WAPPAPELLO LAKE - It may be the dog days of summer, but it was still a great weekend for crappie fishing this weekend, thanks to the first-ever Ben Kruse Charity Crappie Tournament.

The tournament was held Saturday, Sept. 10 at Wappapello Lake. Organizers Dain Bess and Bruce Christian planned a first-class tournament with a total of 40 two man/boat teams. 

All proceeds from the tournament went to 18 Fore Life in helping area families fight cancer.

Helpers for the event included Billy and Beth Fowler, Darin and Peggy Ridgers, Brandon and Betsy Jines, Brett and Charla Carrier, Marty and Rita Poetz, Pam Kruse, Jane Kingree, Reed Brotherton, Dallas Burchanon and Doug Cox and the Cooking Crew, Neil Holman, Gary and Donna VanMatre and Paul Liege.

Winners for the tournament include:

• 1st  - David Tropf and Edwin Younger  of Advance: Weight  - 10.14 lbs.; Big Fish 1.70 lbs.  
• 2nd - Ryan Duley and Lynn McMullin  of Dexter and Bloomfield;  8.53 lbs. and  1.66 lbs.    
• 3rd - Terry Joseph and Jeff Wilcox of Wappapello and Bloomfield;  8.53 lbs. and 1.36 lbs.
• 4th - Kenny Parris and Paul Lawrence of Dexter; 8.44 lbs. and 1.39 lbs.
• 5th - Brad Botsch and Danny Walker of Bernie; 8.33 lbs. and 1.41 lbs.
• 6th - Dan Gentz and Steven Gentz of St. Louis; 8.31 lbs. and 1.65 lbs,
• 7th - Tom Frazier and Rat Walker of Dexter and Wappapello; 8.27 lbs. and 1.40 lbs.
• 8th - Lance Sanders and Josh McMullin of Essex; 8.18 lbs.
• 9th - Allen Chappell and Jason Sandage of Bloomfield; 8.14 lbs. and 1.54 lbs.
• 10th - Bruce Christian and Amy Christian of Dexter;  8.14 lbs. and 1.31 lbs.
• 11th - Brett Roper and Allen Below of Dexter; 8.07 lbs. and 1.48 lbs.
• 12th - Gale Humphrey and Randy Humphrey  of Bloomfield and Dexter; 7.95 lbs. and 1.43 lbs.

The organizers are already looking forward to the 2012 event, where friends will again gather for a good time, and to raise money for a very worthy local cause.

“We are already gearing up for 2012," said Bruce Christian. “And next years' tournament will also be in September.”  

By Andrew Cato, ShowMe Times Sports Editor

CAPE GIRARDEAU -- The JV Football team faced a tough challenge in the Cape Central Tigers on Monday night. The Tigers, playing in their newly-built stadium, battled the Bearcats for four quarters, but in the end, the Tigers came out on top, with a 34 - 32 final score.

Jonathan Foels again had an outstanding game on the ground, putting in three rushing touchdowns in the contest. He’s definitely one to watch for on Friday nights, and will be a big help should any of the Varsity running backs fall to injury this season.

Cape Central received the opening kickoff and drove down the field for a touchdown, but were no good on the two-point conversion. The ‘Cats answered quickly with a rushing touchdown from Foels, followed by a D.J. Dowdy rush on the two-point conversion to put the ‘Cats up 8 - 6.

After a great defensive stand, Foels again found the endzone for his second touchdown of the night, and punched through the line for the two-point conversion to put the ‘Cats up 16 - 6 at the end of the first quarter.

The second quarter saw a lot of turnovers, and it started off with Chris Cannon scooping up a fumble for the Bearcats. A few plays later, the Bearcats put the ball on the ground, and Central recovered, leading to a touchdown that cut Dexter’s lead to 16 - 12.


On Central’s next possession, Holden Bruce picked off a pass that led to a Brad Wick touchdown and two-point conversion from Foels. The ‘Cats were up 24 - 12 with just under :30 left in the half.

