Sunday, September 27, 2015

Madison Thompson's Two Home Runs, Keagan O'Riley's Pitching Highlights Mustangs' Day

Keagan O'Riley's pitching and Madison Thompson's hitting were the highlights of the day at the North Harrison Tournament, but North Nodaway was denied third place after two tough losses. The Mustangs were coming off what Coach David Carroll said was their worst game of the year, a 10-0 loss to North Andrew. Asked what he had done to light a fire under his charges following their opening round 15-0 win over Winston, he said, "Well, I went and set off quite a few firecrackers," he quipped. Seriously, he said that the girls had taken it on themselves to do better. It turned out that they had caught the Redbirds at the right time; Winston beat East Harrison 6-1 in the consolation round and scored 11 against North Harrison's JV squad before the young Shamrocks came up with a flurry of runs to win in the last inning to win 12-11.

With one out, O'Riley helped herself out by drawing a walk and stealing second. Kelsi Oberhauser hit a screamer past short to score O'Riley and stole second. Madison Thompson then hit another screamer into left to plate Oberhauser, and the Mustangs were in business against Winston up 2-0. Even though it was only 2-0, the players obviously felt they had things under control despite the Redbirds getting runners on second and third, as evidenced by the fact that they proceeded to lecture Carroll about the finer points of fielding a ground ball after he muffed a foul ball in the top of the second. O'Riley got out of the jam by striking out the side, giving her six strikeouts in two innings.

North Nodaway broke the game wide open in the second. Ashley Thompson walked, took second on Audrey Trimble's groundout, and third on a wild pitch. Breann O'Riley walked and stole second. Keagan had an epic battle with Winston pitcher Ashley Noel, getting to a 3-2 count. Finally, she hit a pop fly single to center to score Thompson. Trimble had to hold up to see if the ball would land fair and took third. Kelsi Oberhauser hit another screamer that hooked away from the fielder and landed just fair in front of the 210 sign. That scored the O'Riley girls to make it 5-0.

Six more runs came across in the third. Kristin Herndon started things off when she hit another screamer to left misplayed by the fielder, which went for extra bases. Ashley Thompson singled her home and later came home herself on a wild pitch, being roasted for the "superman slide" when she skidded on her feet and somehow did not get tagged out. A couple of Redbird errors prolonged the inning and Makayla Cross singled off the second baseman's glove to drive in a run and cap the rally. Kristin Herndon and Breann O'Riley scored on wild pitches, Kelsi Oberhauser grounded out to drive in a run, and Madison Thompson singled between third and short to drive in the 15th and final run for North Nodaway as they were able to walk off with the 15-run win.

North Nodaway looked like they were going to run away with the tournament at that point, but then they fell short in a hard-fought 4-3 battle with Pattonsburg, when the Panthers walked off with the victory in the last inning. Kelsi Oberhauser doubled to the corner in left, a carbon copy of her double in the Winston game to score Keagan O'Riley as North Nodaway used a 2-out rally to go up 3-2 after five.

David Carroll's squad thought they had it won as Pattonsburg's big guns, Rheanna Gardner and Haleigh Plymell, were not due up and the Panthers were at the bottom of the order. A win would have set up an epic showdown with Worth County; the first game had gone 12-11 in North Nodaway's favor. But then Brandi Hobson singled to left. North Nodaway catcher Kelsi Oberhauser did all she could, making a diving catch of Shaila Cramer's bunt. But then Brittanie Middaugh hit a shot off the bag at third and Alexis Harris, who came off the bench after the left fielder was shaken up and left the game, doubled in the left-center gap to tie the game and put Middaugh at third. Darian Harmon popped out to Oberhauser, but then Middaugh came home on the wild pitch. "We played hard and we played a good game," said Carroll afterwards. "Those things happen."

With everyone else struggling at the plate against Princeton, Madison Thompson did all she could to help her team win. She hit a shot over the left field fence, her second home run of the year in the second to give her team a 1-0 lead. But Princeton took full advantage of the short field, using three home runs to go up 4-1 off Keagan O'Riley, who kept her team in the game by striking out a ton of batters. Thompson came up again in the seventh and hit a mammoth shot to center, her third of the year, that would have cleared the fence on the big field, but it was not enough as North Nodaway fell 4-2.

Tiger Girls Softball Wins First Tournament in Ten Years; Dominique Findley's Home Run Sparks Team

Time will tell whether Worth County's title run at Eagleville will be the breakthrough that Coach Dave Gilland's program needed. There is still more softball left to be played. But for one day, on Saturday, the Tigers were on top of the world as they ran the table and won the North Harrison Tournament. It was sparked by a defensive play and then an offensive play against South Harrison in the first game as Worth County beat a rapidly improving Bulldog squad 3-0 in their first game.

The game was scoreless for much of the game. South Harrison uncorked a freshman pitcher, Shelby Miles, who befuddled Worth County with her junk pitches. Worth County was either getting called third strikes or check swings all morning as they had trouble waking from their morning slumber. They needed to get their confidence back after getting run-ruled by both King City and Maysville. Haley Hunt, starting for Worth County, kept Worth County in the game, but finally, things seemed to come to a head in the fourth inning. South Harrison had runners on second and third with one out, a perfect chance to break through and keep Worth County reeling. But then Kennedi Virtue tried to score on a passed ball. The problem was, the game was being played on the short field, with the fence a short distance from the plate, making it virtually impossible to score on a passed ball. That means that Tiger catcher Adrian Fletchall had an easy toss to Haley Hunt covering the plate to kill the potential big inning.

After that, Worth County woke up and started swinging the bats better. Payton Adwell got Worth County out of trouble in the fifth when she caught Emily Starmer's line drive and doubled Kennedi Virtue off first. Rikky Hunt relieved Haley in the fifth and pitched two innings of shut-down relief, but Worth County still needed a spark. They got it in the top of the seventh as Mollie Blaine singled, Haley Hunt was plunked by a pitch, and then Dominique Findley, who had come close earlier in the game, yanked one out of the yard to left. The ball hooked some, but landed fair to give Worth County the 3-0 lead and the win when Rikky Hunt shut down South Harrison in the bottom of the seventh for the win.

That brought up Princeton, a team that they had trouble matching up with last year. Worth County was trailing 2-1 in the bottom of the third and Princeton was looking to extend it after a dropped third strike. First baseman Brooklyn White forgot to cover the bag, but the ball didn't roll far enough away and the Tigers were able to throw a runner out at the plate for the third out. What could have been a big inning turned out to be nothing. 

That was a big momentum changer for the Tigers. In the top of the fourth, Rikky Hunt beat out pitcher Payton Goodin's throw on a bunt and Payton Adwell hit a grounder to short. It was a simple force play, but Rikky Jo took out the second baseman, the ball was dropped, and she was safe. They went to second and third on a wild pitch and Rachael Gardner reached on a dropped throw by the first baseman as Hunt scored. Dominique Findley grounded out to score Adwell, and then another Princeton miscue gave Worth County a third run. With two outs, Haley Hunt hit a grounder to third and the third baseman forgot there were two outs and threw home in an attempt to retire Rachael Gardner coming home from third instead of getting the easy out at first. But Gardner was safe and Worth County was up 4-2 after four.

Sidney Troutwine beat out yet another bunt hit, something she has done a lot of this year. Payton Adwell grounded out to get her to second, and she took third on a wild pitch. Rikky Jo walked and stole second and Payton Adwell brought them both home with a single to left to make it 6-2. Worth County seemed to have a charmed life all day; one play happened when Payton Adwell tried to take third on a delayed steal attempt. She would have been a sitting duck as the shortstop did her job and covered the bag as the third baseman was playing in guarding against the bunt. But the third baseman cut off the throw and the Peastick (as nicknamed by her teammates) was safe.

Worth County continued to have a charmed life in the sixth as Dominique Findley singled over short and third in the sixth. She took off for second as a ball got away from the catcher, and she would have been a sitting duck had she been paying attention. But she made it without a throw and later, Victoria Moore hit a screamer down the left field line after she had two strikes on her, and The Domino came home. Later, Sidney Troutwine walked and Victoria started trotting to third base thinking there were three outs. The Princeton defense didn't realize what had happened until it was too late, and Moore was safe at third. 

Payton Adwell pitched a six inning complete game for the win, which set up a showdown with Pattonsburg for the championship.

It had been so long since Worth County had been in this position that Payton Adwell didn't even realize the team was playing in the championship game. The players actually thought Dave Gilland was messing around with them when he told them the team had been seeded first. The last time they had been in this position was in 2007, when they played in the championship game of the Union Star Tournament and lost. 

But fatigue was a decisive factor in the championship game. Pattonsburg had come off a grueling battle with North Nodaway, which they had won 4-3; the Mustangs have beaten the Tigers this year. Katie Warford, who had pitched and went the distance in that game, pitched for the Panthers as the future GRC foes locked horns. She showed early signs of fatigue as she walked Adrian Fletchall and Rikky Hunt to lead off the game; it's never a good sign when the first two batters of an inning are walked. North Nodaway had swung at her high heat all game, but when Worth County laid off her high heat, she had no backup plan. Adrian advanced on a wild pitch and Rikky Jo later stole second. Payton Adwell singled them home and The Peastick later scored when on a wild pitch to make it 3-0. Worth County lost the coin flip all three times, but that simply gave them a chance to jump out early.

Pattonsburg had two dangerous hitters in Rheanna Gardner and Haleigh Plymell, the latter whom slugged a home run in the Panthers' opening win against East Harrison. But Rikky Hunt, who was pitching, shut them down in the first. That gave Worth County a chance to add to their lead. They did when Sidney Troutwine, normally a bunter, hit a single down the right field line to score Haley Hunt after Haley had beat out a scratch hit off the third baseman's glove and stole second and third. Troutwine advanced to second on a wild pitch, took third on Adrian Fletchall's bunt, and scored on a wild pitch when Warford failed to cover.

Pattonsburg began its comeback bid in the bottom of the third as the top of the order came around; Haleigh Plymell grounded out to Rikky Hunt to score Brittanie Middaugh, and Warford sngled home Amber Shaw. That made it 5-2, and it looked like the Panthers would finally make a game out of it after their slow start. But nobody could have predicted what happened next.

Sidney Troutwine reached on an error that went through the shortstop's legs and Adrian Fletchall walked. Rikky Jo made a rare miscue when she took a called third strike, but then a successful delayed steal put Fletchall and Troutwine on second and third. The Peastick was up next and the Pattonsburg right fielder lost a fly ball in the sun; it dropped in for a single and Payton went to second on the throw home as Worth County moved out of striking distance and led 7-2. That opened up the floodgates; Adwell took third on a wild pitch and then scored as Rachael Gardner reached on an error. Later, Mollie Blaine, who has been a sparkplug all year for the Tigers, laid down a perfect bunt with Gardner on third and she beat the throw home to make it 9-2.

