SMT Sports Writer
Poplar Bluff, Missouri - The Dexter boys basketball teams traveled to Poplar Bluff last night to take on the Poplar Bluff Mules in middle school court action. Poplar Bluff was strong competition for the Bearcats and won both the seventh and eighth grade games.
In the eighth grade context, Poplar Bluff jumped out on top in the first quarter, opening up a margin of 3-points. But the Bearcats worked hard to battle back and cut the Mules lead down to only two points at the end of the first half.
Poplar Bluff came out big in the 3rd quarter outscoring the Bearcats by a score of 19 to 10, expanding their lead to 14 at the end of the third quarter. Coach Dowdy is a "never-say-die" kind of coach and motivated his players to outscore the Mules in the final quarter 15 to 10.
"We cut the lead down to 3 points with less than 1:30 to play in the game," noted Coach Dowdy.
Unfortunately, it was not enough to win the contest. Poplar Bluff won the game by a final score of 53 to 44.
"We battled tonight!" commented head coach Josh Dowdy. "I was proud of how we competed against a talented basketball team."Jason Jarrell was the high point person on the night with 26-points. He was followed by Jackson Babb with 9 and Mason Riley with 5. Bryce Simmons and Zach Potts each contributed 2-points on the night.
The seventh grade was a much tighter contest. The Bearcat team was able to jump out to a 1 point lead by the end of the first quarter. Dexter led at the end of one by a score of 11 to 10. The strong defensive battle continued in the second quarter with both teams only able to contribute 6 points each. The halftime score 17 to 16 in favor of the Dexter Bearcats.
Not much changed in the second half as the see-saw contest went back and forth on the scoreboard. The Poplar Bluff Mules found the extra basket in the third quarter to give them the lead by one at the end of the quarter.
With the score 28 to 27 in favor of the Mules, the fourth quarter was guaranteed to be a thriller. A thriller it was as both teams were able to remain even by scoring 7 points each, ending the contest with a narrow margin of 1 in favor of the Poplar Bluff Mules. Scoring for the Bearcats was evenly spread among the team, with the "Big Men" inside, Bo McMullin and Gabe Jackson each having a game high of 8-points each. Ben Sindle had 5-points on the night with Nick Trout and Devon Rogers each with 4-points.
The middle school teams will be in action tonight again as the Jackson Indians travel to town. The games will begin at 6:00 PM at T. S. Hill Middle School gym. Be sure to come out to watch the exciting action of Dexter Middle School basketball.
IMPORTANT: The Bearcat wrestlers have prepared for their first outing tomorrow night, November 20th, with the Red 'N Black intersquad dual at the High School Gym. The event will begin at 6:30 PM and will be an opportunity for fans to see what is in store for the season. The Middle School wrestlers will open the event followed by the High School wrestlers. Come out and get your first look at the 2012 squad. Admission is a can of food which will be donated to the Stoddard County Mission.
The thirty-two man squad is extremely young this season with only three Seniors and four Juniors on the roster. The lower classes have 13 Sophomores, and 12 Freshmen that are working really hard in practice to overcome their lack of experience to gain their opportunity to wrestle at the varsity level.
The incoming ninth grade class is a group of more experienced wrestlers that have competed in the AAU ranks during their middle school years. The DHS coaching staff is optimistic the young 'Cats will challange for Varsity weight class positions on the team. These wrestlers include: James Mullins, Carson Dean, Storm Massey, Nate Weathers, Ethan Stevens and Dustin Fowler.The DHS squad will return three State Qualifiers from the 2012-13 Season. Returning members are Senior Brad Wick, Junior Trevor Waldner and Sophomore Dylan Bazarian. Each of these young men displayed a tremendous talent in past seasons for the Bearcats and all preseason indications is that this will continue for the upcoming season.
Brad Wick is expected to wrestle in the 170 lb weight class again this year. Last year, Brad had a record of 18 - 13 on the season. Having battled injuries in his freshman and sophomore seasons, Brad was able to achieve his goals and expectations on the mat. He's a tough kids with a real tenacity on the mat and should have a tremendous Senior season.
