East Carter County

ELLSINORE — Over the last several years, the annual battle of Carter County between the Van Buren Bulldogs and the East Carter Redbirds — also known as the Yellow Sucker game — has become one of Southeast Missouri’s premier rivalry basketball games...

BROSELEY — The Neelyville Lady Tigers were looking to get back into the championship game of the Lady Royal Christmas Classic for the first time since 2019, but the Portageville Bulldogs had other plans. The Bulldogs made a fast start hold up as they took a 57-49 game over the Lady Tigers in Friday’s semifinal...

BLOOMFIELD — Big wins were the order of the day on Thursday in the first four games of the Bloomfield Christmas Tournament. All four early games were decided by double digits, with only the Bernie-Portageville and Kennett-East Carter games being decided by less than 20 points...

For East Carter High School senior Anna Crowley, choosing to play softball next season at Mineral Area College was a family affair. “What led to MAC was mostly my sister (Elizabeth) that currently plays ball there right now,” Crowley said. “Me and her are really close. I also really like (head) coach C.J. (Wright). He’s a great coach and he has given me a great opportunity. I think that MAC is going to do great things and is developing an awesome program.”...

BROSELEY — The quarterfinal round of the Lady Royals Christmas Classic featured a wild one between Poplar Bluff and East Carter on Monday afternoon and the Lady Mules came out on top 51-48 in a close back-and-forth game. “I’m proud of the team,” Poplar Bluff coach Soley Dugas said. “I’m just proud of the girls believing and trusting in me and executing.”...

Even after suffering their first loss season, the Puxico Indians are still riding high to start this season of boys basketball. Puxico suffered it first loss of the season Saturday evening when it lost 58-50 to Thayer in a battle of state-ranked teams — the Indians are tied for fifth in the most recent Class 2 coaches poll, while Thayer was fifth in Class 3...

CLARKTON — The Risco Tigers defeated the Doniphan Dons 82-53 to claim the championship of the Clarkton Christmas Tournament on Friday night. Doniphan played with grit and effort, never giving up in the game, — but Risco was taller, faster, and more physical than the Dons, especially on the offensive side, where their rebounding and inside shooting dominated the scoreboard...

CLARKTON — The Doniphan Dons scored a convincing 58-40 victory over the East Carter Redbirds in the semifinals of the Clarkton Christmas Tournament on Thursday night. The Dons led throughout the game, combining an aggressive defense with an improved scoring proficiency that built a first half advantage that they stretched to double-digits in the second half, which prevented the Redbirds from staging any sort of comeback...

Mykencie Hutchison is going from being a Redbird to being a Cardinal. The East Carter senior recently signed to play softball at the collegiate level next season with Mineral Area College in Park Hills. While East Carter’s athletic teams are the Redbirds, MAC’s teams are the Cardinals...

The Puxico Indians are the top seed at this year’s Bloomfield Christmas Tournament. The Indians are 5-0 this season and are winning their games by an average of 26.8 points. Three of Puxico's five wins are by 35 points or more. The East Prairie Eagles, who finished second at last year's Bloomfield Christmas Tournament, are the No. 2 seed, with Dexter, Bernie, Kennett, Risco, Van Buren and Richland rounding out the top eight seeds...

Doniphan, Neelyville, Portageville and East Carter are the top four seeds at the Lady Royals Christmas Classic, which tips off next Saturday (Dec. 21) at Twin Rivers High School in Broseley. Top-seeded Doniphan and No. 2 Neelyville have first-round byes...

SIKESTON — A late push wasn’t enough as Sikeston faced another setback, falling 7-0 to East Carter at the Sports Complex on Tuesday, Oct. 8. The Lady Bulldogs (2-18) losing streak was extended to 12 games as the team struggled to find its footing against the determined Lady Redbird (9-8)...

It was a night of celebration and triumph for the Poplar Bluff Lady Mules volleyball team — and not just because the Lady Mules secured a hard-fought victory over Kennett. Thursday’s 25-17, 25-15, 29-27 win over the Kennett Lady Indians also saw senior setter Kyra Mizell reach the milestone of 1,000 career assists...

The Poplar Bluff Mules football team will face a stiff challenge when district play starts in November. The Missouri State High School Activities Association released district assignments for all fall sports except for cross country on Friday — and the Mules learned they will be joined in Class 5 District 1 by not only two-time defending district champion Cape Central, but also by defending Class 5 state champion Cardinal Ritter...

ELLSINORE — The East Carter Redbirds finished the baseball season with a 13-9 record and their fourth consecutive Black River League championship. After falling in the second round of the Class 2 District 2 tournament, head coach Ethan Boyer reflected on the past season and looked ahead to next year...

Semoball Awards finalists for the spring sports categories were announced Thursday morning on a selection show broadcasted live on SEMO ESPN Radio and streamed on the Semoball.com Facebook page. Baseball Levi McKinnie, Chaffee Gabe Dirnberger, Oran Cooper Rhodes, Jackson...