The Southwest Missouri Football Coaches Association has released its all-state teams.
In Class 5-6, Webb City’s Devrin Weathers was named the Offensive Player of the Year, while Webb City’s Treghan Parker was the Defensive Player of the Year. Nixa’s John Perry was Coach of the Year.
Joplin, Webb City and Carthage all had several players selected to the Class 5-6 team.
Players selected to the First Team Offense were Joplin’s Alex Curry (OL) and Nathan Glades (RB), Webb City’s Grant Goltra (OL) and Zetthew Meister (OL), Weathers (RB) and Gary Clinton (TE) and Carthage’s Patrick Carlton (QB) and Aiden Logan (OL).
Listed on the Second Team Offense were Joplin’s Always Wright (QB) and Carthage’s Luke Gall (RB), Hudson Moore (WR), Lucas Neuenswander (TE) and Caleb Calvin (K).
Honorable Mention Offense selections were Joplin’s Davis Ramsey (OL), Trayshawn Thomas (WR) and Keaton Renfro (WR), Webb City’s Buddy Belcher (OL) and Cole Gayman (QB), Carthage’s Ian Ketchum (OL) and Garrett Lilienkamp (OL) and Neosho’s Kaden Decker (OL) and Drayke Perry (RB).
Listed on the First Team Defense were Joplin’s Glades (returner) and Jayden Holt (DB), Webb City’s Eli Goddard (LB) and Parker (DB) and Carthage’s Micah Lindsey (DL), Lucas Neuenswander (DE), Luke Gall (LB) and DJ Witt (DB).
Second Team Defense picks were Joplin’s Donovahn Watkins (DL), Scott Lowe (LB) and Webb City’s Matt McDaniel (DE) and Weathers (returner).
Honorable Mention Defense selections from the area were Joplin’s Jacob Prosser (DL), Webb City’s Jaystin Smith (LB) and Shane Noel (DB), Carthage’s Zach Lansford (LB) and Justin Sneed (DB) and Neosho’s Marcus Duncan (DL) and Jacob Fry (LB).
BULLDOGS SELECTED IN CLASS 4
Several Carl Junction athletes were recognized in Class 4.
Carl Junction’s Ethan Howard (OL), Cole Stewart (WR), Noah Southern (WR) and Alex Baker (QB) were First Team Offense selections.
Second Team Offense selections were Jesse Cassatt (OL) and Brady Sims (RB), while Reese Bonjour (OL) and Drew Patterson (WR) were listed on the Honorable Mention Offense.
Listed on the First Team Defense was CJ’s Jesse Cassatt (DE), while Southern (LB) and Jack Colgin (DB) were on the Second Team Defense. Listed on the Honorable Mention Defense from CJ were Hunter Row (DE), Trentyn Lehman (DB) and Myles Derfelt (DB).
The Missouri State High School Activities Association released its new classifications and district assignments for the winter sports on Friday.
GIRLS AND BOYS BASKETBALL
McAuley Catholic and Thomas Jefferson are in Class 1 District 7 with Bronaugh, Hume, Northeast Vernon County, Rich Hill and Sheldon.
College Heights Christian is in Class 2 District 12 with Greenfield, Jasper, Liberal, Verona and Wheaton.
Teams in Class 3 District 12 are Diamond, Miller, Pierce City, Purdy, Sarcoxie and Southwest (Washburn).
Class 4 District 12 features Seneca, East Newton, Aurora, Cassville, Mount Vernon and Reeds Spring.
Class 5 District 12 features Carl Junction, Webb City, Nevada and Harrisonville.
Class 5 District 11 features Neosho, Monett, McDonald County and Logan-Rogersville.
Class 6 District 12 features Joplin, Carthage, Kickapoo and Republic.
WRESTLING
Class 3 District 6 features Carl Junction, Neosho, Webb City, Hillcrest, McDonald County, Parkview and Willard.
Class 4 District 5 features Carthage, Springfield Central, Joplin, Kickapoo, Nixa, Ozark, Republic and Waynesville.
