Written by
Dee Loflin, SMT Manager/Editor
Dexter, Missouri – It was a frightful Halloween night with storms around every corner. The sixth-seeded Bearcats came out ready to rumble and gave the 3rd-seededd Trojans quite the scare in the opening quarter of the Class 3, District 1, playoff game.
Potosi had the home-field advantage, but there were almost as many Bearcat fans in the bleachers as there were Trojan fans. In just under three minutes, Potosi jumped out to a 6-0 lead when Austin Cooley ran the ball 80 yards for a touchdown; however their extra point kick was no good. The Bearcats needed to step it up and they did scoring two more touchdowns in the first quarter.
Peyton Pollock, Dexter’s quarterback found his wide receiver #4 D.J. Dowdy for a 63-yard touchdown pass. An unfortunate slip on the muddy field by MaKayla Waldner and the extra point was no good.
Ethans Stevens punt to the Trojans was fumbled by Sherelle Allen and recovered by Dylan Bazarian for another Bearcat touchdown. This time MaKayla Waldner lined up in a little dryer portion of the field and her kick was good. Bearcats 13 Trojans 6
“The kids came out fired up,” stated Dexter coach Justin Peden. “The guys were ready for this game and really hyped up tonight.” “Right before the half, Ethan Steven had a chance to score. He’s a good player. He just made a hustle play and came up short.”
Potosi wasn’t ready to give up on this Halloween evening. It was cold. It was muddy, but they managed to push back at the Bearcats with 9:52 left in the first half scoring with a six-yard touchdown run and a two-point conversion put them in the lead again 14-13. Seven minutes later, Potosi’s quarterback Aaron Vinson sent the ball in the air for a 30-yard touchdown, but their extra point was no good. Bearcats 13 – Trojans 20 going into the locker at half-time.
The Trojans added two more touchdowns in the 3rd quarter. Each on their first two offensive possessions giving them a tremendous lead and 33-13 win.
Neither team scored in the 4th quarter. “Our guys were slipping and sliding and no one could get much traction,” commented Peden.
Peyton Pollock was 29 for 224 yards passing and 19 for 75 yards rushing. D.J. Dowday was 5 for 106 yards receiving and had nine tackles along with Jon Foels and Trevor Waldner who also had 9 each.
“It’s disappointing when you don’t get the wins, but we are building a great future for Dexter. I want to thank the Dexter Bearcat Nation for their support of this team. It has meant a lot to these guys. We have a young group and I saw a lot of progress this year.”
The Bearcats will graduate 12 seniors this season. They have a lot of young players to build onto for next season. “The seniors are great bunch of kids and are like real family to me. They worked hard all summer and it is always difficult to learn a new offensive system in just one season. They have been successful in my book and you have to commend those kids.”
Coach Peden is very positive about next year. “It always leaves a sour taste in your mouth when you lose, but that will make these kids work harder for next year.”
“Stick with us next season and I think you will see tremendous improvement. We all learned a lot this year and are proud and Bearcat strong!”
D.J. Dowdy moved from quarterback to receiver this year and had 700 yards receiving. “That’s pretty impressive and I am very proud of this young man. This should land him a spot as an all-conference player.”
Way to go Bearcats. Thank you for a great season on the field!
Written by
Dee Loflin, SMT Manager/Editor
Dexter, Missouri – It was the first time since 1972 that anyone could remember having a HOME Cross Country Meet in Dexter. Coach Leonard Morse was very proud to host the first one in a very long time. Students came from Saxony-Lutheran, Kelly, Zalma, and Advance to compete on a very cold Saturday morning.
Kelly’s Trey Walker finished first in the Varsity Boys 5k with a time of 17:31. Greg Hopgood from Saxony came in 2nd with a time of 17:53 and 3rd place went to Alex Steinberg of Zalma. Dexter’s own Joshua Ladd came in 8th with a time of 20:04.
Katie Justice a Senior from Dexter won the Varsity Girls race in a time of 24:01. Congratulations Katie!!
Alexis Smith of Dexter took 2nd place with a time of 25:14, Carly Dean took 3rd place with a time of 26:51 and Kelsi Wood was in 4th place with a time of 27:22. Way to go Bearcats!! Of the 8 girls competing in the Girls Varsity race, 7 were from Dexter. Only Katelynn Whutley from Zalma placed 5th with a time of 31:16. Kirston Darrow finished 6th, Natalee Pedroza finished 7th and Emily Thompson finished 8th. Way to go Bearcats!!!
Charles Freeman from Zalma won the JV Boys race in 22:41.
“It was a great turn-out for our first meet in a very long time,” commented Morse. “We hope to have more home meets in the future.”
