Bolivar, Mo. - The SBU Bearcats will hit the road for a three game road trip with the first match-up coming this Saturday at William Jewell. The Bearcats played tough defense, and once again had excellent quarterback play from Dan Connors, to seal the 28-12 victory last week over Urbana. The Bearcats look to continue their winning streak to three seasons after a record of (7-4) in the 2010 season.

The Bearcat offense continues to click, as Dan Connors leads the Bearcats in passing yards (865) and touchdown passes (6). Connors is currently averaging 216.2 yards through the air, and 53.5 yards on the ground for the Bearcats, while having a completion percentage of 71.6%. Charles Johnson remains the leading receiver for the Bearcats, averaging 70.4 yards per game, with four total touchdowns on the season. Behind Connors, Thad Everson is the leading rusher for the Bearcats, averaging 44.0 yards per game.

The Bearcat defense is lead Zach Moore with 45 tackles and two blocked kicks on the season. Casey Smith and Deshawn Ross lead SBU with 2.0 sacks a piece, while Austin Otwell and Chris Muhammad share the team high with two interceptions apiece on the season.

Dexter native Glen Johnson continues to see playing time on the Bearcat defense. Johnson, a 2008 graduate of DHS, converted from Linebacker to Defensive End early in his collegiate career, and has had great success in the Bearcats' defensive line rotation.

The Bearcats are two wins away from having their third consecutive winning season as they go into the next game this weekend against William Jewell. Coach Allen’s theme continues to be “Leave no Doubt”. He wants all of his athletes 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 is currently the winningest coach in SBU history with 22 total wins. 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.

Jarod Kruse is in his season as the head coach at William Jewell College. The Cardinal football team improved their record by three wins and finished among the top in the nation in many statistical categories in 2010.

Scouting the Cardinals

The Cardinals enter into this weekend with a 1-3 record, coming off of a 45-7 loss to Pittsburg State.

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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.

By Andrew Cato, ShowMe Times Sports Editor

The Lady Bearcats fought hard in the annual Dig Pink! Game on Thursday night, but ultimately wound up splitting the match with the Poplar Bluff Lady Mules.

The JV squad, still unbeaten on the season, picked up 25-10 and 25-20 wins to claim their match.


The Lady ‘Cats scratched their way back into the game during the third set of the Varsity match, putting together a rally while down 20-24 to tie the set at 24 all, but Bluff was able to come out on top in the three-set win - 25-27, 25-19, 24-26.


Coach Lauren Hutchcraft felt her squad’s defensive effort was the key flaw in the Lady ‘Cats’ performance.

“Our defensive effort was lacking, especially on the back row,” she said. “Our blocking was good - Jessica, Brittany, Hannah, and Erika did a great job of that - but the back row was a little weak tonight. That was our main problem.”


Hutchcraft’s front row players - Jessica Lindsey, Brittany Harris, Hannah Noe, and Erika Cobb - combined for 25 blocks in the contest. The squad also racked up 32 kills.


“We missed four serves tonight, two in the third set,” Hutchcraft continued. “Those are points you just can’t miss at all.”

The squad has only been in three-set matches a handful of times this year, and Hutchcraft said that was also part of the problem.

“It could be fatigue, but they just stopped talking,” she said. “When you have a breakdown in communication, then that effects everyone on the floor. When you don’t talk, you don’t know what’s going on.”


The Lady ‘Cats will be in action again next week, when they head to Advance for the SCAA Tournament.

“County tournament will really be anybody’s game. There’s a strong group in this county, and it will be an exciting time for all teams,” Hutchcraft said. “Hopefully we have a good crowd there, because it could go any way, it just depends what team shows up to play.”

The JV ‘Cats drew the No. 1 seed, and won’t play until Thursday at 5:00 p.m., when they face the winner of the Bloomfield (No. 4)/Richland (No. 5) match. The Varsity squad earned the No. 2 spot, and they will be in action Tuesday night at 7:00 p.m., when they face Woodland (No. 7).


Tournament brackets can be downloaded and printed out here.




By Andrew Cato, ShowMe Times Sports Editor

The Dexter Bearcats will face one of the toughest opponents of the season on Friday night when they play host to the Caruthersville Tigers.


