Written by
Jessica Snider, SMT Writer
The Dexter Bearcats knew that heading to New Madrid last night would be a tough competition, but no one predicted the competition to get that far out of the Bearcat’s hands.
Being at the home of the Eagles, their student section was fired up and ready to go! This puts even more pressure on the Bearcats to show their true fans that showed up to the game that they were willing to fight for the victory.
The first possession was sent to the Eagles’ side, and from there New Madrid took off with the lead that the Bearcats couldn’t reach all throughout the game.
During the first quarter, the Bearcats turned the ball over a few times making it easy for the Eagles to rack up the points. The Eagles maintained a large lead over the Bearcats throughout the whole game.
The Dexter Bearcats could not stop the offense produced by the New Madrid Eagles. With Dexter trying to be tough and stop the ball, a few Bearcats got into some foul trouble.
With the Eagles having a large lead over the Bearcats at the half, Coach Nichols took his team in the locker room to evaluate the situation. At the beginning of the third quarter, the Bearcats let the fans know they wanted the win no matter how tough it would be.
Even though the Dexter Bearcats stepped it up a notch or two through the second half of the game, the New Madrid Eagles are never a competition to be taken lightly. Their offense was more than the Bearcats could handle last night, and the Cats couldn’t catch a break when they did get the ball in their possession.
The New Madrid County Central Eagles ended the game with a huge 52-28 win over the Dexter Bearcats.
Although the game didn’t end the way the Bearcats would have liked, last night’s game was a good practice opportunity for Dexter as they will take on strong competition this upcoming week in the Stoddard County Tournament.
The Dexter Bearcat Varsity team will play their first game of the tournament at 7:00 P.M. January 21st against Woodland. The Dexter Bearcats are seeded second while Woodland got the seventh seed.
The Stoddard County Tournament is sure to supply a few days of great competition for high school hoops!
Good luck to the Dexter Bearcats and all other Stoddard County Teams participating in the tournament!
Last night was an exciting night for the Rebels as they took on the Zalma Bulldogs for their 2013 Homecoming Game. The bleachers were packed with former graduates, fans, and alumni as the Rebels took the court. It was an amazing game that had the crowd cheering and by the looks on the coaches’ faces tonight, it was obvious that the boys played their hardest and they played very well.
The Rebels instantly took the lead in the first quarter after senior Richard Forhsee got the tipoff. Senior Nick Daniels scored the first eight points of the night for the Rebels, sinking one free throw and handling two layups. The Rebels were really running their offense tonight and kept Zalma on their toes. Senior Jesse Barnes and sophomore Skyler Harper played great offense and scored many for the Rebels. The first quarter ended with Richland in the lead, 22 to 7.
During the short break between the first and second quarter, Richland’s head coach, Matt Cline, rewarded Forshee with the game ball. Tonight was a very special night for this senior due to him scoring his 1000th point during his high school basketball career. The fans in the crowd went wild as Forshee received the ball. Forshee ended up being the lead scorer for the night and played amazing defense for his team.
During this time, Richland’s superintendent, Frank Killian, had a moment of silence as seventh grade trumpet player, Josh Kidd, played Taps in honor of the 2003 Richland graduate and soldier, Michael Harlan, who was recently lost in a hiking accident in Hawaii. Many of Harlan’s former classmates had t-shirts made in honor of him and wore them proudly to the Homecoming Game. Michael will always be remembered and greatly missed by the Rebels.
When the game resumed with the second quarter, the Bulldogs seemed to have trouble hitting double digits, as well as getting their hands on the ball. Barnes had many layups, scoring multiple points for the Rebels. With the Bulldogs getting a number of fouls, Forshee received free throws, which he made many of. Both seniors, Daniels and Forshee, worked very well together while Forhsee received the rebounds and Daniels scored multiple layups. By the end of the second quarter, Richland had nearly tripled the Bulldog’s points with a score of 47 to 17, with Barnes shooting a free throw while the buzzer sounded.
When halftime began, the crowd enjoyed a short dance done by the elementary cheerleaders to the song Cut Loose. The high school cheerleaders have been working with the younger girls for a couple of weeks for this special occasion. It is always a hit with the parents and the fans and it also gives the younger children a chance to learn different cheers and prepare for cheerleading in upcoming years. The crowd also got to enjoy multiple songs played by the Rebel Rouser Pep Band.
When the third quarter started, the Rebels still held a strong lead over Zalma but the Bulldogs began to slowly gain points. They inched their way closer to the Rebels, who seemed to have a weakened defense. Eventually, the Rebels regained full control of the ball and made an even bigger point gap when the third quarter came to an end with a score of 68 to 34.
The last quarter was the most enjoyable as the crowd cheered wildly for the home team. Forshee continued to play great defense, catching every rebound made by the Bulldogs and passing it to his teammates who were quick to score. Forshee finished the game and was the lead scorer, followed by Daniels, Harper, and Barnes. Richland’s Homecoming Game was counted as a victory with the final score of 76 to 46.
It was a very successful night for the Rebels and it will be remembered by many.
Written by
Dee Loflin, SMT Writer
Bernie, Missouri - The 5th and 6th Grade boys basketball teams will be playing at Bernie in a tournament on Saturday, January 19th beginning at 9:00 a.m. Jake Kreulen, photographer is going to be there taking photos of the games and is offer a CD of picture as a fundraiser for 18 FORE Life.
18 FORE Life is an extremely worthwhile cause that has raised almost $1 million to help out LOCAL families fighting cancer. Jake is a professional photographer and has over ten years of experience in Southeast Missouri.
Jake is putting together team photo CDs for every team in the tournament with at least 300 photos of each team. The cost of this TEAM CD is only $125 and EVERY SINGLE PLAYER gets his own copy of the CD. He will also provide an extra copy to the coach/school to use for programs or yearbook purposes (with photo credit given to Jake).
If both teams from a school order the CD, he will discount $25 per team, that’s $50 per school for a total of $200 for BOTH teams from the same school. If you have 10 players on the combined team, the cost is just $20 per player.
You can print photos wherever you prefer; as his logo is not on the photos. Each player is a co-owner of the rights to the photos for any non-commercial purpose. You may also e-mail the photos or put them on Facebook, etc.
This is a great deal and it is for a wonderful cause. Please consider ordering these wonderful memories of your child as they will last a lifetime. You may contact Jake Kreulen at 479-249-4698.
Jessica Snider, SMT Writer
Tonight the Dexter Bearcat Basketball Team will take on the New Madrid County Central Eagles. The game is set to be held in New Madrid, but with the Bearcats coming off a huge win over Bernie, many fans are anticipating an exciting game.
Last Friday’s game between the Mules and Bearcats proved that a great game could be evolved from two hard working teams and two rowdy student sections!
With the excitement of the Dexter Bearcat’s huge victory over the Mules, and the impressive record of the Eagles, tonight’s game is one that should capture any basketball fan’s interest!
The Dexter Bearcats hope to see another big turn out for the game even though it’s on the road! Good luck to the Dexter Bearcats!
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.
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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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