Football

The Semoball Cup ended up being a battle of the Bulldogs that needed overtime to decide. Megan Heisserer's golden goal to lift Notre Dame to the Class 2 soccer title also happened to clinch the Cup. In the closest finish in the early history of the award, Notre Dame edged Van Buren by 4.79 points in the standings that determine which area school had the most athletically successful school year...

From across Southeast Missouri, people descended upon Cape Girardeau on Saturday night for the region's premier sports awards show. More than 150 student-athletes from 57 area high schools were on hand for the Fourth Annual Semoball Awards presented by SoutheastHEALTH at the Donald C. Bedell Performance Hall on Southeast Missouri State University's River Campus, as awards were handed out in 25 sports categories...

Jim Lohr, who coached football at his alma maters Poplar Bluff High School and Southeast Missouri State University, died Saturday. A member of the Poplar Bluff Sports Hall of Fame, Lohr was an all-state tackle for the Mules in 1951 before helping Southeast to an undefeated season four years later as a player. He went on to coach at both schools...

The Chaffee football program knew it was going to have a fresh face leading the way for the first time in more than a decade and a half. Now it has a name to attach to that face. Terry Flannigan will helm the Red Devils, the school announced Thursday, two weeks after the new coach's hire was made official...

Blane Boss was an all-state running back at Windsor High School in the early 2000s, even rushing for over 500 yards in one game. So it's probably not a surprise the new Perryville head football coach favors a ground-and-pound offense. "The type of kids they have, I definitely want to try to establish the run and make that our bread and butter," Boss said. ...

HATYI, Mo. -- Head football coach Neal Cruce didn't tout his constantly improving record or the accolades he's earned during his time with Hayti High School. The thing that mattered the most and what made his decision to leave the school after four seasons a difficult one was having to say goodbye to a part of his family...

Jersey number: 2 After graduation plans: Attend college to play football Twitter handle: @kwaychon Favorite place to play: The Pit Favorite warmup song: "Super Powers" by Lil Durk Favorite pregame meal: Honeybuns Favorite memory from the season: Winning districts...

Sometimes you know what's coming, and you still can't stop it. Kway'Chon Chisom and Braden Cox both accounted for over 2,400 yards and 35 offensive touchdowns each while playing virtually every snap for Cape Girardeau Central and Scott City football, respectively...

Hayti senior Dayon Moore signed a letter of intent to play football for Butler Community College in El Dorado, Kan., recently at Hayti High School. (Submitted photo)

East Prairie's Deverence Jones chose to stay close to home on National Signing Day. The senior signed to play football for Southeast Missouri State University in Cape Girardeau, Mo., as a preferred walk-on. He was one of 34 signees for the Redhawks on Wednesday...

For Kway'Chon Chisom, Wednesday was a year in the making. When Chisom celebrated a football future with Southeast Missouri State during a signing day ceremony on Wednesday afternoon at Cape Girardeau Central High School, he was following in the footsteps of SEMO freshman and childhood friend Al Young. Exactly a year earlier, Young had signed with the Redhawks with Chisom in the audience...

Kendall Barber, Perryville Central Methodist University Men's Track and Field Sam Brennan, Notre Dame Benedictine College Women's basketball Sophia Bright, Jackson Shawnee Community College Softball Abbi Brown, Chaffee Shawnee Community College Softball...

The 2017 Semoball Awards are still five and a half months away, but on Friday the 55 finalists from the eight fall sport categories were announced during the selection show broadcast live on SEMO ESPN Radio. Finalists were selected for football offense (10), football defense (10), volleyball (10), boys soccer (5), boys cross country (5), girls cross country (5), boys swimming (5) and girls tennis (5)...

Charlie Vickery has won more than 200 games and 11 conference titles, but when the longtime football coach looks back on his storied career a victory or championship isn’t what stands out. For Vickery, who officially stepped down Thursday as Chaffee head coach after 16 years at the school, it was always about the kids. Working with the players every day, seeing them grow -- those are Vickery’s fondest memories. That’s what he’ll miss the most.

More about Mills Grade: Senior Position: Quarterback Passing stats: 170-290, 2,347 yards, 32 TDs Rushing stats: 115 carries, 1,044 yards, 19 TDs Notes: Hayti's high-octane offense was headed by its shifty, strong-armed quarterback, who could hurt you through the air or on the ground. ...

More about Stinnett Grade: Senior Position: Defensive lineman Defensive stats: 97 tackles, 25 TFL, 5 Sacks, 4 FF, 2 FR, 1 INT Notes: Stinnett became just the second Sikeston player to win the Derland Moore Award named for the best defensive player in the SEMO Conference. ...

Sikeston senior Sam Cox was named to the 2016 Class 3 all-state team after leading the Bulldogs in goals scored. Cox was named to the second team after scoring 16 goals. He was second on the team with seven assists. The senior was also named to the SEMO Conference all-conference team...

