The Dexter Bearcats go on the road Friday to take on the Malden Greenwave in Varsity football action.  After a tough loss to the Park Hills Rebels last week the Bearcats look to end their season on a high note.

Dexter is coming off of a game with the Park Hills Rebels that everyone knew going into it would be tough.  Dexter hung in with the Rebels until halftime and looked like they could come away with a win.  If the Bearcats can match that first half effort and execution against the Geenwave this week they could get a much needed win.

The Malden Greenwave are coming off of a win in their match-up last week against the Kennett Indians.  The Greenwave dominated the Kennett Indians by the score of 67-22.  Malden is riding a five game winning streak coming into their game against the Bearcats.

In the Greenwave's game against the Kennett Indians, Malden played a near perfect game.  The Greenwave has a very explosive offense that feature several quick and athletic players.

It was the Green Wave's fifth straight victory of the 2012 season and Kennett's eighth consecutive loss.

Malden has two good runningbacks and a good offensive line.  Their receivers block well on the edge and their backs are tough. They have what it takes to run the ball well. They aren't super fancy in what they do, but they do it well.

One of the Greenwave backs, Dremond Robinson had three rushing touchdowns for Malden in the second half, after coming in for the starter Romello McCoy, including two in the third quarter. Robinson had 14 carries for 99 yards. McCoy finished with 16 carries for 146 yards all in the first half.

When asked about their upcoming game against Dexter, coach Wyatt of Malden commented, "Huge game!" "It's only my third time to coach against Dexter. The first time I got this job everybody told me 'coach you've got to beat Dexter.  Throw the records out the window. We know they are well-coached and bring a physical brand of football. By no means are we going to take them lightly. We know we've got our hands full."

If Dexter hopes to finish off their season with a win they will have to do a good job of getting of their blocks.  It will also be important for the defensive line to get outside contain on the speedy backs of Malden.

Dexter will also need to get their own running game going early and often.  If they can do that the Junior quarterback D.J. Dowdy will get some opportunities to throw the football down the field to Senior Chase Young and Freshman "up and comer" Ethan Stevens.  Stevens is coming off a game last week that saw him catch his first touchdown of his high school career.

The Bearcats will play their last regular season game on the road tonight against the Malden Greenwave at 7:00 P.M. Be sure to show your support for these young men as they go up against a tough Malden Greenwave team.

JEFFERSON CITY–Recent rains have improved conditions at wetland areas, but 2012 could be a dry year for Missouri duck hunters in more ways than one unless the state gets more rainfall.

With North American duck numbers at record high levels, you might think waterfowl hunters’ prospects had never been brighter. But memorable seasons require a confluence of duck populations, food, cover, and water. Doreen Mengel, a resource scientist with the Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC), says the 2012 duck season still is a long way from realizing its potential.

Habitat surveys conducted early in October showed significant improvements in natural food and cover at almost half of Missouri’s public wetland areas. In early August, only seven conservation areas (CAs) reported good growth of seed-producing native plants, such as smartweed. By early October, the condition of these “moist-soil” plants was rated as good on 11 CAs, and Ten-Mile Pond CA, in Mississippi County, reported excellent moist-soil vegetation.

“I have been amazed at how well moist-soil vegetation has responded to recent rains, given the drought conditions through late summer,” says Mengel. “That is the good news right now, but floodable crops are still only fair to poor on most areas.”

A bigger concern to Mengel is the supply of water available to flood MDC-managed wetlands.

“There are still concerns about our ability to pump water at some areas,” said Mengel. “Low stream flows could limit the availability of public areas. I haven’t spoken with many people with private wetlands, but my guess is if they do not have a reliable water source, their sites are probably on the dry side, too. Bottom line, we will still need rains, hopefully linked with migration events.”

Of all the state-managed wetland areas, Ted Shanks CA in Pike County has fared best this year. In spite of the drought, new levee construction, and some pump issues, the area has good moist-soil habitat and good floodable crops. Water levels were normal in early October, and changes to the area’s refuge and hunted pools should add 10 to 12 hunting spots this year.

Following is a summary of conditions on other MDC-managed wetland areas.

·        Coon Island CA – Good moist-soil vegetation and fair crops. Call 573-624-5821 for water-levels.

·        Duck Creek CA – Fair moist-soil vegetation and poor crops. Major construction will limit access and flooding capability.

·        Otter Slough CA – Good moist-soil vegetation and fair crops.  Normal water conditions.

·        Ten-Mile Pond CA – Excellent moist-soil vegetation and fair crops. Normal water conditions.

Mengel says conditions could change significantly at any or all these areas with significant rainfall.

“Things look much better today than they did two months ago, and they could be even better in another month or two,” she says. “Missouri’s duck season opens Oct. 27 in the North Zone and runs through Jan. 20 in the South Zone, so there is plenty of time for everything to come together for hunters.”

Mengel said other conservation areas, large reservoirs and rivers provide additional walk-in hunting opportunities.

“At certain times, duck and goose hunting can be very good on Truman Reservoir or the Missouri River. Hunters should not overlook these great resources and include them in their pre-season scouting activities,” says Mengel.

Details of Missouri’s waterfowl hunting seasons are available in the Waterfowl Hunting Digest 2012-2013. The print version is available wherever hunting permits are sold. The same information is available at mdc.mo.gov/node/3616.

This year’s North American Duck Breeding Population Survey estimated total duck numbers at 48.6 million continent-wide. That is a 7-percent increase from last year and 43 percent more than the long-term average (LTA).

