Tonight the Dexter Middle School Football program will host the Kennett Indians at Charles "Seed" Bland Stadium.  This is a doubleheader match-up with the football action starting at 5:00 o'clock this evening.  The 7th Grade team will play the first game and the 8th Grade will immediately follow.

Expectations are that this will be quite a contest for both teams tonight.  Both 7th and 8th grade teams have fought hard this season but the Bearcats continue to look for their first win on both grade levels. 

The 8th grade team has only been able to play one game this season due to the cancellation of their contest against the Jackson Indians.  Both teams were ready to take the field when lightning cancelled the game for both grades. 

In the season opener against the Portageville Bulldogs, the eighth graders found the running game difficult to handle as they lost that contest 54 - 28. 

"We moved the ball pretty well during the Portageville game," commented head coach Mike Vipperman.  "But the big plays just killed us."

Vipperman continued, "we have been working hard to contain the sweeps with our cornerbacks and linebackers.  We've made good progress and hope that will show tonight against Kennett."

The 8th grade will be missing fullback and middle linebacker, Jake Adams.  Adams has been a force for the Bearcats but will be unavailable for play tonight. 

Bryce Simmons is expected to be able to step in to replace Adams at his fullback position.  Simmons is normally a tightend for the 'Cats but is big, strong and shifty coming out of the backfield. 

Quarterback Jason Jarrell and running back Gavin Northcutt are both strong threats for the 8th grade team.  Northcutt is questionable for tonight due to a mid-week injury.

Scouting reports indicate that both teams for the Indians are really good.  They are big,  fast and difficult to contain around the ends.  Their running backs have decent size and quick out of the backfield.   The Bearcats will certainly be tested on their containment skills tonight. 

Coaches Mike Vipperman and Drew Pixley have their teams ready for tonights contest.

The seventh grade team has struggled to get their scoring machine going yet this season.  They have played two games this season, falling to Portageville by a score of 31 to 6 and losing to East Prairie 35 to 0. 

"We actually see a lot of potential in this group," says Coach Vipperman.  "They are just young and just learning our offensive system."

As the 7th Grade continues to gain valuable experience, they have some top athletes to get the job done.  The quarterback position is rotated between Nick Trout and Ben Sindel, each bringing strong talents to the position. 

"Trout does a great job of reading the defense with a powerful arm to throw the football," brags Vipperman.  "Sindel brings the running dynamic to the game.  It's a great combination for us."

Running back Marcus Woodson is out for tonights contest with a pulled muscle in his forearm.  Matt Stone will be stepping in his slot and expected to handle that job well for the 'Cats.

The offensive lines of both teams are good highlights.  The 8th grade team is of more average size but extremely physical in their play.  Coaches noted that they are very quick and fire off the ball really well.

The 7th grade offensive line is big and strong.  The next questions is typically "how do they move".  The coaches pointed out that this group of linemen have excellent footwork and should be a group to watch in the future.

The head coach for the Middle School team this year has a great quality.  Coach Mike Vipperman heads up the trio of coaches as the head man on the sidelines, organizing and keeping everything running well.  Coach Chris Bolin leads the defensive team and Coach Drew Pixley runs the offense for the 'Cats.

"Having a good middle school program is vital to what we do at the high school level," commented Bearcat Head Coach Aaron Pixley.  "Learning the fundamentals and basics is key to being a quality football program and our coaches do a great job of instilling these qualities into the young athletes."

Be sure to make plans to come out to the game tonight and support these young men.  It's a very exciting time for them as they improve their skills of the game.

The Dexter Lady Bearcat Volleyball Team came off a great week of volleyball as they took a big victory over the Bernie Mules last Thursday.

The Dexter team kept their momentum as they traveled to Woodland last night.

With Jessica Lindsey’s extraordinary talent still missing due to injury, the young team continues to fight hard and take victories.

It was a quick match-up between the two teams as Dexter took the victory in just two sets. The Dexter team produced some great volleyball last night with serves, blocks, and more than a few great kills.

