Tuesday, October 31, 2017

Camden Castleberry’s Dagger Three Buries Tigers

Camden Castleberry’s triple at the halftime buzzer broke open what had been a tight game and propelled North Harrison in the second half to a 22-7 victory over Worth County. Both teams battled with frantic intensity, trying to get that elusive first win.

Before the shot, both teams were playing with the kind of desperation that happens when both teams are winless. Taylor Sanders (daughter of all-time leading scorer at Worth County, P.J.) got a ton of tips and steals in the game as Worth County built up a 5-2 lead early in the second. Alison Anderson hit a shot from the left wing for Worth County, while Madelyn Runde hit a free throw and Aivry Griffin had a putback. North Harrison countered with a baseline shot from Jayliegh Robins. Little did Worth County know that they would only get two more points the rest of the game.

North Harrison turned things around through two factors besides Castleberry’s shot; their two main players in Castleberry and Deva Wallace got untracked, and they put on a press that gave Worth County problems. Castleberry’s drive and pullup from the right wing and Wallace’s 2nd chance shot from the high post and coast to coast look put North Harrison back in front 8-5 before Castleberry’s shot.

Jayliegh Robins got untracked for North Harrison in the third quarter as Worth County couldn’t buy a board as she connected on a 2nd chance basket from the left wing and broke away for a layup as Wallace aired one out to her. Alison Anderson countered with a drive for Worth County’s lone basket of the half to make it 15-7.

Both teams were pressing and trapping, trying to make something happen, but the dam broke for North Harrison in the fourth as Robins got a drive and Baily Briggs got behind the Tiger press and got a pass from Robins to push the lead into double digits. Deva Wallace hit a free throw and Robins scored off a drive to round out the scoring for North Harrison.

For the Shamrocks, Robins led the scoring with 10, having come a long ways from the start of the year. Castleberry had 5 along with Wallace. Baily Briggs added 2.

For Worth County, Alison Anderson had 4 points. Aivry Griffin had 2, while Madelyn Runde had 1.

Tiger JH Boys Overcome Foul Trouble to Get First Win; Wade Briggs Gets 15 for Shamrocks

Wade Briggs did all he could for North Harrison’s junior high boys, getting 15 for his squad, but Worth County simply had too many weapons even without Alex Rinehart (arm) as they came away with the 39-25 win Monday night.

Worth County overcame foul trouble in the first half and their bench went on a big run to close out the half, putting the Tigers up to stay.

The Tigers jumped out to an 8-2 lead late in the first. Jackson Runde hit a 3-pointer off an Aydan Gladstone kickout and steal and added a cut inside for a layup. Grant Cameron added two free throws and Aydan Gladstone one, while Briggs countered with a cut to the basket.

Cruz Ury got the hot hand late in the quarter for the Shamrocks, getting a free throw and putback in the final 15 seconds of the first quarter to make it 8-5 as it looked like North Harrison would make a game of it. Jackson Smith scored off a backdoor look off a pass from Aydan Gladstone, but Briggs scored two free throws with 5:24 left.

The score was stuck there for the next 2:45 and North Harrison had every reason to expect the momentum as Worth County had 9 fouls to North Harrison’s four. But all of a sudden, Jackson Runde got loose coast to coast for two free throws, took on three Shamrocks for a three point play, and Grant Cameron scored in transition off a Jackson Smith pass and added a free throw off another transition look before Briggs hit a free throw to cut Worth County’s lead to 18-8 at the half.

Aydan Gladstone’s block set up Levi Cassavaugh’s layup, but then Briggs countered again off the cut to make it 20-10 again. But then Worth County finally gained some separation, fueled by Aydan Gladstone. He scored in transition and fed Jackson Runde twice to make it 26-10 with 3:28 left in the third. Briggs scored a reverse layup with 2:51 left to break the run and some more Shamrocks got into the scoring column to stop the bleeding. Cole Kampman got a putback, Cruz Ury hit a pair of free throws, and Briggs went coast to coast for a layup. Worth County countered as Jace Cousatte had a steal and a free throw and Aydan Gladstone got loose for a coast to coast layup that turned into a 3-point play along with a putback as Worth County still led 32-19 after three.

Briggs’ coast to coast look that cut Worth County’s lead to 32-21 after a pair of free throws was the only score for either team until the 2:35 mark, when Jace Cousatte got a block, caught his own rejection, and went coast to coast for Worth County. Briggs went backdoor for a reverse layup for North Harrison, but Josh Freed came off the bench for a triple and a breakaway off a long pass from Gladstone to make it 39-23 before Nick Babinski got loose at the end for North Harrison.

For Worth County, Jackson Runde had 14, Aydan Gladstone 8, Grant Cameron 5, Josh Freed 5, Jace Cousatte 3, Levi Cassavaugh 2, and Jackson Smith 2.

For North Harrison, Wade Briggs had 15, Cruz Ury 6, Cole Kampman 2, and Nick Babinski 2.

Monday, October 30, 2017

Devan Jackson Sacked Four in Victory; Cameron Rushes for 123 Against Wolves

Worth County worked with short fields all night and had a pair of punt returns for touchdowns, which drove down the yardage stats, but it was still enough for a win. Worth County only needed 18 plays to get their 245 yards.

On the offensive side, Tevin Cameron had 123 yards in seven carries, a 17.6 average. Isaac Alarcon had 4 carries for 39, Andrew Alarcon had 4 carries for 14 yards, Wayde Parman had 3 carries for 9 yards, Jeremy Wimer had 2 for 16, and Jacob New 1 for 2. Tevin Cameron rushed for three touchdowns out of his seven carries and added three extra points. Isaac Alarcon had one touchdown and one extra point. Wayde Parman had one touchdown.

Worth County attempted four passes and completed all of them. Ryan McClellan was 3 for 3 for 60 yards, while Jacob New completed 1 for 1 for 30, for a total of 90. McClellan threw for two touchdowns and one extra point. Caleb Parman had two catches for 53 yards, Jaxon Anderson one catch for 30 yards, and Bryant McCord one catch for 7 yards. Caleb Parman had one touchdown and one extra point catch. Bryant McCord had one touchdown catch.

Defensively, Devan Jackson elevated his games as he had 8 tackles and 4 sacks. Last year, he got a critical sack that preserved Worth County’s 44-42 win over Stanberry during the regular season. Drake Kinsella had 2½ sacks, while Mason Hawk had 1½.

Other tackling leaders include Tevin Cameron with 6, Isaac Alarcon, Drake Kinsella, and Mason Hawk with 4, Bryant McCord and Brayden Welch with 3, Ryan McClellan with 2, and Andrew Alarcon with 1. Mason Hawk and Tevin Cameron had 1 tipped pass each, while Bryant McCord had 2 interceptions.

Tevin Cameron had nine kickoffs for 428 yards, four of which went into the end zone including one into the stiff north wind in the second quarter. Jacob New had one kickoff for 37 yards. Tevin Cameron had 4 punt returns for 105 yards and two touchdowns.

Obituary -- Joyce Thompson 1932-2017

Joyce Ann Thompson, 85, of Grant City, MO passed away October 28, 2017 at the Gentry County Hospital in Albany, MO.

Joyce was born on September 19, 1932 in Allendale, Mo, the daughter of Forrest Thompson and Oleta (Spangler) Thompson.

Joyce graduated from Grant City High School in 1950 and started working at the Grant City Bank the day after she graduated.

