High School Sports

Four years after winning the Ozark Foothills Conference Tournament championship, Taylor Harlow is leading his alma mater. In his senior season in 2017-18, Harlow helped Neelyville finish 22-5, ultimately losing to Thayer in the district championship. After two seasons coaching at the junior high level and as a varsity assistant last season, Harlow has been named the new varsity head coach...

The best of the best will be recognized at the 2021 Semoball Awards presented by SoutheastHEALTH on July 10 at the Rock N’ Roll Drive-In in Chaffee.

Sunday was already going to be a special Father’s Day for Michael Minner. The Cape Girardeau native and Charleston High School administrator, educator, and baseball coach is going to spend the day at a place he loves (Busch Stadium) with his “best friend,” who happens to be HIS father, Michael Robin Minner. “It will be a unique day,” the younger Minner said.

Six finalists for the Semoball Cup from last year are once again in the running for the trophy given to the top sports program, including the top three from a pandemic-shortened year. The winner will be announced during the eighth annual Semoball Awards, which will be held July 10 at the Rock N’ Roll Drive-In in Chaffee...

Spring sports and top award finalists for the 2021 Semoball Awards presented by SoutheastHEALTH will be announced Friday, along with the final wave of tickets going on sale. The announcement of finalists can be heard at 9 a.m. Friday on SEMO ESPN Radio and on the Semoball.com Facebook page. A story recapping all the finalists will publish later Friday online at semoball.com and in your local newspaper...

EDITOR'S NOTE: The Dexter Statesman is counting down the 10 best high school games from the 2020-21 school year. We are featuring a game each week. The criteria for a game to make the list include competitiveness and meaning of the game. A game must involve a team(s) from Stoddard County and must have been covered first-hand by the Statesman or Semoball.com...

Jack Pierce didn’t pick up a golf club prior to his sophomore year, but he made the Poplar Bluff Mules varsity team that spring. He didn’t play much during his junior year and none after the COVID-19 pandemic canceled the season. Pierce decided last Halloween it was time to get serious about the game...

After a stellar season of helping lead the Kelly Hawks to the Class 3 state quarterfinals, the awards keep pouring in for Bryce Morgan. The senior was recently named the Player of the Year in the Scott-Mississippi Conference. Morgan was dominate on the mound, finishing with a record of 12-0 and one save with a 1.49 earned run average. He struck out 110 while walking only 14 and allowed opponents only a .198 average...

Several local baseball teams earned Academic All-State honors from the Missouri High School Baseball Coaches Association. Teams qualify for the Academic All-State team award with a grade point average of 3.3 or higher. Sikeston earned the Academic All-State as a team in Class 5 with a GPA of 3.68 while Charleston (3.82), East Prairie (3.63) and Kelly (3.45) were honored in Class 3...

It didn’t take long for Kenettt High School to find its next varsity football coach. Shortly after accepting the resignation of head football coach Joel Wyatt Tuesday night the Kennett Board of Education approved the hiring of Andrew Webster as its new head football coach for the 2021-22 school year...

There will be a new head football coach at Kennett High School. The Kennett Board of Education accepted the resignation of head football coach Joel Wyatt Tuesday night. Wyatt has served as head football coach since for the past four seasons...

Dexter girls basketball coach Eric Sitze hopes for more tangible success this season after closing last year on a nine-game losing streak. “We’re getting better. We’re improving,” Sitze said. “Hopefully, at some point, (we) can stop talking about improvement and talk about how we’re finishing games. We’re getting better. We’re learning. We still have a little ways to go.”...

State champions Oran and Kennett led all Semoball-area schools in all-state baseball selections with five apiece. In total, 36 athletes from the Semoball coverage area were named to all-state teams. The Eagles had three Class 1 first-team selections in senior Kaden Hargrove, senior Ty Johnson and sophomore Nic Massey. Oran senior Dawson Menz was named to the all-state second team, and sophomore Kolten Payne received an honorable mention...

The Poplar Bluff Mules Booster Club awarded its first scholarship to a pair of recent graduates Tuesday while also honoring the program’s past. The Moss Family Athletic Scholarship was presented by Mike Moss to Joseph Hardimon and Sierra Sievers. “This is really, really special to us,” said Moss. “This is what we are talking about, giving back to your community.”...

Dexter High School graduate Chaylea Mosby and her sophomore teammates at Three Rivers College hope to complete unfinished business next winter. Mosby and the Raiders’ four other sophomores are taking advantage of a National Junior College Athletic Association rule that allows for a third year of eligibility at the junior college level and will return next season...

According to Jackson wrestling coach Steve Wachter, Garner Horman is one of the most talented wrestlers he’s coached in his 39-year career. “He’s a three-time district champion, a three-time state medalist and I know that he’s won over 150 matches in his career,” Wachter said. “I think he finishes ninth or 11th all-time in Jackson history.”...

EAST PRAIRIE, Mo. — The East Prairie High School Lady Eagles softball team qualified for the Academic All-State Team Award with a combined team average grade point average of 3.3 or higher. The cumulative team GPA was 3.8225 including all 16 team members...