Both teams are top ten in the state in their respective classes - Dexter is currently ranked No. 7 in Class 3, and Caruthersville is currently ranked No. 2 in Class 2.

The Bearcats were a little banged for last week’s contest against Charleston. Tyler Miller (bruised quadriceps), Nick Summers (concussion), and Dylan Aaron (shoulder) all had to sit out with injuries - but coach Aaron Pixley noted his squad would be back at 100% for Friday’s SEMO Conference showdown.

“This week, everybody will be back, including Dylan, who has been out for a while,” Pixley said. “We’re going to go ahead and start him out at guard, but keep an eye on him and check on his conditioning. So far, we’ll be going into the game at full strength.”

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The Tigers are led offensively by the speedy Elbie Fonda. The 5’9”, 180 lb. Senior is averaging just over 170 yards per game and 11 yards per carry, and poses a significant ‘big play’ threat to the Bearcat D.

“I think they’ve realized that they’ll have to play very well,” Pixley said of his defense. “They run the ball extremely well at Caruthersville, and our kids know they’re going to have to tackle and tackle well. They know if they’re not in the backside alleys, their backs will cut back, get into space and run.”

“They know what they have to do - you have to know your responsibilities, make sure you’re lined up correctly, get downhill and play the run hard, and when they throw it, get some pressure on the quarterback and make good pass reads,” he continued. “We have to make something happen defensively, and we understand that it’s going to be a very tough game.”

On top of the sheer talent of the Tigers, the team faces another foe Friday: Homecoming. Potential distractions abound with all the extra activites the week brings, but Pixley didn’t feel it was a big issue for his team this year.

“We were a little sluggish on Tuesday, but we really picked it up on Wednesday and had a good Thursday practice, so it’s been a good week for us,” Pixley commented. “I haven’t seen a sign of anything that has gone on that has distracted them. I don’t look for that - I hope we come out of that locker room ready to play and fired up, because we’re going to have to be that way for four quarters against these guys.”

Kickoff is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. at Charles Bland Stadium, with the Homecoming Queen festivities scheduled for 6:30.

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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!

The Bearcats opened SEMO Conference play with a bang, racking up over 500 yards of total offense while pitching a shutout against the Charleston Blue Jays.

These two seniors made it hard to notice that the 'Cats were without the services of two of their biggest leaders - Tyler Miller and Nick Summers - on both sides of the ball. Without further adieu, here are your Players of the Week for Week Six!

OFFENSE - #30 Josh Overall
Josh averaged just over 26 yards a carry AND led the 'Cats in rushing yards (158 yards on 6 carries), including a 92 yard off-tackle run that was a shoestring tackle away from a TD.

Overall also had 61 receiving yards on 2 catches for 2 TD's.

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DEFENSE - #44 Zach Watson
Zach stepped up in a big way, filling in for the injured Nick Summers. The senior set the tone early in the game, with a monster hit on the Bearcats' first kickoff, and continued to be a force up the middle for the 'Cats.

Zach finished the night with 10 total tackles, and was constantly wreaking havoc in the Blue Jays' backfield.

By Andrew Cato, ShowMe Times Sports Editor

The brackets for the 2011 SCAA Volleyball Tournament has been released!

The tournament, held at Advance High School, will run all next week (Oct. 10-14), with a new champion crowned on Friday (Oct. 14) night.

In the JV Bracket, the Lady 'Cats drew a bye, due to their No. 1 seed (the squad has yet to lose a set this season), and will face off against the winner of the No. 4 Bloomfield/No. 5 Richland game on Thursday, October 13 at 5:00 p.m.

The Varsity Lady 'Cats were seeded No. 2, with Bloomfield - who beat the 'Cats in September - drawing the No. 1 seed.

The Varsity squad's first match will be on Tuesday, October 11 at 7:00 p.m., when they take on No. 7 Woodland - the 'Cats already hold a regular-season win over the Lady Cardinals.

The Lady 'Cats will be in action tonight at the Bearcat Event Center, when they take on Poplar Bluff in the Dig Pink! game. JV action is set for 6:00 p.m., with the Varsity match immediately following.

Tournament brackets can be downloaded and printed out here.