While working at the bank, Joyce started dating a dashing young man named Lynden Thompson. After serving a brief Air Force tour oversees, Lynden returned to Grant City and the two of them were united in marriage on November 11, 1955.

Lynden and Joyce moved to California where Lynden would complete his service in the Air Force. They then returned to Worth County where they both would reside for the rest of their days.
After returning back to Worth County Joyce began working for the ASCS office in Grant City. Joyce loved working there and would continue to do so until she and Lynden received the three special gifts that would change their lives forever; Karen, Kent, and Kathy. Joyce would stay home and raise her family until the early 80’s when she decided to go back out into the workforce and began working for the SCS office in Grant City. She continued working there until she was needed back at home.

Joyce’s life revolved around her husband and her children, then later her grandchildren, and great grandchildren. Joyce was a Christian and an active member of the Grant City Baptist Church where she was always called upon when delicious home-made rolls and brownies were needed.

Joyce was preceded in death by her parents Forrest and Oleta Thompson, and her husband Lynden Thompson.

Joyce is survived by and will be truly missed by her children Karen (Jeff) Andrews, Kent Thompson, and Kathy (Steve) McGrew all of Grant City; grandchildren Kendall Kobbe, Katelyn (Mike) Frisch, Kyle Kobbe, Claire Andrews, and Tess Andrews; great grandchildren Camdain, Lucas, Bentley, Emmett, and Gracelyn Frisch. Joyce is also survived by her siblings Allen (Roberta) Thompson, Allendale, MO, Glenn Thompson, Knoxville, TN, Shirley (Jim) Steward, Albuquerque,NM and Bill (Carey) Thompson, Chariton, IA; Sister-in-laws Margaret Locke, Maryville, MO, Marge Thompson, Lamoni, IA, and Margaret Thompson, Manchester, GA. Joyce will also be missed by many nieces and nephews and lifelong friends.

Services will be Friday, November 3, 2017 at 11:00 at Prugh Dunfee Funeral Home with visitation an hour prior to the service. Burial will be at the Kirk Cemetery in Allendale, MO. Memorials may be given to Worth County Ambulance, Grant City Baptist Church, or St. Jude's Research Hospital.

Sunday, October 29, 2017

Tigers, With Wind at Backs, Put Away Wolves, End Game at Half

Worth County got a lucky break when they won the coin toss and the wind at the start of the game. They turned it into an early rout of an improved East Atchison Wolves squad, pulling away to win 66-0 in a halftime game. Worth County remains alive to play Stanberry, which hammered Rock Port on the road 76-34 to set up a rematch. Since St. Joseph Christian won 42-30 on the road in Mound City, that means that North Andrew will host Christian. If Christian wins, then Worth County travels to the Lions’ Den assuming they win Friday, since Christian will have had fewer home games. If North Andrew wins, then Worth County hosts a semifinal game since they are the top team on the bracket in an odd numbered year and both teams will have hosted an equal number of home games.
With the wind at their backs, Worth County kicked the ball into the end zone. East Atchison tried to come out firing, but could not do anything all night against Worth County. Ryan McClellan broke up a pass intended for Shae DeRosier, Mason Hawk sacked Jake McEnaney, and Briacin Bywater met Tevin Cameron for a loss of one as the Wolves were forced to punt.

There was a heartstopping moment on the kick as Tevin Cameron nearly muffed it before recovering it at the 38, but from there, Worth County only needed one play as nobody covered Caleb Parman, who scored on a 42 yard pass play from Ryan McClellan. Tevin Cameron ran in the extra points to make it 8-0 with 10:36 left in the first.

East Atchison was buried on their own 11 and was driven back. Devin Jackson got a sack, Drake and Isaac dropped Bywater for a loss of three after a short pass, and DeRosier was dropped for a loss of one as Worth County nearly got a safety back to the one. East Atchison was forced to punt, but it was shanked and blew back to the two yard line. Had it rolled into the end zone, it would have been either a safety or a touchdown depending on who would have recovered it.

Worth County fumbled the ball, but it didn’t matter after East Atchison got the touchback. The Wolves went to their Triple Option game, but McEnaney was dropped for a loss of four, and fullback Ian Hedlund took a handoff only to meet Ryan McClellan and Devin Jackson for a loss of one. Bywater dropped a pass and the Wolves were forced to punt. Tevin Cameron was driven back to the 40 by the punt, bobbled it, but recovered and ran it back for a 40 yard return. Tevin ran a power sweep to the right for the extra points, aided by blocks from Drake Kinsella and Devin Jackson, who had lined up as a fullback, to make it 16-0 with 7:52 left.

East Atchison tried to isolate prize receiver Gage McAdams on Isaac Alarcon, but Isaac drilled him for a loss of six and a sack by Mason Hawk drove the Wolves back to the five. On the ensuing punt, Tevin started down the left side, reversed his field down the right side of the field, broke a couple of tackles, and was off for the races to get Worth County’s third score with 5:51 left in the first. Cameron ran in the extra points behind the blocking of Mason Hawk to make it 24-0.

Once again, East Atchison tried unsuccessfully to isolate McAdams, who met Alarcon for a loss of four after a short pass. Worth County ran the punt back to the Wolves 20 and only needed one play to score as Cameron shot through a hole, broke a host of tackles, and scored with 3:36 left to make it 30-0, still in the first quarter.

The Wolves had burned all three of their timeouts while the first quarter was still in progress, to no avail as three straight incompletions forced them to punt. Worth County set up shop on their own 30 and Isaac Alarcon rumbled for 23 yards into Wolves territory. Tevin Cameron got a block from Mason Hawk for nine more, then two catch and runs from Caleb Parman and Bryant McCord put Worth County into the end zone with 1:47 left.

Mason Hawk batted away a pass that could have been ruled a fumble, and Drake Kinsella shot through unblocked for a sack back to the 10. A fake punt attempt fooled nobody as Tevin Cameron, instead of going back for the punt, stayed up on defense and Worth County got the ball back at the 17. The Tigers only needed one play to get in as Tevin Cameron scored behind the power sweep and broke a tackle to get in with 44 seconds left in the first. Isaac Alarcon took an option pitch, hurdled a defender, and got in to make it 44-0.

East Atchison finally found some daylight on a 53 yard pass play to McAdams and got help from the officials as they claimed Bryant McCord was guilty of pass interference even though he was zeroed in on the ball and did not put his hands on Gage McAdams, putting the ball first and goal on the Tiger seven. It didn’t matter as Tevin Cameron tipped a pass and Bryant McCord picked it off and returned it to the five to kill the drive.

Cameron lost two yards on the first play, but then shot through a small hole up to the 20 to take Worth County out of danger. Isaac Alarcon picked three and an offsides penalty moved it to the 28. Then, the officials tried to help out East Atchison as Tevin Cameron scored an apparent touchdown only for the referees to call it back to the 40, claiming Drake Kinsella held even though he was doing nothing but running down the field in a crowd of black and orange jerseys after Cameron was well past the play. It didn’t matter as Cameron bounced down the right side after starting down the middle on the next play, getting a block from Mason Hawk to get in from 40 yards out with 9:23 left in the second quarter.

