Charleston

MALDEN - Charleston's first four drives amounted to 15 plays, 38 total yards and two turnovers. The Blue Jays found their form as the game went on, scored on their final drive of the game and beat Malden 28-20 on Friday in Malden. "We had to go to our playmakers," Charleston coach Justin Hutchings said. "They did a great job on that last drive."...

MALDEN, Mo. — Behind strong defense and effective serving, the Sikeston volleyball team defeated Malden in straight-sets, 25-10, 25-19. The Bulldogs served 12 aces, blocked seven shots, and had 30 digs in the match. Emma-Claire Self and Emily McHaffie each had three aces. Khrystionna Swann, Taydrianna Barnett, and Alivia Cobb each had two...

There will be many eyes in Southeast Missouri on this game; the Rams, off to their first 6-0 start since 2004, have had their eyes on it for quite some time.

Farmington at Sikeston Records: Farmington 5-1; Sikeston 2-4 Series History: Sikeston leads 23-18-1 Last Meeting: 2018, Farmington won 24-6 Last Week: Farmington lost to Jackson 35-14; Sikeston beat Charleston 27-12. Notes: An injury-riddled season has hurt Gage Rolwing’s senior campaign for Sikeston. ...

KENNETT, Mo. - After graduating four of its six starters off of last season’s varsity squad longtime Kennett girls tennis coach Janet Hilburn spent more time than usual focusing on fundamentals and mental toughness entering the 2019 season. “We had to work more on fundamentals and strategy this season,” Hilburn said. ...

LAST MEETING: Charleston beat Malden 58-38 LAST WEEK: Hayti beat Malden 56-14; Sikeston beat Charleston 27-12 HEAD TO HEAD STREAK: Charleston leads series 23-17-1 ABOUT CHARLESTON: Charleston beat Portageville 48-8 in Week 1, Hayti beat Charleston 36-7 in Week 2, Charleston beat Doniphan 20-0 in Week 3, Scott City beat Charleston 35-7 in Week 4, Charleston beat Kelly 24-10 in Week 5, and Sikeston beat Charleston 27-12 in Week 6. ...

PORTAGEVILLE, Mo. — Winners of its last four matches, the Sikeston volleyball team traveled to Portageville on Tuesday night, hoping to make five-straight victories. Sikeston got just that, as they swept Portageville 25-19, 25-16. Emily McHaffie led the team with eight kills and tied for the team-lead with 11 digs. Khrystionna Swann also had 11 digs...

CHARLESTON, Mo. — The Sikeston Bulldogs put together their most complete game of the season on Friday in the 134th matchup with rival Charleston. The Bulldogs racked up season-highs in rushing yards and total yards as well as four turnovers forced in a 27-12 victory over the Bluejays at Marshall Field...

The masses have fervently called for a revised Semoball.com Football Power Rankings and the analytics department has delivered it.

It’s midseason in high school football, a time to put away the preseason hype and see who is producing. One of the most impressive performers in the Standard Democrat coverage area, which consists of Sikeston, Charleston, East Prairie, Kelly, New Madrid County Central, and Portageville, is NMCC running back Quazavion Jackson...

SIKESTON — A 10-error game cost the Sikeston softball team from a win on Thursday afternoon against Kelly. The Bulldogs committed 10 errors in the game, as the Hawks went on to win 8-1. All of Kelly’s runs were unearned. Four different Kelly players earned multiple hits in the game...

Sikeston at Charleston Records: Sikeston 1-4; Charleston 3-2 Series History: Sikeston leads 94-35-4 Last Meeting: 2018, Charleston won 20-7 Last Week: Sikeston lost to Cape Central 33-0; Charleston defeated Kelly 24-10 Notes: Failing to reach the end zone in each of the last two weeks, the Sikeston football team is looking to find paydirt in a Week 6 matchup against rival Charleston, at John H. ...

Senior Kyla Beel hammered 24 kills and tallied 14 digs as the Leopold volleyball team rallied after dropping the first set to rebound and eke out a 21-25, 25-22, 25-23 victory over Dexter on Tuesday at Leopold High School. Sophomore Paige Davis contributed 25 assists and...

SIKESTON — Emily Pullen’s first season as the Sikeston head volleyball coach has been a struggle. Coming into Monday’s match against Charleston, the Bulldogs entered with a 2-11 record, with none of the wins coming at home, until Monday night. The Bulldogs defeated the Blue Jays in straight-sets, 27-25, 25-7 to earn their first victory at the Sikeston Field House...

BENTON, Mo – A lockdown defense paired with a stout run game put the Charleston Bluejays back on the winning track against host Kelly Friday night. Kelly was held to just 56 totals yards while the Bluejays’ collected a pair of safeties, including a pivotal one late, to guide Charleston to a 24-10 win...

New Madrid Central football held the top spot in the area power rankings this week. The rankings combine a team's MSHSAA point total, use bonus points for wins against other Semoball-area teams, road wins, and a team's Massey Rating.

