High School Sports

The Holcomb Hornets high school volleyball program is blessed with solid depth entering the 2018 season. Holcomb has four seniors, four seniors, five sophomores and five freshmen on its high school squad. “We do have a big number,” Holcomb coach Angie Jones said. ...

For St. Vincent football, the 2018 season is looking the same, but different. The same in that the Indians graduated just four seniors from a year ago and return a big chunk of their starting lineup, but different in that the man at the helm has changed...

After taking a step forward last season, Kelly is looking to build on that progression, and win a few more games along the way. The Hawks went 2-8 in 2017, a year after going winless. While that didn't match the high of the program's first-every varsity season in 2014 -- when the Hawks went 4-6 -- it was an improvement...

Just a week before the start of the high school athletic calender, the Missouri State High School Activities Association (MSHSAA) announced its class and district alignments for the 2018 fall season. Some of the biggest changes came on the football field, where Jackson will surely see a window of opportunity, as powerhouse Vianney departs Class 5 District 1 for District 2. ...

The Senath-Hornersville varsity volleyball team enters the 2018-19 season looking to build on last season’s 13-15-2 campaign under a new head coach. Alex Glover takes over for Chelsey Vincent as head coach. Glover is a high school graduate of nearby Holcomb that recently graduated from Southeast Missouri State University in Cape Girardeau...

PERRYVILLE, Mo. -- Perryville softball is trending upward. The Pirates return eight starters from last year's 15-10 team that advanced to the district title game. Most of the players spent the summer playing travel ball together, and of the eight returning starters, four are sophomores...

SIKESTON — Head coach Steve Beydler enters his 19th season with Sikeston looking to improve off of a 2017 campaign where the Bulldogs lost in straight sets to Jackson in the district tournament. Sikeston finished the season with an overall record of 17-13-2 and was 3-4 in the SEMO Conference Tournament and 1-1 in the district tournament...

SIKESTON — After a tough, 4-3 loss in extra innings to end it’s season in the district tournament, the Sikeston softball team is looking to come back hungrier in 2018. Under third-year coach Laura Brown, the Bulldogs finished the 2017 campaign with a record of 9-15. Sikeston, though, loses a pair of key contributors from last season’s roster — utility player Kylie Noe and catcher Ashton Drake...

SIKESTON — The Sikeston girls’ tennis team is looking to rebound after a tough 2017 campaign — where it went 2-8. Head coach Marc Jannin, who enters his first season with the Bulldogs, said that the expectations for his team are to not only improve from last season but for the girls to meet their team and individual goals...

Football fans will have to wait at least 24 hours to get their first glimpse at the Kennett varsity football team. Thursday night’s Gatorade Game has been postponed until Aug. 23 at 6:30 p.m. at Metz Cherry Stadium. “Due to the amount of water we received, the facilities are going to be too wet to host the Gatorade Scrimmage tonight,” Kennett athletic director Jim Vaughan said. “The grass lot used for parking is still under water and the field is, and still will be, very soft.”...

For the first time in eight years, the Holcomb Hornets baseball squad is set to begin its fall campaign under a new head coach. Marty Young, who served as varsity girls basketball coach at Holcomb last season, is taking over for longtime coach Matt Casper who is leaving the baseball program to be the new head softball coach at Holcomb...

Katlyn Harris tried the usual girls' sports. She admits that she wasn't good at any of them. But football always has been special to the Doniphan High School senior. Two younger brothers play; so did her father and other relatives. As the Dons embark this fall on their first varsity football season since 1979, Harris will be among a handful of seniors providing leadership...

The Senath-Hornersville Lions high school baseball squad enters its fall campaign looking to make noise with a slew of returning starters. The Lions return seven starters off of last season’s squad that went 3-11 in the fall and 10-11 in the spring...

SIKESTON — The Sikeston boys soccer team returns to action after coming off of a 9-15-1 season, in 2017, and are looking for a better result this campaign, under head coach Gabe Dement — who enters his 10th season with the Bulldogs and fifth as head coach of the Bulldogs...

Kennett football enthusiast will have the opportunity to get its first glance at the varsity squad later this week. Kennett is slated to compete in the annual Gatorade Game Thursday at Metz Cherry Stadium. The starting time of the intra-squad scrimmage has been moved from 6 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. due to heat. The price of admission is a bottle of Gatorade...

This July, the Rib City Shootout attracted 80 volleyball teams, twice as many as the year before, with high school squads from Kentucky, Illinois and Arkansas descending upon Cape Girardeau. Normally, such a dramatic increase might be a burden for the hosts. But not this time, thanks to the Cape Girardeau SportsPlex. The 121,000-squre-foot indoor sports facility, which opened last year, hosted the shootout for the first time, ensuring the tournament was held at one location...

