Poplar Bluff

It took a big rally for Jackson to earn a shot to defend their title in the championship game of the SEMO Conference Volleyball Tournament Thursday at the Cape Girardeau SportsPlex.

There was no shortage of intense moments on the athletic fields and courts throughout Southeast Missouri last week, as area athletes prepare for the looming postseason competition. Sikeston boy’s soccer player, Brice Gordon, and Kelly softball player, Ava LeGrand, each excelled in their endeavors and were voted by fans as the Semoball.com Athletes of the Week...

For the second time this fall the Poplar Bluff football team will be sitting at home Friday night. The Mules were forced to cancel their game at Hillsboro on Wednesday morning when the school learned that contact tracing of a positive test for COVID-19 limited the number of players available to play...

The Cape Central volleyball team split four games in the opening day of the SEMO Conference Volleyball Tournament held at the Cape SportsPlex Tuesday. The first match pitted them against Notre Dame with the Bulldogs coming out on top, winning in straight sets 25-17 and 25-20...

CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. — Three Standard-Democrat area teams played in the pool play round of the 2020 SEMO Conference Volleyball Tournament Tournament at the Cape Girardeau SportsPlex on Tuesday. Sikeston, Oran, and Charleston were the participants. Sikeston played four matches, while Oran and Charleston played three. New Madrid County Central could not play due to a player becoming exposed to COVID-19...

POPLAR BLUFF — A short five-point run in the third game Monday night ended up being too much to overcome for the Poplar Bluff volleyball team. After splitting the first two games, the Mules pulled even with Cape Central in the third before the Tigers put together a small run with a kill, two blocks and an ace. Another run midway through the fourth game, this time a 7-1 swing, finished off Poplar Bluff as the Tigers won 16-25, 25-15, 25-20, 25-18...

KENNETT - The Kennett Indians offense set the tone from the get-go in its home football contest against the Poplar Bluff Mules Friday night at Metz Cherry Stadium. Junior running back Jordan Jarrett ran 75 yards for a touchdown on the first offensive play of the game to put Kennett on top 7-0 with 11:39 left in the first quarter...

One point and 0.7 of a second decided the girls team title at the SEMO North Conference Cross Country Championships. Haley Smith and Lauren Eftink led Notre Dame across the finish line Thursday at Cape Central High School while Kathryn Taylor also earned an all-conference medal for the Bulldogs...

It was a cold afternoon at the SEMO North Conference meet on Thursday, held at Cape Central High School. The boys varsity 5K was the last race of the event so Poplar Bluff senior Jaden Deaton, he wasn’t just racing to beat 33 other runners but also the sunset...

LAST MEETING: Poplar Bluff won the last meeting against Kennett 48-0 in 1995 LAST WEEK: Poplar Bluff beat Cape Central 50-27; Kennett beat Dexter 50-13 HEAD TO HEAD STREAK: Kennett leads the series 47-19-7 ABOUT POPLAR BLUFF: Poplar Bluff (4-2) beat Agape 42-0 in Week 1, Poplar Bluff beat DeSoto 53-6 in Week 2, Jackson beat Poplar Bluff 56-7 in Week 3, Poplar Bluff beat Sikeston 30-9 in Week 4, Poplar Bluff did not play in Week 5, Farmington beat Poplar Bluff 31-28 in Week 6, and Poplar Bluff beat Cape Central 50-27 in Week 7. ...

Poplar Bluff football coach David Sievers didn’t have much of a voice Friday night when the Mules hosted Cape Central. He needed to have assistant coach Austin Jefferson yell for him on the sideline. “I was pretty useless last Friday,” Sievers said after practice Wednesday afternoon. “And maybe that’s why we played so well...

Sikeston football didn't come out successful in its recent road loss at Potosi but Bulldog quarterback Joseph Heckemeyer earned praise for his effort nonetheless.

Poplar Bluff goalie Dawson Vaughan made a diving save to stop a penalty kick to keep the game tied Tuesday night, but Saxony Lutheran’s Max Richey got to the rebound first to score. Sixty-seven seconds after the Mules pulled even midway through the second half, Jace Boland outran a pair of Poplar Bluff defenders on a through ball up the middle to again break the tie...

Paige Glueck led Oak Ridge over a win-less Marquand team Tuesday in straight sets, 25-9, 25-16, 25-17. Glueck tied the lead in kills with teammate Erin Urhahn, both recording seven while Zoe Berry added five and Mylee Schilling finished with four. Berry also recorded 11 assists...

The Jackson Indians softball team may be in a different class this year but they’re right back to where they left off last season. Led by Karli Johnson’s 12 strikeouts and Brooke Gerau’s home run, the Indians defeated the Poplar Bluff Mules 6-2 on Tuesday at Jackson to advance to the semifinal round of the Class 5, District 1 Tournament...