Devin Jackson got his second sack of the game and East Atchison was forced to punt. Even though the wind was at the Wolves’ back in the second quarter, it didn’t matter as the kick was shanked and drilled one of their cheerleaders and the Tigers got the ball on the Wolves’ 18. An offsides penalty put it on the 13 and then Isaac Alarcon’s counter sweep got 12, aided by blocking from Drake Kinsella and Mason Hawk. He scored off a quick hitter with 8:04 left and Caleb Parman was all alone in the left corner of the end zone with 8:04 left to make it 60-0.

Mason Hawk and Devin Jackson combined on a sack to force another punt and the second string came out to play. The Tigers were stopped for fourth and two at the East Atchison 31, but the Wolves sold out to stop the run and left Jaxon Anderson all alone as Jacob New threw him a strike down to the one. Wayde Parman ran in the touchdown with 3:48 left to make it 66-0.

East Atchison made one last bid to get on the board and Jake McEnaney’s pass to Gage McAdams from 30 yards out looked on the spot. But then just before he gathered it in, Bryant McCord jumped up, snatched it out, and came away with the pick at the Tiger 2 and Worth County was able to run out the clock. Andrew Alarcon and Jeremy Wimer got some good gainers in the closing seconds.

Thursday, October 26, 2017

Worth County School Board Accepts One Resignation, Hires Coaching Personnel

The Worth County School Board made four new hirings and accepted one resignation last Monday evening, October 23rd. The board voted to accept the resignation with regret from Spanish teacher Colleen Combs, who will leave at the end of the 2017-2018 school year.

The board hired three new extra duty coaches. Hired as High School Cheer Coach was Dana Auffert. Hired as High School Boys Assistant was Mark Fletcher. Hired as High School Girls Assistant was Emily Martz.

The board also voted to hire Tera Coleman as a substitute teacher.

The board accepted the bid from Central States Bus for a passenger bus with luggage component for $80,150.

All votes were unanimous.

Wednesday, October 25, 2017

Junior High Mustang Girls Get First Win

Both Northeast Nodaway and North Nodaway's junior high girls were winless going into Tuesday night's contest, so something had to give. North Nodaway finally got their first win of the year, while Northeast is still searching as the Mustangs came away with the 21-6 victory.

While Northeast was having trouble getting any offense going, North Nodaway slowly built up a lead in the first quarter and a half. Jacquelyn Cline hit a shot from the right wing to open the scoring; Saylor Brown connected from the right wing and added a steal and three point play to put North Nodaway up 7-0 after one. Cline converted a steal into two free throws with 3:19 left, but then Northeast started coming back. Jaden Atkins put on a fake and drove into the lane for a pullup and Anne Briney connected from the high post to make it 9-4, as both teams missed chances from downtown in the last minute.

Both teams played with the kind of desperation expected from teams looking for a win; there were a lot of loose balls and bodies flying around.

Briney tried to shoot Northeast back into the game, but Saylor Brown aired one out to Cline to get North Nodaway going early in the second. Brown went coast to coast on another play, then post player Mackenzie Titus added a putback and a shot from the high post. Brown finished the quarter by taking on all five NEN players and getting a free throw to make it 18-4 after three.

Lauren McIntyre connected for Northeast in the fourth to make it 19-6, but Brown went to the rack again for her 10th point.

In the "B" game, Felicia Wylie scored four quick points right off the bat off steals for North Nodaway and the Mustangs came away with the 4-0 victory.

For North Nodaway, Saylor Brown led the Mustangs with 10. Jacquelyn Cline added 7 and Mackenzie Titus 4. For Northeast, Lauren McIntyre, Anne Briney, and Jaden Atkins all had 2.

NEN Junior High Boys Blitz Mustangs for Fourth Win

Northeast Nodaway’s boys continued to fly high as they beat down North Nodaway 43-9. The Bluejays remained unbeaten after the win, while North Nodaway was still seeking their first win.
The Bluejays had to contend with skyscraper Hunter Carlson, who created a lot of problems in the paint for Northeast. Carlson threw up a prayer that went in to cut it to 4-2, but then Dylan McIntyre drove and put one in over Carlson to start a 16-0 run to end the first quarter.

The rest of the period was Northeast swarming, pressing, trapping, and never letting North Nodaway’s big man get into any kind of rhythm offensively. Zach Pride’s drive opened up a baseline shot for Brayden Munns, Lane Dack’s drive created another open look that he knocked down. Dack skipped one to Pride on the right win, followed by a play where Zach Pride aired one out to Munns for a fast break. Northeast continued to take it to the rack at will as Munns scored off a drive, then Colton Swalley and Ben Boswell finished off the quarter with steals.

Northeast took off the pressure after the first quarter, but continued to pull away slowly from North Nodaway. Carlson’s shot from the high post for North Nodaway broke a long scoring drought after Ben Boswell opened the scoring with a baseline shot off a pass from Colton Swalley. Austin Pride got loose underneath and got a high-low pass from Zach and Lane Dack connected from the left side off an Austin Pride kickout to make it 26-4 at the half.

Brayden Munns scored from the left wing off a pass from Zach Pride before Northeast cooled off. North Nodaway managed its only consecutive scores in the game as Keegan Keho hit from the left sing and Kade Emery got a free throw after an offensive board to make it 28-7. Northeast finally countered as Ben Boswell got a putback after Colton Swalley pushed it ahead for a fast break. Dawson Vore added a free throw and Colton Swalley and Dylan McIntyre scored off drives as Northeast went ahead 35-7 after three.

Damian Dailey cut it to 35-9 for North Nodaway, but then Northeast scored the last eight points after Munns got loose and flew down court to counter Dailey’s basket. Austin Pride added a putback to trigger the running clock, Zach Pride scored off a McIntyre steal, and McIntyre scored from the left wing off a pass from Lane Dack.

For Northeast, Brayden Munns led the scoring with 12 points. Dylan McIntyre had 8, Ben Boswell 6, Colton Swalley and Zach Pride 4 each, Dawson Vore 3, and Lane Dack 2.

For North Nodaway, Hunter Carlson had 4, Keegan Keho and Damian Dailey 2, and Kade Emery 1.

Payton Craig is Missouri High School Heisman Finalist

North Harrison student and softball standout Payton Craig was named one of ten female state finalists for the Wendy’s High School Heisman award. Winners at the state level will go on to compete at the national level.

The program was created by Wendy’s founder Dave Thomas in 1994. He dropped out of high school at 15 to become a successful businessman; however, he wanted to encourage others to stay in school. He subsequently got his GED in 1993 and created the program. Over 600,000 students have honored by the program.

To be eligible, students must maintain a 3.0 grade point average or better, be proven leaders and role models within their school and community, and perform in one of 47 sports recognized by the International Olympic Committee or the National Federation of State High School Associations.

Worth County has had a history of success with the program. In 2003, Chris Healy, now the Worth County football coach, made it to the national finals, one among 12 to do so. The next year, 2003, April Miller (now Healy) also made it to the national finals. Plaques honoring their accomplishments are on display at Worth County School. In 2008, Jessica Borey was named as a top ten student at the state level. Alysa Lyle was a state finalist in 2014.

Obituary -- Doug Morin 1961-2017

Doug Morin, age 56, of Kansas City, Missouri formerly of Grant City, Missouri, died Saturday, October 21, 2017 at his home.

Doug was  born January 18, 1961 in Independence, Missouri.  He was the son of Don and Beverly (Roach) Morin, Sr.