The North American population of mallards, the mainstay species for Missouri waterfowl hunters, is estimated at 10.6 million this year. That is up 15 percent from 2011 and 40 percent above the LTA.
Blue-winged teal numbers this year are estimated at 9.2 million. That is similar to last year’s population. It also is 94 percent above the LTA.
Other duck species breeding populations recorded in the 2012 survey include:

·        Scaup, 5.2 million, up 21 percent from last year and similar to LTA
·        Shoveler, 5 million, similar to 2011 and 111 percent above LTA
·        Gadwall, 3.6 million, similar to last year and 96 percent above LTA
·        Pintail, 3.5 million, 22 percent below 2011 and 14 percent below LTA
·        Green-winged teal, 3.5 million, up 20 percent from 2011 and 74 percent above LTA
·        Wigeon, 2.1 million, similar to 2011 and 17 percent below LTA
·        Redhead, 1.3 million, similar to 2011 and 89 percent above LTA
·        Canvasback, 800,000, similar to 2011 and 33 percent above LTA

B&L Promotions Presents, "Cage of Honor 53!!"

 Coming to Scooters Nightclub in Poplar Bluff, MO. on October 20th is Cage of Honor's 53rd Event presented by B&L Promotions. This Event will showcase several of the areas best talent in Amateur Mixed Martial Arts, which is sanctioned by The Combat Sports Commission.

 Local talent like, Josh Faries(Current Cage of Honor East Heavyweight Champion), Tracy Green(Current AFC 145lb Champion), Brad Lee Wick(Grappler, State Qualified Wrestler) and Fighters from other areas like East Prairie, Blythville AR, Springfield, Cape Girardeau, Fredericktown, MO. and many more will also be on the card that evening.

 The newly formed B&L Promotions is owned and operated by Brad Wick from Dexter, MO., who has been working with Boxers and Mixed Martial Artist in southeast Missouri for close to 9 years and has worked with local promotions like the Absolute Fighting Challenge, Prize Fight MMA out of Southaven, MS. and is also the Former Director for the Combat Sports Commission, which is one of the leading Amateur Mixed Martial Arts Sanctioning Groups in the State of Missouri.

 This weekends event is an all ages event, with General Admission Tickets starting at $20. The Weigh Ins are Friday Night at Scooters in Poplar Bluff and the Fights are Saturday Evening with the Doors opening at 6pm and Fights starting at 7pm.

 If you have never been to one of these Events, you should really try to get out and see this one and also support your local MMA Groups and Fighters, it is proving to be a top notch Event with tons of excitement!!

Starting Monday, October 22^nd, the 2012 Class 3 District 1 Volleyball Tournament will get underway. The tournament will be held in the Bearcat Event Center and take place Monday and Tuesday night.

There is much anticipation for this year’s district competition between many teams who have proven their talent with very strong records.

The Dexter Bearcats came up with a number three seed in this year’s competition; Notre Dame taking the first, and Perryville in the number two position. Due to Notre Dame’s first place seed, they will receive a bye in the first round.

The Dexter Bearcats will play in their first match at 8:00 P.M. on Monday night against the number six-seeded New Madrid County Central.

Many fans of all teams are anxiously waiting for the 2012 district competition to begin. The Bearcat Event Center welcomes everyone from all teams and we hope to see a great turn out for the two nights of back-to-back volleyball games. Good luck to the Dexter Lady Bearcats and all other teams who are participating as well!

A complete bracket of the 2012 District Competition is provided below.

Dexter, Missouri- On Tuesday night the Middle School Dexter Bearcats opened up their season against the Woodland Cardinals.  Both the 7th and 8th grade Bearcats looked good in their opening games against the Cardinals.

The 7th grade team started out well in the opening quarter jumping out to an early lead scoring eight points the Cardinals managing two points.  Woodland came charging back, narrowing the gap by scoring 13 points in the second quarter.

Dexter had slowed down in the second only scoring nine and seeing their halftime lead diminish to 17-15. In the second half the 7th grade Bearcats picked up their momentum and never looked back.  The Bearcats scored 13 in the final two quarters and was able to hold the Cardinals to seven total points in the final half. 

The 7th grade Dexter 'Cats won the game by the final score of 43-22.  The 7th grade team was led in scoring by Gabe Jackson with 22 points.  Spencer Owens and Bo McMullin both had 7 points apiece for the Cats.

The 8th grade Bearcats saw just as much success as the 7th grade did in their game.  The 8th grade Bearcats started the game out hot, scoring 16 points and allowing only 8 to the opposing Woodland Cardinals.  Led by some great shooting by Jason Jarrell with 13 points in the first quarter the Cardinals couldn't keep up.

The Cardinals answered with better defense in the second quarter but couldn't get their offense going, only managing four points in the quarter.  At halftime the Bearcats led by the score of 25-12.

After halftime the Bearcats came out very aggressive on offense scoring 18 points to the Woodland Cardinals 6.  The Bearcats played tough defense in the final quarter to put the Cardinals away by the final score of 51-19.  The 8th grade 'Cats were led in scoring by Jason Jarrell with 21 points in the game.  The Bearcats also saw a strong performance by Jackson Babb who had 9 points. 

Both of these teams played well as a team with strong defense, good rebounding, and passing to get their first wins of the season.  Both teams will be on the road next week against the Advance Hornets at 6:00 PM.