High School Sports

KENNETT - Local golfers teamed up for a sixth straight year to raise money for the Kennett Athletics Program earlier this month. A total of 68 golfers competed at the sixth annual Kennett Athletics Booster Club Four-Person Golf Scramble July 9 at Kennett Country Club...

The past three summers have been memorable for the SEMO Spartans. The Spartans won their second-straight state championship Friday night, erupting for six second-inning runs and never trailing en route to a 10-6 win over the Southeast Tropics to win the Missouri Senior Babe Ruth 17-and-under baseball tournament at Chaffee.

The 1st annual Bulldog lift-a-thon was Thursday night as many fans came to the field house to support the high school football players as they wrap up the 2021 summer season. Every player from the freshman class to the senior class looked to max out their reps on power clean and bench press while raising money depending on how much an individual donated per pound...

CHAFFEE, Mo. — The McDonald’s Fighting Squirrels used a late rally to stay alive in the Missouri 17U State Babe Ruth Tournament Thursday night at Harmon Field in Chaffee. Trailing 10-6 in the bottom of the fifth inning, the Squirrels scored two runs in the bottom of the fifth and three in the bottom of the sixth to get past the Perfectos 11-10 in loser’s bracket game of the state tournament...

The Kennett Killer Whales capped off arguably its greatest season in program history by taking home the top prize at the Southeast Missouri Swim Conference Meet July 17. Kennett tallied a championship-high 6,390 points at the conference meet. River City Aquatics (3,679 points) placed second, Poplar Bluff Piranhas (1,253) came in third, St. ...

EDITOR'S NOTE: The Dexter Statesman is counting down the 10 best high school games from the 2020-21 school year. The Dexter volleyball team's run to the state quarterfinals comes in at No. 4 this week. The criteria for a game to make the list include competitiveness and meaning of the game. A game must involve a team(s) from Stoddard County and must have been covered first-hand by the Statesman or Semoball.com...

The Jackson R-2 School District Board of Education passed a motion during last week's meeting to establish an athletic hall of fame in the Jackson High School commons area. The Jackson High School Athletic Hall of Fame will commemorate former athletes who have been inducted with a plaque on the wall of the commons, an appropriate award and an induction ceremony...

It was a long 11 inning battle between the McDonald’s Fighting Squirrels and the SEMO Spartans on Wednesday in the Missouri 17u Senior Babe Ruth Tournament, but the Spartans came back late in the game to win in a close 3-2 final score. The Fighting Squirrels were able to get two runs in the first four innings of the game, however they could not score anymore through the rest of the game. ...

The Dexter football team was much improved last season despite winning only three games. The Bearcats, who finished 3-6 a year after winning only one game, held leads in five of their six losses and could have easily won three more games if not for late-game letdowns...

2021 Malden graduate Alissa Olson knew she wanted to play collegiate golf at a young age. “I knew since I started high school I wanted to play college golf,” Olson said. “I just wasn’t sure where I wanted to go.” Olson finally selected a destination last week when she signed to play golf at William Woods College in Fulton, Missouri...

Several factors have gone into why the Kennett High School football program has been wildly successful over recent years and having talented athletes is just one of those.

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. — Alex Wiseman finished the opening round of the 24th Missouri Stroke Play Championships at even-par Tuesday. The Poplar Bluff golfer was tied for 20th, four shots behind the leader at Twin Oaks Country Club. A group of area players were also looking to make the cut following Wednesday’s second round...

It was all Dawson Crawford on Monday night when the McDonald’s Fighting Squirrels pitcher threw a one hitter to defeat the Cardinals Legacy Perfectos 5-0 victory in a Senior Babe Ruth Midwest Plains Regionals semifinals. The Jefferson College commit has been great for the Fighting Squirrels all year and was lights out when the team needed him the most. ...

SIKESTON — Eureka Post 177 coasted to the Missouri American Legion Baseball AA Zone 4 Tournament championship, defeating Festus Post 253 14-4 at VFW Stadium Sunday evening. Despite the game being delayed by over four hours due to rain, Eureka came out on fire, scoring four runs in the top of the first without logging a single hit...

CHARLESTON — The McDonald’s Fighting Squirrels rolled through pool play of the Midwest Plains Regional Saturday, outscoring their opponents 33-3 in two games. Squirrels 16, Buckley Bombers 1 In their opening game of pool play Saturday morning, the Squirrels took advantage of nine walks and four errors from Buckley, cruising to a three-inning win...

CHARLESTON — It was a slugfest for the Southeast Tropics when they took on the Akadema team from Salina, Kansas in the 2021 Midwest Plains Regional on Friday. The Tropics put up eight runs in the first inning of the game and they never looked back as they demolished Akadema 19-0 in a short three inning game...

SIKESTON — It was a very one-sided game when The 15u Sikeston Silver Sox hosted the 17u Eureka Post 177 on Thursday in the Missouri American Legion Baseball AA Zone 4 Tournament as nearly everyone on the Eureka team contributed on the offensivee side leading them to an 11-2 victory...