After Mollie Blaine pulled off a delayed steal of home, Warford was finished and Shalia Cramer came in an effort to slow down the Tigers. Gilland had told his players that the South Harrison pitcher they faced was the slowest pitcher they would face all year; this one was slower. Worth County has had trouble the last two years facing slow pitchers; however, it didn't matter this time. Hailey Hunt got a couple of scratch hits, Adrian Fletchall roped a single to center that plated two, Dominique Findley scored on a wild pitch, Rikky Jo beat out a scratch hit down the third base line and later came around to score on a wild pitch, and there was a regular carousel of baserunners coming in and scoring. It was all capped off when Hailey Hunt and Payton Adwell both scored on a wild pitch. When the dust had settled, Worth County was up 18-2 and the game was stopped after four innings due to the 15 run rule.

Brevyn Ross Breaks 1,000 Yards; Tigers Continue to Roll

In a week which was marked with shockers and near-shockers, Worth County jumped on Nodaway/South Holt, fended off their comeback attempts, and came away with a 66-18 win in the third quarter Friday. Missouri lost to perennial doormat Kentucky 21-13, while Northwest Missouri State nearly lost to winless Central Oklahoma before pulling off a 23-16 win.

Coach Chris Healy elected to go with a more balanced strategy, starting with the third play of the game in which he put Isaac Alarcon in Wildkat formation; he handed it off to Dylan Mildfeldt on a jet sweep around the left end and he outran everyone for Worth County's first score just 55 seconds into the game. Brevyn Ross still got his yards and recognition -- he ran for 133 that night, and he was KMA's player of the game afterwards. He also caught two passes for 100 yards. Ben Badell threw for 148 yards and Isaac Alarcon ran for 125 as Worth County racked up over 400 yards for the night.

After Josh Petersen's Spartans went three and out, Ross hauled in a 35-yard pass from Ben Badell to set up Worth County's next score. Brevyn scored from 5 yards out after getting blocks from Isaac Alarcon and Tristan Miller with 8:50 left to put Worth County up 14-0. Peterson, for some reason, decided to go for the fake punt on the next play from his own 28; it fooled nobody as Tevin Cameron made a perfect one on one tackle of Brody Day to give Worth County another short field at the Spartan 30. Brevyn Ross took advantage as he ripped off a 13 yarder to the 17, aided by blocks from Mason Hawk and Isaac Alarcon. On the next play Ross went up the middle and got a block from Jacob Hardy. He got to the second level and broke a couple of tackles with 7:08 left. Ben Badell carried out a fake handoff to Isaac that fooled everyone and his keeper supplied the extra points to make it 22-0.

Chris Alarcon stripped Day on the next series to set up another short field for Worth County at the 35. They were faced with third and 11 at the Spartan 36, but then Brevyn Ross shot through the left guard and got a block from Drake Kinsella. That was enough to spring him loose for another score with 5:26 left in the first quarter. Ross got blocks from Chris and Isaac Alarcon to make it 30-0. Dalton Auffert's sack forced Nodaway/South Holt to punt and that set up Ross' 42 yard score, in which he broke through and stiff-armed a would-be tackler with 4:15 left to make it 36-0.

Isaac Alarcon picked off a Hail Mary attempt from Alan Ottman to prize receiver Carey Volner, and the Tigers were back in business again at their own 14. At that point, Coach Chris Healy began filtering in his JV, but Josh Peterson's squad wasn't ready to quit and they forced a three and out and got a score after Ottman threaded the needle to James Chestnut from 18 yards out with 9:23 left in the second quarter to make it 36-6. At that point, Worth County began to play down to the Spartans' level; they were driving in for a potential score when they lost a fumble at the Spartan 19. Worth County held on the next series, but then could not get anything going as Petersen was stacking the box with eight players and Worth County was getting nowhere with its running game. That set up Ottman's 1-yard sneak to make it 36-12 with 2:01 left in the half.

Worth County ran out most of the clock for the half; aided by a facemask penalty on Nodaway/South Holt, they were able to get down to the 9. Brevyn Ross then attempted a halfback pass and led Chris Alarcon perfectly for a strike to make it 44-12 with 26.4 seconds left. But an attempt to squib kick it backfired as Zach Walker scooped it up and ran it back with 18 seconds left to make it 44-18. But after Tevin Cameron fell on a squib at the Tiger 15, Worth County set up a perfectly executed tunnel screen to Brevyn Ross, who followed his blocking down the right sideline and into the endzone for a 65-yard score with 3.3 seconds to spare. Isaac Alarcon threw a block and Brevyn ran in the extra points to make it 52-18 at the half; that turned out to be the backbreaking play. The fortunate thing about that screen pass was that Nodaway/South Holt got the ball to start the second half; if Worth County had not scored, the Spartans would have had two opportunities to score without Worth County touching the ball.

As it was, the Spartans shot themselves in the foot to start the half; Nate Pointer, who had been flagged for roughing the passer on one of their scoring drives, redeemed himself on their first play from scrimmage as he recovered perfectly after getting beat and hauled in a pick at the Tiger 34. That set up the highlight film play of the night as Ben Badell led Chris Alarcon perfectly down the field with a throw that traveled over 60 yards for a score; Topher reached out and the ball stuck to his hands like velcro. Mason Hawk made a leaping catch in the end zone to make it 60-18.

Nodaway/South Holt tried in vain to stop the bleeding, going three and out after a guard eligible play to Nali Tattersall went astray. Worth County was faced with fourth and four at their own 37, but then Mason Hawk caught a pass leaning over the sideline and somehow managed to keep his feet inbounds to keep the drive alive. Brevyn Ross then dragged a defender five yards down to the 24 and then Isaac Alarcon broke a couple of tackles and walked the tightrope down the right sideline to finish Nodaway/South Holt at the 7:43 mark in the third quarter.

Thursday, September 24, 2015

Obituary -- John Ronald Gross 1960-2015

John Ronald Gross, 54, Maryville, Missouri, died Sunday, September 20, 2015, at his home, Maryville, Missouri.

John was born December 16, 1960, in Maryville, to John Ronald "Jack" and Elna (Peregrine) Gross. 

A 1980 graduate of Maryville High School, John was a Brick Layer and with Maintenance at Laclede Chain Manufacturing Company, Maryville.

John was a member of the St. Gregory Barbarigo Catholic Church, Maryville and Brick Layers Union Local #5, Kansas City, Missouri.

Preceding in death were his father Jack Gross and brothers Donald and Gary Gross.

Survivors include his daughter Michaela Jordan, Kansas City, MO
mother Elna Gross, Maryville, brothers Francis Gross, College Springs, IA,
Duane Gross, Pickering, MO, Martin Gross, Maryville, MO, David Gross, Grant City, MO, and sisters Carol Sears, Maryville, MO, and Janice Diggs, State of KS.

A Parish Prayer Service will be held 5:00 PM , Friday, September 25, 2015 at the St. Gregory's Barbarigo Catholic Church with a visitation following at 5:30 PM to 7:30 PM.

Mass of Christian Burial will be 2:00 PM, Saturday, September 26, 2015, at St. Gregory Barbarigo Catholic Church, with burial following in St Mary's Cemetery, Maryville, 


www.pricefuneralhomemaryville.com

Grant City Baptist Church to Help People Clean Yards in October

Grant City had a cleanup day on September 26th. Now, the city is intensifying its efforts to help people clean up the town as the Baptist Church secured cooperation with the city for a volunteer cleanup day on October 24th at the regular Grant City Council Meeting Wednesday. On that day, volunteers will go to various residents' houses and help them clean their yards. The city will be a central planning center for the efforts, and the brush dump will be open that day. Wanda Fletchall of the church said that they were busy enlisting other churches and organizations in the effort. She said that the goal was to hold this event twice a year.

Water Superintendent Caleb Moyer said that the water truck was having transmission issues and that it would cost around $1,800 to rebuild. The city is in the process of getting bids to repair the baby pool. The main pool also needs repairs; they are covered under warranty. The city will have a special meeting on October 1st to take bids for the baby pool.

Public Works Director Carl Staton reported that city crews have been cutting brush, especially on the road leading past Crestwood to the school. They have also patched potholes and repaired the drive leading to Dollar General.

The city proclaimed October as Breast Cancer Awareness Month and the week of September 17th to 23rd as US Constitution Week.

Clerk Ayvonne Morin reported that major repairs would need to be made on the city hall building roof, which she said was leaking during downpours. It leaks in the middle area and she said she had to put out buckets. The furnace, which was put in back in the 1980's, will also need replacing.

Worth Treatin' will be held on October 25th this year.

WCCC Back Up to 21 Residents

After hovering at around 16 residents for the last few months, the WCCC is now back up to 21 residents. There were three admissions during the week of September 16th, one during the week of the 23rd, and one the week of the 30th to bring their total up. Administrator Bev Miller reported these numbers at the regular board meeting Wednesday.

Work on the guttering and the activity room is done. A trench was dug so that water would flow into the north ditch instead of pooling during prolonged downpours.

Work on the north parking lot will start on September 29th; it will be down for two weeks.

The WCCC underwent its annual survey. There were six fire safety tags and six federal tags. All of them were minor.

There will be two upcoming events at the facility. The facility will participate in Worth Treating this year, and they will host a Holiday Dinner in December. Miller said she was in the process of getting a grant for help with catering meals at the facility. There was an employee reunion held last month; the bank will hold one in October.

Can We Go Home Yet? Polo Softball Games Last till 9:30

Following Polo's 5-4 win over Worth County in the varsity game, the teams played a JV game that lasted five innings. The game left everyone wondering why it was taking so long. The answer is in the rules -- by GRC adoption, varsity softball games must be followed by junior varsity games that are five innings or an hour and 15 minutes in length.

The upside is that players have opportunities to earn playing time. Coaches can either play substitutes who did not play in the varsity game or varsity players playing out of position. In some cases, Coach Dave Gilland took it a step farther, having Adrian Fletchall bat left-handed instead of right-handed, and having Payton Adwell bat left-handed and work on her slapping ability. The rule clearly improves the quality of play -- there are no weak teams in the conference. "This is a perfect chance for players to earn playing time," said Coach Gilland.

On the other hand, there is a downside; since Polo is two hours away, their players did not get home until 12 midnight, meaning only six hours of sleep before they had to wake up and go to school. On the other hand, two alternative solutions have their downsides; starting games at, say, 4:30 instead of 5:30 will simply lead to loss of class time for athletes, who would have to make up more homework as a result. Another possible solution, scheduling JV games separately, would mean more transportation costs and logistics.

The JV game was a back and forth game similar to the varsity game, but with a different ending. Polo scored three in the top of the fifth to take an 8-6 lead. But then Worth County scored three in the bottom of the inning to come away with the win. Payton Adwell hit a chopper that the third baseman had no play on with a runner on third to drive in the winning run, giving the Tigers a 9-8 win.