Seneca is in Class 2 District 5 with Buffalo, Cassville, Hollister, Logan-Rogersville, Monett and Reeds Spring.
GIRLS SWIMMING
Carl Junction and Webb City are in Class 1, while Joplin and Carthage are in Class 2.
WEBB CITY, Mo. — Miller defeated Webb City 56-32 on Thursday night in non-conference girls basketball action inside the Cardinal Dome.
Miller improved to 5-1, while Webb City fell to 1-4.
Three players scored in double figures for Miller, as Claudia Hadlock had 16, while Payten Richardson had 11 and Kaylee Helton added 10.
Jaydee Duda scored 17 points for Webb City, with 11 coming in the final frame.
Miller led 28-6 at the half and 38-14 at the end of the third quarter.
Webb City is at McDonald County on Tuesday.
The Joplin High School wrestling team defeated Cassville 57-22 on Thursday night.
Joplin’s Sam Melton (106 pounds), Alex Short (113), Trace Sargent (120) and Rocky Walker (126) all won by forfeit.
Cassville won the next four matches.
Cassville’s Matthew Whittenburg pinned Josiah Vaughn at 132, Gabe Hunter won by fall over Johnathon Burke at 138, Jadon Ewing pinned Reese Macios at 145 and Jake Anthonysz earned a major decision, 14-4, over Jack Stanley at 152.
Joplin’s Brenden Mynatt pinned Donald Pettyjohn at 160, while Joplin’s Drew Van Gilder (170), Draven Van Gilder (182), Aiden Short (195) and Scott Lowe (220) all won by forfeit.
In the heavyweight bout, Joplin’s Gunner Price earned a 5-2 decision over Zach Coenen.
Joplin’s Gunner Price celebrates his victory over Cassville on Thursday night. Photo by Shawn Fowler.
WEBB CITY WINS TWO DUALS
Webb City defeated Diamond 57-24.
Webb City’s Bobby Pearish (113), Brenden Berry (132), Hunter England (145), Brayden Hollingsworth (170), Roger Carranco (182) and Kole Carr (285) all won their matches by fall.
Jacob Ott defeated Jayce Taylor 5-4 at 195.
Winning by fall for Diamond were Cody Behler (152), Kendal King (160) and Ty Douglas (220).
Webb City also beat Monett 45-36.
Recording pins for the Cardinals were Pearish, Colt Taylor (120), England, Cooper Heilbrun (160), Hollingsworth and Carranco.
Ott defeated Ethan Umfleet 5-4 at 195.
Monett’s Ben Bluel (132), Matthew Bahl (138), Elias Barrientos (152), Joe Korasick (220) and Harrison Merriman (285) all won by fall.
Joplin’s Jack Stanley is pictured during Thursday’s wrestling dual with Cassville. Photo by Shawn Fowler.
CARTHAGE, Mo. — Making its season debut, Carthage held with Raymore-Peculiar for the first eight minutes of action before the Panthers methodically pulled away for a 73-55 win in the opening round of the 74th annual Carthage Invitational.
“We are one of the few teams in the state of Missouri that had not played a game yet,” Carthage coach Nathan Morris said. “It is a long basketball season. In the grand scheme of things, I’m not worried about what happened with Ray-Pec on December 10th. … We have a lot of games to get better and I know these guys will.”
Carthage converted from the perimeter on its first four baskets of the game, with Joel Pugh knocking down a pair before Patrick Carlton sank two triples to give the Tigers a 12-8 lead through the first four minutes.
“We have more guys in the program this year that can shoot,” Morris said. “There will be nights where we live by (the 3) and die by it. But this group has bought into that, and we will get better.”
The Panthers closed the first quarter with a 19-16 advantage before pushing the lead to 26-18 through three minutes of the second period. Iryn Allen, who led Ray-Pec with a game-high 30 points, had four points in the 7-2 run and Robert McClemore added a 3-pointer.
