A quartet from the Dexter High School Wrestling Team left town Wednesday morning (Feb. 16) bound for the Missouri State Wrestling Championships at Mizzou Arena in Columbia. Wrestlers who qualified for the state championships include (from left) Cody Stevens, Trevor Waldner, Zach Lacy, and Dylan Hardin. Head coach is Rick Schwab and assistant coach is James Sneed. Good luck Bearcats! (SMT photo by Annabeth Miller)

By Andrew Cato, ShowMe Times Sports

POPLAR BLUFF, Mo. - After a disappointing conclusion to regular season action at home, the Bearcats found themselves on the road at Poplar Bluff. It was Bluff’s Senior Night and Homecoming, and the ‘Cats were out for revenge after having their own Senior Night crashed Friday (Feb 11). It was a defensive struggle throughout the game, with 20-plus points being scored only in one quarter, but the Bearcats came out on top with a 41-26 final score.

Dexter came out making sloppy passes in the opening frame, throwing at least three passes out of bounds, and Poplar Bluff capitalized on every missed opportunity. Rhys Griffith drained a three at the 6:30 mark, but was quickly answered by Dexter’s Alan Flannigan. The two teams took turns missing from beyond the arc for the next two minutes. Tyler Miller hit one of two free throws to put the ‘Cats in the lead with three minutes remaining in the opening frame. Bryn Hester picked off an errant pass from Ike Anders and dropped in two points with a minute left on the clock. D’Markus Patterson stripped the ball from Logan Robey with eight seconds left in the first, but couldn’t connect on the half-court shot at the buzzer. The ‘Cats held a slim 8-7 lead after one quarter of play.

Jake Cox opened the second quarter with a three for the Bearcats, pushing their lead to four points. Dexter’s defense really came alive in the second quarter, with Cox and Taylor Jarrell making steals and Flannigan blocking a shot. Poplar Bluff took their only lead of the game at the 2:00 mark, thanks to a three from Michael Griggs. Jarrell dropped in an easy layup for the ‘Cats to retake the lead, and two free throws from Miller pushed the ‘Cats ahead by three going into halftime.

Cox was again good from three-point land in the beginning of the third quarter, but was quickly answered by Anders. Miller and Flannigan each contributed one and two blocks, respectively. The Bearcats were able to put up 10 unanswered points, but Anders completed a three-point play for the Mules to stop the scoring spree. Flannigan hit a shot from the free throw line at the buzzer to give Dexter a 12 point lead after three quarters.

Dexter’s defense continued with its superb play in the fourth quarter, with Flannigan and Hester each making steals and holding the Mules to only three points. Hester was good for two free-throws at the 6:45 mark to increase the ‘Cats’ lead to 15 points. Anders completed a three-point play, with just under two minutes left in the game, for the Mules’ only points of the quarter. The ‘Cats burned the last minute of the clock, and ended with a 15 point victory.

“I knew this game wasn’t going to get out of the 40’s,” said Dexter head coach Rob Nichols after the game. “That’s just the style they [Poplar Bluff] play; they play great defense and control the tempo on offense.”

“Lamont [Frazier, PBHS head basketball coach] just does such a good job of taking away your stuff,” Nichols continued. “They scout you so well that you have to bury what you’re trying to do offensively.”

“Jake [Lee], Alan [Flannigan], and [Taylor] Jarrell all rebounded really well tonight, and that’s a big key for us. We need to limit people to one shot, and we did a good job of that tonight.”

The ‘Cats will have a tough road test Friday (Feb. 18) night at Cape Central.

“They [Cape Central] are state-ranked in Class 5, and they’ve got great size,” Nichols said. “They’ve also got a Division I prospect in one of their point guards. We’ll have to go over there and play our best game of the season.”

Tipoff Friday night is scheduled at 6:00 p.m. for JV, with Varsity action following.

Photos above Top Photo: Tyler Miller defends an Ike Anders layup attempt.
Bottom photo: Jake Lee advances the ball against defensive pressure from Poplar Bluff’s Nick Shrum.

                                                                     

	1st Q	2nd Q	3rd Q	4th Q	FINAL
DEXTER	8	11	16	6	41
POPLAR BLUFF	7	9	7	3	26

                                                                                                                                                

DEXTER	FG	3s	FT	TOTAL
Cox	--	2	--	6
Hester	2	--	2-3	6
Flannigan	6	1	3-4	18
Lee	2	--	0--	4
Miller	1	--	3-4	5
Jarrell	1	--	--	2

                                                                                                                                 

POPLAR BLUFF	FG	3s	FT	TOTAL
Griffith	--	1	--	3
Griggs	1	1	--	5
McCain	1	--	1-2	3
Anders	2	1	2-2	9
Shrum	3	--	--	6

	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