Indecisive Umpiring Mars Girls Softball Game with Polo

The softball game between Worth County and Polo Monday night was marred by an umpiring call that took 15 minutes to make, and that killed a rally for Worth County. Worth County took a 1-0 lead in the second when the Polo catcher threw away a ball trying to nail Hailey Hunt at third; Polo teed off on pitcher Rikky Hunt and got three in the third to make it 3-1.

With runners on first and second and nobody out, Rachael Gardner laid down a bunt down the first base line. The ball took a crazy bounce back down the first base line towards the third base foul line and made contact with Gardner's bat. The call is a judgement call for the umpire -- if the ball contacts the bat in fair territory, it is a live ball and remains in play. If the bat hits the ball, then the batter is called out for interference and any runners return to their bases.

Gardner was safe at first and everyone advanced, which loaded the bases with nobody out. But then the Polo coach came out and argued the call, which led to a conference. After the conference, the inexperienced base umpire overturned the plate umpire's call, which prompted an argument from Worth County Coach Dave Gilland. Then, Gardner was returned to the plate and the runners returned to first and second, prompting another argument from the Polo coach. Then, Gardner was called out and Gilland argued some more, to no avail.

This silliness could all have been avoided had the umpires simply stuck with their original call. It is a judgement call either way; that said, our common sense is that we shouldn't penalize players in the way that these umpires did unless there is no maybe about it. The rule is designed to prevent interference by a batter with a ball in play; that was not Gardner's intent at all when she threw her bat down. If a decision is made in conflict with the rules, it can and should be reversed and there is a procedure for that in MSHSAA games. But in a judgement call, the umpire should make a call and stick with it. Such calls should not be reversed unless there is no maybe about it.

Instead of getting back into the game, Worth County came up emptyhanded when Hailey Hunt hit a screamer to short, doubling off Payton Adwell in the process when it was snagged. The rest of the game was a carbon copy of the Albany game -- the Tigers got behind 5-2, only to swing the momentum in the sixth inning. Gardner, obviously playing with a short memory, robbed Averie Heil of extra bases in the sixth. First baseman Hailey Hunt made a shoestring catch of a line drive from Jenni Farmer, doubling off Adrianna Staus off first to take a potential big inning away from the Panthers. Worth County rallied in the seventh, just like the Albany game, getting two runs to make it 5-4. But then they came up short. The Tigers were shorthanded, with one of their best hitters, Mollie Blaine sidelined (strep throat). They have gone the distance in most of their games for a change, yet they can't seem to catch breaks when needed. They are due for one at some point.

Obituary -- Roy Ragan 1956-2015

Roy Dean Ragan, age 59, Hopkins, Missouri died Friday, September 18, 2015 at the Mosaic Life Center in Saint Joseph, Missouri.

Roy was born July 28, 1956 in Bethany, Missouri, the son of Randall Dean and Doris Lurine (Wise) Ragan.

Preceding him in death were his father; two brothers, Ronald and infant Kenneth Ragan; sisters, Patricia and infant Pamela Ragan.

Survivors include: Mother, Doris (John) West; sisters, Teresa (Rusty) Ungles, Kaylene (Donnie) Hatfield, brother, Richard (Peggy) Ragan.

Mr. Ragan’s body has been cremated. Family memorial services will be held at a later date at the Maple Grove Cemetery, Trenton, Missouri.


Arrangements: andrewshannfuneralhome.com

Obituary -- Max Findley 1928-2015

Max Sylvester Findley, age 87, Bethany, Missouri, formerly of Lone Star, Missouri; died Tuesday, September 22, 2015 at his home.

Max was born May 4, 1928 near Lone Star, Missouri; son of the late Rev. John A. and Tuleta (Williams) Findley.

Max was a graduate of New Hampton High School, New Hampton, Missouri, class of 1948.
Max served his country in the United States Army, and was stationed in Mineral Wells, Texas.
After the military, Max spent most of his life on the family farm near Lone Star, where he loved and enjoyed raising cattle.

Max was a lifelong member of the Lone Star Baptist Church.  When he became too frail to attend, he listened to services on the radio.  He possessed a childlike trust in Jesus.

Max was single all his life but maintained close ties with nieces and nephews, especially Orville Barber who cared for him in his home the last years of his life.

Preceding Max in death were his parents; three brothers, Claris, Rex and John A. Findley; four sisters, Eunice Deatherage, Kathleen Barber, Jane Graham and Marie Jacobs.  We trust that he was met with joy and is enjoying long conversations with loved ones.

His survivors include: many nieces and nephews, one of which he lived with Orville D. Barber, Bethany.

Funeral services will be held 2:00 PM, Saturday, September 26, at the Lone Star Baptist Church, Denver, Missouri.  Visitation will be one hour prior to the services at the church.  Burial: Lone Star Cemetery, Denver.  Memorial: Lone Star Baptist Church.


Arrangements:  Andrews-Hann Funeral Home, Grant City, Missouri

Monday, September 21, 2015

Ricky Supinger Injured in Motorcycle Crash

Ricky Supinger, 55, of Redding, was injured Saturday at 4:45 pm in a motorcycle crash two miles north of Gentry. The Missouri State Highway Patrol reports that a 1996 Yamaha Motorcycle driven by Supinger was northbound on Route YY when it crossed the center of the roadway, and went off the west side. The motorcycle struck a road sign and ejected Supinger. The motorcycle came to rest on its side in the ditch on the west side of the roadway. Supinger was wearing a safety device at the time of the crash. He received moderate injuries and was transported by ambulance to Northwest Medical Center in Albany.

Obituary -- Mary Ellen Brown 1918-2015

Mary Ellen Brown, 97, Maryville, Missouri, died Wednesday, September 9, 2015, at Parkdale Manor Care Center, Maryville, Missouri.

Mary Ellen was born August 15, 1918, in Pickering, Missouri to Edmond and Blanche (Shanklin) Shores.

A 1936 graduate of Quitman, Missouri High School, she was a homemaker.

Mary Ellen married James Homer Brown October 4, 1938, in Oregon, Missouri.

She was preceded in death by her parents; husband Homer Brown (December 16, 2004); son Roger Brown; 4 sisters: Ruth McIntosh, Nettie Davie, Eva Jean Kruse and Betty McGinnis; 2 brothers: Joe and Eddie Shores and 2 sons-in-law: Francis Deen and Bob Shoup.

Surviving Marry Ellen are her children: Wilma Jean (Jack) LaFlesch, Las Vegas, NV, Ada Mae (Owen) Hines, Maryville, Louise Deen, Maryville, Joe (Marianne) Brown, Hopkins, MO; Daughter-in-law Marva Brown, Springfield, MO; 16 grandchildren; 33 great-grandchildren and 17 great-great-grandchildren.

Visitation is 12:00-2:00 PM, Tuesday, September 15, 2015, at Price Funeral Home, Maryville.

Graveside Funeral Services will follow the visitation at 2:00 PM, Tuesday, at Oak Hill Cemetery, Maryville.

Memorials may be made to the Quitman, Missouri Cemetery Fund.

Obituary -- Derrel Snow 1941-2015

Derrel Martin Snow, 74, Maryville, Missouri, died Sunday, September 13, 2015.

Derrel was born January 7, 1941, in Grant City, Missouri to Daniel Martin Snow and Goldie Kathleen (Lane) Snow

A 1959 graduate of Sheridan High School, he was the president of Derrel Snow Inc. of Maryville.

He married Anne Margaret Womersley July 30, 1962, in St. Joseph, Missouri. He served his country with the US Army for three years.

Derrel was preceded in death by his parents and two brothers: Harold and Keith Snow.

Surviving him are his wife: Anne Snow, of their home in Maryville; four children: David Snow, Omaha, Nebraska; Mark Snow, Graham, Missouri; Stephen Snow and Nancy Snow, both of Maryville; thirteen grandchildren; three great-grandchildren; a sister: Maxine Dreher, Junction City, Kansas and nieces and nephews.

Visitation is 6:00-8:00 PM, Wednesday, September 16, 2015, at Price Funeral Home, Maryville, Missouri.

Graveside Service and Burial will be 10:30 AM, Thursday, September 17, 2015, at Van Schoyek Cemetery, Sheridan, Missouri.

Obituary -- Carolyn Bowman 1936-2015

Carolyn Bowman, 79, of Sioux Falls, SD, passed away on Friday, September 18, 2015, at St. Luke’s Northland Hospital, North Kansas City, MO.

Carolyn was born in Maryville, MO, on February 2, 1936. Her parents were Charles M. and Pauline (Miller) Massie, they preceded her in death. She was also preceded by her daughter Nancy Lynn Bowman, and her two sisters, Virginia Hogue-Combs, and Norma Newman.

She graduated from Hopkins High School in 1954, and had attended Northwest Missouri State Teachers College in Maryville.

She loved horses in her youth, and in her later years cooking for her family and friends was a great joy. She was of the Christian faith, and had once been the organist at a Presbyterian church in Shakopee, MN.

On September 6, 1955, Carolyn was united in marriage to Ronald Dean Bowman, in Pickering, MO. He survives of the home.

Carolyn and Ronald moved to Minnesota in 1955. Then in 1978 they moved and lived in Escondido, CA, until April of this year. She had been a homemaker, raising the children, and took temporary secretary jobs in Minnesota. She later sold real estate in California for 20 Years.

Survivors include her husband Ronald, of the home; 2 children, Kimberly (Tom) DeRuyter, Fairbanks, AK, and Darwin Bowman, Minneapolis, MN; 2 grandchildren, Megan DeRuyter, and Chloe Lynch; and numerous nieces and nephews, and friends.

Services will be at 1:30 PM, on Tuesday, September 22, 2015, at the Bram-Danfelt Funeral Home, Maryville, MO. The burial will follow in the Nodaway Memorial Gardens, Maryville.

The family will receive friends from 6-7:30 PM, Monday, September 21, 2015, at the funeral home.

In lieu of flowers, donations are suggested to the COPD Foundation, Donation Headquarters, 3300 Ponce de Leon Blvd, Miami, FL 33134, or DONATE@COPDFOUNDATION.ORG. Or, to a charity of the donor’s choice.

For online condolences and guest book, visit www.bramfuneralhome.com

Obituary -- Edith Pistole 1926-2015

Edith Jean Pistole, 89, passed away unexpectedly on Monday, September 8, 2015, in Maryville, MO. Born September 2, 1926, to Earl and Norma (Voshell) Browning near Elmo, MO.

Edith attended Plum Grove School and graduated from Hopkins High School in 1944. After graduating high school Edith attended Northwest Missouri State College, Maryville, MO. Edith taught in country schools and was later employed by North Nodaway, R-VI in Hopkins, MO, for 22 years.

Edith married John H. Pistole on June 22, 1949, in Maryville, MO. To this union two children were born, Delbert Wesley and Janyne.

Edith was a faithful and caring wife to John, a loving Mother to her children, grandchildren, great grandchildren and loved her sisters children, Ted and Jeff Coleman, Becky (Coleman) Castillo and Cindee (Coleman) Reed, as her own.