Carr Trophy winner Kway'Chon Chisom has added another postseason award to his senior campaign. The Cape Central standout earned first-team honors as a Class 4 all-state defensive back by the Missouri Football Coaches Association. Chisom, who also started at quarterback for the Tigers, finished the year with 62 tackles, eight pass breakups and four interceptions. The 5-foot-10, 175-pound Chisom was an all-conference selection on both sides of the ball for the third straight season...

POPLAR BLUFF, Mo. -- The SEMO North Conference swept the two biggest awards at the 71st Annual Poplar Bluff Letter Club Gridiron Banquet on Wednesday at the Black River Coliseum. Cape Central quarterback Kway'Chon Chisom was awarded the SEMO Conference's highest honor with the Carr Trophy as the most outstanding football player...

The SEMO North Conference swept the two biggest awards during the 71st Annual Poplar Bluff Letter Club Gridiron Banquet at the Black River Coliseum on Wednesday night. Sikeston's Josh Stinnett was honored with the Derland Moore Award as the top defensive player in the conference...

When the town of Monroe City is mentioned among East Prairie football fans it's usually followed with a big groan. They remember all too well how Monroe City dealt a huge blow to one of East Prairie's most celebrated football teams in 1994 and it's not a pleasant memory...

For the second consecutive week in a Cape Girardeau Central football playoff game, a turnover in a single-possession game led to a game-changing touchdown just a few plays later. But this week Central was the victim, not the beneficiary of that sudden sequence of events, as the Tigers fell to Ladue Horton Watkins 31-28 in a Class 4 quarterfinal on Friday in Cape Girardeau, Missouri...

ST. LOUIS -- After an entire season of scoring at will, Malden's offense came crashing down. The Green Wave only scored once in the first quarter and late in the fourth as Trinity Catholic scored a touchdown in each frame to dismantle Malden for a 53-13 victory in a Class 2 quarterfinal Friday night at Gallagher Field...

ST. LOUIS, Mo. -- A third-straight semifinal appearance from the Malden Green Wave wasn't in the cards Friday night in St. Louis, Mo. Trinity Catholic, the third-ranked team in Class 2 defeated No. 5 Malden 53-13 to end Malden's season at 11-1 during a Class 2 quarterfinal game at Trinity High School...

The turning point for Cape Central's offensive line, and possibly the offense or even the team, came in a loss. Not a win. Five weeks into the season, Central fell 36-34 at Class 5 Poplar Bluff. While the Tigers dropped below .500 with the defeat, coach Arlen Pixley was satisfied with a new-look offensive line. The unit opened holes as Central's offense piled up 548 total yards, including 404 on the ground...

HILLSBORO, Mo. -- Cape Girardeau Central quarterback Kway'Chon Chisom has won four district titles, one every season. But for the senior signal-caller, Friday was a new experience. Chisom scored a career-high eight touchdowns -- five passing and three rushing -- and compiled 415 yards of offense as No. ...

MALDEN -- For the better part of a decade the Caruthersville Tigers owned their yearly meetings with Malden, winning all but once from 2004 to 2013. How quickly things change. Coming into Friday's Class 2, District 1 championship game, the Green Wave had taken their last five games against the Tigers dating back to 2014 as they've met each regular season and again in the playoffs...

STE. GENEVIEVE, Mo. -- Hayti's football team knew that its road to the playoffs would have to go through Valle Catholic High School. It was an inevitable collision course that was set in motion when MSHSAA released its new enrollment breaks showing that Hayti had dropped to Class 1 in April...

With tears in their eyes, the seniors exchanged hugs with one another as the Jackson football team left the field following Friday night's Class 5 District 1 championship at The Pit. There wasn't much to be said amidst the heartbreak of an all-too-familiar outcome -- for the second year in a row, the Indians dropped an identical 49-14 decision against a physically superior St. John Vianney squad...

See where your local reporters land during this week's Media Football Pick 'Em.

After winning the last three Class 4 District 1 titles, Cape Central football feels like it owns the district crown. Heading into the district final at 7 p.m. Friday at Hillsboro, the Tigers aren't ready to give up control of that championship. Fifth-seeded Central will look to win its third district game on the road in as many weeks against the second-seeded Hawks, who are fresh off a 73-46 demolition of Sikeston...

When Jackson football steps onto the field Friday night, the Indians will be squaring off with a familiar foe, one that ended their season last fall. It will be the ninth meeting between St. John Vianney and Jackson since 2012, and the fifth in the Class 5 District 1 tournament. ...

Our prep football glance gives vital information for our local teams entering their weekly matchups. Learn your team's opponent, go-to players and the series history between the two throughout the season. Caruthersville at Malden Records: Malden 10-0; Caruthersville 8-3...