Doug attended VanHorn High School in Kansas City.  He was an iron worker and member of Iron Workers Union Local #10 of Kansas City.  He was also previously employed with Goff Construction, Grant City.  Doug was of the Christian faith.

Doug was united in marriage to Debbie Bolich on December 30, 2003.

He was preceded in death by his first wife, Becky (Sherer) Jones, a nephew Matthew Caddenhead and a niece Cobi Ann Morin.

His survivors include: his wife Debbie of the home, step children, Don Kent, Dustin Kelly, Kimberly White, and three step children of whom he raised in his home, Jeremy Jones, Mandy Jacobs, and Valerie Huntsman; his parents Don and Bev Morin, Sr.; one sister, Jacobi (Ed) Matney, two brothers, Don (Ayvonne) Morin Jr., Chuck (Debbie) Morin; many cousins, nephews, nieces and friends and loved ones.

Funeral Services were held 11:00 AM, Wednesday, October 25, 2017 at the Andrews-Hann Funeral Home, Grant City where the family received friends from 10-11 AM prior to the services.  The body was cremated following the services and interment will be later in the Kirk Cemetery, Allendale, Missouri. 

A memorial fund has been established in Doug’s Name and will be designated later.

Tuesday, October 24, 2017

Northeast Nodaway Junior High Boys Race Out to 3-0 Start; Down Trojans

Northeast Nodaway’s junior high boys raced out to a 3-0 start in their first full week of games. Monday, they took down Nodaway-Holt 48-14. The Trojans have a huge roster, but had nobody to guard the Bluejays, who were swarming, pressing, and trapping the whole game. It was enough to get varsity coach Vance Proffitt just as excited as he was during his baseball team’s run to the quarterfinals last spring.

Northeast started off slowly, but then heated up late in the first quarter. Ben Boswell’s coast to coast look made it 16-3 and then Zach Pride got a steal off the press and a layup at the first quarter buzzer, all in the last five seconds to make it 18-3. Nodaway-Holt tried to make a game of it in the first part of the second quarter, but then Dylan McIntyre sliced his way to the basket with 3:34 left to make it 23-7. Dawson Vore jumped a pass and got it to McIntyre, Boston Adwell aired one out to Ben Boswell, and the rout was on.

Boswell cleaned up after Brayden Munns jumped a pass and missed the layup and Munns got a steal, lasered it to Boswell, who threw to Colton Swalley for a layup as Northeast finished strong to go up 33-7 at the break.

Dylan McIntyre finished strong as he scored six points off two steals and a putback, while Zach Pride scored off a steal in the fourth frame as Northeast gained some more separation from Nodaway-Holt.
Ben Boswell had 15 points for Northeast. Dylan McIntyre had 12, Austin Pride 7, Zach Pride 6, Colton Swalley 5, and Brayden Munns 3.

Zach Pride was a force in the paint, keeping the Trojans off the boards and keeping them from getting going inside. He had 7 boards and one block. Lane Dack did not score, but distributed it to everyone else, getting four assists. Boswell, Boston Adwell, and Zach Pride all had 1.

Brayden Munns had a nose for the ball on defense, getting seven steals, several of which led to fast breaks. Ben Boswell had 3, Dylan McIntyre had 3, Lane Dack 3, while Colton Swalley, Zach Pride, and Dawson Vore all had 2. Northeast had 22 steals on the night.

As coaching guru Jeff Parsons taught during his time at NEN coaching the boys, tips are just as disruptive to the opposition as blocks and steals on defense. He had his managers keep track of tips in games, and Brett Adwell was one of the leaders in that category. His son, Boston, is now playing on the squad. For Tuesday, Zach Pride had 8 tips, Ben Boswell 6, Brayden Munns 5, Colton Swalley 4, Lane Dack 3, and Boston Adwell and Dawson Vore 1.

The girls are still searching for their first win after a last second free throw gave Union Star a 16-15 win over Northeast. They lost to West Nodaway by 13 before falling Monday 25-7. David Carroll, who coached basketball for the varsity Trojans before coaching softball for North Nodaway, and who coached Southwest Baptist starter Megan Rosenbohm, swears that he has not found the second coming. But he obviously saw enough potential in this year’s junior high squad to take them on. Guard Emma Bohannon wreaked havoc defensively, getting a ton of steals and tips, while post player Kloe Jenkins disrupted everything down low for his squad. Any hopes that Northeast had of having an advantage from having two games under their belt to none for Nodaway-Holt did not come to pass.

Northeast fell behind 12-0 after one quarter before playing the Trojans evenly in the second and third quarters. But then things fell apart for them again in the fourth quarter as Nodaway-Holt pulled away for the win.

Anne Briney did all she could to get Northeast back into the game in the third quarter, getting all four of her points in that period before sitting on the bench with foul trouble. Ruby Wilmes had 2 and Kirsten Morrow 1 for Northeast.

Jozlynn Hopper kept things from getting worse, as she stopped some scoring opportunities and got three blocks. Rachelle Rodriguez had 1.

Rachelle Rodriguez had 4 boards for Northeast. Anne Briney had 3, as did Kirsten Morrow. Lauren McIntyre had two boards, while Morgan Cook, Meredith Adwell, and Jozlynn Hopper had 1.
Kirsten Morrow had 2 assists, while Morgan Cook had 1.

Jozlynn Hopper had 3 steals for Northeast. Jaden Atkins, Anne Briney, and Morgan Cook each had 1.
Jaden Atkins had 3 tips to lead Northeast. Anne Briney had 2, as did Kirsten Morrow and Jozlynn Hopper. Meredith Adwell, Kenlyn Grove, and Morgan Cook each had 1.

Obituary -- Charles Lawson 1931-2017

Charles E. Lawson, 86, Stanberry, MO passed away Sunday, October 22, 2017 at an Albany, MO hospital.

He was born March 12, 1931 in Stanberry, MO the son of Earl Wesley and Eula B. (Thomas) Lawson.

He married Coleen Fletchall on October 2, 1949. He later married Patsy Gray on July 4, 1981 in Bates County, Missouri. She survives of the home.

Charles was a graduate of Stanberry High School in 1948. He served in the United States Navy and was a member of the Stanberry American Legion Post #260 for 50 years. He owned Lawson Equipment in Stanberry for 41 years as well as several implement and equipment dealerships throughout Northwest, MO and was a landowner throughout Gentry County over the years. He was a Gold Medal Chevrolet dealer, a founding member of the Board of Directors at Pineview Manor, past president of Western Hardware Association, member of the C & S Club of Stanberry, MO, past member of the Stanberry R-II School Board, 50 year member of the Moila Shriners of St. Joseph, member of the Stanberry Masonic Lodge #109 AF & AM, and a member of the Stanberry United Methodist Church. He also served nine terms as Mayor of Stanberry and the growth and success of the town was his passion.

Charles was preceded in death by his parents; first wife, Coleen Duley; and infant daughter, Shelly Louise Lawson.

He is also survived by his daughter, Susan (Kevin) Shisler, Albany, MO; son, Scott (Dianna) Lawson, Cameron, MO; grandchildren, Vince Shisler, Kansas City, MO, Abby (Clinton) Nielson, Madisonville, LA, Steve (Ashley) Shisler, Stanberry, MO, Brandy (Louis) O’Brien, Princeton, MO, Kristy (Scott) Neth, Bethany, MO, Kelly Thompson, Kansas City, MO, Zachary Lawson, Colorado Springs, CO; 9 great grandchildren; cousin, Mary McArthur (whom he thought of as a sister), Huntsville, North Carolina; sister-in-law, Nancy Knadler, St. Joseph, MO; brother-in-law, Larry (Eva) Gray, Stewartsville, MO; and several nieces and nephews.