Edith was a faithful member of the Hopkins Baptist Church for 60 years. She taught Primary, Junior and Adult Sunday School Classes. She served as Church Clerk, Financial Secretary and Principal of the Junior Sunday School Department. Edith also taught classes in Bible School and was the Church Organist until the time of her death.

Left to cherish the memories of a wonderful Mother, Grandmother and friend are son, Wesley (Marla) Pistole, Hopkins; daughter, Janyne (Robert) Leland, Evanston, WY; sister in law Darlene Andrews, Hopkins. There are four grandsons, John W. (Patty) Pistole, Elmo, Bill (Heather) Pistole, Maryville, Clint Schroeder, Honolulu, HI, and Cody (Kayla) Schroeder, Idaho Falls, ID, as well as four step grandsons; eight great grandsons; two great granddaughters, and one great great-grandson.

Edith was preceded in death by her husband, parents; brothers, Garold and Delbert Browning; sisters, Lois and Neva Browning and Eva June Coleman; grandson Nicholas Leland, and great grandson, Hagen Leland.
Edith will be sadly missed by the large community of relatives and friends.

Joint memorial services for Edith and John Pistole will be held on Saturday, September 19, 2015, at 11:00 AM, at the Hopkins Cemetery, Hopkins, MO. Military Rites for John Pistole will be conducted at the conclusion of services. John Pistole passed away on July 18, 2014.

Services are under the direction of the Bram-Danfelt Funeral Home, Maryville, MO.

Memorial contributions are suggested to a charity of the donor’s choice.

For online condolences and guest book, visit www.bramfuneralhome.com

Maggie Schmitz Gets Win; Northeast Downs South Nodaway for Second Time

Northeast Nodaway recovered from dropping its first two games of the North Andrew Tournament by beating South Nodaway 11-3 in its final game of the tournament. Maggie Schmitz pitched Northeast to the victory, getting her first career win for Danny Smith's squad. Northeast scored in every inning but the fourth in the win.

Maggie Schmitz helped herself out at the plate by getting three hits, as did Jill Spire. Jill Spire, Dallis Coffelt, and Emily Redden each got doubles. Maggie Schmitz collected two triples as she had a career day at the plate. Northeast got 11 hits for the game. Schmitz, Talina Nelson, and Dallis Coffelt each drove in two runs in the victory. Emily Redden drove in one. With the win, Northeast doubled its win total from last year.

Mammoth Shot by Kelsi Oberhauser Propels Mustangs to Consolation

Kelsi Oberhauser hit a mammoth shot for a home run at North Andrew against Northeast Nodaway. It was one of the longest home runs ever hit at the North Andrew ballfield, and it propelled David Carroll's Mustangs to a consolation title after they had won the rubber game of the series between themselves and Northeast Nodaway. North Nodaway built up a 6-3 lead before Northeast chipped away at it for the rest of the game, coming up short and falling 6-5.

Breann O'Riley got the win for North Nodaway and got three hits for the Mustangs, as did Madison Thompson. Makayla Cross and Oberhauser each had two hits for North Nodaway, which had 11 hits. That was a recovery for the Mustangs, who had dropped a 13-3 decision to Plattsburg. Oberhauser had a double in addition to her home run; Thompson had a double as well. Oberhauser drove in three runs for North Nodaway. Cross and Thompson had one each.

For Northeast, Dallis Coffelt took the loss. Makayla Adwell got two hits for Northeast, including a double. Alicia Smith, Talina Nelson, Taylor Coffelt, Maggie Schmitz, and Jill Spire all had doubles. Maggie Schmitz drove in two runs for Northeast; Adwell and Spire had one each.

North Nodaway had a much easier time against Albany. They jumped out to a quick 4-0 lead against the Warriors and went on to win 7-2 for their second trophy of the year.

Worth County Sheriff's Report

9-14 -- Horses out on Route C; owner notified.
9-14 -- Person in to pick up statement forms.
9-14 -- Person in with papers for sheriff.
9-14 -- Concerned person calls about a vacant lot in Grant City being junked up with junk cars; referred to City Hall.
9-14 -- Officer investigates disturbances in county.
9-14 -- Officer investigates rural breakin.
9-15 -- Person in about accident report.
9-16 -- Department of Senior Services calls about elderly person.
9-17 -- Juvenile officer in office.
9-17 -- Residents in to file bad check charges.
9-18 -- Officer assists person with keys locked in car.
9-18 -- Officers investigate disturbance in Grant City.

Saturday, September 19, 2015

Top Eight Man Teams Roll; Tigers Up to #4

The top three teams rolled this week, and Worth County did nothing to hurt its newfound status as the fourth ranked team in eight man football. The upset of the week was Mound City's 48-20 win over Rock Port. And Albany narrowly escaped one against Nodaway/South Holt. Worth County will take any 45-point game they will get, but there are no more weak teams for them to face.

#1 North Andrew 72, Stewartsville 0
Stewartsville was tabbed to be on the rise as the season started, but they fell hard to North Andrew in this halftime game.

#2 Stanberry 82, Sedalia Sacred Heart 26
Stanberry, despite the long drive and a long lightning delay, had little trouble disposing of Sedalia Sacred Heart by halftime.

#3 Southwest Livingston 80, Pattonsburg 0
Lake Crowe and Southwest Livingston had just as little trouble disposing of Pattonsburg. He had 21 carries for 326 yards in the victory.

#4 Worth County 62, #10 North-West Nodaway 14
The anticipated shootout between Worth County and North-West Nodaway did not materialize. Worth County set out to reestablish itself defensively after giving up 58 points to Albany and allowing its first four-quarter game this year. North-West still hasn't solved its defensive woes and killed two drives with penalties. The Tigers have solidified themselves as one of the teams to beat this year, while the Muskets have to regroup following this one.

Worth County was without quarterback Ben Badell, but it didn't matter as Brevyn Ross (269 yards) and Isaac Alarcon (174 yards) stepped up and carried the load for the Tigers. Alarcon is only a freshman and Dylan Mildfeldt showed that he will be a force in future years.

#6 Hardin-Central 50, #5 St. Joseph Christian 22
Another marquee matchup this week. Hardin Central was licking its wounds following its first defeat of the season, but they rose to the occasion and stopped the Lions. Rhyler Estenbaum rushed 23 times for 224 yards for Hardin-Central, which broke up a tight game in the third quarter. They were leading 20-14, but they outscored Christian 20-8 to take control. Jonathan Wing did all he could for Christian, getting 9 carries on 116 yards and scoring on three long touchdown runs to keep them in the game.

Mound City 48, #7 Rock Port 20
The upset of the week happened in Mound City. The Panthers were leading 14-8 when Ben Shifflett ran wild in a 26 point third quarter, ripping off runs of 50, 53, and 42 yards. The shell-shocked Bluejays, who lost Brady Minter for the year with an injury, could not respond and Mound City came away with the victory. Shifflett also threw for a long pass in the second quarter to put them up for good. Caden Linthicum did all he could for Rock Port; he ran for 141 yards and caught for 60 more.

#8 Albany 44, Nodaway-South Holt 42
Another near-upset was posted in Graham as Allen Ottman threw for 196 yards and Brody Day ran for 101 more as the Spartans built up a 36-22 lead in the third quarter. But Albany rode Seth Cline's back as he scored two touchdowns to tie it up at 36 going into the fourth quarter. Nodaway-South Holt scored to take a 42-36 lead, but Cline threw a pass to Caden Wilson for a four yard score and then converted a pass to Wilson for the victory. Cline ran for 164 yards for Albany.

Appleton City 68, #9 Greenfield 44
Greenfield posted two wins, but lost to an Arkansas rival.

Rankings are courtesy of the Missouri Eight Man Coaches Association.

Brevyn Ross Rushes for 269; Tigers Ground Muskets 62-14

Worth County rushed for almost 500 yards as Brevyn Ross posted 269 and Isaac Alarcon added another 174 as they beat North-West Nodaway 62-14 as an expected shootout between the two teams did not materialize. "Our kids wanted to come out and show that they were a better defensive team than what they showed against Albany," said Assistant Coach Jon Adwell after the win. Playing against a team like North-West Nodaway requires taking up lots of practice team working on stuff that they might not see all year. But the players were up to the challenge. On the other end, Worth County was simply much physically stronger than the Muskets, driving them back five yards even when they put all eight players in the box in an effort to stop the run. 

Worth County was playing shorthanded, going without Ben Badell (concussion) and Dylan Mildfeldt (concussion). Coach Chris Healy put in Chris Alarcon at quarterback; he stepped right in and completed a couple of long passes. That moved Tevin Cameron to end, where he played last year. Alarcon underthrew one pass to Cameron, but Tevin adjusted to make the catch and then broke away for a 46 yard score early in the second half. Mildfeldt was one of the main players on kickoff coverage, but with the exception of one play in the second quarter, Worth County was able to contain on kickoffs. 

Fourth downs were a key to Worth County's success Friday night. While they converted on every single one of their first downs, North-West Nodaway was struggling to convert on theirs. Worth County was never stopped, except once right before the end of the first half when they drove from their own five all the way to the Musket six before time expired. Their first fourth down conversion came with 9:08 left in the first, when Brevyn Ross took a sweep down the right side, juked a defender, and was off to the races to make it 6-0.

North-West's passing attack was grounded and Koby Reynolds, who had misfired on his first few attempts, threw a strike to Isaac Alarcon, who would have returned it for a score, but it was called back to the 22 by a block in the back penalty. It didn't matter as Isaac ripped off a 15-yard score as Brevyn was a perfect decoy, drawing off all the Musket players and giving him plenty of open space to run. Isaac ran in the extra points to make it 14-0. 

Koby Reynolds finally got going, throwing strikes to Jakob Cordell, Korbin Koch, and Cordell again. Koch caught another 12-yarder down to the Tiger 15, but then Dalton Auffert got a sack as Brevyn Ross flushed Reynolds from the pocket. Cordell took a shovel pass 12 yards down to the 8, but then there was a mixup on the next play as two blue shirts were in the vicinity of the pass and Reynolds' pass sailed between them incomplete as Worth County held on downs. It was the inability to convert fourth downs all night that would kill the Muskets.

On the ensuing series, North-West committed everything towards stopping the run, but Brevyn Ross and Isaac Alarcon were moving piles 4-5 yards at a time on the ground. Worth County was faced with fourth and four at the Musket 20, but then Chris Alarcon fooled everyone and his first career pass attempt was complete as Mason Hawk came up with his first ever catch down to the 13 to keep the drive alive. On the next play, a Musket defender had Brevyn Ross completely wrapped up, but he somehow slipped out of the tackle and dove five yards into the end zone. Chris Alarcon ran in the extra points to make it 22-0 with 9:08 left. 

