contest was a battle throughout the entire game. The Lady Bearcats were in a strong position for their win with only 2:30 left in the 4th Quarter. Unfortunately, the Mules were able to mount a late 4th Quarter rally and tied the game in the final seconds. In overtime, the Mules continued their hot offensive hand winning by a score of 53 to 48.

The Lady Bearcats were led in scoring by their 6’0” Sophomore, Brittany Harris. Harris has continued to be a strong force for the Bearcats throughout the 2010-11 Season. Alison Jarrell and Katelynn Frazier followed with 9 points each. The young freshman, Hannah Noe is always a defensive specialist for the team and was able to add 6 points to the score board while Erika Cobb added 5 points. Paige Patterson and Mollie Whitehead also added 2 points each.

“I can’t be any more proud of these girls,” said Coach Chad Allen. “They are playing really well right now and are peaking at the right time here at the end of the season.”

As a very young squad made up of 7 Freshman, 2 Sophomores, 1 Junior and 1 Senior, it was tough to tell how well they would perform at the Varsity level early in the season. But all doubt has been removed as the underclass ladies have had many stellar performances throughout the season and should provide a lot of excitement in the District Tournament next week.

The Lady Cats will host the Twin Rivers Royals in their final regular season game Thursday (Feb. 17) night at 6:00 p.m. at the Bearcat Event Center in Dexter.

Photos above Top Photo: Katelynn Frazier charges through a Poplar Bluff defender.
Bottom photo: Brittany Harris puts in two of her 15 points during Tuesday night's overtime loss at Poplar Bluff.

	1st Q	2nd Q	3rd Q	4th Q	OT	FINAL
DEXTER	8	12	12	13	3	48
POPLAR BLUFF	12	11	10	12	8	53

DEXTER	TOTAL
3-Whitehead	2
5-Frazier	9
10-Noe	6
12-Jarrell	9
15-Cobb	5
24-Harris	15
32-Patterson	2

By Andrew Cato, ShowMe Times Sports

DeSoto MO, Feb 12, 2011 The weekend was highly successful for the Dexter Bearcat Wrestling Team at the District Wrestling Championships in DeSoto Missouri. As the competition was winding down, the Bearcats had qualified four (4) wrestlers for the Missouri State Championship next weekend in Columbia, Missouri.

Entering the second day of the tournament, the Bearcats found themselves just one-half point out of second place overall with a team score of 74 points to St. Clair's team total of 74.5. St. Genevieve held a commanding first place lead of 89 team points.

The wrestleback or "follow the leader" format of the tournament was first on the schedule today where several Bearcats had an opportunity to battle back through the brackets after suffering a loss the first day of the tournament. Wrestlers who lose to another championship bracket loser is at that point out of the tournament.

During the third round of wrestlebacks, Jones-130, Stoner-152 and Quertermous-189 were eliminated from the tournament by suffering losses by decision and by fall. However, the Bearcats were brought a several wins to the matt in wrestlebacks by Ryan Vanover-140 by decision, Brad Wick-171 by fall and Ben Rodgers-215 by fall.

Four Bearcat wrestlers remained in the championship bracket Saturday with Trevor Waldner, Dylan Hardin, Cody Stevens and Zach Lacy ready to pursue a championship. Stevens emerged as the only semi-finals winner in his 160 pound weight class looking for a championship match.

In the consolation semi-final matches, the Bearcats advanced Waldner, Hardin and Lacy on to a final match to wrestle for 3rd place. Trevor Waldner-119 won by fall, Dylan Hardin won by decision and Zach Lacy-HWT won by fall. Unfortunately the Bearcats saw losses by Vanover-140 by major decision 14-6, Wick-171 by fall and Rodgers-215 by decision. .

The final matches of the weekend found 2nd Seed Cody Stevens battling for a Championship while three other Bearcat Grapplers were still hanging on for a 3rd Place Finish. Full of excitement, all four Bearcats left mat with their hand raised victorious, collecting one District Champion in Cody Steven in the 160 pound weight class and three third place medals by Waldner, Hardin and Lacy. Trevor won by a techfall, Hardin by major decision and Lacy with an overtime victory by a score of 2-1.

The Bearcat wrestling program dates back over 30 years and has continued to grow in both numbers and successes. This can be attributed to the extra effort of our coaching staff of Rick Schwab and James Sneed. They are committed to the development of the Bearcat program through many AAU and civic wrestling programs held in our community. Their dedication and hard work is what delivers Championship weekends as this.

“It has been a great season with all our wrestlers,” Coach Rick Schwab said. “but to top the season with a district champion in Cody Stevens and 3 other State Qualifiers has just topped it all. I'm very proud of the boys.”

The Bearcat wrestlers will travel to the University of Missouri-Columbia this week to compete in the MSHAA State Championship held at the Mizzou Arena. The tournament begins for Class 3 Boys Wrestling on Thursday, February 17th with Quarterfinals on Friday Afternoon and Championships matches on Saturday.

Coach Submitted Article Via Text and Email! "Putting The U Back in CommUnity ... THE SHOWME TIMES"

Photos above Top Photo: District Champion of the 160 pound weight class Cody Stevens receiving his 1st Place Medal in DeSoto.

Middle & Bottom photo: Zach Lacy shown on the mat battling Baynes for Hancock High School. Lacy won that match by decision in overtime by a score of 2 to 1.

By Andrew Cato, ShowMe Times Sports

DEXTER, Mo. - The last time the Bearcats faced the Kennett Indians this year was in the finals of the Bloomfield Christmas Tournament, where the Indians beat Dexter by ten points. The scene was no different Friday (Feb. 12) night at the Bearcat Event Center, as the ‘Cats were blown out at the hands of the Indians on Senior Night.

