By Andrew Cato, ShowMe Times Sports Editor

The Dexter Bearcats will face another great team on Friday night in the Malden Green Wave. The matchup features two squads that made it to the playoffs last season (Dexter in Class 3, Malden in Class 2) and have 3-1 records, and is quickly shaping up to be one of the premiere games in Southeast Missouri this week.


Rewind to a year ago: the Green Wave defeated Dexter 26-20 in overtime, a game that current Bearcats will definitely look back on for motivation.

Head coach Aaron Pixley noted the team’s talent & athleticism, and pointed out the eerie similarities between the offensive schemes of Malden and Sikeston, who handed the Bearcats their lone loss thus far in the 2011 campaign.

“[Malden] might be better than last year - in fact, they probably are better. They have excellent athletes, a very good quarterback. They do a lot of things that force you to read keys, and if you don’t read the keys, they’ll expose you,” Pixley said of the Green Wave. “They’re a very good team, and they turn around and play most of the same athletes on defense, so you have to face speed on both sides of the ball.”

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“Just like in the Sikeston game, you have keys to read, and when we didn’t read them, that’s when you saw Sikeston go untouched for 70 or 80 yards at a time,” Pixley continued. “We have to read our keys - thats what that offense makes you do. If we do that, we have a chance, but if we don’t, they’re going to be scoring a lot of points.”

Head coach Aaron Pixley felt that his squad has had a solid week of practice, and pointed out the level of mental preparation that goes into getting ready for an offense this complex.


“Practice has gone really well this week. We’re pretty loose on Thursday, but I felt we were sharp and ready and executed well,” Pixley said. “You have to practice hard and prepare mentally for this football team because they’ll throw a lot at you.”

Malden’s offensive attack is lead by junior Tanner Murphy, who has thrown for 737 yards and six touchdowns, all while completing just under 60% of his passes and only giving up three picks.


The Bearcats will again be without the services of Dylan Aaron in Friday night’s contest. Aaron also set out last week’s contest against Scott City with a seemingly serious shoulder injury. Dylan Heflin is expected to fill in on the offensive line in his absence.

“Dylan Aaron is out indefinitely,” Pixley noted. “The next guy has to step up - that’s what football is all about. The guy ahead of you goes down, you have to step up and fill in. That’s what we’re going to do, and hopefully go out there and be able to execute well.”

Kickoff for the contest is set for 7:00 p.m. at Charles Bland Stadium.

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Editor’s Note: Chase Young is going to be back in the lineup Friday night. The junior had to set out last week as a precautionary measure. Chase’s father, Marty, indicated that he’s been dealing with a nagging knee injury since early in the summer, but tests ran in the last few days have shown nothing major, so he’s been cleared to play in full capacity.

I’d expect to see the Bearcats incorporate him into the passing game more this week, as well as back into special teams as a kick returner.


As always, if you can’t make it to the game, I’ll be Tweeting the scores and big plays of the contest from the sidelines - just keep checking back with our Facebook or Twitter page for updates!

By Jeff Weseloh, SBU Director of Athletics Media Relations

Bolivar, Mo. - The SBU Bearcats enter into their 4th game of the 2011 season after coming off an exciting Bearcat victory over MIAA opponent Fort Hays State. The Bearcat offense looked outstanding against the Tigers, limiting the turnovers, and producing over 200 yards rushing on the evening. The Bearcats look to continue their winning streak to three seasons after a record of 7-4 in the 2010 season.

Last week, the SBU offense was impressive, as they piled up over 350 total yards in the contest. The Bearcats were lead in passing by Dan Connors, who was 16-19 for 146 yards and one touchdowns. The Bearcats running game was impressive, producing their first 100 yard rusher of the season. Thad Everson rushed 22 times for 116 yards and a touchdown, while Justin Duhaney picked up 75 yards on 14 carries and a touchdown.

The Bearcats are poised to have their third consecutive winning season as they go into the next game this weekend against the St. Joseph’s Pumas. Coach Allen’s theme continues to be “Leave no Doubt”. He wants all of his athlets to have the mind set of “Every day you come to work, every day you’ve got to get better, every day you have to compete.”

The Coaches

Keith Allen has already engineered a significant turnaround at SBU, moving the ‘Cats from 0-11 his first year as interim coach, to 5-6 in 2008, to the winning record of 6-5 in 2009, and followed up with a 7-4 record in 2010. Allen served as defensive and recruiting coordinator before being named SBU head coach in 2007. His past coaching experience has included stops at San Jose State, Quincy, TCU and Oklahoma.

Cory Sanders is in his first year as head coach of the Pumas. Sanders returns to Saint Joseph’s after a two-year stint at Elmhurst College where he served as Defensive Backs Coach. During his tenure with the Bluejays, Sanders served along side the Defensive Coordinator to develop additional defensive schemes as well as weekly defensive game plans. He solely coordinated efforts amongst the defensive secondary and managed the video coordinating efforts.