Finally, North-West got going and showed the form they had displayed all year. Koby Reynolds showed why he is one of the most difficult men in the area to bring down as he somehow eluded Brevyn Ross, one of the better tacklers on the team, and threw a strike to Jakob Cordell. Cordell showed his physical strength on the play as he dragged Isaac Alarcon 10 yards to the Tiger 13. That set up Koby Reynolds' one yard run with 5:44 left  in the second to make it 22-8.

But then North-West's kickoff coverage broke down as Brevyn Ross ran back the ensuing kick to the Musket 26. On the first play from scrimmage, the play call fooled everyone on the North-West sideline, who thought Chris Alarcon was dropping back to pass to Tevin Cameron. But nobody saw Isaac Alarcon slipping out of the backfield with the ball until it was too late and he rumbled in for a 26 yard score with 5:30 left in the half. Brevyn Ross got a block from Isaac to make it 30-8. That set off a sequence of four scores within a 45-second span. Colt McIntyre burst right up the middle to score for North-West to make it 30-14. Tevin Cameron nearly broke one back for the Tigers, running it back to the 40 to set up Brevyn Ross' 40 yard dash to make it 36-14. Ross also added the extra points off a sweep to make it 38-14.

The ensuing kick caromed off a blue shirt, but David Hull covered it to put the Muskets in business at their own 25. Things got chippy a few plays later as two Musket players tackled Tristan Miller, who had fought through a block and had Reynolds in his sights, while Tevin Cameron hit a Musket player out of bounds after the play was over. Coach Adwell came out and argued the late hit call, drawing two sideline infraction penalties, which moved the ball five yards up to the 30. Ryan McClellan broke up a pass and North-West looked like they wanted to go for it, but a false start backed them up five yards and they were forced to punt. It was the first of two times that North-West shot themselves in the foot on fourth down with a penalty. 

This and the next two series were the backbreaker for the Muskets. They had every reason to expect to make a game of it after digging themselves into a 34-6 hole against St. Joseph Christian only to come back and make it 50-46 at one point last week before falling 62-52. The tempo of the game, which resembled a Playstation game at that point, finally was swinging in their favor. Worth County was backed up at their own five as they elected to cover a possible fake since Reynolds was the kicker; however, it didn't matter as Brevyn Ross ripped off a 58-yarder with 1:51 left after breaking a tackle and racing down the left sideline. That made it 44-14. North-West had a chance to answer, faced with fourth and one at their own 35 with 1:20 left, but a false start penalty forced them to punt. Worth County nearly scored despite having no timeouts left and having to go from their own 5, and then proceeded to put the game away in the second half.

Isaac Alarcon lined up in the Wildcat formation and everyone thought Brevyn Ross would get the ball on a handoff; however, once again, Isaac rumbled down the sideline untouched as he ripped off a 72 yard score with 7:25 left in the third following Chris Alarcon's strike to Tevin Cameron to start the half. Chris Alarcon's six-yard sweep with 1:10 left in the period finally put the finishing touches on the game.


Friday, September 18, 2015

Obituary -- Zetta Doyn Jacobs 1929-2015

Zetta Doyn Jacobs, 86, Worth, Missouri, died Tuesday, September 15, 2015 at the Mosaic Life Care Center in St. Joseph, MO.

Doyn was born January 4, 1929 in Seward, Kansas, the daughter of Charles Everett and Wille Ethel (Galbraith) Muntz. She was united in marriage to Carl Edward Jacobs on April 18, 1948.

Doyn was a retired cook, working for the Missouri State Hospitals. She loved cooking, gardening and living on the farm. Doyn was a member of the Worth Baptist Church.

Doyn was preceded in death by her parents, husband Carl (1973), daughter Patricia Davidshofer (2005), brothers Melvin and Lloyd Muntz, sisters Velma Hale and Joyce Thompson.

Her survivors include: three daughters, Carolyn (Fred) Trauernicht, Whitesville, MO; Kathy (Steve) Adwell, Worth, MO, Carla (Kevin) Fisher, Stanberry, MO; son-in-law Jeff Davidshofer, Coin, Iowa; nine grandchildren; Tabatha Verbick, Carl and Shanin Pawling, Jonathan and Michael Adwell, Shaun and Brandon Davidshofer, Cassondra From and Stacy Fisher and 13 great grandchildren.

Family visitation: 6-7 PM, Saturday, September 19, at the Andrews-Hann Funeral Home, Grant City, Missouri. Funeral services: 3:30 PM, Sunday, September 20. Burial: Oak Grove Cemetery, Union Star, Missouri.

Memorials: American Cancer Society or American Diabetes Association

Dominique Findley's Hitting Not Enough vs. Braymer

Dominique Findley had her best hitting night of the year, but it wasn't enough for Dave Gilland's Tigers, who fell to Braymer 11-5 Thursday night. She had a double and two RBI's in Worth County's defeat. Payton Adwell also had a double and she drove in one run. Hailey Hunt drove in two. Rikky Hunt pitched and took the loss for the Tigers. Braymer scored five in the first and four in the third to go up 9-1, but Worth County plated one in the fourth to avoid the 10 run rule. Braymer scored two in the fifth to go up 11-2, but Worth County scored one in the sixth and two in the seventh to make the score more respectable.

Worth County School Hires Bus Driver, Two Substitute Cooks

Will Stewart was hired back as a bus driver by the Worth County School Board and the board also hired two substitute cooks following a half-hour closed session at the regular Board of Education Meeting Thursday. Hired as substitute cooks were Tina Fletchall and Connie Nonneman.

The board underwent a training session Saturday.

Federal Programs were rated as above average by Superintendent Dr. Matt Martz. Since the school is designated as a building-wide Title 1 school, that means that any student can access its services. Title students can work side by side with classroom teachers to provide needed support. Concerns listed were the continued availability of funding. The school receives about 8.69% of its revenues from federal sources.

The Parents as Teachers Program was rated as above average by Dr. Martz. Over the previous school year, they met with 11 families identified as high needs families because of income, single parent, or low birth weight. There were 92 visits performed. There were 12 developmental screenings, and 3-4 students were identified as having developmental delays.

Concerns listed included the limited scope of services due to their parent educator's training, limited funding from the state, and an inability to offer activity nights. With the completion of 3-5 year old training, the parent educator will be better able to serve the needs of families with young children preparing to enter the school system. In addition, Dr. Martz recommended holding Parent and Children Activity Nights to get information out about the program.

The Special Education Program was rated above average by Dr. Martz. Around 15% of the student body is supported by this program. While there is no current need for a severe behavioral program, those services are no longer offered through the ACES consortium. If a student with major needs were to move into the district, they would not have the staffing to support a behavior program. The current recommendation is to maintain the status quo until such a time as an increase in staffing is necessary.

Assistant Principal Chuck Borey reported that the school counselors attended a Missouri Connections program on September 8th and are working on an outline for career readiness progams for all students. 15 Worth County students went to a college job fair at Northwest, where they talked to college, technical school, and armed forces representatives. Counselors are working with 7th and 8th grade classes on goal setting.

The school's 3rd and 4th grade math results were good; Mr. Borey reported that districts with success used the Saxon Math material supplemented where needed. The poor math scores at the 6th grade level were reflected across the board because math testing had switched from procedural to application.

Dr. Martz came up with a wish list for school facility improvements. The list is as follows:

Elementary: Reasphalt and extend asphalt to fence, restrooms, PA system (interconnected to high school), security gates, portable stage, paint sheet metal on the elemtary about the brick, modify the roof edge for new gutters, tuckpointing, and filling the gap between the building and sidewalk with rubber calk.

High School: Locker rooms, showers, restrooms, PA system, front sidewalk, locker room steps (too slick), gym bleachers and floor, stage sound system, guttering, and tuckpointing.

Softball Field: Storage shed and bleachers.

Other: South and east parking lots (potholes), road around building, insulation around the envelope of the building.

Ag Building: Roof, recarpeting the classroom, insulate or replace windows, heating of shop rooms, air to Missouri Options room, new concrete pad in front of wood shop.

Bus Barn: New windows, an extension to the south end, insulation.

Kitchen: Serving line upgrade.

Dr. Martz presented the budget message to the board for the 2015-2016 school year. He said that since the state was likely to fund the school on a 100% basis instead of the projected 96% basis, the projected deficit might not be as big as expected. The school has an estimated enrollment of 320 students with an average daily attendance of 301.

In the elementary, the school has nine full-time classroom teachers, school-wide Title 1 services with two teachers supporting that program, and special education support with one full time teacher, one part time teacher, and two part-time paraprofessionals. The school plans to tie student learning outcomes to teacher evaluation starting in the following school year.

The school has nine full-time teachers and one part-time teacher serving the high school core programs, with five full-time teachers and one part-time teacher teaching electives. One full-time teacher, one full-time paraprofessional, and one part-time paraprofessional serve special education needs. There are 15 students attending courses at the Northwest Technical School in Maryville. One teacher is overseeing the Missouri Options Program, for students who are at least a year behind in the number of credits they will need to graduate with their peer group.

The school has eliminated one teaching position and added one full-time counselor to the staff. There are six teachers who are new to the district this year. Of those, four are in their first year of teaching. The school has three building administrators, three administrative assistants, three full-time and one part-time food service workers, three custodians, one health aide, one librarian, one full-time and six part-time transportation staff, and one technology coordinator. The budget reflects a 4% increase in salaries across the board from last year. The teacher salary schedule has incrased to 10 lanes and includes a $1,000 increase to the base. Teachers were moved up one step and teachers who had been frozen in their steps were given two steps back.

While budget revenues were stable overall, federal and state sources were continuing on a downward trend. The school will no longer receive Missouri Preschool Project funds, which were around $20,000.




Thursday, September 17, 2015

Breann O'Riley, Makayla Cross Homer in Mustang Victory

Breann O'Riley and Makayla Cross homered as North Nodaway's bats finally came alive and the Mustang softball team picked up its fourth victory Monday over East Harrison 6-1. They scored three in the first, two in the fourth, and one in the sixth over the Bobcats, who scored their lone tally in the 6th. Keagan O'Riley got the win for the Mustangs. Audrey Trimble was 2 for 3. Breann O'Riley and Makayla Cross drove in two runs each while Kelsi Oberhauser drove in one.

Monday, September 14, 2015

Dan Hegeman -- Legislature Prepares for Veto Session

On Wednesday, Sept. 16, members of the Missouri General Assembly will return to Jefferson City for the annual veto session, where we will have the opportunity to override any vetoed measures that were passed during the regular legislative session. The Missouri Constitution states that no veto session can exceed 10 calendar days, and each vetoed bill must be first taken up for consideration in its originating chamber. A successful veto override requires a two-thirds majority vote by members in each chamber: that’s 23 votes in the Senate and 109 votes in the House.

Historically, veto sessions have come and gone with little to no fanfare. However, in both 2013 and 2014, the governor vetoed an unprecedented number of bills, and the relative calm normally associated with veto session disappeared. The Legislature responded in each of those sessions by overriding a record number of bills.

