Written by

Jessica Snider, SMT Writer

Tonight the Dexter Bearcats will take on Scott City in the Bearcat Event Center. Junior Varsity will start things off at 6:00 P.M. with the Varsity Bearcats following directly after.

Not only is tonight the last home game for the Bearcats, but also tonight is senior night. The seniors will be recognized in between the Junior Varsity and Varsity games.

Come out to the Bearcat Event Center tonight to cheer on the Bearcats and help make the recognition of all the seniors extra special!

Good luck Bearcats!

Dexter, Missouri - Celebration was in the air at the Bearcat Event Center as the Dexter Lady Bearcats enjoyed both Valentine's Day and Senior Night on Thursday, February 14th as the Twin Rivers Lady Royals came to town.

The Lady Cats trailed at 1-0 in the first few seconds of the game, but that was the closest Twin Rivers would ever see on the scoreboard.  The Bearcats scored 21 of the next 25 points to lead at the end of the first quarter 21 - 5. 

They forced the ball inside to Brittany Harris #24 and Paige Patterson #22 for their first eight points.  After that, Alison Jarrell #12 and Hanah Noe #10 scored from the outside.

It was more of the same in the second quarter as Jarrell hit a three pointer, Brittany Harris scored nine in the quarter (including her first three pointer of the season) on her way to an 18 point first half.  Erika Cobb #15 and Hanah Noe also scored to give the Lady Bearcats an overwhelming 42-16 halftime lead. 

Coach Chad Allen was pleased with the defensive performance tonight.  "I thought that we played the best four quarters of defense that we have played all season. Everyone that played tonight played great defense!"

The Lady Cats continued their great defense as the third quarter started, forcing three of the 33 Lady Royal turnovers in the first minute of the second half.  Paige Patterson #22 and Mollie Whitehead #3 both contributed extremely well on both ends of the floor, with Patterson scoring nine and Whitehead four with Mollie adding two assists.

Dexter outscored Twin Rivers 31 - 11 in the second half to finish the Valentine's evening with a 73-27 victory.  There a few fans in the audience from the Boys Basketball Team!  They were cheering the girls to their awesome victory.  Way to go Lady Bearcats!

The Lady Cats two seniors, Katelynn Frazier #5 and Brittany Harris #24 were honored in pregame activities.

Prior to the varsity game the JV Lady Cats moved to 10-0 on the season with a 49-46 victory.  Due go some injuries and illnesses, the young Lady Cats were forced to play the final minute of the game with only four players.

The varsity travels to West Plains on Saturday, February 16th to take on the Republic Lady Tigers, the 2nd ranked team in class 4.  Game time is at 4 p.m. and will be broadcasted on Life 90.3 FM.

Essex, Missouri - The Bernie Mules traveled to Essex Tuesday evening to try and bring their record to 20 wins on the season and they did just that. The Richland Rebels were forced to mark their last home game of the season as a loss against their opponents but the boys on both sides of the court played an overall outstanding game.

"It is nice to reach the 20 win plateau," stated Coach Brad Botsch of Bernie.  "With the schedule we play, 20 wins is certainly an accomplishment.  Our kids are working hard preparing for districts."

David Baker #31 and Sam Turner #45 both shooting for the Bernie Mules were in double digits.  Baker had 24 points with 11 baskets and 2 field goals.  Turner scored 18 points including four 3-pointers.

The first quarter was quite difficult for the Rebels after losing the tip off to Turner, allowing the Mules to score the first of the points. The visiting team pulled ahead and the Rebels slowly fell farther and farther behind.  In the first quarter, the Mules seemed to dominate with baskets.  By the end of the first half, the Bernie Mules were leading 37 to 22, proving to be a major challenge for the home team.

Dexter, Missouri - Seven members of Bearcat Wrestling team will be traveling to Columbia, Missouri for the upcoming State Wrestling Tournament.  They will be competing at the Mizzou Arena on Thursday, February 14th, Friday, February 15th and the Championship rounds on Saturday, February 15th.