Poplar Bluff bested both Jackson and Cape Central Tuesday, winning the team combined scores, with Poplar Bluff finished with 88, Cape Central 86, and Jackson totaling 62. Individual results include: Boys 200 Medley Relay: 2. Cape Central- Jack Maxton, Elias Theall, Toby Linn, Garrison Cabral - 2:00.12 10 pts...

The Missouri State High School Activities Association has partnered with HomeTown Ticketing to serve as the official digital ticketing partner for MSHSAA state championship events this fall. Digital tickets will also be an option for all other playoff contests, at the discretion of the host manager...

The new-school approach of using arm bands to call plays and pitches is steadily growing in Southeast Missouri. The benefits are numerous, the problems minimal and the advantages obvious. It’s a relatively new sight. A coach calls out a series of numbers, often three or four of them, everybody on the team looks at the laminated play sheet on their wrist to figure out what they’re supposed to do, and off they go...

Advance was the lone MSHSAA Class 1 team competing in the Jackson Volleyball Tournament Saturday, yet the Hornets showed their prowess in narrowly finishing second to champion Helias Catholic.

POPLAR BLUFF — The seniors had a night for the Poplar Bluff football team. After being honored before kickoff Friday night, the senior Mules accounted for five touchdowns, recovered a fumble, and an onside kick, got a sack and led Poplar Bluff to a 50-27 win over Cape Central at Mules Stadium...

The Poplar Bluff backfield celebrated Senior Night on Friday. Gavyn Hays and Damarieus Robinson lead a Mules rushing attack that is averaging nearly 7 yards per carry. Entering Friday night, the duo has combined for 713 yards and nine touchdowns this season...

Over the past week, the Poplar Bluff soccer team faced the top three state-ranked teams in the area and was shut out each time. “We’ve had a tough week this week,” Mules coach Rusty Crafton said after a 3-0 loss to Perryville on Thursday night. The Pirates scored twice in the opening 10 minutes on goals by Stratton Kaempfe and Colby Hager and added a late goal by Dillion Schlimpert...

While no individual statistics were given, Scott City dropped their record to 5-12-3 on the season with a loss to Jefferson Wednesday. The Rams lost in straight sets, 10-25 and 9-25. Scott City plays Woodland next. The Scott City junior varsity also went down in defeat, losing in three sets, 10-25, 25-17, 5-15...

The Poplar Bluff football coaching staff left reminders all over the locker room this week of how the Mules lost to Cape Central last year. It wasn’t that Poplar Bluff lost 36-0, getting shut out by the Tigers for the first time since 1992, or that all of the scoring was done in the first half. It wasn’t the 292 total yards given up or the three scoring plays of over 20 yards that the coaches wanted to point out from the game’s boxscore...

The Notre Dame High School boy’s soccer team played as close to a perfect game as possible on Tuesday.

Poplar Bluff swim coach Julia Dragon has been asking her athletes to help recruit. Since she is not teaching at the high school, Dragon said she needs help growing the boys program...

BENTON — There was no easy out through the entire Poplar Bluff softball lineup for Kelly on Tuesday.

The Saxony Lutheran girl’s tennis team (third seed) started their Class 1, District 2 team districts play Monday against second seeded Arcadia Valley and won the contest 5-2. In Team districts, the match ends once one team scores five rather than finishing...

Three weeks after getting run-ruled in five innings against Notre Dame, the Poplar Bluff softball team took a two-run lead into the sixth Monday. But the Bulldogs found a way past the Mules’ stingy defense. Bailey Burnett cut into Poplar Bluff’s lead by starting the sixth inning with a home run, and Kadi Dohogne finished a seven-run inning with a grand slam as Notre Dame won 10-5 at Bobby Strenfel Field...

The Poplar Bluff tennis team ended a five-year playoff drought Monday. The fourth-seeded Mules beat fifth-seeded Mehlville 5-0 at the Senior High Courts, advancing to the MSHSAA Class 2 District 1 semifinal for the first time since 2015. Poplar Bluff coach Missy Cox said one of the team’s goal before the start of the season was to advance in the district tournament. Now, the Mules will face top-seeded Farmington (10-2) at 4 p.m. Tuesday...

The Portageville football team got its first taste of success in a long time Friday, as the Bulldogs topped Chaffee 50-32 in Chaffee.

The Cape Central tennis tandem of Emily Ford and Megan Maxton recently claimed the MSHSAA Class 2, District 1 Tennis doubles title on their home court. The Tigers topped the Windsor duo of Symphony Schrodroski and Mackenzie Sowa 6-1, 6-0 in the championship match...

The Knights played keep away to spoil Poplar Bluff’s homecoming Friday night. Farmington got the ball back with seven minutes remaining, leading by a field goal, and didn’t give the Mules another chance. The Knights converted three third downs on their final drive, including a third-and-22 to close out a 31-28 win at Mules Stadium...