This year the governor has returned just 19 bills and did not veto a single budget line item. Though the governor vetoed far fewer bills than he has done in years past, among the legislation vetoed by the governor are some of the most high-profile issues of 2015 — including the student transfer bill, a measure to make Missouri a Right-to-Work state and a bill that would modify the duration of unemployment benefits by tying it to the state unemployment rate.

Veto session is an incredibly important part of our government’s system of checks and balances. It is the final step in the legislative process, recognizing the ability of a two-thirds majority of the General Assembly to override the actions of the governor, and will likely mark the conclusion of legislative activity for the 2015 Legislative Session.

As always, please feel free to call, email, or write with your ideas or concerns. My Capitol office number is (573) 751-1415, my email is dan.hegeman@senate.mo.gov and my mailing address is Room 332, State Capitol Building, Jefferson City, MO 65101.

Obituary -- Joshua Brewer 1985-2015

Joshua N. Brewer, age 30, of Carter Lake, Iowa, passed away September 12, 2015 at the University of Iowa Medical Center in Iowa City. Josh was born March 10, 1985 in Hayward, California to Richard and Toni (Moore) Brewer. He worked in the construction field. Josh loved his family, the outdoors and  working on race cars. He is survived by his wife, Kristina Erwin; children, Blake (10), Lauren (4), and Ava (2); mother, Toni (Harold) Dye of Sheridan, Missouri; father, Richard Brewer of Hayward, California; siblings, Chrissy (Mark Linell) of Winnemucca, Nevada, Richie, Holly and Matthew Brewer all in California, Miranda Dye of Bethany, Missouri, Leann Dye, Sadie Dye, and Justin Dye all of Sheridan, Missouri; many nieces and nephews. Visitation with the family, Thursday, 6-8 p.m. at Cutler-O’Neill-Meyer-Woodring Bayliss Park Chapel in Council Bluffs, Iowa. Funeral service, Friday, 3:00 p.m. at the funeral home. The family will direct memorials.

Worth County Sheriff's Report

9-7 -- Officers on routine patrol.
9-8 -- ANR pipeline doing a blowoff south of Worth.
9-8 -- Person in for CCW renewal.
9-8 -- Officers investigating domestic disturbance.
9-8 -- Insurance company calls for accident report.
9-9 -- Caller calls about a pickup with no plates.
9-10 -- Juvenille officer in.
9-10 -- Officer on bailiff duty.
9-11 -- Officer investigating a harassment call.

Sunday, September 13, 2015

Obituary -- Darold Hughes 1932-2015

Darold Gene Hughes was born near Worth, Missouri November 7, 1932 to Clarence “Jack” Hughes and Mary Alice Miller Hughes and died at home in Grant City September 11, 2015.

He was graduated from Grant City high school in 1950 and enlisted in the US Navy that fall. He spent his tour of duty on the Elokomin, part of the Atlantic service fleet. He was also stationed in Port Leyote French Morocco.

Darold was honorably discharged from the Navy in October 1954 and went to work in St Joseph at the fertilizer plant and later at Heitman Mattress Factory. He worked on the construction crew that built Highway 169 through Grant City and also at the rock quarry and the local implement dealership.
Darold married Naomi Dean Shipley on October 4, 1958. They lived in St Joseph one year and then farmed near Worth, Missouri until 1962.

Darold ran the Grant City Cleaners until 1964, when he was appointed secretary of Worth County Farmers Mutual.

He purchased the Dawson Insurance Agency in 1966 and built his business over the next 40 years, serving the people of Worth County and surrounding area. Darold enjoyed and appreciated the people he worked with and took great pride in helping them.

Darold took an active role in the life of his community. He volunteered many years as an emergency medical technician on the Worth county Ambulance and served on numerous boards including Citizens Bank of Grant City, Bank Midwest, Workforce Investment, Gentry County Memorial Hospital and Northwest Regional Council of Governments.

Darold served two terms as mayor of Grant city and was instrumental in developing the Middlefork water project.

Darold was an original member of the Crestwood Apartments board. He was very interested in providing affordable housing and continued to support the project throughout his lifetime.

Darold enjoyed announcing football games in Grant City for several seasons and through the years was an active member of Tiger Club, Rotary, Chamber of Commerce and Masonic Lodge.

Darold was ordained as a deacon in the Worth Baptist Church in 1960.

He loved being outdoors and spent many hours fishing and hunting.

Darold was preceded in death by his wife Naomi, his parents and his sister, Alice Nash.

Darold is survived by Beth and Anthony Steinhauser, Kari Hughes and Amy and Vincent Leeth; and one sister Shirley Pierce.

He has seven grandchildren: Nicole and Cassie Stuart; Grant, Grace, Mason, Jackson and Anna Leeth; and two great-grandchildren: Arrionna Williamson and Ava Long.


Darold’s body has been cremated. Memorial services: 2 PM, Sunday, September 20, 2015, Grant City Baptist Church followed by family visitation.


Services: andrewshannfuneralhome.com

Saturday, September 12, 2015

North Andrew, Stanberry Receive Scares but Survive; Tigers Continue to Climb

The Northwest Missouri Eight Man Coaches Association top two teams both received scares Friday night before fending off challengers. The #3 and #4 teams played each other, while Worth County kept its climb intact with its Homecoming win over Albany. DeKalb replaced East Atchison on the top ten by virtue of its 3-0 start while everyone else stayed on the totem pole.

#1 North Andrew 60, #10 DeKalb 14
Word was floating around at the Worth County game that North Andrew was trailing DeKalb, and it was true -- the Tigers had scored first against the Cardinals. But North Andrew recovered and came away with the halftime win. Gunnar Hughes ran 7 times for 106 yards for the Cardinals, while Jacob Powelson completed four passes for 99 yards. Big plays led to DeKalb's demise.

#2 Stanberry 64, #7 Rock Port 36
The fireworks were exploding in Rock Port Friday in the first half as the Bluejays gave Stanberry everything they could handle. They ripped off 24 points in the second quarter to take a 30-26 halftime lead. Worth County assistant coach Jon Adwell has been ranting and raving at his players about converting extra points all season long, and this game was a prime example -- Rock Port scored four times in that period, but failed to convert on any of their extra points. If Rock Port had converted on three of those, they would have been in control of the game up 36-26. Instead, Stanberry, which always gets stronger as the game progresses, came back and took control of the second half.

#4 Southwest Livingston 34, #3 Hardin-Central 26 
Recovering from its 30-20 loss to Stanberry the week before, Southwest Livingston banishes Hardin-Central from the ranks of the unbeaten.

#5 Worth County 88, #8 Albany 58 
Worth County was finally tested and the question was how well they would respond when they fell behind for the first time all year. They responded well enough to win, but now will have to figure out how to slow down the high-flying North-West Nodaway squad. Worth County was burned three times by long passes and will have to figure out how to stop those plays if they are to keep winning. For Albany, they are not as good as last year, but not as bad as everyone thought coming out of the jamboree. They have a lot of size up front, and they still have Seth Cline.

#6 St. Joseph Christian 62, #9 North-West Nodaway 52
The Lions may have written the book on how to stop the Muskets -- you can't stop them completely, but if you can stop them for a few series, you can grab the lead. They jumped out to a 34-6 lead and showed that they are one of the better defensive teams around, along with Stanberry and North Andrew. The key to stopping the Muskets is to not let up; they simply keep right on playing even when well behind. Given their passing game, they don't have to adjust when they are behind; they simply keep firing away; consequently, they are never out of a game. They attempted 92 passes, for instance, against Rock Port. Other teams struggle when playing from behind; for instance, Rock Port went 3 for 19 in the air trying to play catchup football with Stanberry. North-West Nodaway fought back and got their deficit down to 50-46 at one point with 8 minutes left in the fourth quarter. But they could not buy a stop in the last eight minutes and they could not convert a two-point conversion late that would have made it 62-54. In order to get back on the winning track, the Muskets will have to solve their defensive woes. Someone suggested the Tiger/Musket game could go into triple digits.


Worth County Survives Homecoming Scare from Albany

Worth County played its first full game of the year and survived a homecoming scare against Albany as they won 88-58. The Tigers have now won their last 11 Homecoming tilts dating back to 2004, when they lost 14-8 to Mound City. Dalton Auffert pounced on a fumble right off the bat on Albany's first play from scrimmage and Brevyn Ross scored on Worth County's first play, getting blocks from Mason Hawk and Tristan Miller in the process. Ben Badell took an option play, got a block from Isaac Alarcon, and got in to make it 8-0 just 17 seconds into the game.

But Albany would not go away as Worth County was still struggling with learning where everyone was supposed to be. They had Albany backed up fourth and four at the Tiger 35, but then nobody guarded Caden Wilson on fourth and four and he caught a 12 yard pass down to the 23. Two plays later, Colton Coburn took a counter handoff and made it in from 23 yards out with 8:33 left. That play showed why Albany has not gone away; Seth Cline, who moved to quarterback this year, along with the rest of the Albany backfield, showed that they were one of the best teams in the area as far as carrying out fakes. All night, nobody seemed to know where the play was going or who was carrying the ball, which led to a lot of missed assignments. On one play, the Albany backs even fooled the officials.

After Albany tied the game at 8, Worth County came right down the field again as Brevyn Ross (170 yards) ripped off gains of 17, 13, and 5 behind the blocking of Tristan Miller. Finally, Ben Badell followed Drake Kinsella around the left end and both Drake and Tristan threw seal blocks to get him into the end zone from 8 yards out to make it 14-10 with 7:10 left. Brevyn had "only" 170 yards despite playing a full game. Worth County had a defensive score and Albany frequently onside kicked it, meaning that Worth County had a much shorter field to work with than usual, which brought down the rushing stats. Also, quarterback Ben Badell had his best passing night of the year, scoring on several long strikes after Albany started selling out to stop the run, allowing Worth County to isolate Chris Alarcon.

Worth County forced a three and out, but the ensuing Albany punt rolled all the way to the seven and then the blocking completely broke down, and Albany sacked Ben Badell in the end zone for a safety. Worth County stopped the ensuing Albany drive, but then one of the Warrior players got a helmet on Brevyn Ross and knocked the football loose and then all hell broke loose as Albany used a 27 yard hook and ladder play to take the lead at 18-14 with 3:11 left in the first. Worth County continued to sleepwalk on the next series, with two or three players not knowing the play and throwing up their hands in confusion on one occasion. They gave up the ball on downs at midfield and Albany drove in using 9 plays and 39 yards to get in at the start of the second quarter.

Drake Naylor dove into the end zone to make it 24-14, but then a critical play happened on the ensuing extra point as Brevyn Ross put a solid shot on Cline to stop the extra point. That hit knocked Cline out for the rest of the half and from there, the momentum began to swing back in Worth County's favor.