The State Championships consist of the top four competitors in each weight division.  So there are going to a lot of matches over the next few days.   Tyler Wagner from YHCtv stopped by the Dexter High School to interview these talented athletes and their coach yesterday.  The ShowMe Times was on hand to hear the interviews and chat with the wrestlers.

Head Wrestling Coach Sneed stated, "We will have three district champions representing Dexter on the mats at the State level.  We also finished second at the Class2, District 1 Tournament this past weekend in Ste. Genevieve."

Storm Massey is a Freshman at Dexter High School and is in the 126 lb weight class.  He placed 3rd in the Districts and this is his first time going to the State Championships.  His record is 23-13 for the season.

James Mullins is also a Freshman at Dexter High School and is in the 120 lb weight class division.  He place 2nd at Districts and this is also his first time going to Columbia for the State Championships.  His record is 24-12 this season.

Another Freshman at Dexter High School and is also his first time competing at the State level is Ethan Stevens.  He will be competing in the 145 lb class division and placed 1st at the District level.  His record is 33-13 on the season.

"We have a very talented group of Freshman and I see more success as they get better and more experienced," commented Coach Sneed.

Cameron Craft, a 285 lb weight class competitor is a Sophomore at Dexter High School and this will be his first time competing in Columbia at the State level.

Dylan Bazarian, who was not present during the YHCtv interview with Tyler Wagner, is also a Sophomore at Dexter High School and this is his second time competing at the State level.  he finished 1st at Districts and competes in the 152 lb weight class division.

Trevor Waldner is the only Junior at Dexter High School that is competing this year at State.  He has had an awesome season this year with a record of 45 wins and only 2 losses.  He placed 1st at District in his weight division and this is his 3rd year to compete in Columbia.  He is ranked #4 in the State for his 132 lb weight class. 

Logan Quertermous is Dexter's only Senior competing this year at the State Wrestling Championships.  He placed 2nd at District and is ranked 17th in Class 2.  His weight class is 182 lbs.  During his interview with YHCtv he stated, "This should be a good match and I am very excited about being at the State level.  It's the first time for me."

Coach Sneed expressed his exuberance as he is taking seven wrestlers this year, two more than last year.  "I expect several of these boys to bring home a medal or two.  We have a very talented group of young men and I am proud of each and every one of them for getting to this level."

The Dexter community and wrestling fans from all over wish them much luck as they head to Columbia for State Championship Wrestling!

Portageville, Missouri - The Bloomfield Wildcats traveled to Portageville Tuesday evening to take on the Bulldogs.

"I thought we competed and battled against a tough Portageville team tonight with out a couple of guys in the line up," commented Jason Karnes, Head Basketball Coach for Bloomfield.

Caleb Baker, #2 for the Wildcats had a very frustrating night with Portageville continuously fouling him.   He scored 21 points with 9 points coming from field goals.  He did an awesome job keeping his cool and hitting the basket.

Zach Goode, #4 stepped into action for the Wildcats as he had 17 points of which four were 3-pointers.  He too was fouled a few times hitting adding 5 field goal points.

Thomas Sanders, #24 was also in double digits for the Wildcats.  He scored 12 points including two 3-pointers and four field goals.

Karned continued to say that, "Portageville did a good job of speeding us up and we had trouble adjusting to it." 

This game could be called a game of field goals and field goal attempts with 49 field goal attempts made, 32 points were made from the line.  The Wildcats were able to capture eighteen points off of their 30 attempts while Portageville making fourteen of their nineteen attempts.

Coach Karnes stated, "Proud of my guys for the effort and toughness they played with, but we still didn't get the job done.  Got to get back at it tomorrow to prepare for a very good Advance team."

The final score was Bloomfield 54, Portageville 63.  The Wildcats are 12-13 on the season.

The JV Wildcats did not fair any better than the varsity team on Tuesday night as they lost to Portageville 49 to 45.  Noah Vandiver had a pretty good night with 26 points followed by Nathan Newell with 8 and Tyler Battles with 6 points.  The JV Record is now 15-8.

The Wildcats are competing at home on Thursday, February 14th against Advance.   Game time 6:00 p.m.  The Hornets are looking for a win as they just lost to Oran on Tuesday.  Advance is 5-1 in their district and 18-7 for the season.