Risco

RISCO – This time of year has proven to be a touch stressful for veteran Risco High School varsity boy’s basketball coach Brandon Blankenship.

RISCO – If the Risco High School varsity boy’s basketball squad has a difficult time on Thursday in its road test at Bell City, veteran Tiger coach Brandon Blankenship will have no one to blame but himself.

RISCO – While every other high school varsity boy’s basketball program in Missouri was honing its skills and execution against competition over the past three weeks, South Pemiscot had to compete against itself in daily practices to try and grow as a team.

When his South Pemiscot varsity boy’s basketball team ventures to Risco High School on Tuesday to play the Class 1 No. 3-ranked Tigers, certainly Bulldog coach Jordan McGowan will be concerned with how to contain the offensive ability of the Tigers’ star scorer.

It's been a long while since I've got to enjoy as much holiday basketball as I have this year. For the first time in a while, if ever, I got to attend the Poplar Bluff Showdown, Lady Royals Christmas Classic and the Bloomfield Christmas Tournament all in one five-day stretch. While I last covered the Showdown and Lady Royals Christmas Classic in 2019, this was my first time at Bloomfield in at least a decade...

BLOOMFIELD — The top-seeded Puxico Indians came from a 10-point halftime deficit to defeat the third-seeded Dexter Bearcats 64-60 in an overtime classic to win the championship title of the Bloomfield Christmas Tournament on Monday night. It is the Indians’ first Bloomfield Christmas Tournament title since 1989...

Risco Tigers secure a historic victory over Richland Rebels in the Bloomfield Christmas tournament, clinching fifth place after a 65-year hiatus.

BLOOMFIELD – The Risco High School varsity boy’s basketball squad has six seniors guiding it through this season, and with that amount of experience, comes the benefit of knowing how to win games in several different manners.

Dexter Bearcats narrowly avoid an upset by Risco Tigers in the Bloomfield Christmas Tournament, clinching a 69-67 victory with a last-second play.

BLOOMFIELD – Amid the blowout victories, the high-scoring offense, and the 30-plus point-scoring outings produced by senior guard Sammy Smith, fans can lose track of just how fundamentally sound the Class 1 No. 4-ranked Risco Tigers varsity boy’s basketball squad really is.

BLOOMFIELD — After five first-round games decided by double-digits at the Bloomfield Christmas Tournament on Thursday, the sixth game was hands-down the most exciting one of the day. The seventh-seeded Van Buren Bulldogs overcame a double-digit deficit in the second half to defeat the 10th-seeded Doniphan Dons 74-73 in overtime Thursday in the opening round of the Bloomfield Christmas Tournament...

BLOOMFIELD – There will be no shortage of star power in the finale of the opening day of the 68th annual Bloomfield Christmas Tournament, as No. 6-seed Risco (7-1) will battle the host Wildcats (4-2) at 8 p.m. on Thursday. The Tigers, who are ranked No. 4 in Class 1, feature lanky senior guard Sammy Smith, who already has had games of 30 points (against Delta C-7) and 35 points (against Doniphan).

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...

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...

Sammy Smith's 30-point game propels Risco Tigers to an 83-51 victory over Delta C-7.

Risco Tigers aim for redemption with a seasoned squad after a near miss last season.

NEW MADRID – The story of Campbell’s season-opening loss to this boy’s basketball season was a mixed one, as there were several positive things to take away from the Camels’ game against Overton (Tenn.) High School at the Riverbend Classic at New Madrid County Central High School. However, in the end, Campbell (0-1) fell 82-73, so there was also that.

Holcomb Hornets clinch Tri-County title, defeating Risco Tigers 5-1.

Clarkton Reindeer dominate Risco Tigers in a 3-0 sweep, marking their 12th shutout of the season.

It’s fairly easy to predict what will unfold throughout the next couple of months within the Risco High School volleyball program – that is if recent history is any indication.

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...

The adage in sports is often that staying on top of achievements can be more difficult than the climb upward, but veteran Risco High School boy’s basketball coach Brandon Blankenship envisions his 2024-25 squad being capable of doing that this coming season after watching the work his athletes put in this summer. “We are bringing back a ton of experience,” Blankenship said after recently watching his team battle Puxico in a scrimmage at Delta High School.

DELTA – Being physically active might be a problem in the world of some teenagers throughout America, but that doesn’t include Risco High School senior athlete Sammy Smith.

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...