Funeral Services will be held at 10:30 a.m. Wednesday, October 25 at Stanberry United Methodist Church, Stanberry, MO under the direction of Roberson Funeral Home, Stanberry, MO. Burial with Military Rites will follow in High Ridge Cemetery, Stanberry, MO. The family will receive friends from 6:00-8:00 p.m. Tuesday at Roberson Funeral Home, Stanberry, MO where friends may call after 4:00 p.m. Tuesday at the funeral home. Memorial contributions may be made to Pineview Manor and or Stanberry United Methodist Church in care of Roberson Funeral Home, P.O. Box 152, Stanberry, MO 64489. Online condolences may be left at www.robersonfuneralhome.com

Monday, October 23, 2017

Obituary -- Marjorie Henderson 1943-2017

Marjorie Ann Carroll Henderson 73, of Maryville MO, passed away on Thursday, October 19, 2017, at Mosaic Life Care, St. Joseph, MO.

Marjorie was born in Maryville, MO, on November 6, 1943, to Truman and Geneva (Carpenter) Carr. They preceded her in death.  She was also preceded by an infant son; her husband L.D. “Buck” Carroll, and later her second husband Tom Henderson; her sister Roma Roming, and her brother, Cecil Wayne Carr.

She was a graduate of Maryville High School. She liked to coon hunt.  Marjorie lived in the Ravenwood and Maryville area her entire life.

She and her husband Buck, owned and operated an auction house in Ravenwood until his death. She and Buck were married for 36 years. She had been the mayor of Ravenwood, MO for 16 years.  Later she worked in the Bakery at the Conception Abbey, Conception, MO.

Left to cherish her memory are 7 brothers and sisters: Manford C. Carr, Ottawa, KS, Twila May Stone, Colony, TX, Henry T. Carr, Seymour, MO, Wilma (Runyan) Grant, Higginsville, MO, Barbara Cochran, Lincoln, MO, William C. (Bill) Carr, Howitt, TX, Richard W. (Rick) Carr, Maryville, MO, and many beloved foster sisters and brothers and numerous nieces, nephews, and so many children who she helped raise and called her own.

Funeral services were at 10:30 AM, on Monday, October 23, 2017, at the Laura Street Baptist Church, Maryville, MO. The burial followed in the Miriam Cemetery, Maryville.

The family received friends for one hour prior to services at the church on Monday.

Services are under the direction of the Bram-Danfelt Funeral Home, Maryville, MO.
For online condolences and guest book visit www.bramfuneralhome.com

Obituary -- Willis Walker 1935-2017

E. Willis Walker, 82, of Maryville, MO, passed from this life on Tuesday, October 17, 2017, at Parkdale Manor in Maryville, with his family at his side.

Willis was born on October 7, 1935, near Sheridan, MO.  He grew up in the Parnell and Ravenwood, MO areas and moved to Maryville in 1955.

Willis graduated from Parnell High School in 1953, and had attended NWMSU in Maryville.
On November 20, 1955, Willis was united in marriage to Beverly Ann Wilkinson, she survives of the home. They were married for over 61 years.

Willis enjoyed farming on his own ground near Ravenwood, and tending his cattle and sheep.  He liked to fish, and had played softball for his church team.

He was a member and Deacon at the Laura Street Baptist Church, Maryville.  He became a Deacon in 1959.  He was the song leader at the church and had sang many solos during the years.  He was a volunteer fireman in Maryville, and was a 20 plus year member of the Gideon’s International.

Willis was preceded in death by his parents, L.B. and Nora (Chapman) Walker, and his twin sister, Wilma Smith.

54 years ago, he founded, owned and operated the Walker Body Shop in Maryville, he retired in 2004, then helped for several years part time at the shop.  He started in the body shop at the former Curnutt Motors. 

He is survived by his wife Beverly, of the home; 4 children, Bill, and wife Stephanie Walker, Maryville, Dr. Dan, and wife Susan Walker, Creston, IA, Peggy, and husband Jeff Ostrander, Waukee, IA, and Ben, and wife Brenda Walker, Creston; 10 granddaughters, Jodi Loucks, Terra, and husband Mark Snyder, Ann, and husband Daniel Barnett, Ellen Walker, Allison, and husband Kenny Froment, Kelsie, and husband Taylor Royster, Nicole, and husband Tony Henry, Hailey Walker, Abby Walker, Grace Ostrander; 8 great grandchildren, and one on the way; his siblings, Laymon Walker, Bellevue, NE, Evelyn (Vern) Summa, Maryville, Bill (Vicki) Walker, Parnell, Rolland (Donna) Walker, Maryville, Harley (Jerri) Walker, Parachute, CO, and brother in law, Ronald Gene Smith, Savannah, MO, and numerous nieces and nephews.

Funeral services were held at 10:00 AM, Friday, October 20, 2017, at the Laura Street Baptist Church, Maryville, MO.  The burial followed at the Nodaway Memorial Gardens, Maryville.

The family received friends from 5-7:00 PM, on Thursday, October 19, 2017, at the Bram-Danfelt Funeral Home, Maryville, MO.

Memorials are suggested to the Mayflower Christian School, 604 E. Townline, Creston, IA 50801, or the Laura Street Baptist Church, Maryville, MO

Obituary -- Kenneth Lee Kohlleppel 1962-2017

Kenneth Lee Kohlleppel, 55, of Parnell, MO, passed away unexpectedly at home on October 13, 2017.

Kenny was born on June 17, 1962 in Maryville, MO, to Benedict Herman and Dorothy (Strueby) Kohlleppel. His father preceded him in death.

Kenny grew up near Parnell and graduated from Ravenwood High School, Ravenwood, MO. He was of the Catholic faith.

He had worked for over 20 years at Laclede Manufacturing, Maryville. He also farmed and raised cattle in the Parnell area.

He liked to hunt, but mainly his work and farming was his passion.

His survivors include his 4 sons, Jeff (Kimberly) Kohlleppel, Maryville, Tyson Kohlleppel, Ravenwood, Cody Kohlleppel, Maryville, and Michael (Monica) Kohlleppel, Maryville; his mother Dorothy Kohlleppel, his 6 siblings, Ben (Mitzi) Kohlleppel, Burlingame, KS, Jeremy Kohlleppel, Ankeny, IA, Nick (Sarah) Kohlleppel, Parnell, MO, Vicki (Tom) Spire, Maryville, MO, Amy (Danny) Parnell, Arkansas, and Gail (Shane) Calfee, New Market, IA, 4 grandchildren, Caelyn, Colton, Gracie, and Kenzley Kohlleppel, and numerous nieces, nephews and cousins.

Funeral services were at 10:30 AM on Wednesday, October 18, 2017, at the Bram-Danfelt Funeral Home, Maryville, MO.  The burial followed in the St. Joseph Cemetery, Parnell, MO.

The family received friends from 5-7:00 PM, Tuesday, October 17, 2017, at the Bram-Danfelt Funeral Home.