FARMINGTON, MO. -- Farmington football fell victim to a problem Friday that has plagued many of Cape Girardeau Central's opponents this year: an explosive backfield. With dual-threat quarterback Kway'Chon Chisom and running back Aaron Harris, a second-team All-State selection last year, leading the way, the No. 5-seed Tigers averaged over nine yards a carry and rushed for 390 yards in a 35-14 road win over No. 1-seed Farmington in the Class 4 District 1 semifinals...

In what appears to be a recurring trend, brothers Jordan and Quentin Kent continue to electrify the Jackson football team’s offense. The two brothers accounted for 392 yards from scrimmage and seven of the Indians’ eight touchdowns, as top-seeded Jackson scored 36 points in the second half to pull away with a 56-35 win over fourth-seeded Rockwood Summit in a Class 5 District 1 semifinal on Friday at The Pit...

From all the emotion and sentiment that came from honoring survivors and those lost to cancer at Saturday's Pink Up Game, the Southeast Missouri State football team found reinforcement to the lesson constantly preached by its head coach. The message is one of response...

HILLSBORO, Mo. -- All season long the Sikeston Bulldogs trotted out one of the stingiest run defenses in the area. It could be why Sikeston's coaching staff felt confident about the team's chances heading into Friday's Class 4, District 1 semifinal game against run-oriented Hillsboro...

HAYTI, Mo. -- Scott City coach Jim May came into Friday's MSHSAA Class 1 District 1 semifinal with a wish list of particulars that would facilitate an upset of state-ranked Hayti, but he had one general wish he wanted the most. "We came out and did what we said we were going to do," May said. ...

CARUTHERSVILLE -- A huge start by second-seeded Caruthersville proved too much for the third-seeded East Prairie Eagles to overcome Friday in the Class 2, District 1 semifinals. Big plays and mistakes by the Eagles gave the Tigers a 35-point cushion early in the contest and by the time East Prairie's offense got going, Caruthersville was well on its way to a 70-22 win, sending them to their fifth straight title game...

After pulling off the mild upset last week against St. Vincent, the Portageville Bulldogs couldn't muster a giant upset against the defending champions. Fifth-seeded Portageville fell 46-7 to top-seeded Valle during the Class 1, District 1 semifinals in Ste. Genevieve, Mo., ending their season at 4-7...

STE. GENEVIEVE, Mo. - The Kennett Indians recorded the first touchdown of each half but were unable to win the rest of the playoff battle Friday night at Ste. Genevieve. The second-seeded Ste. Genevieve Dragons responded with the final three touchdowns of each half as it rallied from an early 7-0 deficit to collect a 41-14 home win against third-seeded Kennett in a Class 3, District 1 semifinal...

Halloween is fast approaching, but it's not the reason Cape Central football coach Arlen Pixley has been watching the same horror film over and over. The cause is tonight's Class 4 District 1 semifinal for which his fifth-seeded Tigers will travel to Farmington, Missouri, to face the top-seeded Knights...

HILLSBORO, Mo. -- The Sikeston Bulldogs have been in this position before. Under the current playoff format, Sikeston has reached the district semifinals three times in the last four years heading into this season. And all three times the Bulldogs' season came to an end...

Portageville at Valle Catholic Records: Portageville 4-6; Valle Catholic 8-1 Series history: Valle leads 5-0 Last meeting: 2013, Valle won 42-0 Last week: Portageville defeated St. Vincent 35-14; Valle was idle Notes: These two schools have hooked up just five times in their history and the series has been owned by Valle, who has allowed the Bulldogs just 10 points in those five games. ...

The Kennett Indians and Ste. Genevieve Dragons are set to square off in the Class 3 high school football playoffs for the fourth time in the last five seasons after both programs collected district quarterfinal victories Friday night. No. 3 seeded Kennett booked its spot in the district semifinal with a convincing 41-0 victory against No. 6 seeded Dexter...

KENNETT, Mo. - Kennett quarterback Patrick Maddox entered the first round of the high school football playoffs hoping himself and his entire team could raise their game a notch in their second meeting with the Dexter Bearcats after collected a 36-22 win in Round 1 earlier this season...

Shortly after last season had come to a close for the Scott City football team, coach Jim May had a pretty good idea of how he wanted his offense to look in 2016. May came to starting quarterback Ty Wilthong and told him there was going to be a concentrated effort to handing the ball off to 6-foot-3, 218-pound running back Braden Cox. ...

DESLOGE, Mo. -- Cape Girardeau Central senior quarterback Kway'Chon Chisom has been a member of Tigers teams that have started their path to district titles at home the past three seasons. Chisom, who helped all three teams advance to the Class 4 semifinals and a state championship game appearance in 2014, is taking a different rout in his farewell year...