Special To SMT
By Richard Forshee
Richland Rebel Yeller Staff

ESSEX - Led by new coaches, the Richland High School volleyball team prepares to meet the 2011-12 season by putting in lots of hard work.

With new coaches - Lisa Taylor and Stephanie DePew - the Richland volleyball players started practice as soon as school began. The team is ready to spike down their competition every chance they get! The new Varsity and Junior Varsity teams are already serving up a good combination for some great volleyball.

Take a new season, add in new coaches, mix in some new players and we have an awesome recipe for Rebel Volleyball. But that’s not all you needed or expected.

“I expect for our girls to work hard to become the best they can be,” said Taylor. “I expect that all of their hard work will pay off on the court.”

DePew agrees. “I expect the girls to continue to work hard, and to improve throughout the season,” DePew said.

Although official practices have just begun, the girls on the team aren’t out of shape. In fact, they were getting in shape all summer.

“We had a team camp this summer and the girls worked on the fundamentals of the game,”said Taylor. “Also, practices have been very intense and the girls have responded well to the challenge.”

Taylor and DePew are dedicated to working hard side-by-side to make the best season they can with the young Lady Rebels. Not just on the game, but also the teamwork.

“We are working on fundamentals, communication, and working as a team,” said DePew.

The girls have definitely been working hard, but this team is not all work and no play.

“I expect for a couple more wins than last year because we are all returning players,” said senior Shelby Lampkin. “I also think we will have loads of fun!”

The Richland Volleyball team is hosting a Gatorade Scrimmage game, scheduled for 6 p.m., Thursday, Aug. 25.

The team’s first conference game is against Dexter at home, at 6 p.m., Aug. 29.

“Come out and see us!” both Coach Taylor and Coach DePew said to all fans!

By Andrew Cato, ShowMe Times Sports Editor

Everyone at the ShowMe Times is proud to announce the launch of the 2011 Pigskin Pick’Em Challenge.

In the PPC, the object is simple: we give you 22 games a week for 10 weeks, spread across local high school teams, the NFL, and the NCAA, and you pick who wins. No scores, no ‘upset predictions’, just winners and losers. Every game that you pick correctly will get you a point - 22 possible points a week, and 220 possible points in the whole contest.

Your picks will be 'unlocked' at 8:00 a.m. on Tuesday mornings, and will be open until 2:00 p.m. on Friday, at which point they will be locked in.


All you have to do to enter is provide your full name and a working email address - used to notify you of any prizes you win - and then make your picks on a weekly basis.


Wait, PRIZES?!?


Yes, you read that correctly: we’re giving out prizes every week. Once the scores are tallied each week, the top three finishers will win a prize.

Don’t fret if you aren’t a football guru - we’re also giving out two prizes from a random drawing each week. Prizes have been donated by Locust Street Flowers, Montgomery Bank, Dexter Queen, Hideaway Pizza & Package, Faye’s Doughnuts, and other great local businesses.


At the end of the 10 week period, the top point scorer will win the grand prize: a 46” Flatscreen TV and a ‘Bearcat Fan Pack’ with all the essential fan gear you’ll need - t-shirts, blankets, stadium chairs, etc - to tough out cold Friday nights in the stands during Bearcat football games.

The full rules and regulations for the contest can be found here.

To go directly to the game page, click here, or you can navigate to the page by mousing over the sports button and clicking the link on the drop-down menu, or you can, from the home page, click the link on the left of the three buttons beneath the search bar.

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Make sure to check back with the ShowMe Times for updates on this exciting contest - the 2011 Pigskin Pick'Em Challenge can only be found on the ShowMe Times!

After the explosive Yahoo! Sports story on the University of Miami athletics scandal, the integrity of Mizzou's new basketball coach, Frank Haith, was called into question. Dr. Brady Deaton, MU Chancellor, released the following statement during a press conference last Friday (Aug 19).

From the University of Missouri News Bureau

Story Contacts
news@missouri.edu, 573-882-6211
Chad Moller,MollerC@missouri.edu, 573-268-3110

“After reading a few accounts this morning, I felt it necessary to provide clarification to my statements following the August 19, 2011, University of Missouri Board of Curators meeting. At no time were we aware of any allegations at the University of Miami, football, basketball, or otherwise, until Tuesday’s Yahoo! Sports report. In the days leading up to the report we, as many of you, heard about the allegations of improprieties at Miami, but that early media information centered around football. That was my contention in the comment below, and the insinuation that we knew about a potential investigation during our hiring process is an incorrect interpretation of my remarks yesterday.  As I stated, no evidence of an investigation came up during our vetting process.”

“With regard to the search process that resulted in the University of Missouri hiring Frank Haith, we had a very thorough search process in which all candidates were vetted very thoroughly.  In the case of Mr. Haith, we’ve documented more than 20 specific reference points, with the NCAA, the Atlantic Coast Conference, administrators at the University of Miami as well as, of course, the former athletic director, and many others in the field, and everything came back very, very clear, very positive and left us reassured that this was an individual that would provide the leadership that we desired at the University of Missouri, so we feel good about the vetting process.  The investigation that had begun at some point, was an investigation, as I understand, perhaps of football, and had not reached over into this side at all.  No evidence of this came up during the vetting process.”

The following is a link to the audio of yesterday's (Aug 19) press conference:
http://radionews.missouri.edu/board/2011_08_19_Press_Conference.mp3

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For more news, visit munews.missouri.edu

By Andrew Cato, ShowMe Times Sports Editor

Bearcat Nation converged on Charles Bland Stadium Friday (Aug 19) night to catch their first glimpse of the 2011 Bearcat Football team in the preseason Jamboree.

