Dexter, Missouri - The T. S. Hill Middle School gym was filled with Bearcat fans Tuesday night to witness the Middle School Bearcats defeat the Puxico Indians in both the 7th and 8th grade games. The eighth grade won by a score of 56 to 17 while the seventh grade outscored the Indians by 12 points in the final quarter to win by a score of 58 to 45.
Coaches and the eighth grade players are still not happy with the turn out of last week's game against Bloomfield, but they have allowed that to be a motivation point for them and came out strong over the Indians.
The 8th Graders were powerful with a 15-2 lead in the first quarter. Bryce Simmons was a pillar of strength inside for the Bearcats dropping in 4 points in the 1st quarter. Coach Dowdy made several substitutions in the 2nd quarter and the ‘Cats gave up some of that lead. The score at half time was 20 to 12 in favor of the Bearcats.
Coming out in the third quarter, the Bearcats had 27 to 2 run on the Indians that cemented the outcome of the contest. Jason Jarrell took command of the game during that quarter offering 18 of his game high of 31 points. The game closed out with a score of 56 to 17. This win has brought the eighth grade record to 6-1 on the season.
The 7th Grade game was a see-saw battle, as Puxico maintained a slight lead throughout the first three quarters of the game. However, the Bearcats battled back at each point in the game just as it seemed the outcome could slip away from them.
The seventh grade Bearcats walked away with a 58-45 win over the Puxico Indians after a 23 to 12 run in the final quarter of the contest. Tuesday night's win brought the seventh grade team to a new record of 5-1.The seventh grade was lead in scoring by Nick Trout with 9-points on the night. He was followed by teammates Marcus Woodson and Bo McMullin with 7 points each and Dawson Kasting with six-points.
"You’ve heard it said, ‘Defense wins championships’ and we need good defense to be successful this weekend in the tournament," said Coach Josh Dowdy. “If not, they (the team) won't like the results.”
"I have a lot of faith in these boys and know they can accomplish a lot this weekend,” added Dowdy.
Dexter, Missouri - The Dexter 8th Grade Middle School was in action last night against the Bell City Cubs with some hard fought action. Coming off a tough loss last week to the powerful Bloomfield Wildcats, the Bearcats were energized and able to pickup the win over the Cubs by a score of 60 to 39.
The Bearcats had outstanding defensive play by Payton Tinnon and Zach Potts on the night. The two ‘Cats were assigned to guard the Bell City Cubs’ standouts in players by the name of Nichols and Hicks. These two athletes have been the “go-to” players for Bell City all season long.
“You have to know that the defense of Tinnon and Potts was great,” commented Coach Josh Dowdy. “After 3 quarters of play, Hicks and Nichols had combined for only 2-points.”
That was a major highlight for Coach Dowdy as he stresses defensive excellence to his teams. The Bearcats have worked hard this season and found success.
“The entire team really played well defensively,” added Dowdy. “I just hope that type of aggressive defense will continue the rest of the season.”
Offensively, the Bearcats had another big night from Jason Jarrell. Jarrell had 29 total points on the night and remains the key threat for the Bearcats scoring. Last week's loss against Bloomfield was proof as Jarrell got into early foul trouble and was forced to the bench. The deficit created in the first half was unable to be made up in the remainder of the game.
“Jason is simply unselfish, as you had previously pointed out in the SMT articles,” added Coach Dowdy. “He is simply unselfish on the court and is quick to feed the open man, but also knows when he needs to score and does it.”
The Bearcats had a revived energy in this game that put them back on the winning track. The loss to a very good Bloomfield team last week seemed to open their eyes and improve their performance.
“We need that energy going forward in the season,” said Dowdy. “It was a tough loss to Bloomfield last week and the kids seem to come out hungry.”
Both the 7th and 8th Grade Middle School teams will be in action again tonight for another home game against the Puxico Indians. Game time is a 6:00 PM.
“We need all the fans we can get there to support these kids,” Dowdy said. “This is really an excellent group that I enjoy coaching. It would be awesome to have a big crowd at the Middle School gym to cheer them on.”
Richland’s junior high basketball team just finished their last home game against the Cairo Pilots. The team is now looking forward to the Conference Tournament on November 10th through 13th. The Rebels have had an exciting season and are sad for it to come to an end. Along with the basketball team, the junior high cheerleaders have also had a great time learning new cheers and dances with their new cheerleading coach, Mrs. Anderson.
This year, the school and the basketball teams received a new head coach, Matt Cline, and a brand new assistant coach, Tyler Feller. This particular duo has previously coached basketball but this will be their first year coaching together at Richland. They are ecstatic about coaching not only junior high team but the high school team as well.
The junior high has two separate teams: one team consists of both sixth and seventh graders and the second team consists of only eighth graders. Both teams have had a fantastic season and for most of them, this was their first time playing the sport. Although most of the junior high teams in the community consist of all males, Richland is proud to have Liza King, a sixth grade girl, who enjoys the game and has excelled greatly throughout the season.
During the game against the Cairo Pilots, the sixth and seventh grade team quickly took the lead by scoring the first couple points. The Richland Rebels racked up points on the scoreboard and ended halftime, leading 26 to 10. The lead scorers of the first game were Garet Phillips and Josh Shidler, along with two notable players: Clayton H. and Riley Glass. The first game ended in the Rebels’ favor with a final score of 43 to 21.
The second game was played by the eighth graders and during the first two quarters, both teams were head to head. The score at half time was 36 to 24, with the Pilots in the lead. The Rebels lost their lead during the third quarter and things began to go downhill for the eighth grade boys. The final score was 62 to 48, leaving the Pilots with the victory of the second game. The top scorers were Devin Stoker and Josh Thorton, with two notable players: Jerry Craft and Preston Tilley.