Much excitement surrounds Junior Trevor Walder. Trevor comes from a family of super athletes. Trevor's father, Bob Waldner, was inducted into the Chadron State College Hall of Fame in 2007, as the only three-time All-American wrestler in the Chadron Eagles' wrestling program. Trevor appears to have some of the same tools to use for the Bearcats. The younger Waldner will begin the season in 138 lb division. Trevor is a two time State qualifier and finished the 2011-12 season with a 30 - 11 record.
In his first season returning to the Bearcat football program, Trevor had a excellent season this past fall earning the Bearcats Most Valuable Defensive player award. Everything points to the fact he will ride that same athletic momentum into the 2012-13 wrestling season. "Trevor is a hard worker and has taken on the 'leader' role of this year's early season workouts and practices," comment Coach Sneed. "We look for great things from him this season."
Sophomore Dylan Bazarian, 25 - 9 in his freshman campaign will move up a weight class this year and wrestle 160 weight class. Dylan is a very steady and fundamentally sound wrestler.
"We are trying to get Dylan to come out of his “comfort” zone a little and open up this year." noted Sneed. "We expect all three of these wrestlers to have solid years."
The Varsity team will begin the 2012-13 season on November 29th as the Bearcats travel to Sikeston to participate in a triangle match against Sikeston and the Notre Dame. Mark your calendar for that short drive to Sikeston to see DHS wrestling action that will get underway at 5:00 o'clock that evening.
Article by SMT Contributing Writer
Dexter, Missouri - Players, coaches, parents and adminstrators all came together last night in the DHS cafeteria to celebrate the Fall sports season and recognize the Dexter players for their accomplishments. The evening kicked-off with the traditional meal that was provided and served by the Dexter Bearcat Booster Club. The Club has done this for a number of years, and it shows their committment to aid and support the Dexter activity programs.
At the conclusion of the meal, Athletic Director Derek Urhahn performed the duties of the MC and welcomed everyone to the Fall Sports Banquet. Urhan also introduced all the guests and members of the School Board.
The first presenter of the night was Vicky Windham, the Coach of the Footbal Varsity Cheerleading team. Coach Windham recognized all the girls on the team and thanked them for their hard work this season.
The next speaker was Girl's Tennis Coach LeeAnn Dooley. Coach Dooley introducted her team and gave a summary of their 10-4 season. She was very proud of the way her team played and was quick to note their successes in beating Farmington, Cape, Sikeston and Poplar Bluff this year. Coach Dooley, who has coached the team for several years also accounced that this was her last year of coaching. Her hard work and dedication to the sport of tennis is greatly appreciated. Coach Dooley recognized Makayla Waldner for the player who won the most doubles matches. She also noted that Waldner and Kendra Stevenson tied for most singles matches won. The award for MVP was presented to Baylee Cooper, who played in the number one spot all season and was dealt the task of competing against the best player from all the other area schools.
Girl's Volleyball was next on the agenda, and first year Coach Carmen Morgan thanked all those associated with the volleyball program; such as the assistant coach, the maintanence staff for setting up and taking down the nets, the parents, and the Booster Club for purchasing an iPad and a stats program for the team to use this season.
Coach Morgan stated that the JV team went 12-7 this year and she looks for those players to greatly improve next year and play a role at the varisty level. Coach Morgan then sang the praises of her Varsity team that went 22-9 this season. She went on to say that 6 of their losses were to Bernie, Perryville and St. Pius, and each of those teams went to the Final Four this year.
With a team of no seniors this year, it would certainly appear that the future of volleyball in Dexter is a bright one. In recognizing her players, Coach Morgan went on to say that Shyann Jines led the team in service aces and digs, and that Paige Patterson was the most improved player throughout the season. The Defense Award was given to Shyann Jines, and the Kill Award and Setting Award were both received by Hannah Noe.