Sunday, October 22, 2017

Tigers Rise to First in Rankings; to Face East Atchison Friday Night

Worth County vaulted past Sacred Heart into first place following their 56-14 victory over previous #1 Stanberry two weeks ago. Sacred Heart is #2, while Rock Port is #3. These are the three teams that remain unbeaten this year following the completion of the regular season. Stanberry dropped to fourth after the loss. Rounding out the top ten were Mound City, Greenfield, King City, North Andrew, East Atchison, and Chilhowee.

Worth County took advantage of the week off last week, having light practices from Monday through Thursday. This week, they will return to full practices as they prepare to take on East Atchison this Friday at home. Game time is at 7 pm.

East Atchison advanced with their 78-20 win over North/West Nodaway. The Wolves scored the first 50 points of the game before North/West Nodaway scored right before halftime to keep the game going. Briacin Bywater ran 11 times for 161 yards in the win, including a 65 yard run in the third quarter. Ian Hedlund added a 36 yard scoring run. Keevan Baker has emerged as another running option for the Wolves, getting 11 carries for 84 yards. The Wolves bring their Triple Option and their deep passing threat in receiver Gage McAdams to Worth County Friday. The Wolves average 39 points per game. McAdams is the leading receiver in eight man football with 37 catches for 791 yards and 13 touchdowns.

The Wolves will have to find a way to slow down Worth County’s potent offense. Worth County leads the league after nine games with 65.6 points per game. They will have to take care of the ball against the Tiger defense, which now leads the league with 10.4 points allowed per game. Worth County forced a bunch of early turnovers against North Andrew and Stanberry to take them out of their game. East Atchison is one of the better defensive teams in the area, only giving up 28.4 points per game. Worth County will have to block Gage McAdams (94 tackles, 7th in the league) and Shae DeRosier (90 tackles, 9th); the latter is also one of the biggest hitters for the Wolves.

For Worth County, Tevin Cameron is third in the league in rushing yards; the Tigers did not play last week, while both Stanberry and Hardin-Central did. Cameron starts off at 1,353 yards, behind Trey Schieber of Stanberry (1,469 yards) and Zach Pearon of Hardin-Central (1,531 yards). Cameron leads the league in rushing touchdowns with 31, ahead of Schieber (26) and Cole Durbin (22). There is a chance for Cameron and Schieber to move up on the rushing yardage board, since Hardin-Central will invade Sacred Heart. Rock Port, the second-rated defense behind Worth County, will face a stiff challenge for Schieber and Stanberry.

Other scores:
Stanberry 78, Albany 26 – Albany shocked Stanberry with a 62 yard pass from Harrison Kerchner to Shay Cooper for the lead early. The Warriors returned Colton Coburn for the game after he had battled injuries all year. He torched Stanberry with 13 carries for 197 yards, including runs of 69 and 70. The game was 46-26 in the third before Stanberry, always a strong second half team, hung 32 points in the fourth quarter for the victory.

Trey Schieber ran 18 times for 219 yards in the win for Stanberry and added a 65 yard kickoff return. He scored on runs of 53 and 30. John Shanks scored off a 53 yard run and Ruben Gage scored off a 65 yard run. Stanberry invades Rock Port this Friday, while Albany licks their wounds after only winning one game this year.

St. Joseph Christian 60, DeKalb 6 – The Lions, who dropped their first four games of the year, are now nearly back to .500 with their latest victory. Braden George has been on a tear for the Lions; he picked up 162 more yards for them Friday to pick up 400 for his last two games.

South/Nodaway-Holt 52, Platte Valley 6 – The Spartans are back to .500 at 5-5 after things looked grim at the start of the year. Wes Williams had 8 carries for 146 yards.

Osceola 56, Chilhowee 6 –
A disappointing end for Chilhowee, which still posted its first winning season in quite some time, winning six games this year.

Hardin-Central 68, Northwest Hughesville 8 –
Hardin-Central faded in the second half after a promising start, but showed some life against the Hughesville squad. Zach Pearon rushed 17 times for 218 yards in the win to move into the rushing lead.

Pattonsburg 70, North Shelby 30 – The Panthers continued to be on an offensive tear, having scored 88, 94, and now 70 in their last three games. Worth County is the only team to have grounded the Panther air attack. Cole Dilley has completed 109 of 178 passes for 1,230 yards, 21 scores and 8 interceptions. North Shelby tried to keep up, but threw four picks in the loss.

Braymer 80, Stewartsville 42 – Stewartsville was coming on strong towards the end of the year, but Braymer suddenly exploded for their second win of the year to end the Cardinals season.

All the main teams will jump in and resume football after a bye week. Hardin-Central has the first chance to try and stop the Sacred Heart juggernaut in Sedalia. Greenfield has only lost two games in the past two years, but faces the task of cooling down a suddenly red hot Osceola squad. King City must do the same with Braymer. Christian will travel to Mound City to face the Panthers; the two have frequently met in the State Championship, but never in the regular season or districts. North Andrew will try and stop Weston Williams and the South/Nodaway-Holt Spartans, who fought their way back to .500. Stanberry will invade Rock Port, never an easy task; however, they won in Rock Port 76-22 last year on their march to the State Title game. Southwest Livingston has a higher seed than Pattonsburg, but has the unenviable task of trying to ground the Pattonsburg air attack. Worth County will try and stay on track after exorcising bad memories of the last few years against Stanberry and North Andrew.

Eleven man scores:
South Harrison 38, Polo 20 – South Harrison lost a 26-24 heartbreaker to Polo during the regular season in a game in which the Panthers scored on a last-second drive to win. Some teams go in a slump following such a loss; however, South Harrison has been playing excellent football since then, winning five out of their last seven to stay alive. Now, they seek to slow down Princeton, who has been the kind of force that took the GRC by storm during the late ‘60’s, ‘70’s, and early ‘80’s. Princeton has only been seriously challenged twice this year, a 52-32 barnburner over Trenton and a 20-6 battle with South Harrison. They won handily over Maysville in their first round game 55-8.

Hamilton 35, Milan 0 – Hamilton normally starts off slow, but this time scored all 35 points in the first quarter to open district play. LaTroy Harper continued to tear up his opponents, getting 13 carries for 105 yards and getting a 65 yard punt return as well. He also threw a 13 yard pass to Derek Dixon. Everyone is awaiting a showdown in The Pit at Princeton, but first, Hamilton must get by an improving Putnam County squad.

Lafayette 35, Excelsior Springs 34 – Bart Hardy’s squad had its second nailbiter in as many weeks, and this time, they came out on top. It looked like Lafayette would run away with it at first, as Trey Washington struck twice to make it 14-0. They held a 1-2 score lead until the third quarter, when Diego Bernard’s pass to Ja’den King made it 35-14. But then Excelsior Springs rode the back of Peyton Soria, who scored three times to get the Excelsior Springs squad to within one. But instead of kicking the extra point, Excelsior Springs elected to go for the win and put it in Soria’s hands. But he was stopped short and Lafayette got the win.

Shamrock Softball Third at State

There were plenty of tears following North Harrison’s heartbreaking 4-2 loss to Canton Friday afternoon, but it turned into a joyous celebration that night as the Shamrocks climbed out of a 2-0 hole to beat Chafee 4-2 on the main field to take third place in the state. The Canton game may well have really been the State Championship game – Canton won handily over Pilot Grove Saturday to win the State Championship 6-1.