Overall, both teams have had great seasons that had quickly come to an end this year. The eighth graders are looking forward to be playing on the high school team during the 2013 season and the seventh graders are anxious to keep improving themselves as a team.
Coach Cline and Coach Feller have really earned their stay at Richland, leaving the fans and community anxious and energized to see what happens with the high school basketball season that will officially start on November 26th through 30th at the Oran Invitational at Oran High School.
Jessica Snider SMT Writer
It’s been an exciting volleyball season for the Bernie Lady Mules to say the least. The very talented team has spent hours upon hours working to achieve their goal.
Open gyms and practices began early in the summer for the team. They walked into every practice with one thing on their mind and that was to improve all their skills and make 2012 a winning season.
The Lady Mules’ hard work on the court throughout many months has recently paid off as the team had the experience of a lifetime as they made it to the State Competition this weekend.
Many exciting nights of volleyball soon turned into the team’s dream of making it to the state competition. Many fans have sat through nail-biting games this season, and were tremendously proud to support their hometown Mules this weekend as they competed in more nail-biting action in the Show-Me Center.
There were more than just Bernie Mules there to cheer on the team, though. Many people from the surrounding area came out to support the Mules in their awesome experience.
The Bernie Mules qualified for state competition, made it to the final four, and then competed in the State Championship on Saturday at 3:00 against Winona.
It was an awesome atmosphere to be in as the Bernie Mules took the court for what would be many of the seniors’ last game ever. Each player was announced individually prior to the game.
Fans from both teams packed the bleachers and cheered after every point their team received.
Despite the great talent from the Bernie Mules, they ultimately fell in the championship to Winona in two sets.
Many of the players were upset in knowing that would be their last game to play with their teammates, but coaches and fans knew there was absolutely nothing this team should hang their heads about.
After the championship game, most everyone stayed around to watch the medals being handed out to both teams and also the coaches.
It was an emotional time for the Bernie Mules as they recognized their great accomplishments when they got their hands on that second place trophy. Along with individually getting second place state medals, Bernie head coach, Erin Hoffman, individually hugged each player and gave them a few words.
There shouldn’t be a single person who isn’t proud of this 2012 Bernie Mules volleyball team, as second place in the state of Missouri is an absolute awesome accomplishment!
Congratulations to all the girls on the team!
SMT Sports Writers
New Madrid, MO - The Dexter 6th Grade Football Traveling team went to New Madrid this week to take on an evenly matched group of 6th Graders. The 6th Grade Bearcats were unable to get enough points on the scoreboard to win the game and lost to New Madrid by a score of 16 to 14.
The inspired idea of pulling these young men together as a traveling team following the end of their normal DPR season was under the hope of building a team spirit. Having played the entire DPR season split up over four different teams, this traveling team allowed each athlete to begin to determine their role for next years middle school season.
The team had three outings with a jamboree style outing in Portageville, a weekend game against the Cape Girardeau Man Machine and this final game against New Madrid. The team was overall competitive and looks to have a good group of core athletes that will bring promise to the DMS program the next two years and ultimately to Coach Aaron Pixley's high school program.
"This is a great group of athletes and it was our pleasure to be able to work with them," commented coach Darrin Hillis.
"We simply wanted to begin to raise the expecations of these young men to higher levels for their future as Bearcats," Coach Hedrick added. "They should be a fun group to watch." Seth Rogers continued his dashing running skills against New Madrid, with strong runs behind his big offensive line. This age group is anchored with highly talented young men that have some size. These athletes could possibly play other positions but have quickly learned the importance of an offensive line to the success of the offense.
Big Luke Boyer and Garrison Collier are obvious lineman with a great size and strength for the position. They are madman in there. Brock Simmons, Hunter Lawrence and James Robinson that are tremendous athletes that are agile and quick and able to play anywhere on the field. These kids did a great job of taking on the role of the offensive line during the traveling season.
The team alternated between quarterbacks Joe Rice and Nate Gargis, with each athlete bringing different talents to the position. Corbin Strong also added some strong runs from his fullback position.
Braxton Foster highlighted the night with a second touchdown of the young Bearcats team with a 15-yard pass over the middle of the New Madrid defense. He had a couple of catches on the night, proving that he has a good set of hands to add to the air-game of the future.
Defensively, Luke Boyer was crashing and bashing his way into the backfield giving the New Madrid team all they wanted up front. Garrison Collier and James Robinson also added to the rush provided by the 'Cats during the contest. Hunter Lawrence played well at his middle linebacker position.
Exceptional play was given by the teams defensive end core of Colby Powers and Braxton Foster. A position that requires athletes to be more responsible than to simply attack, these two players were noted as two that understood their job and got the job done this season.
A surprise on the night was Travis Propst. Travis is an excellent kicker but his aggressive play during this weeks practice earned him a chance to sub in at the defensive line and linebacker positions, where he had an excellent performance. Overall, the 'Cats performed well against New Madrid but a few big plays allowed the young New Madrid team to gain a lead and maintain it, winning by the narrow margin of 2 points.
"We were very happy with the boys as we accomplished what we wanted to in this short season," noted Brett Dorton. "These kids are young but very talented. Our goal was to gel them as a team, increase their skills and I think we did that."
Special thanks to Loyd Rice, who played a major role in organizing the games and the practices for the team. Loyd also acknowledged the support of Jamie Rowe and Dexter Parks and Rec. The team was able to continue to use their uniforms and equipment to finish the season.