Most high school soccer players could only hope to score 45 goals in an entire four-year career. Perryville’s Leah Buerck did it in one season. “It took a lot of pressure off the coaching staff,” Pirates coach Jerry Fulton said. “When you can get that early goal or get that early lead, it’s huge. For instance, I don’t know how this happened, but in the first 30 minutes, we were down three goals to North County the first time we played them. We beat them six to three and Leah had five goals...

Kennett talent Reese Robinett isn’t spending the summer competing on a baseball diamond close to home. Robinett, who has committed to play baseball at the University of Arkansas, is traveling the Mid-South playing travel ball for the Arkansas Stix this summer...

It was the very first game of the fall sports season when Jordan Moore was running to track down a fly ball. The left fielder jumped to make the catch but felt her knee do the same when she landed. Having already injured her other knee the previous winter rebounding in a basketball game, Moore knew immediately what had happened...

As he was warming up for a match in the district playoffs, a string on Parker Nagy’s racket broke. The Poplar Bluff senior had to use his coach’s racket that day and also borrowed a teammate’s as the Mules made a run at the team title. Having qualified for the MSHSAA state tournament in singles play, Nagy needed his racket restrung...

Twice Jackson linebacker Bryce Norman was nominated for the Semoball Award for Defensive Football Player of the Year, and twice he was denied. They say the third time’s the charm. Norman was named the winner of the award at last Saturday’s rain-soaked Semoball Awards event at the Rock-and-Roll Drive-In in Chaffee, Mo...

Two members of the Cape Catfish’s 2019 West Division Championship-winning team are returning to play the rest of the season, according to Catfish general manager Mark Hogan. Former Arkansas product Curtis Washington Jr., and Southeast Missouri State’s Andrew Keck are expected to return to the team for the remainder of the 2021 campaign...

Alaney Moore from Kelly High School showed out in 2020-2021 with her athletic abilities and her performance in the classroom making her the Semoball Girl Scholar Athlete of the Year. Moore was awarded valedictorian in her senior class with a 4.09 GPA while also excelling at multiple sports such as track, basketball and softball...

A two-sport athlete, Brandon Fonda of Caruthersville, impressed many people in the SEMO area with his consistent and outstanding performances on the track. So much so he was named the 2021 Semoball Boy’s Track Athlete of the Year. The senior from Caruthersville collected many victories last year dominating most of the track events in 2021...

2021 Campbell graduate Blake Fowler is spending his fair share of time in a gymnasium this summer before he departs to play basketball at Central Methodist University. “Sometimes I work for my grandparents every now and then,” Fowler said. “But my main job right now is to prepare to play basketball. Me and my dad work out every day of the week. Four days a week I lift and shoot about 1,000 shots a day. I’m treating basketball as my job right now since I’ve received a scholarship to play it.”...

ADVANCE — Nyah Wilson, the 2021 Semoball Volleyball Athlete of the Year, has been thinking about the past while eagerly anticipating the future. The Lindenwood University freshman hitter enjoyed a lot of success in high school, helping the Advance Hornets win three straight MSHSAA Class 1 championships...

When Jackson golfer Carsen Silliman spoke with coach Zack Walton after the sixth hole of the SEMO Conference Tournament, the senior hadn’t made a single par. Instead, he had birdied all six holes. “I was like, ‘Oh my goodness!’ “ Walton said. “I didn’t want to bring it up, so we just talked about the hole, what our distance was and where we wanted to try to put it on the green. ...

Jaden Deaton ran away from everyone in Southeast Missouri during the 2020 cross country season. The Poplar Bluff senior won seven of the nine meets he ran last fall, including a half-minute victory in the SEMO North championship race. On Saturday, Deaton was named the Semoball Awards Boy’s Cross Country athlete of the year and was also a finalist in track and field...

Southland senior Jenna Gibson wasn’t sure how things would go when her softball squad combined with nearby rival Senath-Hornersville this spring. “It was a super different year because I was a senior at Southland and we wound up combining with Senath-Hornersville,” Gibson said. “I think a lot of people thought it wasn’t going to work out well and there might be drama because we were small-school rivals. But it was honestly the best year I’ve ever had and I wouldn’t trade it for anything.”...

Former Jackson offensive lineman Connor Tollison has already won several awards during his high school career. The 6-foot 5-inch, 305-pound tackle was a three-time All-State selection, the 2021 Carr Trophy winner and on Saturday was named Semoball’s Offensive Football Player of the Year and Overall Male Athlete of the Year...

EDITOR'S NOTE: The Dexter Statesman is counting down the 10 best high school games from the 2020-21 school year. The Dexter boys basketball team's first victory over Sikeston since 2004 comes in at No. 5 this week. The criteria for a game to make the list include competitiveness and meaning of the game. A game must involve a team(s) from Stoddard County and must have been covered first-hand by the Statesman or Semoball.com...

It’s not a huge surprise to most wrestling fans in Sikeston that Kate Grubbs is named the Girls Wrestling Athlete of the Year at the annual Semoball Awards. Grubbs, a junior at Sikeston High School, accomplished a lot in 2021 and has gained even more recognition and respect for her performances throughout her junior year...