Dexter Football Head Coach Aaron Pixley was the next person to take the podium. He named off the members of the Freshmen and JV football teams, and spoke briefly about their season and his outlook for the future. He then recognized all the lettermen and provisional lettermen from the Varsity team. Coach Pixley went on to say that despite the record of 1-9 he felt that the team was in alot of games this season in the first half, but being undersized and having to deal with a tough schedule and lots of injuries led to the disappointing season record.
Coach Pixley praised his players for their commitment to the sport and their dedication to this team. They fought great odds this season, but they practiced hard and they did not quit. The awards for the football team are voted on by the players. The Most Valuable Back award went to Ryan Joyner. The Most Valuable Lineman award went to Chase Noe. The Most Valuable Defensive Player award went to Trevor Waldner, and the Most Valuable Player award went to the player that never came off the field this year, and that was Chase Young.
The final Fall sport to be recognized was cross county. Presenting the awards was their Coach, Leonard Morse.
This was the first year with Morse at the helm and he thanked the kids and the school adminstration for thier assistance in the transition. He also thank the previous CC coach for the input and advice that she gave him throughout the season.
Morse noted that the size of the team was down this year, and that they only had 10 members. However, they worked hard and all runners, even the underclassmen, completed at the varsity level all season. Morse went on to say that all the runners improved over the season, and during the Semo Conference Meet, that 9 of the 10 members of the team set personal records with their time.
The Outstanding Female Runner was presented to Katie Justice. The Outstanding Male Runner and the Outstanding Leadership awards were given to Senior Alex Rybolt. Rybolt finished all the meets this year with the best time on the team.
For the final presentation of the evening, Brett Dorton went to the podium to announce the winner of the coveted Bland Award. The Bland Award honors the most outstanding senior student athlete from the Bearcat football team.
The Bearcat that is selected to win this award must meet very strict criteria and excel in all areas of the scholar-athlete life, which includes: scholastic ability, school participation, community involvement, leadership, attitude and athletic ability. In no way is this award to be viewed as an award strickly for athleticism.
The voting is done by the coaching staff, the statistician, a school counselor, a school teacher, the athletic director, and by a representative for Charlie Bland. The winner of the 2012 Bland Award was Ryan Joyner. Ryan becomes the 19th winner of the Bland Award, which began in 1994. This year's voting was tight again, with only 4 votes separating the top 3 spots.
BLOOMFIELD & BERNIE WIN CHAMPIONSHIPS
Bernie, Missouri - The final brackets were set and exciting Stoddard County middle school basketball was played at the Bernie High School gymnasium last night with the Bloomfield Wildcats Eighth Grade and the Bernie Mules Seventh Grade teams crowned the 2012 SCAA Junior High Tournament champions.
This tournament sets the stage for future years of great basketball in the county area. There are several tremendous athletes currently and many who are in the development stages of their athletic career.
The Bernie Public Schools did an outstanding job hosting the event this year. The crowds were large and excited about supporting their teams. The spirit of competition was high, but everyone enjoyed the tournament action on the whole.
8th Grade Championship
It was nail biting action throughout the entire basketball game as the rematch between the Advance Hornets and Bloomfield Wildcats was slated to be a competitive battle. Advance was favored as the number one seed in the tournament but everyone was aware that the Bloomfield Wildcats should not be taken lightly.
Bloomfield's overtime victory over the Dexter Bearcats the night before proved the team had inspired hope for winning a championship. That inspired hope was evident as they held the Advance team scoreless in the final period to win the championship by a score of 37 to 34.Every sports fan loves a barn burner and that was exactly what was on tap in this see-saw scoring battle. Advances' Brendon Crader helped the Hornets grab an early lead with his smooth 3-point shooting ability, putting up 13 first quarter points compared to the only 12 by the Wildcats.
The one point deficit did not take the spirit away from Bloomfield as they tightened their defense in the second quarter matching the Hornets action 6 to 6.
