Charleston

SIKESTON — Below is a list compiled of the Standard-Democrat area’s 12 best boys’ basketball players — outside of the player of the year. Eight schools make up the Standard-Democrat coverage area: Sikeston, Scott County Central, Oran, Portageville, East Prairie, Charleston, New Madrid County Central, and Kelly...

Host sites are set for most district tournaments if spring sports resume in Missouri. Missouri high schools remain out of session and all springs sports activities and practices are currently suspended due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Indiana High School Athletics Association canceled spring sports in Indiana Thursday due to the VOVID-19 pandemic...

Good Sports is a column featured weekly in the Southeast Missourian and on semoball.com. It is primarily designed to showcase people who have impacted the sporting life of Southeast Missouri, so that readers may get to know them more fully. Responses have been edited for clarity and brevity...

SIKESTON — Below is a list compiled of the Standard-Democrat area’s 12 best girls’ basketball players: Height: 5’10” Coach: Alisha Wills ABOUT HER: An all-around player for the Lady Bulldogs this season, Allen did nearly everything that Sikeston asked her to do. ...

The 2019-2020 SEMO Conference all-conference boys basketball awards have been released. Sikeston senior Payton Howard is the SEMO Conference Boys Basketball Player of the Year. Howard, who has signed to play baseball at St. Louis University, led the conference in scoring with 175 points in regular-season conference action. He averaged 22 points per conference game...

The Missouri State High School Activities Association issued an update regarding the status of spring sports amidst the COVID-19 pandemic Tuesday. “While schools across the state are determining the best course of action during this unprecedented time, the Missouri State High School Activities Association (MSHSAA) office staff continues to prepare for Spring Championships,” MSHSAA said in a press release. ...

SIKESTON — Danny Farmer’s announcement to retire after the state championship game of the Class 3 Show-Me Showdown was one that he told his team at the beginning of the season. For nearly five months, his decision was a secret. On the sidelines with one team for over 20 years, Farmer now heads into a different direction — one without game plans and practices — while the Bluejays do the same...

SIKESTON — It was a dream come true. Those were the words that former Charleston Bluejay Demarcus Sharp said after earning an offer from Dana Ford and the Missouri State University Bears. Sharp announced his commitment to the program on Wednesday via his Twitter account...

SIKESTON — Multiple Standard-Democrat area basketball players earned spots on their respective All-District teams recently. Sikeston seniors Payton Howard and Clark Steward both made the team for Class 4, District 1. Senior Taydrianna Barnett and sophomore Karris Allen both made it on the girls’ side as well...

The preseason Missouri high school baseball state rankings were released Wednesday by the Missouri High School Baseball Coaches Association. Six baseball teams from the semoball.com coverage area are state-ranked. Cooter, which placed third in Class 1 last spring and finished 22-1 in its fall campaign, is ranked No. ...

SIKESTON — Just as spring sports begin to start through the state of Missouri, a worldwide pandemic shuts all of it down. Still, with a hope that their respective seasons will begin, three Standard-Democrat coaches are looking to hopefully start their seasons and give their seniors a chance to play with their friends one final time...

A slew of basketball players from the Missouri Bootheel have been named to all-district teams. Listed below are the boys and girls all-district basketball teams for Class 1, District 1; Class 2, District 1; and Class 3, District 1. Class 1, District 1 All-District Team...

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. — Long-time Charleston head coach Danny Farmer announced after Saturday's state championship game that he was going to retire. Farmer said that he told his team at the beginning of the season. He finished his career with the Bluejays with a 485-178 record — good for a 69 percent winning percentage...

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. — It wasn’t their time. Charleston’s quest for a 12th state championship was gone in a hurry on Saturday against Cardinal Ritter in the finals of the Show-Me Showdown at JQH Arena in Springfield. From the second-quarter-on, the No. 2 team in Class 3 never let up on the Bluejays, defeating them 88-32. The score marked the most lopsided win for a team in championship game history in any class...

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. — It wasn’t a typical Charleston Bluejays finish on Friday. The Bluejays trailed 22-20 at halftime, but still clawed their way to a 51-49 win against Monroe City, in the semifinals of the Class 3 Show-Me Showdown at JQH Arena in Springfield...

Spring sports for Missouri high schools will start as planned next week, MSHSAA announced Friday after releasing district assignments. "We re monitoring what is happening from the Missouri Department of Health, the Governor's Office, and the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education," MSHSAA said in a statement Friday...