KELSO – The AWP Lumberjacks took home the 2021 Kelso Klassic championship Sunday with a 9-3 victory over KC Fastpitch to advance to the 2021 International Softball Congress World Tournament. AWP’s Carlos Carreno was named the tournament’s most valuable player. The Lumberjack went 8-for-10 at the plate over the weekend with seven RBIs and a home run. Carreno also stole three bases...

2021 Campbell graduate Blake Fowler was contacted by Central Methodist University after his high school squad won the state basketball title in March. “One of their guard spots opened up on their varsity squad,” Fowler said. “They called me and wanted me to come up for a tour. When I went up there I really liked their coaches. They made me feel like I was at home.”...

The Cape Catfish split a twin bill with the Alton River Dragons on Saturday at Capaha Field. The opening contest — making up for a rainout on June 1 — went to the River Dragons 8-0 in what was the second straight shutout loss for the Catfish. "You can't really do too much different, but you've got to stay aggressive, get men on base and get some timely hits," Catfish manager Steve Larkin said. "If you hit the ball and get men on base, you've got to score when you've got the chance...

Jackson-native Kyle “The Hurtz” Kurtz will make his local return to the ring at Cage of Honor 82. Kurtz is fighting in Cape Girardeau for the first time since 2019 at Saturday night’s event at the A.C. Brase Arena, headlining the card against Zack “Cadillac” Davis in a 170-pound professional mixed martial arts bout...

The Cape Catfish were shut out 9-0 on the road Friday night against the O'Fallon Hoots. The Catfish recorded six hits in the game but were unable to put any runs on the board. Ellison Hannah II went 2-for-4 at the plate, including a double in the fourth inning. He was the lone Catfish player to record multiple hits in the game...

SIKESTON, Mo – Coming off a season-opening win against the Mobile, Alabama, Rawdogs, the Charleston Fighting Squirrels hoped to stay hot Friday as they kicked off the Golden Arches Showcase against Ste. Genevieve Post 150. Unable to keep up with Ste. Genevieve’s bats, however, saw the Squirrels lose in walk-off fashion 14-4 in the fourth inning...

The Cape Catfish’s bats came alive in the series finale against the Normal CornBelters. The Catfish recorded 10 hits en route to a series-clinching 11-4 victory over the Normal CornBelters on Thursday night at Capaha Field. Catfish infielder Kolten Poorman — who plays collegiately for Three Rivers College — hit a three-run double in the fourth inning to give the Catfish a 9-1 lead...

Woodland junior Cecil Abernathy was named the SCAA baseball player of the year by the league’s coaches. Abernathy was the ace for the 14-6 Cardinals, who reached the conference tournament championship game and advanced to the MSHSAA Class 3 District 2 semifinals...

The 2021 Tri-County Conference Baseball Awards have been released. Holcomb junior Nate Rhew is the Tri-County Conference Baseball Player of the Year. Rhew finished 6-2 with a 1.49 ERA while striking out 107 in 56 innings of work on the hill. He also batted .358 with four home runs and 32 RBIs...

The Kelso Klassic fast-pitch softball tournament is making a return for its 35th season after taking a two-year hiatus. The tournament had been rained out in 2019 and canceled in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. According to tournament media coordinator Jerry Wolsey, the tournament - an International Softball Congress (ISC) World Tournament qualifier - typically has 14 teams but will only feature seven this year due to international travel restrictions...

Colten Weber put on a show in his pitching debut with the Cape Catfish. The Jackson native struck out seven batters in six innings of work, allowing just two hits and one earned run in a 2-1 victory over the Normal CornBelters on Wednesday at Capaha Field...

EDITOR'S NOTE: Beginning this week, the Dexter Statesman will count down the 10 best high school games from the 2020-21 school year. We will feature a game each week. The criteria for a game to make the list include competitiveness and meaning of the game. A game must involve a team(s) from Stoddard County and must have been covered first-hand by the Statesman or Semoball.com...

After rallying from a 10-3 deficit to take a one-run lead, the Cape Catfish ultimately fell to the Normal CornBelters 13-11 in extra innings Tuesday at Capaha Field. Down 10-3 in the sixth with the bases loaded, Catfish catcher Mason Speirs hit a two-run single to bring some life back to the team. Grayson Taylor followed up with a sacrifice fly to right field scoring one to reduce the deficit to 10-6...

When America’s Rulon Gardner won gold at the 2000 Olympics by upsetting Russia’s Aleksandr Karelin, a man who hadn’t lost in international competition in 13 years, Rob Hermann was on the sidelines as an assistant coach for the United States. The framed jacket Hermann wore during those Olympics will spend the next year hanging in the Poplar Bluff High School wrestling room...

ADVANCE — Landon Dailey, a 2021 Advance High School graduate, is making the transition from one winning program to another. Dailey, who transferred from Leopold to Advance before his junior year, and the Hornets compiled a 43-5 record over the past two seasons...

The young Dexter Bearcats continued preparation for their upcoming season in the Rib City Shootout on Friday at the Bearcat Event Center. The Bearcats return only two players who received significant playing time last season: senior Dylan Sitze and junior Cole Nichols, who were named the team’s top defender and free-throw shooter, respectively. Sitze averaged three deflections per game and Nichols made 74% of his free throws...