The first set was taken by the Bearcats with a 25-13 final score, and the second set being even more in Dexter’s favor with a 25-10 victory to end the night.

The Dexter Bearcats will hit the court again as they travel to Bell City High School in hopes to continue their impressive winning streak.

Pictured in the photo above is freshman Julia Hahn preparing for a serve.

One of the instructional times at Day with Bearcat Football included a very detailed instruction from Coach Aaron Pixley on the importance of the proper technique of tackling.  "If the other team doesn't score, they can't win" is a philosophy often driven into the minds of players on all levels.  The importance of defense begins with the proper techniques of tackling. 

There have been several changes that have been instituted into the game of football to protect athletes from neck and head injuries.  Direct contact of a helmet to helmet hit always draw extreme scrutiny. 

"We always want to keep our kids safe," noted Pixley to the group.  "So we really preach the proper technique in tackling.  It's one of the most important skills a young player can learn."

Coach Pixley demonstrated to the athletes of the Dexter Park and Rec Little League Football program the exact way he would like them to perform a tackle. 

"I want you (little league players) to know how to tackle through the ball carrier," finished Pixley.  "Not to simply hit them and stop your forward progress.  To do that, you have to learn to ignite your feet and drive through the runner."

Using his senior wide receiver, Chase Young, Coach Pixley demonstrated each step to the proper tackle in detail to the little league athletes on hand at the Day with Bearcat Football.

The steps were as follows:

• The First Step is to always get yourself in a good athletic position with your arms drawn back ready to fire forward.

• Second Step, with your head up, you put your head across the body of the ball carrier and put your face mask on the football.

• Third, you violently rip your arms upward, through and around the ball carrier. 

• You continue your momentum through the runner by drawing in your arms, rolling your hips over and through them, while taking small powerful driving steps with your feet.

The step by step pictures are an excellent way to learn and envision the property technique and steps to the "Bearcat Tackle; Pixley Style."

Dexter, Missouri - The Dexter Park & Recreation Little League Football program was given a beautiful day for the rescheduled "Day With Bearcat Football" event that was held this afternoon on the hallowed grounds of the Dexter High School.  Why "hallowed"?  Because the essence of this event is the exposure of the Bearcat football athletes to some of their greatest fans - the DPR Little League teams.

This is a large commitment by many involved in the community.  Jamie Rowe, who heads up the DPR program, organizes the majority of the event and pulls everything together.  Just getting 120+ third through sixth graders collected for an extra practice is a big undertaking for DPR, the team coaches, and the parents. 

With poor weather causing the postponement of Friday night's high school game against the Sikeston Bulldogs to Saturday, the event was forced to be rescheduled this year.  

Coach Aaron Pixley, Coach Brian Becker, and other members of the Bearcat staff have been committed to this program, seeing it as a building blocks for their own program.  The DPR league has always attempted to teach the basic fundamentals of football while trying to share the teachings of Pixley and his staff. 

Day with Bearcat Football offers the young athletes a direct and personal workout with the high school players.  The Bearcats run the drills and offer individual instructions throughout the afternoon. 

During breaks, Coach Pixley took opportunities to share with the overall group and even took time to specifically teach the art and technique of tackling.  Many of the league coaches were on hand to sharpen their own knowledge and to affirm the teaching they perform each week with their teams. 

The event was capped off by a generous donation of subway sandwiches from the local Subway Restaurant.  The students built up quite an appetite and were anxious to get in line for the food.  Each participant also received a Day With Bearcat Football t-shirt.

The idea originated in the late '90s when Coach Paul Hale sponsored a similar event known as "Day with Bearcat Basketball".  A proven success, the event was picked up by the Dexter Bearcat Booster Club then taken over by the Dexter Parks & Rec just a few years later.  The event has been expanded and continues to be the highlight of all ages.

Last night's game could be coined "the contest between the walking wounded".  Both the Dexter Bearcats and the Caruthersville Tigers have lost key players to injury early in the season, and several others from both squads would succumb to injury before the end of the contest.