No longer will Missouri high schools have to wait to see an enrollment spike or drop take effect. Beginning this year, the Missouri State High School Activities Association will release new class and district assignments annually. The goal is to make sure schools of similar size are competing against one another, accounting for sudden, drastic shifts in student enrollment...

Every year, Cape Girardeau Central has graduated a boys swimmer of note, and each year the two-time defending state champion Tigers have kept on rolling. Yet, this year feels different. That's thanks to the graduation of eight seniors, including two -- Brogan Davis and Sam Hahs -- who anchored the team for four years. ...

With 15 years under his belt and seven years as head football coach, Jeff Bullock, looks for a promising season for his Portageville Bulldogs. “As of now, things look good for us. We have 36 kids that have tried out which is more than we have had in the past. We have about eight kids that have seen playing time from last year. We have a few new kids trying out, even seniors. We have a good mixture of players,” said Coach Bullock...

The Kennett Indian varsity volleyball program enters the 2018 season looking to make noise with a new head coach. Taylor Miller takes over for Veronica Gardner who served as varsity volleyball coach at Kennett the past two seasons. Miller is a Malden graduate who majored in elementary education at Missouri State University in Springfield. She most recently taught fourth grade at Poplar Bluff and will teach second grade at Kennett in the upcoming school year...

The Kennett Indians enter the 2018 season with a few holes to fill after winning its first outright conference title since 1964 in 2017. Kennett graduated 10 seniors off of last season’s squad that finished 7-4. “We are going to be pretty inexperienced,” Kennett second-year coach Joel Wyatt said. ...

The Malden Green Wave football team enters the 2018 season with zero plans of slowing things down despite graduating several key offensive components off of last season’s squad that finished 10-2. “We are going to continue to play fast,” Malden head coach Kevin Collier said. ...

SIKESTON — Sikeston junior infielder Nate Self committed to play collegiate baseball at the University of Tennessee-Martin on Monday, Aug. 6. In his junior campaign for the Bulldogs, Self led the team in batting average, at .432, runs, with 36, hits, with 38, doubles, with nine and home runs — with six...

The new artificial turf at the Jackson High School football stadium is seen in this drone view July 11 in Jackson.

The Kennett Indians high school girls tennis program enters the 2018 season looking to replace two varsity starters. Kennett graduated No. 1 starter Anna Beth Williams and No. 2 starter Kayton Harris off of last season’s varsity squad that finished 13-1, advanced to the Class 1 quarterfinals and won the SEMO Conference...

Malden fall sports schedules have been released. The Malden varsity football team is slated to open its season Aug. 24 at 7 p.m. when it hosts New Madrid County Central. The Malden junior varsity football team is slated to open its season Aug. 27 at 6 p.m. when it hosts Dexter...

Malden Green Wave first-year varsity boys basketball coach Cole McBroom has been more concerned about getting to know his players than determining what basketball plays he is going to run in recent weeks. “This summer my main goal was to build a relationship with the kids,” McBroom said. ...

The 2018 Kennett varsity football schedule has been released. Kennett is slated to open its season Aug. 24 at home against Fredericktown. Kennett has made several changes to its schedule. Kennett has added North County, Ste. Genevieve and Gosnell (Ark.) to its schedule and dropped East Prairie, Greene County Tech (Ark.) and East Prairie...

The Kennett 12U baseball team team has been winning big since they were seven-years-old. “We’ve had them together on a traveling team since they were seven-years-old,” Kennett 12U coach Matt Gardner said. “We've gone all over the country playing ball. ...

Headline Local baseball athletes make Future Games Hunter Hiett, junior at Central Junior High School, and Brayden Eftink, junior at Notre Dame High School, have been selected to participate in the upcoming Future Games. These games will take place next week in Indianapolis, IN. The Future Games are the premier summer scouting event for class 2020 prospects. More than 250 college coaches and pro scouts from all over the country are expected to attend...

A trio of Saxony Lutheran girls soccer standouts were named to the 2017-18 Lutheran All-America first team, which was released Monday. Crusader seniors Laurel Mueller (forward) and Ashley Fritsche (goalkeeper), along with sophomore midfielder Emma Brune, received top honors...

Friday night lights are just around the corner, and for the first time in Missouri history, football state championships will be held in the first weekend of December instead of on Thanksgiving weekend. Missouri State High School Activities Association communications director Jason West said that doing this was voted on by the membership, but still draws some concerns...