Jake Cox snagged a loose ball with 6:45 left in the first quarter, took it the length of the court and was fouled on his layup attempt, but was unable to hit either of his two free-throws. Fred Garmon picked off a Dexter inbounds pass a minute later and dropped in Kennett’s first two points of the evening; the Indians never gave up the lead for the rest of the contest. Bryn Hester completed a three-point play for the ‘Cats at the 4:30 mark, but was quickly answered with a three by Kennett’s Randrick Caruthers. Tyler Miller was called for goaltending on an Andy Lack layup attempt with 2:00 left in the frame, increasing Kennett’s lead to 10. Lack hit a three for the Indians with 35 seconds left in the first, and pushed the Indians to a 23-9 advantage at the end of the frame.

The ‘Cats put up a quick 6-0 run to open the second quarter, but Lack and Caruthers both connected from beyond the arc to keep Kennett in the lead. Taylor Jarrell made a big offensive rebound and putback with 1:45 left in the half. Luck again hit a three with less than a minute left on the clock for the Indians. Hester hit two free-throws for the ‘Cats with six seconds remaining in the frame, but Kennett had a commanding 17 point lead going into halftime.

Cameron Wallace connected from three-point land ten seconds into the third quarter, pushing Kennett’s lead to 20 points. Hester completed another three-point play for the ‘Cats at the 6:15 mark. Garmon hit a deep three for the Indians on the ensuing possession. Miller nabbed an errant pass by Jack Walls, got fouled on his shot, and completed the three-point play. Logan Robey hit a three with eight seconds left in the third, but Kennet still held a 22 point lead.

Hester and Cox were both perfect from the free-throw line in the fourth quarter for the Bearcats. Lack hit another three for Kennet at the 1:30 mark, but Robey answered, hitting his second three of the game. Cameron Wallace scooped a loose ball and put in two points with 15 seconds left in the game, pushing Kennett to a 22 point routing of the Bearcats.

“We just closed out people and didn’t give up uncontested shots,” Kennett head coach Jim Vaughan said after the game. “Our kids are buying into our defense and guarding as a whole right now.”

Vaughan seemed very pleased with his team’s defense, especially with regards to Flannigan, who was held to just 14 points on the contest.

“We had the same game plan for [Alan] Flannigan going into tonight as we did last time,” Vaughan continued. “We did a better job of denying him the basketball, sometimes having three people on him.”

“He does merit that much attention; he obviously has a size advantage over us, but he’s just that skilled of a player.”

The Bearcats will be in action again on Tuesday (Feb. 15) night at Poplar Bluff.

“They play really slow and move the ball a lot,” Miller said. “They try to lull you to sleep on defense and get an open look. It’ll probably be a low-scoring game.”

Tipoff for the JV game is scheduled for 5 p.m., followed by the Varsity Girls, and Boys action to close out the evening.

Photos above Top Photo: Jake Lee puts up a shot over Adam Grantham.
Bottom photo:Jake Bollinger puts a move on Kennett’s Fred Garmon during Dexter’s loss to the Indians on Friday.

                                                                     

	1st Q	2nd Q	3rd Q	4th Q	FINAL
DEXTER	9	16	16	9	50
KENNETT	23	20	20	9	72

                                                                                                                                                                                  

DEXTER	FG	3s	FT	TOTAL
Cox	1	--	2-4	4
Hester	3	--	6-6	12
Flannigan	6	--	2-2	14
Robey	1	2	1-2	9
Lee	--	--	1-2	1
Miller	1	0	3-4	5
Fitts	1	--	--	2
Jarrell	1	--	1-2	3

                                                                                                                                                                                  

KENNETT	FG	3s	FT	TOTAL
Shaverss	1	--	4-4	6
Carthers	6	2	2-2	20
C. Wallace	2	1	0-2	7
Garmon	1	1	1-2	6
Walls	2	--	3-4	7
Grantham	1	--	--	2
Lack	3	4	0-2	18
J. Wallace	3	--	--	6

Update Text Report From Coach Rick Schwab

The Dexter Bearcat Wrestling team traveled to DeSoto Missouri today to match their skills in the 2-day District Tournament. This is a big weekend for the Bearcat Grapplers as a strong finish this weekend will create an opportunity for these young men to be able to compete in the Missouri State Wrestling Tournament held next Thursday, Friday and Saturday in Columbia, Missouri. .

The team results for the first nights matches found the Bearcats only 5 points out of second place behind St. Clair. The powerhouse St. Genevieve Dragons currently hold the first place team position.

Individually, winners that are advancing to the semi-finals tomorrow are Trevor Waldner in the 119 weight class, Dylan Hardin in the 145 pound weight class, Cody Stevens in the 160 pound weight class and Zach Lacy in the heavyweight division. Many other team members remain in the tournament and will compete through the wrestle backs or backside of the bracket.

The tournament will resume tomorrow at 10:00 AM in DeSoto. The ShowMe Times will make every effort possible to keep you informed as information is available.

A ShowMe Times Report

Young people in the Dexter area can participate in wrestling in a community youth league.

Sign-ups for the Dexter Elks' Wrestling 2011 will be held beginning at 6 p.m., Monday, Feb. 14 at the Dexter High School Football Field House.

The cost for the program is $10 per person and checks can be made payable to Bearcat Youth Wrestling.

For additional information, contact Wrestling Coach Rick Schwab rschwab@dexter.k12.mo.us