Bernie, Missouri - With both teams coming off of a disappointing previous week, both the Bloomfield Wildcats and the Bernie Mules were hopeful to run their streaks around to the winning side.  The contest between these two teams was postponed due to inclement weather this past Tuesday and rescheduled for Thursday night. 

Bernie came out on top in the first half to post a 20-point lead at one point early in the contest.  It proved to be more than the Wildcats could endure and Bernie won the game by a score of 73 to 67.


Unfortunately for Bloomfield, it was too little too late as the Mules jumped on the Wildcats early with the hot 3-point shot by Troy Kirkpatrick.  Kirkpatrick hit four 3-point shots in the first quarter, adding another and a field goal in the second quarter for his total of 17-points of the night.  Joey Walker and Sam Turner both contributed points in the opening quarter giving the Mules a 27 to 15 start.

Bloomfield battled back with excellent play by Thomas Sanders, Caleb Baker and Brett Ruch.  Sanders was able to hit two 3-point shots and a couple of free throws in the 2nd quarter, while Baker was able to keep the Wildcats close in the first quarter with 9-points.  Ruch had one field goal in the opening quarter but aggressively battled in the paint to 8-points in the 2nd quarter. 

With a 9-point halftime lead, the Mules were set to maintain the tempo of the game and settle in for the win.  But things turned cold for the Mules in the third quarter.  The Mules were only able to score 8-points while defensively holding the Wildcats to 10-points.

"I thought we really lost focus at times tonight," commented Mules Head Coach, Brad Botsch. 

Bloomfield showed signs of life in the fourth quarter as Brett Ruch was able to penetrate and add 8-points.  Tim Fox was quiet until the fourth quarter when he nailed a 3-pointer.  In the end, Bloomfield was able to shave another point from the Bernie Mules lead but not enough to crawl back into the contest.

"I really thought we came out with a lot of energy and intensity in the first half.  We finally got some shots to fall and really were in a groove," noted Bernie Coach Brad Botsch.  "I think we were finally playing like we are capable."

"Bloomfield really stormed back on us at the end of the second quarter and into the third quarter," added Botsch.  "Coach Karnes does a great job up there and his kids didn't quit."

A basketball fan certainly would not have been disappointed with the competitiveness of this game against two local teams.  Both are very talented groups of athletes that will offer a challenge to each other again very soon as we approach the Stoddard County Athletic Association Tournament January 21-25.  With Bernie's number one seed, they could possibly have to get past the #4 seed Wildcats again in the second round of the tournament.

"We gutted it out in the end, and we're glad to secure the win against a very good Bloomfield team," closed Botsch.

It's easy to feel a strong mutual respect between these two coaches.  Both were respectful and complimentary of both teams.

"I'm really proud of our effort to keep battling, but it's hard to spend so much energy making a come back against a really good Bernie team and still not have enough left in the tank to get it done in the end," said Coach Karnes.  "We have to bounce back quick as we go on the road tomorrow against Woodland."

The Bernie Mules will also be on the road tonight against the Puxico Indians.

Junior Varsity:

In junior varsity action, Bernie improved their 2012-13 record to 14-1 riding the offensive strength of Caleb Ellenburg's 32-points.  The Mules were victorious by a score of 55 to 45 over the JV Wildcats. 

Bernie's Sparks and Trammel each added 8-points and Vernon with 7-poins.  Bloomfield was led in scoring by Noah Vandiver with 14-points. 

Bloomfield's junior varsity dropped their season record to 10-5.

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Park Hills MO - If the Dexter Lady Bearcats game with the Park Hills Lady Rebels had been a prize fight, they would have have stopped it in the first round. LBB opened the game on a 19-0 run in the first four minutes and for all purposes the game was over. 

The full court press of the Cats forced 16 first quarter turnovers which spelled doom for the Lady Rebels.  Brittany Harris had three baskets early in the game (on her way to a game high 22 points) along with a basket by Paige Patterson to get the Cats up early.  Allison Jarrell then had a three point basket and a basket and free throw to add to the team's lead.  Finally, Erica Cobb had a three and Mollie Whitehead had a basket and the Lady Rebels were "shell shocked" and down by 19. 

The story of the night was really the inability of Park Hills to handle the pressure of the Lady Cats man to man defense. Makenzie Jones, the regular point guard for the Lady Rebels was out with an ankle injury and the Cats forced the other ball handlers into a number of unforced and forced errors. Katelyyn Frazier and Hannah Noe from their guard spots created a number of turnovers on the way to the 42-12 halftime lead.

