Tater's Two Cents - Dec. 13

Welcome to another installment of Tater's Two Cents.

It was really somewhat of a quiet week in terms of on the court action here in the Daily American Republic coverage area. Yet, there were still some interesting things went down.

- First off, I didn't make it out to it on Tuesday night but I was pretty impressed with how Bloomfield brushed off a 25-point loss to Twin Rivers four days earlier by beating the Royals on their home floor. After scoring just two points in the first meeting, Wildcats senior Seth Hill blew up for 27 in the rematch and knocked down four 3s. The result likely lifted them to that higher seed over Twin Rivers at the upcoming Bloomfield Christmas Tournament.

- Speaking of the Bloomfield Christmas Tournament, I was allowed to be a fly on the wall as the coaches met last week in Dexter and I found out of a new tradition being started. Bloomfield principal and tournament director Eric Boles said there will be a new roving trophy that will be given to the tournament champion to hang onto for the entire year until the next year's tournament. The new trophy will have engraved on it all the previous year's winners and will be engraved almost immediately with the current winner so the trophy can be put on prominent display at the winner's school. I think this is a terrific idea and It'll be interesting to see all the places this trophy will end up at. When the trophy leaves, the school will still have a plaque commemorating the win.

- Near the beginning of any sports season, I always try and go out and see as many different teams as possible. That thought process led me to East Carter on Friday night where I watched the Redbirds put up a big fight against Neelyville. East Carter led by four at halftime, but Neelyville's size proved to be too much in the second half. I was really pleased with how serious East Carter looked and how hard they are working this year under first year coach and alum Brandon Crook. The Redbirds have only a handful of wins the past couple seasons but it just looks like to me that this team is going to get in that winning column a number of times this season and hopefully get the program jump started. Junior Isaiah Yates is developing into a great scorer for the Redbirds.

- Speaking of East Carter, It was great to see its senior softball player Courtney Newman sign with Williams Baptist College last week. One of the first softball games I covered here at the DAR in August 2008 featured Newman as a sophomore and her Lady Redbirds against Carlee Vancil and Twin Rivers. Both pitchers combined on 45 strikeouts with Newman getting 20 of those. Newman has been a big part of the team's three district titles since her freshman year.

- I got to cover a really solid girls game last Tuesday night in front of a great atmosphere in Neelyville as the Lady Tigers squared off with Couch. Let's hope that wasn't the last time the two teams play each other. Both teams got after it and the up-and-down the court action was exciting. Neelyville lost that night but fought from behind in the second half to take a lead. It was only Neelyville's third loss since the beginning of last season. Both teams are in the same district (Class 2 District 2) and it looks like we could see state ranked teams square off in a title game if both teams continue their solid play.

A look ahead to this week

- Neelyvillle bounced back two nights later by upending Twin Rivers for the second time in a week which made them 5-1 and helped get them the top seed at the Twin Rivers Lady Royals Classic which starts this Saturday. For the third straight year, Neelyville, the defending LRC champs, opens with Clearwater in the first round. A hot start for Kennett earned it the second seed. I'll be there likely all day Saturday to see how the first round shakes out.

- Also I'm looking forward to see what goes down at the Senath-Hornersville Christmas Tournament. Campbell battles Naylor in the first round. Campbell may be one of the underrated teams around, they seem to be in every game so far this season. The Eagles will be looking for the first win. Also Neelyville will be there. The Tigers are the No. 3 seed are capable of reaching the title game with their play in the paint.

Shameless plugs

Don't forget to 'like' us on Facebook and get updates and news as it happens: http://www.facebook.com/pages/DAR-Sports/130404650315731?ref=ts

Also if you didn't catch a couple of my blogs last week, here are some links to catch up on.

Bloomfield Christmas Tournament seeds: http://semoball.com/blogs/1264/entry/38713/

Lady Royals Classic Tournament seeds: http://semoball.com/blogs/1264/entry/38730/