Scouting the Pumas

The Pumas enter into this weekend with a 0-3 record. They are lead offensively by Billy VandeMerkt, who averages 303.7 passing yards per game. Scott Chapman is the leading receiver for the Pumas, averaging 88.7 yards receiving per game.

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Southwest Baptist University is a four-year evangelical Christian university that was established in 1878. The main campus is located about 30 minutes north of Springfield, Missouri, in Bolivar, a town of approximately 10,000 people.

DHS alum Glen Johnson is a defensive lineman for the Bearcats.

For more information on SBU Bearcat Athletics, visit sbubearcats.com.

From the Missouri Department of Conservation

Catfish seem to be the best bet across SEMO at the moment; outside of Castor River, Lake Girardeau, and Wappapello Lake, everything else appears to be pretty slow.

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SOUTHEAST REGION (573) 290-5858

    LAKES

Clearwater Lake: 75 degrees, normal, clear; crappie fair while trolling; all other species slow. (Report made on 9/22/2011)

Council Bluff: 74 degrees, normal, clear; largemouth bass fair on dark colored soft plastic worms; all other species slow. (Report made on 9/22/2011)

Cypress Lake: 72 degrees, normal, dingy; crappie fair on minnows and jigs; bluegill fair on crickets and worms; all other species slow. (Report made on 9/22/2011)

Duck Creek: 73 degrees, normal, clear; largemouth bass fair on plastic worms and topwater lures; bluegill fair on crickets and jigs; channel catfish good on worms; all other species slow. (Report made on 9/22/2011)

Lake Girardeau: normal, dingy; channel catfish fair on worms and cut bait; all other species fair. (Report made on 9/19/2011)

Perry County Lake: 72 degrees, muddy; largemouth bass fair on spinnerbaits; channel catfish fair on cut bait; all other species slow. (Report made on 9/22/2011)

Robert DeLaney Lake: 76 degrees, normal, all species slow. (Report made on 9/22/2011)

Wappapello: normal, black bass good on crankbaits and plastic worms; crappie good on minnows and jigs; bluegill fair on crickets and worms along shoreline;  channel catfish fair on live bait using jug lines and trotlines at night; all other species slow.
Anglers should note the 9" minimum length regulation for crappie on Wappapello Lake.  Call the Wappapello Lake Recreation Hotline for updates at 573-222-8139. (Report made on 9/22/2011)

    RIVERS

Black River (near Annapolis): 72 degrees, low, clear; all species slow. (Report made on 9/22/2011)

Castor River (above Zalma): low, clear; all species fair. (Report made on 9/22/2011)

Lower Black River (Clearwater Dam): normal, dingy; black bass good on topwater lures and crankbaits; channel catfish good on live and cut baits; white bass fair on tube jigs; crappie fair on jigs and minnows; all other species slow.
There have been some instances of paddlefish being caught and hooked in the mouth while using traditional fishing methods as of late.  Paddlefish are closed to taking by any method in the Black River except from March 15 through April 30.  If a paddlefish is caught outside of those specified dates it must be released immediately. (Report made on 9/22/2011)

Mississippi (below Charleston): dingy; all species slow. (Report made on 9/22/2011)

Mississippi River (Cape Girardeau): rising, muddy; channel catfish and blue catfish fair on worms and cut bait; all other species slow. (Report made on 9/19/2011)

St. Francis (above Wappapello): low, clear; all species slow. (Report made on 9/22/2011)

St. Francis (below Wappapello):70 degrees, low, dingy; channel catfish fair on stinkbait, chicken liver, and worms; flathead catfish fair on live bait, cut bait, and goldfish; all other species slow. (Report made on 9/22/2011)

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Anglers are invited to send photos of their fishing trips to the ShowMe Times. Just email acato@showmetimes.com; be sure to include the name of the fisherman, the date of the catch, where it was caught, weight and - if you care to share - what type of bait you were using!

By Andrew Cato, ShowMe Times Sports Editor

The Dexter Lady Bearcats’ Volleyball game, scheduled for Thursday, Sept. 22 at 6:00 p.m., has been switched to a Varsity-only match.


Make sure to head out to the BEC at 6:00 p.m. tonight to watch coach Lauren Hutchcraft’s squad take on the Bell City Lady Cubs!

Thanks to DHS Athletic Director Chuck Powers for the update.

The 'Cats picked up a huge win over Scott City on Friday night, and these two seniors both had standout performances.

Cody Stevens (#7, QB) is the Offensive Player of the Week. Cody put together several great scoring drives for the 'Cats; through the air, Stevens was 7-12 for 127 yards and three TD's. He also rushed for 64 yards on six attempts.



Tyler Miller (#4, DB) is the Defensive Player of the Week.  Miller combined for six total tackles, as well as two pass breakups and a 44 yard INT return.