The support for the Shamrocks from the community and people in the area was disproportionate to the small population. The three towns that go to North Harrison, Eagleville, Hatfield, and Blythdale, have a combined population of 600. They matched the Canton crowd (population 2,300) and outnumbered the Chafee crowd (population 2,900). One of the players, Ashlynn Gilpatrick, reported getting many texts from players from other teams wishing the team well.

The pep rally Wednesday night was well-attended, with over 200 people and students attending. Mandy Maize, who was North Harrison’s all-state pitcher from the 2003 team that last went to state, wrote a heartfelt letter wishing them well, and four members of that team gave them encouragement, telling them to take it all in and have fun. The mothers of the players put on a skit where they put together a recipe for success and Coach Brandon Craig put it in the oven to cook up a victory for the Shamrocks. About 20 different players from the last 25 years participated  with the present players in the tongue twister/huddle break that they have done before games ever since at least 1992. The players watched a motivational video with highlights of their 3-2 win over Platte Valley.

Thursday was the sendoff day for the Shamrocks. The entire student body formed a tunnel and cheered the team on as they made their way to the bus, and well-wishers lined up along the road to I-35 cheering them on. They took a tour of the Killian Sports Complex, home of the Missouri State softball team, met Donovan Nelson, brother of Dava, and got some last-minute practice in.

The first was that Tiger pitcher Olivia Jarvis had the best changeup that they had seen all year, with no way to tip it off. The second was the experience factor – Canton had been to state before in 2014 and 2015, before being knocked out early in 2016; they were used to the setting.

The game against Canton started off inauspiciously for North Harrison as the Tigers jumped off to a 1-0 lead in the first. Brianna Caldwell led off the inning with a single and Katie Gaus grounded out to move her to second. Olivia Jarvis struck out, but Lalen Hugenberg singled to score her.

But then, it looked like North Harrison would take control. As pitcher Payton Craig retired the next 13 Tiger batters, the Shamrocks started to take control. In the third, Kami Gibson singled and Sally Briggs bunted to advance her to second. Carly Rinehart flied out to right to move her to third and Payton Craig tripled her home to tie it up at 1-1.

In the fifth, Canton shortstop Lalen Hugenberg airmailed Mason Cracraft’s grounder. Kami Gibson bunted back to the mound to advance her to second, Sally Briggs grounded out to move her to third, and Carly Rinehart shot a single past third to score her and make it 2-1.

It looked like that would be enough, but then the wind played a factor in the sixth. Caldwell walked and then Katie Gaus hit a high towering fly ball to dead center. The wind was blowing out and center fielder Rainey Fordyce could only watch as the ball hit the top of the fence and bounced over for a two run home run to flip the script in Canton’s favor, putting them up 3-2. Had the wind been blowing in, like it was on the main field, then it would have been a long out to Fordyce, who had played errorless ball in center all year.

Ashlynn Gilpatrick finally turned on one of Jarvis’ changes and singled with one out. But North Harrison could not do anything with it as Audrey Briggs grounded out, as did Emma Craig.
It looked like North Harrison would fall apart in the seventh after Abbey Hultz stretched a single into a double to start the inning. Tegan Burbridge bunted and third baseman Ashlynn Gilpatrick’s throw got past second baseman Mason Cracraft, covering first, as Burbridge reached second and Hultz scored. Riley Marshall hunted to move Burbridge over to third with one out, but then Gilpatrick made an outstanding play to prevent any further bleeding as she fielded Caldwell’s grounder and tagged out Burbridge.

Kami Gibson turned on a 1-2 change and reached on an error as Hugenberg’s throw was wild, putting her on first. But then Sally Briggs struck out. Gibson went to second on a wild pitch but then Carly Rinehart got down in the count 0-2. Trying to make something happen, Gibson took off for third and was out stealing to end the game.

There was still softball to be played, and the two teams took two totally different approaches. Chafee went to one of the side fields to take fielding practice during the Class 4 third place game, and then took even more reps on the main field after the game was over and they were getting the infield ready for the Class 1 game. North Harrison’s players, on the other hand, watched the whole game between Staley and Francis Howell, posed for pictures in front of the dugout, and sought to take everything in. The latter approach worked as the Shamrocks never lost their composure after being down early and fought back to win.

It looked like Chafee, with a misleading record of 18-12, would blow North Harrison right out of the field at first. Like Canton, Chafee had been to state before in 2015 and was used to the setting. Most of their losses came against Class 2 and 3 powerhouses; however, against Class 1 competition, they had thrived thanks to their bats.

For the first time all year, the other team was teeing off on Payton Craig, who would get batters down in the count only for them to crush one. It would have been worse in the first had not Ashlynn Gilpatrick raced in on the first batter, slap hitter Bridgette Swinford, and caught her pop fly right in front of the plate before it dropped in. As it turned out, that play might have saved the game. The rest of the Red Devils started timing and crushing it as Bailey Wiseman shot a single between first and second, Sydney Walker hit a screamer that right fielder Carly Rinehart lost in the wind and lights for a double, putting runners on second and third. Carlie Milz walked, bringing in Madeline Hendrix, who shot a single through to center to score two. She went to second on a wild pitch.

But all of a sudden, Payton Craig settled down and pitched some of her finest ball all year, shutting down the Red Devils the rest of the way. She froze Kylie Wilhite on strikes and then Shana Burden grounded out to Kami Gibson at first.

It didn’t look like it would do any good at first as only one Shamrock reached safely in the first three innings. Payton Craig’s first drive, in the first, went to the deepest part of the park and Bridgette Swinford hauled it in right in front of the 220 sign. The ball would have left the yard, even with the wind, had the game been played on the smaller field where the semifinal game was played. Then, Craig hit one even better into the right center field gap. It was slicing away from Swinford, but once again, she was there to make the catch.

It looked like North Harrison’s hopes were facing when Chafee began teeing off on Craig again in the fourth as Madeline Hendrix and Kylie Willhite singled off back to back hits. But then Craig reached back again and struck out the next three batters to get out of the inning. It was similar to the King City game early in the year when North Harrison had their backs to the wall, trailed 1-0, but then had catcher Emma Craig throw out a Wildkat runner stealing from her knees as they were trying to add to their lead.

Finally, North Harrison broke through in the fourth as Brandi Rivet shot a single past left to lead off. Ashlynn Gilpatrick hit a screamer past Brittany Wood in right for a single. Wood tried to throw out Rivet at third, but threw it away as Rivet scored and Gilpatrick went to third. Audry Briggs hit another screamer that the wind wreaked havoc with, and Gilpatrick scored to tie it up. Emma Craig hit a pop fly to center that dropped in for a base hit as Briggs went to third. Craig stole second and then Mason Cracraft hit a grounder to second deep enough to score Briggs to put North Harrison in front 3-2 as Craig took third.

Sensing the game slipping away, Chafee brought their third baseman in as though to guard against a bunt from Kami Gibson, pitched out, and cut their shortstop in behind Emma Craig for a pickoff play. Craig barely made it back safely, and a rhubarb ensued as first the Chafee coach, and then the assistant did the Umpire Two-Step in a futile effort to get the call reversed. Nobody was tossed, but the umpires had made the call and were not changing their mind on a judgment call. That turned out to be critical as Gibson grounded out to score Craig to make it 4-2. Coach Brandon Craig had been looking for his team to put together a big inning all throughout postseason, and finally got one when they needed it.