Kennett girls tennis player Anelle Harris adopted a new strategy before she started her junior season in the fall of 2020. “The mindset changed for me a little bit going into the season,” Harris said. “I used to be reluctant to try to make a kill shot in a match. My cousin Hadley has helped me change that mindset and play more aggressive. You cannot play scared on the court because if you do you won’t play up to your full potential.”...

Prior to the MSHSAA Class 4 Boy’s Soccer state championship game last November in Springfield, Jackson senior goalkeeper Luke Mirly wasn’t exactly feeling great.

Iconic Portageville High School boy’s basketball coach Jim Bidewell has submitted his place in Missouri basketball history.

Watch the 2021 Semoball Awards, presented by SoutheastHEALTH, here. https://www.facebook.com/255415740253/posts/10165408428145254/

No one could match the SEMO Cardinals’ offense all week, and that trend continued in the Missouri Cal Ripken 8-and-under Baseball Tournament on Saturday at Essex. The Scott County-based team erupted for 33 runs in bracket play, including a 15-5 rout of Carthage in the championship game...

The Semoball Cup is presented to the school with the most successful season based on a formula that takes into account the combined winning percentage of all sports teams (WIN) plus bonus points for advancement in postseason play for both teams (POST) and individuals (IND). The bonus points are divided by the number of teams a school fields. Here are the standings with previous rankings from 2020:...

The SEMO Storm, a squad comprised of Dexter Parks and Recreation All-Stars, earned a spot in the final four of the Missouri Cal Ripken 8-and-under Baseball Tournament following the completion of pool play Friday at East Park in Dexter. The top two teams from each four-team pool qualified for bracket play, which is scheduled to begin at 9 a.m. Saturday on Field J at East Park...

Incoming Delta senior Kendall Holweg may be one of the most well-rounded athletes in the region, as well as one of the hardest-working. “Her work ethic is unsurpassed. She’s just incredible,” Delta track and field coach Gordon Walton said. “There is nothing that you ask her to do that she won’t do. If you were to follow her on a given day, it’s just mind-blowing.”...

CHARLESTON — The Cardinals Legacy Perfectos exploded for five runs in the seventh inning to get past the SEMO Tropics 17u team 10-5 in the second round of the 2021 Missouri Senior Babe Ruth State Tournament Thursday night. The two teams traded leads for the first five innings of the game until Brandon Palmer hit a solo home run over the left field fence to even the game at 5-5. Palmer went 2-2 with a walk, sac fly and collected two RBI to help his team...

CHARLESTON - The 17U McDonald’s Fighting Squirrels rebounded nicely less than 24 hours after suffering a 10-9 extra-inning loss to the Perfectos in its first game at the Missouri Senior Babe Ruth state baseball tournament on Wednesday. The 17U Squirrels jumped out to 6-0 lead by the end of the second inning and hung on to beat the SEMO Legends 12-3 in an elimination game at the double-elimination tournament on Thursday...

CHARLESTON - A pitcher’s duel finally materialized at the Senior Babe Ruth state baseball tournament Wednesday afternoon at Hillhouse Park in Charleston. After 46 runs were tallied in the first two games of the state tournament runs were at a premium in Game 3 between the 19U Southeast Tropics and the 19U Orioles...

EDITOR'S NOTE: The Dexter Statesman is counting down the 10 best high school games from the 2020-21 school year. The Dexter football team's 26-7 victory over Doniphan comes in at No. 6 this week. The criteria for a game to make the list include competitiveness and meaning of the game. A game must involve a team(s) from Stoddard County and must have been covered first-hand by the Statesman or Semoball.com...

Carthage, Kennett and Scott County remain undefeated after the opening day of the Missouri Cal Ripken 8-and-under State Tournament on Thursday at East Park in Dexter. Carthage defeated SEMO North (Cape Girardeau/Jackson) 7-1 and Sikeston 8-7 to grab the early lead in Pool A...

There is nothing like the taste of success to rekindle a flame for training in sports.

CHARLESTON — The Cardinals Legacy Perfectos were able to pull out a win against the McDonalds Fighting Squirrels in a close game that went into extra innings on Wednesday in the opening round of the 2021 Missouri Senior Babe Ruth State Tournament. There was a combined 19 runs between the two teams, however, the Perfectos outlasted the Fighting Squirrels on a walk off single by Jaden Thacker to end the game with a 10-9 score...

The national organization that writes the rules for high school sports and activities has cleared the way for the use of shot clocks in basketball, and local players, coaches and administrators have mixed feelings about the change. The National Federation of State High School Associations ruled in April that beginning with the 2022-23 season, a 35-second shot clock will be permitted in high school basketball games if state associations, such as MSHSAA, adopt the rule change. ...

PARAGOULD - The McDonald’s Fighting Squirrels are headed into postseason play on a high note after beating Paragould (Ark.) Legion 13-4 in five innings in the nightcap of a road doubleheader Monday. The visiting Fighting Squirrels scored multiple runs in each of the first three innings to build a 11-0 lead by the conclusion of the top of the third inning...