A sure indication of the rapidly growing maturity of Cape Central sophomore quarterback Morgan Diamond was evidenced during the Tigers’ first series of downs against visiting Sikeston Friday at Tiger Field. Center Landon Hiett’s snap flew over Diamond’s head all the way back to midfield...

Years ago, when then Poplar Bluff football head coach Mark Barousse asked new Poplar Bluff Sports Hall of Fame inductee Brent Little if he wanted to play football, Little told him he was a basketball player. A little recruiting and some glazed donuts, and Little was on the roster...

High school athletes throughout the state are trying to hit their stride with the MSHSAA postseason nearing and that was exhibited by both Anna Eaton and Dylan Thornbrough last week.

High school football teams that reach the state championship in their respective class will not have the opportunity to play for a state title at Memorial Stadium located on the campus of the University of Missouri in Columbia this season. The Missouri High School Activities Association announced earlier this week they are moving the state championships to high school facilities due to venue usage conflicts in Columbia...

Craig Caringer, Brent Little, Don Martin and Ashley Williams were honored Thursday night at the 34th induction ceremony of the Poplar Bluff Sports Hall of Fame. “I think this is one of the best classes that we’ve ever put together,” Poplar Bluff Hall of Fame President Brian Rosener said...

Hailey Kutz was brilliant in the pitcher’s circle on Wednesday, throwing a no hitter against Chaffee and leading her Bulldogs to a 10-0 victory. She was one walk shy of a perfect game! Kutz threw only 68 pitches(40 were strikes) in the 10 run rule shortened game, going five innings, striking out nine and issuing the one walk...

One small silver lining to not playing Friday night for the Poplar Bluff football team was the coaching staff’s ability to scout the next two opponents in person. Following a trip to Farmington to watch the Knights beat Cape Central 37-14, Mules coach David Sievers and his staff came away with a gameplan they probably didn’t even need film to come up with...

Craig Caringer, Brent Little, Don Martin and Ashley Williams will be honored Thursday night at the 34th induction ceremony of the Poplar Bluff Sports Hall of Fame. The dinner, which starts at 7 p.m., will be held at the Black River Coliseum and they will be introduced during the Poplar Bluff Mules homecoming football game Friday night...

Poplar Bluff didn’t waste any time Tuesday — double, triple, triple, double, single — in building a four-run lead. The Mules pushed across a season-high run total in beating North County 15-0 in three innings at Bobby Strenfel Field. “I think we had a lot more confidence,” said Poplar Bluff senior Audrey Rahlmann-Lack, who had three extra-base hits and scored three times...

KENNETT - The 13-time defending district champion Kennett Indians are heating up with the start of the girls tennis playoffs less than a week away. Kennett (8-3) beat Poplar Bluff 9-0 for its fourth straight regular-season victory Tuesday. “Right now we are doing a good job taking care of the business on the courts,” Kennett longtime tennis coach Janet Hilburn said. ...

Cape Central had a very busy weekend and start to the new week as they earned a well deserved victory beating Fox Monday night in straight sets 25-19 and 25-14. Ava Nelson had five kills to go with nine digs. Ella Vogel recorded 13 kills, two blocks, and added 10 digs...

POPLAR BLUFF — Defense was the difference Monday as neither side struck out. Poplar Bluff’s defense turned a pair of double plays and the Mules scored in each inning that Kelly committed an error as the Mules won 11-4 at Bobby Strenfel Field. Clara Rahlmann threw out a runner from left field, drove in three runs with a pair of doubles and pitched three scoreless innings in relief to lift Poplar Bluff...

Kennett and Notre Dame took home singles, and doubles honors at Friday’s SEMO Conference tennis meet at Sikeston.

The Poplar Bluff football team will be practicing Friday afternoon instead of getting ready for a game at Rolla. The Mules were notified just before they loaded onto the bus for the trip that Rolla was canceling the game because too many of its players were unable to play due to COVID-19 concerns and contact tracing...

Semoball has learned Jackson Indians senior quarterback Cael Welker has been suspended for tonight’s game at Sikeston due to a violation of team rules. The nature of the infraction is not known and Indians’ athletic director John Martin was temporarily unavailable for comment...

Derland Moore, who played 14 seasons in the NFL and was an All-American defensive lineman at the University of Oklahoma, died Thursday night. The Poplar Bluff native was 68. Moore was a walk-on at Oklahoma after earning a track scholarship based on one meet that his father didn’t want him to attend because he had to work on the family farm...

POPLAR BLUFF — Kennett nearly ran out of players as Poplar Bluff was rallying from a two-set deficit Thursday night. The Mules stormed back for a 19-25, 18-25, 25-20, 25-8, 15-5 win as already short-handed Kennett lost senior hitter Anna Beth Vancil to an ankle injury early in the fourth game...