SIKESTON — It all comes down to this. Three Standard-Democrat area basketball teams are vying for a shot at a state championship starting Friday, on the campus of Missouri State University, in Springfield. Both the Oran girls’ and boys’ basketball teams are making the trip, while the Charleston boys’ team joins them...

FARMINGTON — As the Ava boy’s basketball team discovered very early in its MSHSAA Class 3 Quarterfinal loss to Charleston Saturday, it’s difficult to scout – or prepare for – the Bluejays.

FARMINGTON, Mo – With a senior-heavy roster full of returning starters, the Charleston Bluejays entered the season with the same goal as every other year in recent memory: reach the final four and compete for a state title. Despite struggling most of Saturday afternoon offensively against Ava in the Class 3 quarterfinals, the Bluejays third-straight trip to Springfield never felt in doubt...

KENNETT, Mo. — Charleston hasn’t felt the sour taste of defeat in a district tournament in quite some time. March 5, 2010, to be exact. The Bluejays dominance — once district play rolls around — continued on Friday night, at Kennett High School, as the Bluejays defeated New Madrid County Central, 74-53, to win the Class 3, District 1 Tournament championship...

Good Sports is a weekly feature appearing in the Southeast Missourian and online at Semoball.com. It profiles the life of a person connected to sports and allows readers the opportunity to know the people who are impacting athletics throughout Southeast Missouri in a deeper way. Responses have been edited for brevity and clarity...

KENNETT, Mo. - Charleston varsity boys basketball coach Danny Farmer doesn’t count the wins and losses. But he loves winning. “I just go play and try to win,” Farmer said. “I don’t keep up with the numbers. I just love to coach and love to win.” Farmer won again Tuesday night. ...

KENNETT, Mo. — Christen Phillips had no intention of ending his senior season on-the-court Saturday afternoon. The 6-0 guard scored a game-high 28 points, as the No. 2 seed New Madrid County Central routed No. 7 seed East Prairie 76-45 in the first round of the Class 3, District 1 Tournament at Kennett High School, in Kennett, Mo...

Five boys basketball teams and two girls basketball teams from the Semoball.com coverage area are ranked in the final regular-season state poll released by the Missouri Basketball Coaches Association. Delta (21-5), which is the No. 1 seed in Class 1, District 2, drops two spots to No. 9 in the Class 1 boys poll...

POPLAR BLUFF, Mo. — Charleston coach Danny Farmer said he's never had a starting five of all seniors. "They've been together awhile and we talk about they want to do some great things," Farmer said. "That's our goal, try to do some great things." With the MSHSAA district playoffs starting Saturday, the Bluejays tuned up with an 87-60 SEMO Conference win at Poplar Bluff that gave Farmer 500 wins at Charleston...

The Kelly Hawks trailed at halftime, but outscored Delta 22-5 in the third quarter to edge out the Bobcats 76-66 to pick up the home win in both teams regular season finale.

CHARLESTON, Mo – Tuesday had all the makings of a memorable senior night for the Charleston Bluejays. Not only were the Bluejays looking to close out their home schedule with a 12th-straight victory, but they had the chance to do it against SEMO Conference Tournament champion Cape Central while giving head coach Danny Farmer the 500th win of his career...

Charleston's James Durden signs his National Letter of Intent to continue his football and academic career at Itasca Community College, in Grand Rapids, Minnesota, on Friday, Feb. 7.

The postseason for MSHSAA basketball is nearing and the seedings and schedule for District play throughout Southeast Missouri were recently set.

Six boys basketball teams and three girls basketball teams from the Semoball.com coverage area are ranked in the latest state poll released by the Missouri Basketball Coaches Association Thursday. Delta (19-4), which has won nine of its last 10, drops a spot to No. 7 in the Class 1 boys poll...

The brackets are set for the Class 3, District 1 basketball tournament at Kennett High School. Defending champion Charleston (19-3), which is ranked No. 3 in the latest Class 3 state poll, is seeded No. 1 in the boys bracket. ...

CHARLESTON, Mo. — Not even 24 hours removed from a dominating win over Poplar Bluff on Friday night, the Sikeston boys basketball team returned to action against Lift for Life on Saturday at Charleston High School. The first half was one to forget for the Bulldogs, as they trailed by 10, 36-26, heading into the break, en route to a 70-66 loss...