The sloppy play continued, but Ben Badell rescued Worth County out of a third and ten hole when he aired it out to Brevyn Ross for a 50 yard strike with 10:14 left. Ben Badell ran in the extra points, getting a block from Ross to spring loose and Worth County was back in the game, down 24-22. With Cline out, Tom Sagun took the reigns at quarterback. At first, nothing seemed to change as Albany's juggernaut converted two first downs and used 10 plays and 54 yards to get in. Drake Naylor ran in the extra points to make it 32-22. But then Worth County got it right back as they executed a perfect double screen pass to Brevyn Ross for 49 yards and another score and Ross ran in the extra points to make it 32-30.

That set up a frantic final few minutes of the half. Jacob Hardy, whose grandfather Pat played quarterback for the 1973 team that was recognized at the game Friday, shot through and sacked Sagun and Albany was forced to punt. Tevin Cameron ran back the punt 57 yards to the 3, setting up a score from Brevyn Ross to make it 36-32 and put Worth County back in the lead with 1:33 left. But then someone missed a tackle on Khol Bounds and he was gone as Albany went back in front 38-36. But then on Worth County's first play from scrimmage, they put Isaac Alarcon in the Wildkat formation and he scored from 42 yards out to put the Tigers back in front. Brevyn Ross followed blocking by Isaac and Chris Alarcon to put the Tigers up 44-38 with 1:01 left. For some reason, Albany elected to run out the clock even though they got it back at midfield after Coach Chris Healy elected to kick it short to prevent another runback and Worth County would get the ball to start the second half.

That move backfired as Worth County rescued a fourth and two as Ben Badell's sneak got three yards to the Warrior 32. An illegal block wiped out a touchdown, but then Isaac Alarcon broke two tackles on his way to a 24-yard run down to the Albany 12. On his final effort, Isaac got into the end zone from seven yards out and Worth County finally had some breathing room, leading 50-38. Seth Cline came back for Albany, but on his first play from scrimmage, Isaac jumped a pass and got a pick six; Ben Badell ran in the extra points to put Worth County up 58-38 with 8:03 left in the quarter.

For the second time of the night, nobody seemed to know who was responsible for Caden Wilson, whose long pass for 42 yards set up Cline's pass to Nathan McLain to make it 58-44. But on its first play from scrimmage, Ross got blocks from Drake Kinsella and Jacob Hardy. It took him a moment to realize there was a big hole there, but then he shot through and scored from 41 yards out. Isaac Alarcon caught the two point pass to make it 66-44 with 5:40 left in the quarter.

Worth County overcame a pass interference penalty on its next defensive series as Tevin Cameron and Nate Pointer stopped Drake Naylor short of the first down and Ben Badell aired it out to Isaac Alarcon from 17 yards out after setting up the Tigers with a 19 yard keeper. Alarcon ran in the extra points to make it 74-44.

Last year, Worth County had trouble protecting the lead in this situation and as the fourth quarter opened up, once again, nobody knew who was responsible for covering Caden Wilson, whose 43 yard pass with 10:55 left in the game made it 74-52. With Worth County driving for an answer, they fumbled the ball away as Albany was going for the strip all night long and a long draw play to Drake Naylor set up a 1 yard run from Cline to make it 74-58. Worth County had been dependable in recovering the onside kick all night, but there was a heartstopping moment when the next one caromed off a black shirt into the air. A touchdown and a two point conversion would have made it a one possession game again, but Mason Hawk pounced on the loose ball. Worth County was backed up and had fourth and five at the Warrior 33, but then Worth County opened up their playbook as Brevyn Ross got loose on a reverse. The line sealed the back side perfectly and he made 18 yards down to the Warrior 15. Three plays later, Ben Badell found Topher in the left corner of the end zone. He hesitated on throwing the pass, which would have driven former coach Chuck Borey crazy; current coach Chris Healy was repeatedly yelled at for hesitating before throwing. But the pass was on the money and Albany went three and out on its next series.

Brevyn continued to fight for yards to the very end, bowling over his own teammate, Nate Pointer, in a successful effort to fight for 9 yards and a first down on the next series to the Warrior 36. Finally, Dylan Mildfeldt came in and the Tigers showed that they may have found a new runningback for the future as the Northeast Nodaway sophomore showed the same mentality as Eli Mullock -- he wasn't thinking protect the ball and run out the clock; he was thinking touchdown. He outran everyone, racing down the tightrope on the right sideline to score and put Worth County up 88-58.

The game had everyone, especially the people from the 1973 team, on edge; some of them had never seen an eight man football game before. It was one of the largest crowds at Worth County in recent memory, resembling the crowds that would watch GRC games all the time back in the 1960's and 1970's. There was a decent Albany contingent as well. However, it was not the biggest crowd in history to attend a Worth County football game; one candidate is the Nodaway-Holt playoff game in 1981, when the band had to move down to some makeshift bleachers on the track. Another candidate was the 1969 game with Princeton, when both Tiger squads were playing for the GRC title; an estimated 3,000 people attended that game. And there was a Homecoming game in 1955 between Worth County and Albany which drew an estimated 2,500 people to see the Tigers win 19-6.

Among people who returned for the game were Dennis Downing, whose one task was to "bust the wedge" on kickoff coverage. Chuck Waske and Ronnie Walker were avid storytellers as well as football players; during the banquet preceding the game, the energy level went up noticeably when they entered the room. And then there was Brad Ross, whose dad Jim coined the common battle cry of the 1970's and 80's, "Be there, Tigers!" That cry was heard at least once Friday night.

Friday, September 11, 2015

Taylor Coffelt Collects Three Hits; NEN Avenges Mustang Loss

Northeast Nodaway avenged its early season loss to North Nodaway as they won 8-4 Thursday. Taylor Coffelt collected three hits for Danny Smith's Bluejays as they snapped two game losing streak. Some teams, after playing Jefferson, lie down and play dead for the next few games; however, Northeast did the opposite as they turned around and played their best softball of the year.

Taylor Coffelt got the hot hand for Northeast, collecting three hits in the victory. Alicia Smith continued her hot hitting streak, collecting two more for four in her last two games. Talina Nelson was also 2 for 4, getting two doubles; a freshman, Makayla Adwell also collected two hits. Dallis Coffelt pitched and got the win and added a double for Northeast.

David Carroll's Mustangs got some heavy hits, but they were not enough. Madison Thomson hit a home run, her first of the year; MaKayla Cross added a triple and Keagan O'Riley added a double. Breann O'Riley was 3 for 4, while Keagan O'Riley was 2 for 4 and Audrey Trimble was 2 for 3.

It was a close 2-2 game until the sixth inning, when Northeast plated five runs in the sixth to take control of the game. North Nodaway scored two in the bottom of the seventh to make things interesting, but it was not enough.

Tristan Miller, Rikky Hunt are Worth County Homecoming Royalty

Tristan Miller and Rikky Hunt were named Worth County Homecoming Royalty Thursday night at the school. Other king candidates were Brevyn Ross and Jacob Hardy. Other queen candidates were Adrian Fletchall and Tess Andrews. Junior attendants were Rachael Gardner and Harley Charles. Sophomore attendants were Wayde Parman and Shelby Steele. Freshman attendants were Isaac Alarcon and Hailey Hunt. All fall sports teams were introduced.

A powder puff game was played, where the girls played football while the football players cheered them on. The football players did not always know the cheers, and had trouble lifting each other up. And the referees missed a blatant roughing the kicker call and then looked the other way as the blue team, in their frantic efforts to tie the game, put nine players on the field. And the chain crew was not exactly neutral after Payton Adwell ran back the opening second half kickoff for a touchdown and they celebrated with her. But it was all in good fun as the red team held off a frantic blue rally to win by one score.

Jessi Badell, channeling her older brother Ben, tossed a scoring strike; Adrian Fletchall, who had actually played on 'Lil Tigers, added two picks. Rikky Jo capped off her night after being crowned queen with a 15-yard run for a score. And on the other side of the fence, some of the football players had an obvious talent for cheerleading and dancing. Brevyn Ross executed a perfect reverse flip, while Dalton Auffert danced to "Watermelon Crawl" for the halftime entertainment.

Thursday, September 10, 2015

Alicia Smith Rare Bright Spot vs. Jefferson

Alicia Smith was a rare bright spot for Danny Smith's squad as they took on Jefferson Tuesday night as many other games were rained out. She was 2 for 3 in a 13-0 loss to the Eagles, getting a double in the effort. Northeast got six hits against pitcher Sarah Chor, but could not bunch them together for a run. The game was scoreless through three and was 1-0 in Jefferson's favor after four before all hell broke loose in the fifth and the Eagles scored eight runs.

Anna Gladstone Steals Home; Junior High Tigers Escape Albany

Anna Gladstone stole home and the Junior High Tigers kept their season intact by escaping an Albany rally in the last inning to win 7-6. The action started in the first inning, with Worth County up 1-0 after Kristin New had scored on a wild pitch. Anna Gladstone was on third when she came halfway down the line, successfully drew a throw, and escaped the ensuing rundown to score for Worth County. Three more runs came home for Worth County in the inning; Kaylee McElvain scored on a wild pitch and Anna Spainhower hit a slow roller that somehow got past the shortstop to score two more. 

The game had just begun as it was a typical Albany game; like their varsity, their junior high had a lot of short players who simply stood at the plate and took balls. Worth County pitcher Braidy Hunt began fighting the strike zone and walked four Albany batters in the second; two runs scored on a "panic play," where everyone was throwing the ball around; another scored on an infield fly that dropped and rolled away. Anna Gladstone replaced Hunt and uncorked a wild pitch to score Michaela Martin, but settled down and got out of the inning with Worth County still up 5-4.

Worth County scored two insurance runs in the next two innings. Jill Hardy grounded into a fielder's choice and Kristin New beat the force play home in the second. Braidy Hunt grounded out to score Anna Spainhower in the third. Anna Gladstone uncorked two wild pitches as Albany cut it to 7-6 in the fourth and final inning, but then induced two groundouts to get out of the inning.

Frantic Tiger Rally Comes Up Short; Softball Drops Two

A frantic Worth County rally against Albany Wednesday night came up short as they fell 6-5 in Grand River Conference action. After starting off the conference with an impressive win against South Harrison, they have dropped two straight to fall to 1-2.

The Tigers had every reason to expect a win since they had beaten Albany before as they had already done so this year. But they ran their way out of two potential big innings and gave up a big inning in the fourth, allowing five Albany runs.

The Tigers were called out twice for interfering with Albany fielders making plays. The rule states that runners have to allow fielders to make plays on hit balls, even if it means going out of the baseline. Runners are not called out for running out of the baseline to avoid interference. However, they are called out if they interfere with fielders attempting to make a play on a hit ball. On the flip side, fielders can be called for obstruction when they impede the path of a baserunner.