Pugh knocked down another 3-pointer to trim the deficit to 28-23 before the Panthers again stretched the lead out to 10, 38-28, by the intermission, with Jaden Reddell converting an old-fashioned three-point play with 7.5 seconds left in the half.
“I think we hit some early shots to keep us in it, but their physicality and size started to wear (on us) a little bit,” Morris said. “I told our guys that we are going to have to find a way to deal with it. We play against teams in the COC that have physical kids. We are obviously a young basketball team, so we are going to have to figure it out on the fly. … I think our guys will get there.”
Ray-Pec extended the lead to 21, 61-40, to start the fourth quarter, but Carthage didn’t go away quietly. The Tigers used a 12-1 run to open the fourth, cutting the lead down to 62-52 with 4:20 to play.
“That is who we can be,” Morris said of his team’s start to the fourth. “We will be a group who will try to pressure teams. … There will be nights where that is what we hang our hat on. We have to work on it and get better at it. I just told them to channel that.”
The Panthers didn’t allow the Tigers to get any closer, pushing the lead back out near the 20-point margin by time the final horn sounded.
Carthage takes on Carl Junction at 5:30 on Friday in the consolation bracket.
NEVADA JUMPS OUT IN FRONT EARLY IN WIN OVER CARL JUNCTION
Nevada limited Carl Junction to two field goals in the first quarter to set the tone in a 59-33 win over the Bulldogs in the opening round of the Carthage Invitational.
“Nevada is a good team, and we have to execute when we play good teams,” Carl Junction coach Justin Pock said. “I don’t feel like we executed tonight. We had trouble getting into our offense and a had lot of self-inflicted wounds—bad decisions and not moving much.”
Nevada outscored Carl Junction 18-6 in the first period and pushed the lead to 20-plus by the intermission. Nevada held that margin throughout the remainder of the contest.
“We have to be able to move without the basketball,” Pock said. “We have to start valuing possessions with the basketball more. … I think after this game, the best thing about it is we turn around and play tomorrow.”
Sincere Williams led Carl Junction with 10 points, while Jaden Cherry finished with eight. Isaiah Hefner and Josh Cory scored five each.
Logan Applegate led Nevada with a game-high 27 points. Ben Hines added 11, and Lane McNeley finished with eight.
Carl Junction takes on Carthage at 5:30 on Friday.
“We have to go back out and play a tough Carthage team in their own tournament,” Pock said. “It doesn’t get any easier.”
“We see teams that we are going to see down the line,” Pock said about the value of playing in the Carthage Invitational. “We see that we cannot make these mistakes against these good teams because they will capitalize. … It’s a competitive tournament with really good teams in it. I think you only get better by playing really good competition.”
NIXA CRUISES PAST LEAVENWORTH
Nixa jumped out to an early lead and finished with three players in double figures on the way to a 72-36 win over Leavenworth to open the Carthage Invitational.
Nixa built a 20-point lead by halftime and cruised in the second half behind a team-high 16 points from Jason Jones. Colten Berry added 15 points, while Jaret Nelson finished with 13.
Ty Bennett led Leavenworth with 10 points, while KaiKuan Darthard scored eight.
Carthage’s last-second field goal attempt was off the mark, and Carl Junction survived for a hard-fought 52-51 win over the Tigers on Thursday at the 24th annual Freeman-Lady Eagle Classic inside Joplin High School’s Kaminsky Gymnasium.
In the nightcap, an improved effort was not enough for the hosts, as Joplin suffered a 60-43 setback to Leavenworth.
Pool play concludes Friday, as Carl Junction plays McDonald County at 5:30 and Mount Vernon takes on Leavenworth at 7.
CARL JUNCTION 52, CARTHAGE 51
After trailing at the end of the third period, Carl Junction scored the first 11 points of the fourth quarter and the Bulldogs came up with a late defensive stop to secure an intense victory against their Central Ozark Conference foe.
“It was a good win,” Carl Junction coach Brad Shorter said. “That’s a really good team. They’re going to make some noise in the COC.”