The ‘Cats faced off against teams from Kennett, East Prairie, and New Madrid County Central in the preseason scrimmage.

“[There was] good and bad, about like every year. We hit some good plays in both the passing game and running game tonight,” head coach Aaron Pixley said. “We didn’t execute a few times, but I felt like defensively we kind of struggled a little bit early, but I felt like we got better as we went. “

”We need to play with more energy, we came out a little flat tonight. I don’t know if it was the humidity or what, but we didn’t have the energy I felt like we should have.”

On one of the more humid evenings that the ‘Cats have been on the field, they seemed to be a little flat at the beginning of the jamboree, but once they picked up the tempo, the revamped ‘Cats put on quite a show.

The ‘Cats utilized their one-two punch of Nick Summers and Josh Overall out of the backfield extensively. Running behind a great offensive line, led by senior tackles Zach Lacy and Theo Gaul, both backs were able to string together impressive runs during the scrimmages.

Summers’ strong, physical running style allowed him to drag nearly seven Kennett defenders on a nine-yard run early in the jamboree. Overall’s quick, more ‘finesse’ style had him juking and stiff arming his way into several impressive runs.

“They’re different style runners; both of them bring someone to the table and they’ll both be used,” Pixley said of the two backs. “If our passing game is going good, our running game will be going good. I felt like the offensive line got downhill really hard and physical on some runs.”

The ‘Cats passing game also stood out during the scrimmages, with senior quarterback Cody Stevens connecting on several excellent passes.

“Our pass blocking was pretty good for the most part,” Pixley said. “We had some protection breakdowns late in the jamboree, but those are fixable things.”


Looking ahead, the ‘Cats are ready to kick off the regular season Friday (Aug 26) at home against Ste. Genevive.

“Ste. Gen didn’t really lose anything; they lost two or three position players, but everyone else is back,” Pixley said. [ “Against Ste. Gen, we’re going to have to have some high tempo, some high energy,” Stevens said. “We’ll need to have people flying around hitting people; Ste. Gen’s a good team.”

“We expect them to be one of the best, if not the best, team on our schedule. They will be very good, and we’ll have to play very well to beat them,” Pixley added. “I expect a very good football team to be coming through that gate Friday night.”


Kickoff for the regular season opener against Ste. Gen is set for 7:00 P.M. on Friday, August 26.

Photos above
Top Photo: Josh Overall squeezes in between defenders during the ‘Cats’ first scrimmage of the night against the Kennett Indians.
Bottom photo: Defensive End Jake Lee drags down a Kennett ballcarrier during the evening’s scrimmages.

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Make sure to check back with the ShowMe Times for full coverage of Dexter Bearcat Football!

By Andrew Cato, ShowMe Times Sports Editor

With their first game against Ste. Genevive rapidly approaching, the DHS Football team is ready to kick off the 2011 season with the return of the annual football jamboree to Charles Bland Stadium.

After two full weeks of practice, head coach Aaron Pixley seems to be pleased with what he’s seeing from the squad.


“[Practices have] gone well. They’ve been a little inconsistent; they’ve looked good at times and bad at others,” Pixley noted. “We’ve had great weather, so we’ve had a lot more good than bad. [Wednesday] was the first hot practice we’ve had, really. We were a little sluggish, but I feel like we got some good things in. So far so good, we just have to make sure we get a little more consistent and prove ourselves on Friday night.”

”Most of the time in practice, they’re playing the way they should. Even if they mess up, they’re doing it hard. I preach that to my kids: if you’re unsure or make a mistake, just go a hundred miles an hour.” 
The football ‘Cats have had a busy summer, with weightlifting sessions, ‘contact days’, and several camps crammed in the two and a half month ‘vacation’.

“We’ve had a good summer. We’ve had most of the kids out doing weights and contact days, and running their 300’s,” Pixley added. “We’ve had 90-plus percent of the full team all summer; you always want 100 percent, but sometimes you don’t get that.”

Looking to Friday night’s football jamboree, the ‘Cats will take the field for the first time since the end of DHS’s most successful season under the helm of Coach Pixley.

“We’ve got plenty of seniors that have ‘been there, done that’, they’ve been through quite a few wars, and they know what they’re doing. I think at times they get bored a little bit, but we have to make sure that we’ve very physical in all phases of the game,” Pixley said.

“Hopefully that’s what we’re going to get out of the jamboree - a lot of physicality, kids making plays, and for the defense to get it done.”


The ‘Cats have been lucky this summer to avoid any serious injuries - junior Chase Young is the only injured player heading into Friday night’s jamboree.

“We’ve got some bumps and bruises, but nothing too serious,” Pixley said. “Chase Young has had a knee problem for a while; he played baseball all summer on a bum knee, but it’s nothing major. He should be good to go.”

The ‘Cats will face East Prairie, as well as district rivals New Madrid County Central and Kennett in the jamboree.

The scrimmages will follow the traditional jamboree format, with a coin toss to determine offense or defense and the ball placed at the 40 yd. line. If a team scores, the ball will be placed back at the 40 yd. line. Each team will play 12 plays on offense and defense, respectively. No score will be kept. There will be no kicking game.

The jamboree is scheduled for a 6:00 p.m. start on Friday, August 19.

Admission will be $1 (no passes accepted), with a concession stand available on the east end of the field. The Bearcat Booster club will be providing food and drinks for all players and coaches at the conclusion of the evening’s scrimmages.

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