While there was no full court press in the second half, it was more of the same as Dexter held Park Hills to 8 third quarter points and 1 fourth quarter point while scoring 34 in the second half to get the big 76-21 win. 

These two teams met each other in the state sectional game last year and both will be favored to win the districts again this year and move into the playoffs. 

Dexter placed Harris, Jarrell and Cobb in double figures while Noe had 9 and Patterson ended up with 7 points.

The Lady Cats will be at home for a rare home game on Monday the 21st against the Perryville Lady Pirates.  Come out and support the number 8 ranked team in the state!  

Written by
Dee Loflin, SMT Writer

Dexter, Missouri – The 4^th grade boys basketball team has started the 2013 portion of their season just where they left off in 2012, winning!!  They finished 2012 with a winning 10-1 record.

On January 5^th the Dexter boys played Farmington, Missouri.  After a rather slow start and some really tough officiating they seemed to stay positive throughout the game.  They eventually won 26-14; which is the 2^nd time during this season they have beaten Farmington.

St. Genevieve, Missouri was their second game of the new year and they again played very well beating the Tigers 38-15.  This was also the 2nd time during this season they have beaten St. Genevieve. 

Now on to a blow-out home game for the 4^th grade team at Southwest Elementary School.  They were really hitting the court hard against Poplar Bluff with a well-balanced team attack.  The Dexter boys overwhelmingly beat the Mules 51-14.  Way to go! 

These Dexter students finished yet another awesome weekend of basketball. On Saturday, January 12th, they played Bloomfield and won 34 – 7.  Then on Sunday afternoon, another blow-out score as they played Oran beating them 57-14.  “They played very well and shot the ball from the outside better than they have all year,” stated assistant coach Dave Ellinghouse.

Their record improves to 15-1 on the season.  What great efforts by these young players to remain a winning, high-spirited team.  Head Coach Lloyd Hyten will travel with the Dexter 4^th graders to Farmington Middle school gym on January 19^th.   Play begins at noon.  They will have three games to play before returning to Dexter.

Written by
Dee Loflin, SMT Writer

Poplar Bluff, Missouri - Fight fans everywhere should get their tickets now before this fight is sold out! 

B & L Promotions proudly presents CAGE OF HONOR 54 on Saturday evening, February 2, 2013 at Scooters Dance Club in Poplar Bluff, Missouri with 15 awesome fights on the card and several title fights.  Doors open at 6 pm and the fights begin at 7 pm.

Special guest appearance by “America’s Got Talent” contestant, Cliff’s Demo Team!   Watch these kids in action as they execute their martial arts performance.  These students are quite talented. and you should enjoy a great evening of intense entertainment.

In the 145 lbs Title Fight, Caleb "The Widowmaker" McCutchen (Bootheel Brawlers) will take on Corbin Crumm a Jiu Jitsue fighter (10^th Planet). 

In the 155lb/170 lb Title Fight, it is a match between Cody "To Tuff" Huff (Bootheel Brawlers) who is the current COH East 155 lb Champ and Anthony Livingston, the current COH East 170 lb champ (Team Evolution).  This should be one exciting fight!

Jeff Heflin (Rif Raf MMA) will take on Dean “The Mighty Mouse” Vaughn (Animal House) in the 125 lb Title Fight.

In the 135 lb Title Fight, it’s J.C. Austin, Jiu Jitsu fighter (10^th Planet) taking on Sheldon “Showtime” Smith (Team Evolution).

The 185 lb Title Fight match will be a rematch between Matt "Matt-Daddy" Gephart (Bootheel Brawlers) and Bo Smith, current COH East 185 lb Champ (Team Punishment)

Now there is one more match that will be not only exciting, but puts brother against brother.  Clint Shell and Clayton Shell, both of Dexter, Missouri will battle it out in the Brother vs Brother Grudge Match.  All fans should enjoy this exuberating match. 

A Chick Fight has been added to the card for February 2^nd as well.  Brittany "Too Smooth" Dugas, Jiu Jitsu fighter (10^th Planet) will fight Morgan Parr (Team Punishment).  What an exciting match-up this will be!  A must see for all fans!

There are eight title fights on this card.  Tickets are now available and they won’t last long.  General admission is $20 per person.  VIP includes draft beer and is $40 per person.  If you plan to sit with a group of friends, you must purchase tickets ahead of the event to reserve a table.  They only have 75 VIP tickets available.