Dawson Mayo, the big 6' 3" eighth grade center for Advance has been a dominant force all season. He incurred an injury during the 1st half that sidelined him for parts of the second quarter. Bloomfield was quick to take advantage of Mayo's absence to cling to their 1-point deficit at halftime. Advance came out of the locker room with renewed passion, fired up and ready for action in the second half. Dawson Mayo was sporting a new bandage and a full throttle attitude about dominating the inside game. Coupling with teammates Brandon Sokolowski and Brendon Crader's 10-point run, the Hornets opened up their lead to 8-points over the Wildcats. It appeared at one moment that the game might be slipping from the hands of Bloomfield.
The Bloomfield Wildcats displayed tremendous poise throughout the game and Bloomfield's Alex Gibbs, Timmy Hector and Austin Phillips had a different plan for the outcome of this game and it spelled ...D E F E N S E !
The Wildcats Brandon Massingill was powerful in the middle against Mayo, but was able to control the boards against Advance, holding them scoreless in the final quarter. Key back court steals and transitions from Alex Gibbs to Timmy Hector also played a turning point in the game.
Alex Gibbs nailed a free throw with seconds remaining in the game to capture the win and the championship for the Wildcats by a final score of 37 to 34.
Overall scoring in the game by the Bloomfield Wildcats had Alex Gibbs (10), Austin Phillips (9), Timmy Hector (8), Brad Massingill (6) and Jacob Hector (4). The Hornets were lead in scoring by Brandon Sokolowski (12), followed by Brendon Crader (7).
7th Grade Championship Game
The seventh grade action started with a hopeful Dexter Bearcat team matched up against the strong and successful Bernie Mules. The Mules have shown a great quickness and excellent shooting skills throughout the 2012 season and earned the number one seed in the 7th grade division of the tournament.The Mules quickly jumped out to a commanding lead in the first quarter with 3-pointers by both Zach Eaves and Ridge Littleton. Littleton was not done as he dumped in two additional 3-pointers and 3 field goals in the 2nd quarter to give the Mules a 33 to 7 halftime lead.
After a half-time visit with Coach Josh Dowdy, the 7th grade Bearcats sparked new life into their game. Defensive improved drastically, holding Bernie to only 2 points in the third quarter of play. The Bearcats were able to drum up some offense as well during the quarter and cut the score to more respectable 35 to 22.
Gabe Jackson began to dominate in the middle for the Bearcats as he took teammate's feeds inside from the outside perimeter. Jackson posted 7-points during the quarter to add to his game total of 9-points. Ben Sindle, Nick Trout and Spencer Owns all contributed two-points each during the 3rd quarter.
The Bernie team gained back their composure in the fourth outscoring the Bearcats 13 to 8, making the final score of the contest 48 to 30. The seventh grade team continues to improve their skills and play as a team. They will continue to make progress as the season goes forward.
BERNIE vs PUXICO (7th Grade):
The number one seed Bernie Mules led off the tournament action Monday night by jumping out to a 10 to 7 lead over Puxico in the first quarter, increasing their lead to 8 points by halftime 28 to 20. Four 3-point baskets in the first half by Bernie's Ridge Littleton and 8-points in the second quarter by Gavin Brown helped to increase the lead for the Mules.
Brown and Littleton continued their hot hand offensively against the Indians in the second half pulling away with a commanding final score of 59 to 38. Brown held honors of high point man for the night with 22 points, while Littleton followed close behind with 16 points. Dalton Hobgood chipped in 8 points along with Zach Eaves (6), Mason Mayberry (5) and Colton Jankowski (2).
Levi Woods lead the Indians in scoring with 18-points, followed by Hunter Walker.
The Bernie Mules shot 75% on the night from the charity stripe by hitting 12 of 16 attempts. They are a very talented team and will play in the finals of the tournament Tuesday evening at 6:45 pm against the Dexter 7th Grade team.
DEXTER vs WOODLAND (7th Grade):
The second game found the number two seed Dexter Bearcats against the number six seed Woodland Cardinals. Woodland surprised the Bloomfield 7th Grade team on Saturday and defeated the Wildcats to advance to the semifinal game.
Early action was tight as both teams dumped in 11-points during the opening quarter. Woodland's David Ashby and Tyler Massa each hit an outside 3-point shot, while the Bearcat's Gabe Jackson was on fire offensively putting up 7 early points.