The other cause for Worth County's downfall was defensive breakdowns in the fourth inning. The pitcher has to trust their fielders enough to throw strikes, and the fielders have to be able to stay on their toes and always expect the ball to be hit to them. When the pitcher starts walking batters, the fielders are not as sharp and that's what leads to errors. Put a team like Albany on the field, which has a lot of small girls who present small targets and who simply have to stand at the plate to get on base much of the time, and it makes it doubly tough.

Worth County pitcher Rikky Hunt was fighting the strike zone in the third and fourth innings, and finally all hell broke loose as Tiger fielders made four errors which led to five Albany runs in the inning. Dave Gilland replaced her with Hailey Hunt, but Albany teed off on her before she finally got out of the inning. That inning turned a 2-1 Worth County lead into a 6-2 deficit. Gilland put Rikky back in the fifth; she got in some more trouble in that inning, but retired Lauryn Shoush on a 3-2 count with the bases loaded with two outs on a pop fly to end the inning.

The Tiger bats could not break through against the stingy Albany defense until the seventh inning, when Sidney Troutwine, the best bunter on the team, beat one out down the first base line to lead off the inning. She was balked over to second, took third on a groundout by Adrian Fletchall, and then Rikky Hunt walked. Payton Adwell grounded out to score Troutwine as Hunt made it all the way to third. Mollie Blaine got the hit of the night when she hit a screamer in the gap that caromed off the center fielder's glove and dropped in for a double as Hunt scored. Hailey Hunt beat out a slow roller to short and was nearly picked off when the ball rolled away and she wandered too far off the bag; somehow, she got back in time to keep the game going. Rachael Gardner was hit by a pitch, her second of the night, and Dominique Findley walked to force in Blaine to make it 6-5, but Kennedy Galanakis struck out to end the game.

Worth County gave up a run aided by some wild pitches and an error in the third, but Payton Adwell picked Madalyn Rainey off third to bail out the Tigers. Worth County scored two in the bottom of the inning as Payton hit a hard shot off the third baseman's glove that took a crazy carom as Rikky Hunt and Sidney Troutwine both scored.

The game was the first for Adrian Fletchall. She showed some rust, but she saved several runs for the Tigers by making several difficult plays look routine at third base.

"I was proud that we didn't lay down in the 7th," said Gilland. "Nobody lost the game for us; we had many little things that game that cost us."

The girls also fell to Stanberry 6-0 as they only managed one hit in the loss. Worth County trailed 1-0 for much of the game. "We played fairly well defensively and we had some great hits; they were right at people," said Gilland.


Worth County Sheriff's Report

9-1 -- Officer investigating domestic dispute.
9-1 -- Report of car in ditch south of Redding.
9-1 -- Report of telephone scam.
9-2 -- Report of car in Sheridan leaking gas; referred to Sheridan Fire.
9-2 -- Report of three persons trespassing on private property north of Grant City.
9-2 -- Officer investigating report of vandalism to property in Grant City.
9-2 -- Lanny's Auto reports they repossessed a car in Grant City.
9-2 -- Officer investigates report of suspicious car in Grant City.
9-3 -- Juvenile officer in office.
9-4 -- Officer investigating breakin of local business.
9-4 -- Officer serves civil papers in Grant City.

Saturday, September 5, 2015

North Andrew Maintains Hold on Top Spot; SW Livingston Stays in Conversation, Rock Port Rebounds

North Andrew continued to maintain its stranglehold on the top spot of the Eight Man Coaches Association Football Rankings. Worth County looks to rise following its 58-12 victory over Mound City, while Rock Port and North-West Nodaway look to rebound following impressive victories. The bubble burst for Albany, a team ranked ahead of Worth County as they suffered their first loss of the season.

#1 North Andrew 76, Pattonsburg 0 -- The Cardinals did nothing to hurt their top ranking as the two future GRC foes tangled. The Panthers have only scored once all year.

#2 Stanberry 30, #3 Southwest Livingston 20 -- In this matchup, featuring one of the top offenses (Southwest Livingston) against one of the top defenses (Stanberry), the Bulldogs came out on top. But the Wildcats proved that they belong in the conversation. Stanberry's defense was impressive against an offense which had scored over 80 in its first two matchups. Stanberry's two-headed monster of Schieber and Stoll ran for over 100 yards again while Lake Crowe kept Southwest Livingston in the game with 170 yards. Stanberry maintained a 1-2 possession lead throughout.

#4 Hardin Central/Norborne 70, South Nodaway 7 -- Hardin Central is putting together the best team they've had since 2007, when they played the Tigers in the state championship and lost, or 2011, when they threw a scare into Stanberry in the quarterfinals before coming up short. Dan Collins is still looking for his first win as Longhorn coach.

#8 Rock Port 72, #5 Albany 26 -- What was billed as a good game wasn't. In a game broadcast on KAAN, Rock Port continued its resurgence by disposing of Albany, who now has to turn around and face Worth County in homecoming. The Tigers have not lost a homecoming tilt recently. After winning their first two in what was supposedly a rebuilding year, Albany has finally come back down to earth.

#6 Worth County 58, Mound City 12 -- The Panthers pulled out all the stops for this one, decorating the entire town and bringing in Worth County for homecoming. A victory would have echoed Worth County's 34-28 homecoming victory in overtime back in 2010. The stands were filled to overflowing with purple, just like when the Panthers were winning state titles. But Worth County had little trouble disposing of the Panthers.

#7 St. Joseph Christian 60, Nodaway/South Holt 21 -- The Spartans played respectable against Stanberry, but struggled again against the Lions and Matthew Corkins, who ran for 139 yards in the win. The Spartans took a lead early in the second, only for Christian to break their backs by scoring the last 26 points of the half.

#9 North-West Nodaway 80, #10 East Atchison 30 -- Homecoming was just what the doctor ordered for the Muskets, who built up a 54-22 first quarter lead and never looked back.

Drake Kinsella Celebrates Birthday; Tigers Crash Mound City's Homecoming 58-12

Drake Kinsella celebrated his birthday by being a force on both the offensive and defensive line and Worth County collected its third win in three games by crashing Mound City's homecoming Friday 58-12. Kinsella and the rest of the Worth County line opened holes for Brevyn Ross (188 yards) and Isaac Alarcon (104 yards) and Ben Badell added a long pass to Chris Alarcon.

Mound City, which had run nearly every single time in both its previous efforts, tried to establish its passing game. Worth County was beat twice deep, but otherwise held its ground. The first time, Mound City aired it out to Jaden Gillenwater, back at his receiver slot after quarterbacking the first two games. That cut Worth County's lead to 16-6 in the first as he beat Dylan Mildfeldt, who went out for football following the jamboree and has been conditioning along with Max Giesken and Dakota Gross. Moving in from Arizona was Rune Zinn-Scheiffele. "They'll all be able to help us out," said assistant coach Jon Adwell. Giesken also got into the game, playing on kickoff coverage and making some tackles. Mildfeldt atoned for getting burned later in the game; Mound City kept throwing his way, but he got a pick in the third quarter with Worth County up 52-12 to kill Mound City's final attempt to rally. He also had a major hit along with Ryan McClellan on Dylan Marrs in the third quarter after the latter had caught a pass; he also added 50 yards of rushing with the JV, scoring Worth County's final tally to end the game.

Tevin Cameron played for the first time this year; he was placed at the linebacker slot, allowing Coach Chris Healy to rest Brevyn Ross on defense and allow him more reps and more yards on offense. Cameron was a force on the defensive side of the ball, getting several big hits and pass breakups.

Mound City could get nowhere with its running game because Drake Kinsella played up and down the line, with nobody able to block him. Panther backs Kyree Howell and Dylon Faller could get nowhere without meeting Kinsella; on offense, he routinely opened up holes for Brevyn Ross along with fellow linemen Jacob Hardy and Tristan Miller along with blocking back Isaac Alarcon. His highlight came late in the first half when he pulled and led Brevyn Ross on a 22 yard sweep that set up Isaac Alarcon's 7 yard run that put Worth County up 36-6 with 1:50 left in the half. That, combined with Kinsella's tackle of Faller for a three yard loss at the Worth County 20 to kill a Panther drive, was a backbreaker and led to an agitated Coach Brian Messer pulling aside his offensive unit at halftime to talk to them.

Messer junked his running game to start the second half, inserted Gillenwater at quarterback, and went for it on fourth and long from deep in his own territory at the 26. The gamble backfired as the ensuing pass was too far and Worth County only needed one play to score as Ben Badell threw a pass to Chris Alarcon. Topher beat his man and juggled the ball, but came down with it and Isaac Alarcon followed Jacob Hardy's block up the middle to make it 44-6 with 10:57 left in the third. Mound City finally found some success with their passing game as Matthew Poppa beat Ryan McClellan with a 50 yard strike from Gillenwater to make it 44-12, and there was a heartstopping moment even for Max Giesken, one of the calmest men on the sidelines, as the ensuing onsides kick went in the air and caromed off Mason Hawk. But Tristan Miller alertly fell on it and Worth County was back in business at their own 37

Brevyn Ross hurdled past a defender after getting a block from Tristan Miller and picked up 12, then a counter to Isaac Alarcon fooled everyone and he picked up 22 more down to the 9. A few plays later, the roles were reversed as Brevyn Ross threw a block to spring Alarcon into the end zone with 6:44 left and Ben Badell followed Miller's blocking to put Worth County up 52-12.

Worth County started with a 9 play 50 yard drive to open the game as Brevyn spun his way into the end zone for Worth County's first score. Chris Alarcon followed the blocks of brother Isaac and Mason Hawk to make it 8-0 with 8:19 left. The Tigers made a rare miscue on their next series as Ben Badell went deep but got picked by Ben Shiflett. But a blitzing Chris Alarcon dropped Faller for a loss of five to force them to punt, and an 18-yard read option from Isaac Alarcon out of the spread formation and an option from Badell to Brevyn Ross got Worth County in the end zone again; Ross ran straight up the middle for the extra points with 3:16 left to make it 16-0.

The Tigers answered Mound City's first score with a pair of highlight film plays. Brevyn Ross dragged a defender for 10 yards down to the Mound City 16 and then Isaac Alarcon ran through a hole big enough to drive a truck through to make it 22-6 with 1:42 left in the first. Mound City got to the Tiger 20 on the next series, but a holding penalty, a quarterback hurry by Dalton Auffert forcing Ben Shiflett to throw off his back foot to save a touchdown, and a sack by an unblocked Tevin Cameron drove them all the way back to the 40, where they were forced to punt. A rare miscue, where someone got called for block in the back when they were not part of the play, buried Worth County at their own 5, but Ross got loose for 29 yards to get Worth County out of the hole. As he got a break following that run, Nate Pointer got two carries for 22 yards to the Panther 24 and then Ross bounced outside for 21 more to the 6 later in the drive. Finally, Ben Badell leaned into the end zone with 7:15 left in the first half and Drake Kinsella and Isaac Alarcon opened a hole for Brevyn Ross to make it 30-6.