“It was a game of short spurts and runs,” Carthage coach Scott Moore said. “They made a run to get the lead and then we came right back. That shows the maturity of our team. They answered the call. I’m proud of our team’s effort.”
Carl Junction’s Destiny Buerge draws a foul in the lane against Carthage’s Sophie Shannon during Thursday’s game. Photo by Shawn Fowler.
Carl Junction sophomore guard Destiny Buerge scored a game-high 28 points. Buerge made nine field goal attempts, including three from long distance. She also made 7-of-9 free throws.
Jessa Hylton added 10 points for the Bulldogs (3-1), while Kylie Scott had eight. Hali Shorter scored four, while Hannah Lee contributed two points.
Carthage senior Hailey Fullerton scored 25 points to lead the Tigers (4-2). Fullerton converted 10 field goals, including three 3-pointers. She also made 2-of-4 foul shots.
Brinna Ream added eight points for the Tigers and Kianna Yates had seven. Sophie Shannon scored four, while Raven Probert, Katie Crowe and Presley Probert scored two points apiece and Lauren Wilson had one point.
The first half ended with the score deadlocked at 18. The Bulldogs led 23-18 when the Tigers put together an 8-0 run to take a 26-23 advantage.
The two teams traded the lead late in the third period, with Carthage taking a 36-35 advantage into the fourth quarter.
The Bulldogs rattled off the first 11 points of the final frame, as Buerge hit a trey and a midrange jumper, Scott scored inside, Hylton made a layup and then Buerge converted a steal into a hoop in transition.
Carthage was down six with 45 seconds remaining, but the Tigers didn’t quit.
Fullerton hit one free throw, Yates drilled a 3-pointer and then Fullerton scored in the paint, tying the game with 20 seconds left.
The Bulldogs, who had a number of empty possessions down the stretch, received a free throw from Buerge with 12 seconds left to go up one.
On the final play of the game, Yates missed a contested jumper. The Carthage bench thought Yates was fouled.
“They blew the whistle on their end on what was a questionable call and then they didn’t blow the whistle on our end,” Moore said. “I didn’t like the non-balance of that. But we went 9-of-17 from the free throw line. If we shoot our free throws better, we’re not in that situation at the end of the game. And we had too many turnovers.”
Shorter said he was proud his team was able to do enough to pull out the close win.
“I thought we looked a little tired at the end of the game,” Shorter said. “Our kids had a good stretch there late in the third and early in the fourth quarter where we went on a run. We had some possessions late where we got the looks we wanted, but we also had some turnovers at inopportune times. But our kids played hard. They did some good things.”
Carthage returns to action on Saturday against an opponent to be determined.
Carthage’s Hailey Fullerton scored 25 points on Thursday.
LEAVENWORTH 60, JOPLIN 43
Citing big improvements from the night before, Joplin coach Luke Floyd said he was pleased with his team’s performance.
“I’m very proud of the effort,” Floyd said. “They came out and competed really hard tonight. There are some little things we need to clean up. But from the opening tip to the final buzzer, I thought we played hard and did some really good things. We moved the ball better and made some baskets. We played better team basketball.”
Junior guard Brooke Nice scored 14 points and hit three 3-pointers to lead the Eagles (3-4), while junior forward Emma Floyd added 11 points.
Also for Joplin, Isabella Yust scored six, Brynn Driver had five, Lily Pagan scored four and Serafina Auberry added three.
Leavenworth’s Aleshia Jones poured in 25 points, while Monece Thomas added 12 and Jariah Wright had 10.
Coming off a disappointing 54-12 loss to Mount Vernon on Wednesday, Joplin hung tough early on Thursday, trailing 12-10.
The Pioneers took a double-digit lead at 25-15 before Nice’s 3-pointer from the top of the key cut Joplin’s deficit to 33-26 at the break.
The hosts were within seven after buckets from Yust and Pagan, but the Pioneers would not be denied. Leavenworth led 56-40 late in the game en route to victory.