High School Principal Dan Pollock, Asst. Principal/Athletic Director Derek Urhahn and Assistant Superintendent Corey Mouser were on hand for the momentous occasion.
Congratulations Bearcats on your first of many more home meets!
Written by
Dee Loflin, SMT Manager/Editor
Dexter, Missouri - The Dexter middle school boys 7th grade basketball team has already been on the court against the Woodland Cardinals and at home last night against the Advance Hornets. The 7th grade team have won both of their games. They beat Woodland 52 - 22 and Advance 55 - 15. Way to go Bearcats!!
They are front row: #22 Jake Harris, #1 Seth Rogers, #4 Nate Gargas, #15 Joe Rice, #11 Eric Hahn, and #34 Josh Sitzes. Second row is manager Noah Rushing, #14 Landin Wood, #55 Luke Boyer, #24 Braxton Foster, #33 Coby Powers, #51 Garrison Collier, #13 Justin Kenley and manager Jaron Ritter.
Below is the schedule for the Middle School Boys Basketball Team
Dexter Boys
| Date | Opponent | Location |
| 10/22 | Woodland | Away |
| 10/29 | Advance | Home |
| 11/1 | Bernie | Away |
| 11/4 | Richland | Home |
| 11/7 | Bloomfield | Home |
| 11/11 | Bell City | Away |
| 11/12 | Puxico | Away |
| 11/16-19 | SCAA Tourn. | Bloomfield |
| 11/25 | Poplar Bluff | Home |
| 11/26 | Jackson | Away |
| 12/2 | Kennett | Home |
| 12/3 | Sikeston | Home |
| 12/5 | Charleston | Away |
Head Middle School Basketball Coach is Josh Dowdy and Assistant Coach is Chris Bolin.
Written by
Dee Loflin, SMT Manager/Editor
Dexter, Missouri - The Dexter middle school boys 8th grade basketball team has already been on the court against the Woodland Cardinals and at home last night against the Advance Hornets. The 8th grade team have won both of their games. They beat Woodland 57 - 16 on October 22nd and Advance 54 - 35 last night. Way to go Bearcats!!
They are front row: #5 Landon Henson, #25 Dawson Kasting, #2 Marcus Woodson, #21 Matthew Stone, #12 Cole McGowan, #3 Kole Kelley. Back row: #31 Nick Trout, #52 Bo McMullin, #32 Jake Rice, #53 Jordan Laird, #54 Gabe Jackson, #42 Spencer Owens, #35 Trevor McDonald, #23 Ben Sindle.
Below is the schedule for the Middle School Boys Basketball Team.
| Date | Opponent | Location |
| 10/22 | Woodland | Away |
| 10/29 | Advance | Home |
| 11/1 | Bernie | Away |
| 11/4 | Richland | Home |
| 11/7 | Bloomfield | Home |
| 11/11 | Bell City | Away |
| 11/12 | Puxico | Away |
| 11/16-19 | SCAA Tourn. | Bloomfield |
| 11/25 | Poplar Bluff | Home |
| 11/26 | Jackson | Away |
| 12/2 | Kennett | Home |
| 12/3 | Sikeston | Home |
| 12/5 | Charleston | Away |
Head Middle School Basketball Coach is Josh Dowdy and Assistant Coach is Chris Bolin.
Written by
Dee Loflin, SMT Manager/Editor
Cape Girardeau, Missouri – The Lady ‘Cats traveled to Cape Girardeau Monday evening to compete in the District Tournament. It was a great night for the Bearcats as they defeated #6 seeded Doniphan 25-7, 25-12 in the quarterfinals.
Shyann Jines led the ‘Cats with 11 kills along with Jessica Lindsey who had 8 kills.
Dexter’s Alyssa Spear had 11 assists. Julia Hahn had 9 assists along with Shyann Jines who added 6 more.
Delaney Pullen led the Bearcats with three aces. Shyann Jines and Alysa Spear both added one ace each.
Dexter came into the district play as the #3 seed only Notre Dame and Perryville outranked them and they will now compete against second-seeded Notre Dame tonight at 6:45 p.m. in the Class 3, district 1 semifinal. The #1 seed Perryville will play #3 seed Kennett at 5:30 p.m.
Dexter is 27-4 on the season and Notre Dame is 31-2-1. Both teams play exceptionally well and tonight game will be intense. Notre Dame recently beat Dexter at their last home game in three sets. Perryville’s record is 19-4-4 and Kennett is 16-7 on the season.
Winners of the semifinals will compete for the District Title and earn a trip to the Missouri State Championships. Game time will be 8:00 p.m. Tuesday, October 29th. State Tournament play will be held November 8th and 9th at the ShowMe Center in Cape Girardeau, Missouri.
Go Bearcats!!
