By Andrew Cato, ShowMe Times Sports Editor

The Lady Bearcats faced a tough opponent Tuesday night in the Bearcat Event Center - the Scott City Lady Rams. The ‘Cats were able to split the contest with last year’s state champions, with the JV winning 25-9, 25-13, and the Varsity losing 20-25, 18-25.

Head coach Lauren Hutchcraft felt her team showed improved aggression at the net in the contest.

“I felt it was a pretty decent game for both teams.  I wasn't falling out of my chair getting excited by anything either one of the teams was doing, but overall it was a solid match on both teams' part,” Hutchcraft said. “My girls looked much better tonight than they did last night [against Bloomfield].  The girls were attacking the ball more aggressively tonight than they did last night, which is something we talked about before the game.”

Hannah Noe had a solid showing in the set-up department; she was able to rack up 25 assists in the contest. Lindsey Hindman also had a good performance, knocking out 12 digs, 2 kills, and was 9 for 9 from the service line.


The Lady ‘Cats will be in action again on Thursday night, when they travel to Bernie to take on the Lady Mules.

“We play Bernie on Thursday, at Bernie,” Hutchcraft noted. It should be a good game - they are always fired up and ready to play hard. They always have a huge crowd, too.”


JV action is set to get underway at 6:00 p.m., with the Varsity contest immediately following.

By Andrew Cato, ShowMe Times Sports Editor

The Lady ‘Cats were evenly matched with the Poplar Bluff Lady Mules on Tuesday afternoon. The ‘Cats were able to come out on top in the match (5-4 Varsity, 8-1 JV) but the Mules put up quite a fight.

Varsity No. 1 Jessica Snider again had a hard-fought battle, but this time she wasn’t able to get the ‘W’ - she fell to Caroline Penney in a 7-9 tiebreaker.

“Jess lost a heartbreaker, but we played well,” head Coach Leanne Dooley said. “We are every evenly matched - Poplar Bluff won 4-5 last week, we won 5-4 this time.”

Hailee Hubbard lost an outstanding singles match against Shallyn Ward in a tiebreaker, but Baylee Cooper and Shanna Gant were both able to get 8-5 wins.


In JV action, Brannon Heaton won another tiebreak match against Namara Haq, 8-6.


In doubles, the duo of Paige Patterson and Taylor Owens were able to get a 6-0 victory.

The Lady ‘Cats will be in action again on Monday (Sept. 19) when they host the Farmington Lady Knights in a 4:00 p.m. match.

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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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