“Leavenworth did a great job with the dribble-drive,” Coach Floyd said. “Early on, I thought we did a good job of containing them. In the second half, we wore down a bit and they were able to get to the bucket and get some second-chance points they weren’t getting in the first half. We kept battling. I could not be more proud of the girls’ effort tonight.”
Joplin will return to action on Saturday against an opponent to be determined.
Joplin’s Emma Floyd looks to score in the lane against Leavenworth on Thursday night. Photo by Shawn Fowler.
Joplin’s Brynn Driver looks to score in the lane against Leavenworth. Photo by Shawn Fowler.
CARTHAGE, Mo. — A strong defensive effort coupled with a relentless offensive attack propelled Joplin to a 64-36 win over West Plains in the first round of the 74th Carthage Invitational.
Holding a one-point lead after the first quarter, Joplin’s defense limited West Plains to 13 points combined in the second and third quarters. During that time, the Eagle offense extended the lead to 24 points to start the fourth, building an advantage too large for any sort of a comeback.
“I felt really good about the defense starting in the second quarter,” Joplin coach Jeff Hafer said. “We didn’t start with as much energy as we wanted. … In the half court, we just started making it hard for them to make passes, forcing them to become dribblers. West Plains is a big, strong team. So, if you let them be deliberate and run their offense, they’re going to find what they want.”
Never going unnoticed, Joplin (3-0) had a tremendous day from the perimeter, finishing the win out with 11 3-pointers as a team. The Eagles were led in scoring by junior Always Wright, who finished with a game-high 29 points, including a team-high five 3-balls.
“He is a dynamic player,” Hafer said. “If you allow him to get into a rhythm and start shooting it, it’s really hard (for other team’s to defend). We got him into pick-and-roll situations, and we made the extra pass. Guys did a really good job of finding him. … They know what Always is capable of when he gets into rhythm.”
Freshman All Wright finished with 13 points, while senior Dominick Simmons hit three 3-pointers on the way to nine points. Sophomore Dante Washington added eight in the win.
Joplin advances to the play COC-rival Nixa in the second round with a 8:30 matchup on Friday.
“It is similar to last year,” Hafer said. “We both won on the first night and played each other on the second night. We were able to win that one, and then they got us later in the year. … They are a good team. We get an idea of what we need to do tomorrow night to really compete and have a chance to be a part of a COC championship again. These kids need that, a high level of competition so we know the errors we really need to hone in on as the year continues.”
Joplin took a 13-12 lead into the second quarter before a solid defensive effort led to several transition baskets by the Eagles to push the advantage to 31-18 by the intermission.
Back-to-back 3-pointers from Simmons and Always Wright to open the second gave Joplin a 19-12 advantage. Following four free throws from the Zizzers’ Bristol Wood, the Eagles closed the first half on a 12-2 run to head into the break with all of the momentum. Always Wright had seven points in the run, while Joe Jasper added a layup on the break before Simmons added another 3-ball.
The defensive effort didn’t slow down out of the break, with Joplin limiting West Plains (2-1) to six total points in the period, allowing the offense to create a 50-26 lead to start the final eight minutes of play.
“They came out a little flatter (in the second half) offensively,” Hafer said. “We kind of got the game at the speed we wanted. We were able to force some turnovers, get out and run and when we ran, a lot of those became getting to the paint, kicking out to walk-up 3s for Always that he was able to knock down. Everything we do will be predicated on our ability to defend and rebound.”
With a 33-22 lead, the Eagles scored 10 unanswered points to make the score push the lead to more than 20 for the first time, 43-22. Dante Washington started the run with a fast-break score before LT Atherton earned a steal that led to a Simmons 3-pointer on the other end. All Wright scored on a baseline drive and Always Wright finished the run with a 3-pointer from the wing with 1:50 to play in the third.
Joplin closed out the third with baskets from both Wright brothers to take a 50-26 cushion into the fourth, where the Eagles pushed the lead to 30 on the way to the opening-round win.