Coach Josh Dowdy's philosophy is defensively driven and his 7th grade team proved it by holding the Cardinals scoreless in the 2nd quarter. Jackson continued his offensive attack by adding 4-points, while Ben Sindle and Spencer Owens added 3-points each and Bo McMullin added 2-points. The halftime score was in favor of the 'Cats by a score of 23 to 11.
The Bearcats pushed the offensive throttle forward in the second half by outscoring the Cardinals 27 to 14, taking home the victory and advancing to the finals with a final score of 50 to 25. They will take on the Bernie Mules at 6:45 pm on Tuesday night. Woodland will play the consolation game against Puxico at 4:15 pm tomorrow afternoon.Scoring for the Bearcats was spread out among the team with Jackson with 11, Nick Trout with 8, Spencer Owens with 7, Ben Sindle with 6, Matt Chesser & Kole Kelly with 5, and Kris Rinehart & Bo McMullin both with 4-points.
ADVANCE vs BELL CITY (8th Grade):
In eight grade action, the Advance Hornets made quick work of the Bell City Cubs. The Advance team is highly talented, quick and move the ball well among the entire team. Jumping out to a 16-point lead in the first quarter, Preston Wuebker dumped in 8 in the 1st quarter and 9 in the 2nd quarter on his way to a team leading 25 points on the night. The Hornets led at halftime by a score of 38 to 15.
The Hornets pulled back their offensive machine in the 2nd half, except for Dawson Mayo, who had 15-points in the second half for Advance. Advance continued their transition game to win by a score of 65 to 34.
DEXTER vs BLOOMFIELD (8th Grade):
The final game of the night found a redemption game between the Dexter Bearcats and the Bloomfield Wildcats. A very evenly matched group of athletes from both schools, the regular season game was won by Bloomfield. The only loss of the season for the Bearcats, this semifinal match proved to be highly competitive and a grind for the victory.During the first match up, foul trouble hampered the offense for the Bearcats as Jason Jarrell was sidelined early in the contest with 3 fouls. A key threat for the 'Cats, Jarrell got started early helping the Bearcats jump out to a first quarter lead over Bloomfield 10 to 7.
A tough second quarter of defense found the Bearcats only adding 6-points to their total while the Wildcats only found 2-points in the quarter. At halftime, the score was 16 to 9 in favor of the Bearcats.
Halftime adjustments and a new spark to their defensive play, the Wildcats came out and outscored the Bearcats 12 to 4 in the third quarter. The Wildcats had their first lead of the game with the score of 21 to 20 at the end of the quarter.
The gymnasium was electrified with fans and cheers during the fourth quarter, as both teams exchanged scoring blows like a prize fighter in the ring. The Bearcats were able to find 12-points compared to the Wildcats 11-points, ending regulation with a tie score of 32-ponts each. In the 2 minute overtime period, the Wildcats were able to find a layup as Hector moved down the court with a game winning layup. In the final minutes, the Wildcat defense simply denied Jason Jarrell an opporunity to get the basketball in a good position to attempt a final shot. The game ended with a final score of 34 for the Bloomfield Wildcats and 32 for the Dexter Bearcats.
The Wildcats were led in scoring by Tim Hector with 15-points followed by Jacob Hector with 9-points. Massingill and Phillips both contributed 4-points each and Alex Gibbs had 2-points. The Bearcats top scorer was again Jason Jarrell with 20-points. Bryce Simmons put 6-points in the book, along with 4-points by Babb and 2-points by Potts.
For exciting junior high basketball action, find your way to Bernie High School tomorrow. You will be guaranteed to enjoy the action that will take place. The games will be as follows:
- 4:15 PM: 7th Grade Consolation Game: Woodland Cardinals vs Puxico Indians
- 5:30 PM: 8th Grade Consolation Game: Dexter Bearcats vs Bell City Cubs
- 6:45 PM: 7th Grade FINAL Game: Dexter Bearcats vs Bernie Mules
- 8:00 PM: 8th Grade FINAL Game: Bloomfield Wildcats vs Advance Hornets