Cape Central at Sikeston Records: Cape Central 2-2; Sikeston 1-3 Series History: Sikeston leads 54-46-7 Last Meeting: 2018, Sikeston won 21-0 Last Week: Cape Central lost to Farmington 23-6; Sikeston lost to Jackson 53-0. Notes: After 12 seasons roaming the sidelines for the Red and Black, former Sikeston head coach Kent Gibbs returns, on the visiting side, Friday night. ...

NEELYVILLE, Mo. — Six different Sikeston softball players collected multiple hits in Tuesday’s 14-10 win over Neelyville. Jordi James, Megan Witt, Emma Drury, Nayla Bonner, Sarah Keller, and Sydney Burton each had two hits for the Bulldogs. Both Drury and Bonner drove in a pair of runs as well, as the Bulldogs exploded for 16 hits...

Top volleyball teams from the Missouri Bootheel are set to collide this weekend at the Gideon Invitational. Four of the 15 teams in the varsity tournament are enjoying winning records following play Monday. Host Gideon, which won the Gideon Invitational in 2018, is off to a 13-1-2 start. Its only loss this season is to Southern Reynolds (Ellington) in the championship of Dig for Life Classic Sept. 14...

CHARLESTON, Mo – In just over a minute, Scott City was able to seize momentum and play spoiler to Charleston’s Homecoming Friday night. Back-to-back touchdowns right before halftime broke open what had been a tie game and the Rams never looked back on their way to a 35-7 win that kept them undefeated on the season...

SIKESTON — The Sikeston girls tennis team dropped its match to Kennett on Thursday. The Bulldogs got swept in every singles and doubles match. In singles matches, Mackenzie Conway lost to Anelle Harris. Isabel Collins fell to Taylor Hufford while Claudia Santos lost to Kamryn Jaco. Audrey Phillips defeated Quinn Riley, Zakyirrah Montjoy lost to Molly McClain, and Katelin Taber fell to Carley Winston to round out singles’ competition...

Semoball’s analytical wizard (Brian Rosener, sports editor for the Daily American Republic) has crunched the numbers and formed a prep football ranking system of area teams throughout the Semoball-coverage area.

Mackenzie Stoner slammed eight kills as the Jackson volleyball team denied host Notre Dame its 10th win of the season and picked up a big conference victory in straight sets (25-10, 25-19) on Thursday in Cape Girardeau. Hannah Shinn and Olivia Ward chipped in seven kills apiece for the Indians. ...

Jackson at Sikeston Records: Jackson 3-0; Sikeston 1-2 Series History: Sikeston leads 56-41-6 Last Meeting: 2018, Jackson won 56-14 Last Week: Jackson defeated Cape Central 35-0; Sikeston lost to Poplar Bluff 61-18. Notes: Dominance is one way to look at the Jackson football program, especially this season. ...

CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. — Megan Witt and Emma Drury came up big in a clutch situation on Tuesday night against Cape Central. After Sarah Keller led off the sixth inning with a single, and Jordi James and Naudia Lazcano were promptly hit by pitches, Witt gave Sikeston the 6-5 lead on a sacrifice fly...

PERRYVILLE, Mo. – Third-year Perryville football coach Blane Boss may feel like kicking a wall at times, as his Pirate squad is being besieged by injuries for the second straight season. However, he isn’t admitting any frustration publicly.

FREDERICKTOWN, Mo. — Dylan Thornbrough and Heath Poindexter netted the only two goals for the Sikeston boys soccer team in Thursday night’s loss to Fredericktown. The Bulldogs fell into an early hole, down 3-0, before making the game interesting. Sikeston (0-8) is getting outscored 40-6 this season...

SIKESTON — Kennett and Notre Dame showed their dominance, after winning the singles and doubles’ crowns respectively at the Sikeston Invitational on Thursday afternoon. It was an all-Indians and all-Bulldogs final in both matches, as Anelle Harris defeated Taylor Hufford, 8-0, to win the title...

After two weeks of the high school football season, we are starting to get a clearer picture of teams and players. Here are my top takeaways from the first two weeks of the high school football season for our coverage area schools. Sikeston The Bulldogs need to find an offense and fast. ...

SIKESTON AT POPLAR BLUFF Records: Sikeston 1-1; Poplar Bluff 1-1 Series History: Sikeston leads 56-36-4 Last Meeting: 2018, Sikeston won 34-0 Last Week: Sikeston lost to McCluer North 36-0; Poplar Bluff defeated Riverview Gardens 48-8. Notes: Offense was a struggle for the Sikeston football team last week, as the Bulldogs got shut out by McCluer North in the second-straight meeting. ...

PERRYVILLE, Mo. — It was a tough night on the diamond for the Sikeston softball team Tuesday evening. The Bulldogs fell to Perryville 9-4, with all of the runs coming in the fourth inning. Jordi James started the Bulldogs rally with a single. Naudia Lazcano then followed that up with a base hit of her own, and Megan Witt reached on an error by the second baseman to load the bases for Emma Drury...