The 2021 SEMO Conference all-conference baseball has been released. Kennett junior Reese Robinett is the SEMO Conference Baseball Player of the Year. Robinett hit .408 with 10 home runs and 45 RBIs. He also went 4-0 with two saves and a 2.33 ERA on the hill...

The 2021 Bootheel Conference baseball awards have been released. Campbell senior Skylar Morrison, who has signed to play baseball at Columbia College, is the Bootheel Conference Player of the Year. Morrison hit .535 with nine home runs, 37 RBIs, and 15 stolen bases this spring. He also went 4-2 with a 1.80 ERA while striking out 67 in 50.2 innings pitched...

Former Cape Central and Kelly assistant basketball coach Justin McAlister has been hired at Delta to lead the Bobcats’ boys basketball team. The job at Delta will be McAlister’s first as a head coach after spending five years assisting at Cape Central and three years assisting at Kelly, in addition to coaching the Hawks’ baseball team...

The 2021 Bootheel Conference all-conference softball awards have been released. Senath-Hornersville with Southland senior Jenna Gibson is the Bootheel Conference Softball Player of the Year. Gibson hit .707 with with seven home runs and 28 RBIs this spring. She also went 9-2 in the circle with a 1.89 ERA while striking out 120 in 66 innings pitched...

Adam Stoneking is looking forward to the opportunity to take over as head coach of the Jackson girls' basketball team. “My main reason for being excited is the girls,” Stoneking said. “The commitment that I’ve seen from these ladies over the last couple of years is extraordinary. Their work ethic and their want to come in all the time and try and better themselves is hard to look past as a coach. Those are the things that get you excited about being a coach.”...

“I knew the year off wasn’t going to help my baseball career,” Cody Birdsong said. “I knew I needed to come back and show some people that I had improved.” After being drafted by the Atlanta Braves in the 32nd round in 2019, Birdsong played 57 games in rookie ball and finished with a .234 batting average and four home runs...

OZARK – On March 1 of this year, the Kennett High School baseball team walked out for its first official practice of the 2021 season into a blustery (the wind was blowing at 20-plus m.p.h.) 48-degree afternoon.

ST. LOUIS — Jaden Deaton and Layla Fliege ran their fastest mile Thursday. Deaton lowered his time by 2.5 seconds and had the 17th fastest time among high school boys while Fliege ranked 20th among high school girls at the Festival of Miles. Deaton briefly led in the final 100 meters before finishing fifth in his heat with a time of 4 minutes, 15.04 seconds...

Marquis Johnson’s first love was basketball, but the recent Poplar Bluff graduate knew if he was going to be a student-athlete in college it was going to be in track and field. “Hard work, not giving up, sacrifice,” said Johnson, who recently signed his letter of intent with the University of Saint Mary...

OZARK – Note to all high school baseball coaches in Missouri: If you are leading Kennett by a margin that can be overcome with one swing of the bat from Kennett junior Reece Robinett, you’ll decide to pitch to him at your own peril.

The Cape Catfish struggled in nearly every aspect of Wednesday night’s 18-1 loss to the O’Fallon Hoots at Capaha Field. “We’ve got to have a little more fight, and a little more aggressiveness,” Catfish manager Steve Larkin said. “We’ve got some youth, but I don’t want to make excuses because you have to come out here and play every day.”...

Jadarius Pigg earned all-state honors in the hurdle events recently, but the recent Poplar Bluff graduate also qualified for state in the long jump and as a member of the mile relay. That versatility will help the Missouri Southern State University track and field team after Pigg recently signed his letter of intent to join the Lions...

OZARK - Since first making the trek to the MSHSAA Final Four in baseball in 1981, Oran has become quite the regular face of the event.

OZARK – History was on the side of the Holcomb baseball program in Tuesday’s MSHSAA Class 2 Baseball State Final third-place game at US Ballpark in Ozark. The Hornets had played in the game three times earlier in program history and never lost.

Being a state champion is much more than something you can brag about to your friends, or talk about to your children and grandchildren someday. It’s a culmination of all your hard work coming to fruition, and something to be proud of for life. The Southeast Missouri region saw four athletes win gold at the 2021 track and field state championships, which allowed me to reflect on my past accomplishments...

Former Oak Ridge coach Chris Trimmer is coming out of retirement to lead the Woodland boys basketball team. “I’m really looking forward to it,” Trimmer said. “The new superintendent was my superintendent over at Oak Ridge for the years that I coached over there. He was always super supportive of our program. He was 100% on board with everything we did, and when the job opened up he contacted me to see if there would be any interest in me getting back into the game.”...

Four regional track and field athletes were crowned as state champions over the last two weeks of competition. Notre Dame senior Evan Bruenderman took first place in the Class 3 boys triple jump, defeating the second-place finishers by more than two feet with a leap of 45-feet, 8 1/2-inches. He was the top seed entering Saturday’s event and didn’t disappoint with the pressure turned on...