Brad Wick, Sr., promoter stated, “The tickets are going very fast.  This event is bigger than I had anticipated and I know it is going to launch a few of these guys into the professional arena”.  Brad and Lisa Wick are the owners of B&L Promotions and look forward to promoting these fighters into their professional careers.  "It is awesome seeing these guys go from amateur to professional,"  continued Wick.

For tickets or general information call 573-820-2978 or call Scooters Dance Club at 573-778-0422.  To preview the fight card go to www.facebook.com/BLPromo.

Bernie, Missouri - The Bernie Mules continued their excellent season on Friday night by defeating the Dexter Bearcats by a score of 53 - 48.  It was the meeting of a great rivalry, but also the meeting of two very talented basketball teams.  The win improved the junior varisity Mules to an overall 12-1 season record while moving the Bearcats to a record of 8 - 5. 

With all the fanfare that accompanies a great rival school, the JV Bearcats knew they had their work cut out for them as they entered the  Bernie gymnasium.  Digs of "they are a 'bigger school' school" and "all they have is basketball" all vanish at the start of the game because hope and possibilities of a win rule thinking on both sides.

First quarter action did not dash the hopes of the Bearcat fans as the 'Cats were able to hang within two points of the Mules 8-6.  Blake Horton, Austin Chesser and Chandler Young were all able to drop in a field goal for the 'Cats, while David Trammel rained down a 3-point shot.  Trammel was helped by two points each by Matt Vernon and Caleb Ellenburg.

Blake Horton launched and drained a three-pointer of his own in the 2nd quarter to boost the Bearcats.  Cole Renken and Jacob Pedigo each added fields goals.  Unfortunately for the Bearcats, the 13-points in the first half would not hold water with the impending performance of Bernie's Caleb Ellenburg.

Most Bernie fans knew that Ellenburg's first quarter field goal was only a start to his typical night.  Averaging well over 25-points, Ellenburg has dominated opponents offensively stacking up a high of 40-points against the Bell City Cubs earlier in the season.  And the curtains pulled back on the "Mule Barn" stage and Ellenburg entered posting 12 of Bernie's 14 second quarter points.  Bernie went in at halftime with a 9-point lead with the score 22-13.

"Ellenburg is a great player and we just didn't do a good job finding him on defense," noted JV coach Shawn Guethle.

The Bearcats were unable to slowdown the offensive game of the Mules in the third quarter as Matt Vernon and Ellenburg each dropped a 3-bomber.  Ellenburg also tossed in three additional field goals expanding the lead to 15 points.

The Bearcats were able to mount a scoring drive in the final quarter adding 17-points to their side of the scoreboard.  Austin Chesser combined a 3-point shot with 2 free throws for 5-points.  Bearcats Ethan Flowers (5 Pts), Blake Horton (4 Pts), Cole Renken (2 Pts) and Noah Kronk (2 Pts) all contributed offensively for a total of 17-points. 

Bernie's Devin Trammel, Matt Vernon and Austin Beck joined with Ellenburg to match the Bearcat's offensive performance in the final quarter.  Bernie maintained their lead to win the game by a score of 53-38. 

Though you will find Caleb Ellenburg at the top of the scoring box most nights, no one should be confused by the fact that the Bernie Mules junior varsity team is a team.  As typical to the Brad Botsch teams of the past, the Bernie Mules program is never built on an individual but on the basis that everyone contributes to make championship teams.

The Mules were led in scoring by Caleb Ellingburg with 31-points.  That was followed by Devin Trammel with 9-points, Matt Vernon with 8-points, Austin Beck with 3-points, and Gavin Smith with 2-points. 

The Bearcats' leading scorer was Blake Horton with 9-points and Austin Chesser with 7-points.  Jacob Pedigo and Cole Rankin each had 6-points, followed by Chandler Young (4), Ethan Flowers (4), and Noah Kronk (2).

"Bernie played really well," added Coach Guethle.  "They (Bernie) pressured us out of a lot of what we wanted to do and sped us up a lot."

"We'll keep working and hopefully see them again in the county tournament," said Guethle. 

Typical to all good sporting matches, there is always a winner and always one that doesn't win.  A strong rivalry such as the one that exists between Dexter and Bernie (or Bernie and Dexter, depending on your team) is a healthy exchange of passion, love and excitement for our kids.  But at the end of the game, the court is filled with good young men and the fans are filled with good people from both Bernie and Dexter.

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