Cape Central showed great strides in their passing game, connecting on a long touchdown pass with just one second left in the second quarter; the two-point conversion was good to cut the Bearcats’ lead to 24-20 at halftime.



Both teams played some outstanding defense the the third quarter. The only score came from Cape Central with just under 2:00 left in the third - the touchdown and two-point conversion put the Tigers on top 28 - 24 at the end of the quarter.

Foels broke a 15 yard run with 6:42 left in the game for a Bearcat touchdown, and Dowdy connected with Stevie Payne for the two-point conversion to give Dexter a 32 - 28 lead.

Cape Central drove down the field and added another touchdown at the 2:43 mark, but the two-point conversion was no good. On the ensuing kickoff, Foels made it to the Cape Central 45 yard line. The Tigers’ defense held strong and forced the Bearcats to turn the ball over on downs with 1:06 left in the game.


The Tigers ran out the clock to claim the 34-32 victory.

The JV squad moves to 2-1 on the season with the loss, and will be in action again on Monday, September 19, when they go on the road to face the Charleston Bluejays.

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Thanks to SMT Reader and Bearcat Mom Marrianne Bruce for the photos!

By Andrew Cato, ShowMe Times Sports Editor

The Lady ‘Cats had a dominant performance against the Charleston Lady Bluejays on Monday afternoon.

The ‘Cats, in a varsity-only contest, were able to win six of their seven matches with big leads.


In the No. 1 singles match, Jessica Snider faced a tough opponent in Charleston’s Makayla Thompson.

Snider again had to battle through adversity, and came back from a 2-4 deficit to earn an 8-6 win in the best match of the day.

The JV and Varsity Lady ‘Cats will be in action again this afternoon when they take on the Poplar Bluff Lady Mules at home.

The match is scheduled to get underway at 4:00 p.m.

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By Andrew Cato, ShowMe Times Sports Editor

BLOOMFIELD -- The Lady ‘Cats, coming off their first losses of the season in the SEMO Spike Tournament last weekend, continued to struggle on the court against the Bloomfield Wildcats on Monday night.

The Lady ‘Cats split the contest with Bloomfield; the JV squad won in straight sets, 25-16, 25-16. The Varsity ‘Cats lost the first set 21-25, and forced extra points in the second set, losing 25-27.

Head coach Lauren Hutchcraft felt her team wasn’t mentally prepared for the game and noted a lack of aggression from her hitters.

“We had people in the net, people missing serves, and that’s going to cost you a game - those are easy points you just give the other team,” Hutchcraft said after the game. “You have to hit against them, they’re going to pick it up, as good as their defense is.”

“I don’t really feel like we played well, we didn’t seem fired up at all,” she continued. “It seemed really slow for both teams. We were really quiet, we weren’t hitting the ball, we were tipping where we should have been hitting a lot more.”

Senior libero Erika Mouser had a solid defensive performance for the Lady ‘Cats, racking up 11 digs in the contest. Hannah Noe also played a solid game, with 9 assists, 8 digs, 4 kills, and 2 aces in the match.

The Lady ‘Cats, now 7-4 on the season, will be in action again Tuesday night, when they face the Scott City Lady Rams at the Bearcat Event Center.

“Scott City is a great team, probably one of the best teams we face, and we’ll have to play a lot better than we did tonight to be able to beat them,” Hutchcraft said. “Hopefully the loss tonight, coupled with the hometown crowd, will get my girls fired up and ready to play!”

JV action is scheduled to begin at 6:00 p.m., with the Varsity game immediately following.

Stevie Payne demonstrates the proper use of the 'rip' technique to a group of defensive lineman during Dexter Park & Rec's annual Day With Bearcat Football.

During the great event, future Bearcats take to the practice facilities of Charles Bland Stadium to learn the game's fundamentals from the Varsity Football team, under the watchful eye of the DHS coaching staff.

The DPR Little League Football season will get underway Saturday, September 17, with games at 9:30 and 11:00 a.m.

The full schedule for the 2011 season can be downloaded here. For more information, visit the DPR website