Van Buren

The controversial basketball coach who led Dora (32-2) over Delta in the Missouri Class 1 playoffs this spring en route to a state basketball title is moving to Viola High in northcentral Arkansas. Rick Luna’s contract at Dora was not renewed after the 2019-20 season despite the Falcons winning a MSHSAA championship. Dora’s school board failed to give a reason for voting 5-1 against extending Luna’s coaching job with the school...

Van Buren High School SPORTS: Softball, cheerleading. PARENTS: David and Heidi Truncone SIBLINGS: Hannah Truncone PETS: none PLANS AFTER HIGH SCHOOL: Attending and cheering at Evangel University in the fall of 2020 studying Elementary Education and Children’s ministry...

Each year the Semoball Awards recognizes outstanding high school athletes from around the region. That tradition continues this summer albeit in a different format because of lingering COVID-19 concerns and social distancing requirements.

Connor Jackson is staying close to home to play college basketball. The Van Buren senior and Big Springs Conference Player of the Year recently committed to play for Williams Baptist University. “It seemed like the best fit for me, coming in as a freshman, getting to have experience on a JV team, so I don’t sit,” Jackson said. ...

Columbia, Mo. - The Missouri State High School Activities Association (MSHSAA) Board of Directors voted to grant relief of portions of the MSHSAA By-Laws that include summer limits on contact between coaches and student-athletes at its April meeting on Thursday...

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...

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. ...

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. ...

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...

VAN BUREN — “Defense wins championships” is one of the best known cliches in sports, so it should not come as a surprise that the top two seeds at the MSHSAA Class 2 District 2 Tournament used it to win their respective semifinal contests Tuesday night...

St. Vincent (19-6) will advance to semi-final action in Class 2, District 3 at Bloomfield after a forty-point blowout over Puxico (8-16).

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...

Van Buren (9-15) earned a victory playing Summersville (1-20) on Thursday, outscoring the Tigers as they tailed the Dawgs each quarter. Catie O’dell let Van Buren with 11 points, including a 3-pointer. Addisyn Shockley scored 14 points for Summersville...

Oran (19-4) gained a home victory playing St. Vincent (10-13) on Monday. Gaining the most points in each quarter, the Eagles didn’t rest until they had defeated the Indians. Katie Webb scored 20 points for Oran, and her teammate Taylor Lowes scored three 3-pointers...

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...

There is rarely a shortage of excellent athletic performances throughout Southeast Missouri by high school athletes each year and the fall season in 2019 was no exception.

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...

Advance (12-8) outscored Puxico (0-15) on Thursday, ending the first half 24-7 and finishing the game 42-21. Alandry Below led the Hornets to a victory by scoring 23 points. Advance will play Holcomb at home on Monday at 6 p.m. Puxico will play Campbell at home on Monday...

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...

The Advance Hornets outscored the Meadow Heights Panthers 33-13 in the second half en route to a 49-37 come-from-behind home victory.

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...

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

ELLSINORE — Naomi Crowly scored all nine of her points in the second quarter as East Carter surged ahead Thursday night in a 50-36 win over Van Buren. The Redbirds used a 21-7 second quarter to go from down 9-6 to up 11 heading into halftime. Makenna Moore sank a pair of third-quarter 3-pointers while Brooklyn Kearby scored nine of her team-high 16 points in the second half for East Carter (9-6)...

BLOOMFIELD, Mo. - The Doniphan Dons edged the Van Buren Bulldogs by a bucket for a second time this season Saturday night. Van Buren’s Trey Nicholson made a free throw to tie things at 61-all with 10 seconds left. Doniphan then moved the ball the length of the floor and Tristain Bryant drove the lane a hit a jumper near the free throw line with about one second remaining to put the Dons on top 63-61...

BLOOMFIELD, Mo – For the second-straight day, Bernie entered the fourth quarter Friday with little doubt about whether they would be moving on the next round of the Bloomfield Christmas Tournament. After holding just a one-point edge over seventh-seeded Van Buren going into the second quarter, the second-seeded Mules extended their lead to 20 by the start of the fourth to roll to a 71-45 final and a spot in the tournament semifinals...

Hannah Cunningham, of Naylor, led Crowley’s Ridge in scoring twice in the last week. She had 14 points on 6 for 14 shooting in a 93-68 loss to Southwest (N.M.) on Monday. Cunningham also led the team with seven rebounds and five assists before fouling out. The next day, she had 16 points, five steals, four assists and three rebounds in a 64-36 win against Faith Baptist Bible...

VAN BUREN — The Yellow Sucker trophy is staying in Van Buren. The Bulldogs made one significant run to start the second half and it was enough to hold on and beat East Carter 59-50 on Friday in Van Buren. “As a player, it was nice. As a coach, it’s great,” Van Buren coach Jacob Black said of winning the trophy...

VAN BUREN — Neelyville boys basketball coach Patrick Morton was hoping his players had not noticed the preseason state rankings released by his fellow coaches. He was sure the Tigers’ first opponent took note. “You know they’re going to come out and they’re going to be gunning for you and get that win,” Morton said...

Poplar Bluff moved up to the largest class in wrestling and will face the same opponents in basketball while hosting the district this winter. Poplar Bluff Athletic Director Kent Keith announced in a statement that the school’s bid to host the MSHSAA Class 5 District 1 boys and girls basketball tournament had been accepted...

Notre Dame senior Blake Morris did not achieve his goal of first place but did finish in the Top 10 at Saturday’s MSHSAA Class 3 Boys Cross Country State Finals at the Gans Creek Recreational Area in Columbia, Mo.

COLUMBIA, Mo. — The Van Buren girls cross country team placed in the top four for the first time in program history at the MSHSAA Cross Country championships on Saturday at the new 5,000-meter Gans Creek course. Poplar Bluff junior Jaden Deaton earned all-state honors with a late comeback for 22nd place to become the fifth Mules runner to place in the top 25 at state and first since 2005...

A new era of cross country in Missouri starts Saturday when the MSHSAA state championships is held for the first time at Gans Creek Cross Country Course in Columbia. It’s the first time since 1975 the race will not be held in Jefferson City’s Oak Hills Golf Course in Hough Park where Poplar Bluff’s John Meyers won the 4A title in 1986...

The Advance volleyball team avenged its only loss thus far before it sustained its second defeat of the season in a 25-21, 18-25, 21-25 loss to Lindbergh in the championship game of the Second Annual Jackson Tournament on Saturday at Jackson High School.

BROSELEY — Bella Galloway stepped up to the plate with the game-winning run on second base and thought, “I’m going to kill this ball because people think I can’t. So I’m going to do it, prove them wrong.” Galloway came through with a hard hit single to center scoring Abbey Hester in the bottom of the seventh inning, lifting the Royals to a 4-3 win over Van Buren on Tuesday...

VAN BUREN — For 35 consecutive years, Van Buren has been represented at the state cross country meet. New coaches Jacob Black and Peyton Bolander seek to take over where former coach Randal Jenkins left off. “Our cross country was very successful during the time he ran it,” said Black, who has been an assistant cross country coach for the past seven years. “We’ve not really changed the way we go about it because he was so successful.”...

VAN BUREN — The Bulldogs lost five seniors and return five starters from a team that won 25 games between the fall and spring combined last year. The Bulldogs last won the Big Springs Conference Tournament in 2016, and won their first district title since 1999 the following spring. ...

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...