The Notre Dame volleyball dropped the first set at home to Sikeston, but bounced back for a three-set victory to stay unbeaten. The Bulldogs prevailed 14-25, 25-15, 25-14 to improve to 2-0. Notre Dame did not start off well but found its groove in the second set and never looked back. Rylee McClintock led the comeback with her all-around play, finishing with seven kills, 12 digs and two aces. Sarah Brennan was the facilitator all night for Notre Dame with 18 assists...

CHARLESTON, Mo. — If you were to look at the final score of the Charleston and Hayti game on Friday, you would think that it was an early decision. Charleston, however, controlled the first half in a 36-7 loss. The Bluejays led 7-6 heading into the break after Teejay Williams scored on a five-yard run with 8:52 left in the half...

BENTON, Mo. — In a rematch from the Class 2 Sectionals one year ago, the Kelly softball team held its home-opener against East Carter at Kelly High School. Kelly Ivy allowed two earned run, on seven hits. She walked one batter and struck out one, and was the loser in the decision...

History was made on Thursday for the inaugural Saxony Lutheran girls tennis program. But it was made on another school's turf. The Crusaders posted an 8-1 victory over Charleston on Thursday at Cape Girardeau Central High School as Saxony does not yet have a tennis court on its campus in Fruitland. The Crusaders are fielding both a varsity and junior varsity tennis team for the first time in the school's history...

McCluer North at Sikeston Records: McCluer North 0-1; Sikeston 1-0 Series history: McCluer North leads 1-0 Last meeting: 2018, McCluer North won 7-0 Last week: McCluer North lost to Edwardsville, Ill. 7-6; Sikeston defeated Vashon 24-18 Notes: McCluer North’s game against always tough Edwardsville, Ill., ended with the Stars down 7-6 late in the first quarter. ...

CHARLESTON, Mo. - The Kennett varsity girls tennis team rebounded nicely Wednesday afternoon after dropping it season opener at Notre Dame Tuesday. Kennett won all singles and doubles matches as it won at Charleston 9-0. Kennett is back in action Thursday at 4 p.m. when it hosts Jackson...

SIKESTON — The Sikeston softball team opened up its season on Tuesday afternoon, against Naylor at the Sikeston Recreation Complex. Leading 5-0 after three innings of play it looked like the Bulldogs were bound for a victory. The Eagles, though, had other plans, scoring seven unanswered runs to defeat the Bulldogs 7-5 and spoil the home-opener...

PORTAGEVILLE, Mo. — Friday night lights returned for all of the football teams in the area. In Portageville, a new-look Charleston team took the field against the host-Bulldogs, without Q’Nairies Anderson in the backfield. So far, so good for the Bluejays, as Charleston (1-0) eased past Portageville 48-8...

Following three weeks of fall camp, high school football players throughout Southeast Missouri finally get to compete with the scoreboard turned on tonight.

Vashon at Sikeston Records: Vashon 0-0; Sikeston 0-0 Series history: Sikeston leads 1-0 Last meeting: 2018, Sikeston won 64-0 Last week: NA Notes: Last year was the first time these two schools met, and Sikeston dominated it. The Bulldogs held Vashon to -19 total yards in the game while scoring 58 points in the first half. ...

With the high school football jamborees in the book, it’s now time that we turn our attention to the regular season. Every year as a sports staff, we sit around before the season and choose which games we are going to cover.  That got me to thinking. If I could cover any game each week, featuring one of our coverage area teams, what would it be? So I decided to look closer and see that there are some interesting matchups this season as it progresses...

CHARLESTON, Mo. — For the first time in four years, dynamic running back Q’Nairies Anderson will not line up in the backfield for the Bluejays on Friday nights. Additionally, for the first time in nine seasons, neither will former head coach Brett Blackman...

CHARLESTON, Mo. — Improvement is what Charleston girls’ tennis coach Josh Thompson wants to see from his team this season. Entering his fifth season with the program, Thompson said that the number of wins his team has ended the season with had increased every year...

A few hours before preseason jamborees got underway Friday night some schools in the Missouri Bootheel learned they will be battling new opponents when the state playoffs begin later this fall. The Missouri High School Activities Association released 2019 class and district assignments for most fall sports Friday...

CHARLESTON, Mo. — Incoming head coach, Lenzi O’Connor’s first Charleston Lady Bluejays team, will be one filled with underclassmen. Five of the 14 players on the team are upperclassmen. Nicole Hart, Keona O’Neal, and Kania Wiley are seniors, while Joriana Mixon and Mistavia Murray are the juniors...

There are eight running backs on the 2019 Southeast Missouri State football roster, so trying to standout among the group, particularly if you are a true freshman, is extremely challenging. However, it is no more so daunting of a task than trying to run through a 400-pound wall of defense with the entire program watching.

SIKESTON — Every summer, coaching changes tend to occur. In the area, there will be multiple new faces on the sidelines for their respective programs. At Sikeston, Terry Flannigan returns to the Bulldogs football team, after his previous stint at Chaffee. He replaces Kent Gibbs who, after 12 years with Sikeston, heads to Cape Central...