Six boys basketball teams and two girls basketball teams from the Semoball.com coverage area are ranked in the latest state poll released by the Missouri Basketball Coaches Association. Delta, which had won nine straight as it beat Oak Ridge 105-86 in the semifinal of the Scott-Mississippi County Conference Tournament Friday, remains No. 6 in the Class 1 boys state poll. Oak Ridge (12-9) moves into the rankings at No. 10 in the Class 1 boys state poll...

CHARLESTON, Mo – As the regular season winds down, the Charleston Bluejays continue to pick up steam. On Tuesday, the Bluejays picked up their eighth win in a row, using a hail of threes to down SEMO Conference rival Jackson 69-50. “It’s really good to pick up a conference win,” Charleston head coach Danny Farmer said. “It’s also good that it’s coming in the last half of the season. I have some guys that have picked it up some...

The Notre Dame defense was the story in this one as they held Cape Central to 29 points on the way to a 58-29 road win.

KENNETT, Mo. - Charleston Bluejays varsity boys basketball coach Danny Farmer believes his squad has learned how to handle falling behind early against tough opponents. “We’ve been in so many pressure situations the whole year,” Farmer said. “I think we are accustomed to and know how to play catchup after playing so many tough, close games.”...

KENNETT, Mo. — Everything in life depends on your perspective.

Addie Cates led St. Vincent (9-8) to dominating 52-8 victory scoring 13 points (including two 3-pointers) against Crystal City (3-12) on Wednesday.

Seven boys basketball teams and two girls basketball teams from the Semoball coverage area are ranked in the latest state poll released Wednesday by the Missouri Basketball Coaches Association. Delta (16-3), which is unbeaten in the month of January, has moved up two spots to No. 6 in the Class 1 boys poll...

CHARLESTON, Mo – Ever since their loss to rival Sikeston earlier this month, the Charleston Bluejays have been on a roll. Responding to the setback, the Bluejays have reeled off six-straight wins, claiming the Superman Classic championship in the process and averaging a 30-point margin-of-victory...

CHARLESTON, Mo. — After holding on to a 28-26 lead at halftime, the start of the second half was not how the Charleston girls basketball team had envisioned. Scoring the first points of the third quarter on a basket from senior Ashanti Jones, Charleston, at the time, held a 30-26 lead over No. 7-seed Chaffee in the first round of the Scott-Mississippi County Conference Tournament at Charleston High School on Saturday...

Charleston won the 37th annual City of Metropolis Superman Classic boy's basketball tournament Saturday by beating Massac County 63-49.

The Webster Groves Statesman did not have a double-digit scorer, but eked out a 41-34 home victory over the Jackson Indians.

Six Semoball boys basketball teams and two Semoball girls basketball teams are ranked in the latest state rankings provided by the Missouri Basketball Coaches Association. Delta (14-3), which is unbeaten in the month of January, is ranked No. 8 in the Class 1 boys poll...

Mistavia Murry almost handled Meridian by herself Wednesday in girl’s basketball action. The Charleston player scored 30 points in helping the Bluejays (9-5) win 68-32. Murray got help from Ashanti Jones, who added 26 in the win. The Bluejays are competing in the Scott-Mississippi Conference Tournament this week...

The Bobcats held the Hornets to one point in the first quarter and never looked back as they picked up a 63-33 home victory.

The Blue Jays used a 20-9 third quarter to pull away from the Hornets and pick up the home victory.

BENTON, Mo. — Kelly outscored Chaffee by 20 points, 26-6, in the third quarter to push its lead even further on Friday night at Thomas W. Kelly High School. Joel McClain led the charge, scoring nine of his 17 points in the frame. He tied Gavin Jansen for most points on the team as well...

KENNETT, Mo. - The Kennett Indians varsity girls basketball team played from behind until the final second of the third quarter but managed to put together the finish it needed to beat the Charleston Bluejays Thursday afternoon. Caroline Patton, who finished with a team-high 17 points, hit a 2-point basket at the end of the third quarter to give Kennett its first lead at 25-24. The Indians also won the fourth quarter by a bucket as it edged visiting Charleston 36-33...

NEW MADRID, Mo. — A game that went Charleston’s way early, as well as late, had its fair share of fireworks on Tuesday night at New Madrid County Central High School. The Bluejays rebounded from an emotional loss to Sikeston on Friday night, with a wire-to-wire victory over NMCC, 66-48...