Brian Rosener is the keeper of the Semoball Cup which is presented to the school with the most successful season. It is based on a formula that takes into account the combined winning percentage of all sports teams plus bonus points for advancement in postseason play for both teams and individuals. The bonus points are divided by the number of teams a school fields. Rosener has been the sports editor for the Daily American Republic in Poplar Bluff, Mo. since December 2001. He was born and raised in St. Louis, where he attended Lindbergh High School and Webster University. He is married to Jennifer, a Poplar Bluff native, has a son Jack and a dog named Satchel who stands in for his @semoballBrian photo.

Mules win, Ferguson gets record

Posted Saturday, October 31, 2009, at 9:24 AM

UPDATE: Festus beat DeSoto, 31-22, to win the District 2 title and will host the Mules on Wednesday. I'll have more in Sunday's DAR, including a story on Zach Ferguson's career.

WEST PLAINS -- Poplar Bluff's playoff drought in football is over.

The Mules qualified for the MSHSAA Class 4 playoffs on a rainy Thursday night by beating West Plains 36-8.

"It's amazing," said senior Zach Ferguson, who became Poplar Bluff's career rushing leader midway through the first quarter.

"We've been so close these last couple of years, all of us seniors, we play so hard and just come up short."

Nine years after Poplar Bluff last advanced to the state playoffs, the Mules (7-3) will hit the road Wednesday night to face the District 2 champion.

"These guys are special and we knew it coming in," said second-year Mules coach Shane Kearbey. "I'm so glad that they bucked up and committed themselves, dedicated themselves to this summer and now they're going to reap the rewards."

Ferguson scored his 50th career touchdown to break a scoreless tie in the second quarter before quarterback Zach McAnulty threw three touchdown passes in the final 3:19 of the half to give the Mules a 24-0 lead.

On a night when even a duck wouldn't leave the ground, McAnulty threw for 154 yards on 4-of-7 passing, including two touchdown throws to Greg Coble and another to Jake Smith.

"We were kind of surprised by that too," Kearbey said.

Complete story in Friday's DAR.

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Congratulations Zach on an outstanding achievement. I don't know Zach personally, but from what I do know of him through my son, he certainly seems to be a remarkably gifted, hard-working, and yet refreshingly humble young man. Very well done!

-- Posted by pigdog on Fri, Oct 30, 2009, at 8:49 AM
How many yards does Ferguson have on the season so far?

-- Posted by mboydjr on Fri, Oct 30, 2009, at 2:33 PM

Brian Rosener's response:
This season is 1,180, for his career, it's 3,371.
What do you make of the Bluff Festus matchup?

-- Posted by Headhunt on Sun, Nov 1, 2009, at 11:52 AM

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