North Harrison ran into two jams down the stretch, but held on for the victory. In the sixth, Ashlynn Gilpatrick airmailed Carlie Milz’s grounder to put her on second with nobody out. There was a heartstopping moment as Madeline Hendrix hit a screamer that looked like it was headed for extra bases into the right-center field gap. But as the ball sliced away, it miraculously dropped right into right fielder Carly Rinehart’s glove. Rinehart threw to second to double off Milz, who was all the way to third, thinking the ball would drop. The ball squirted past Brandi Rivet at second, but Ashlynn Gilpatrick backed up the play and her throw was in time for the double play. All year, Gilpatrick had been there to make the big play for North Harrison anytime they needed one.

There was another heartstopping moment in the seventh as Shana Burden hit a towering fly ball to center field to start the inning. Rainey Fordyce, who had played errorless ball all year, bobbled the catch momentarily but held on for the out before Craig struck out Hallie Bollinger and got Kaya Carroll to ground out back to the mound to end the came.

Coach Brandon Craig choked up as he talked about being able to see his daughters do so well. “We’ve worked for this a long time. I can’t say enough about our seniors and how much they wanted this. Hopefully, our younger players will understand what it takes to keep us going,” he said.

The Shamrocks had won the respect of everyone in the building, including the Chafee players and coaches, who came and shook their hands a second time after all the trophies and medals were awarded.

Thursday, October 19, 2017

Obituary -- Stanley Hensley 1920-2017

Stanley Hensley was born March 19, 1920 to Mable and Victor Hensley in rural  Salem, South Dakota. In 1935 he moved to Malvern, Iowa. He graduated from Malvern High School in 1939. After graduation he worked as a clerk in a grocery store and farmed.

In April 1942 Uncle Sam took him in the service for World War 11. He served 42 months in the service and 38 of them were over seas in the Pacific area. Iwo Jima was his last stop in which he was discharged with an honorable discharge in November 1945.

February 1, 1946 he married Estellee Kobbe. They started farming west of Bedford, Iowa. Through the years he also drove a truck and worked in factories for 30 years in St. Joseph, Missouri. He retired from Wire Rope after 20 years in 1985 and moved to Sheridan. In the fall of 2011 he moved to Maryville and in 2012 he moved to the Missouri Veterans Home in Cameron, Missouri.

Stanley was preceded in death by his wife Estellee of 65 years in September 2011, his parents, and sister Evelyn Goy Knop.  He is survived by several nieces and nephews.

Graveside Services and Interment will be 2:30 P.M. Friday, October 20, 2107 in the VanSkyock Addition of Sheridan Cemetery. Military Rites by V.F.W. Post #3123. Rev. Susan Noakes will officiate. Arrangements under direction of Prugh-Dunfee Funeral Home in Grant City, Missouri.

Tuesday, October 17, 2017

Junior High Choir Kicks Off With Fall Fun Concert

Worth County’s music program got bigger this year with a Junior High Choir formed this year, along with an honors music society. A Fall Fun Concert to showcase the new choir along with selections from some of the older students was held Tuesday.

Starting off the Junior High portion of the concert was “Glory Bound,” the popular gospel song. “Light Shine Bright” was next, with a solo portion performed by Calli Mancuso and a rap line performed by Jazmine Brooks, Jace Cousatte, Jackson Smith, and Tanner Ridge. Next, Alex Rinehart directed the rest of the group with various body movements in “The Dum Dum Song.”

The older students performed some songs as well. Riley Drury performed “Get Back Up Again,” with the Junior High Choir accompanying. Merrideth Spiers sang the popular gospel song “Hallelujah.” Jeremy Wimer put on his George Straight act and sang “Amarillo by Morning.” Trent Gabriel then sang the popular Garth Brooks tune “The Thunder Rolls.” Worth County Class of 2017 grad Jacob Wimer came back to accompany Jeremy in a duet of George Straight’s “Baby Blue,” about his daughter who was prematurely killed in a car wreck.

Olivia Kanak performed “Colors of the Wind” from the movie “Pocohantas.” Grace Gibson and Bailee Walker sang “Part of Your World” from “The Little Mermaid,” the popular kids movie. A.J. Drury sang the hilarious “Shiny,” about being a clam. Keelin Engel sang, “Wishing You Were Somehow Here Again,” from “Phantom of the Opera.” Riley Drury played the part of an author stressing out about her work in “Watch What Happens.” Finally, Justina Wimer sang “How Far I’ll Go” with Keelin Engel providing dance accompaniment.

Justina Wimer and Riley Drury worked on the flats for the show. Mrs. Cook and Mrs. O’Connor loaned supplies for the show. Darrin and Nancy Drury were in charge of lights and sound. Jackson Smith opened and closed the curtain. Amy Garrett and April Healy provided technical support.
There are 21 students who are members of the newly-formed Junior High Choice. They are Lance Abplanalp, Hailey Adwell, Nicolas Aragon, Jazmine Brooks, Grant Cameron, Cooper Chapman, Jace Cousatte, Cheyanne Fairchild, Coner Gladstone, James Gladstone, ZeeAnna Gladstone, Braxton Hightshoe, Chloe Knight, Calli Mancuso, Molly Miller, Tanner Ridge, Alex Rinehart, Marshall Ruckman, Jackson Smith, Lucas Wake, and Drew Welch.

Advanced chorus members who performed include sopranos Keelin Engel, Misty Helt, Calli Mancuso, Bailee Walker and Justina Wimer; Altos Riley Drury, Grace Gibson, Aivry Griffin, Olivia Kanak, and Merrideth Spiers; and Baritones A.J. Drury, Trent Gabriel, and Jeremy Wimer.

Obituary -- Elbert Risser 1943-2017

Elbert Otto Risser, 74, passed from his earthly body on October 15, 2017. Elbert was the only child of Lowell and Myrtle (Goff) Risser. He was born in Sheridan, MO on May 1, 1943. Elbert spent most of his life in the Sheridan area. On July 30, 2004 he remarried his first wife, Doris.

Elbert loved all things mechanical. In his free time, he spent many years restoring John Deere tractors. In his later years, he shelved the green paint for International Harvester red. Elbert spent twenty-eight years working for the Missouri Department of Transportation as a highway maintenance worker. He retired from there in May 2005.

Elbert was a tinkerer and talker. If you were lucky, you’d catch him in his shop working on something – either wood or metal – and he’d entertain you for hours talking about his traveling adventures. Before retirement, he’d sneak away to Colorado or Texas to visit his kids. After retirement, he spread his traveling wings even further. Some of his favorite trips were to Indiana to visit Doris’s sister, South Dakota to visit his kids, and to Wyoming to visit family friends.

Elbert was preceded in death by his parents, a wife Patty, and a son Kerry. He leaves behind his wife, Doris, of the home as well as six children; Chris (Michelle) Risser, Bedford, IA, Gayland (Debbie) Risser, Hermosa, SD, Mike (Teresa) Risser, Bedford, IA, Malinda Nelson, Sheridan, MO, Bill (Amy) Straight, Grant City, Mo and Tish (Duane) Warner, Grant City, MO. Elbert also had the privilege of raising Eric (Cindi) Zimmerman, Maryville, MO and Mark Zimmerman, Maryville, MO. In all, twenty-one children had the opportunity to call him Grandpa. He also had five great-grandchildren to love with four more on the way.

A visitation was held Monday, October 16th from 6-8 pm at the Prugh-Dunfee Funeral Home in Grant City.

The funeral was Tuesday, October 17th at 2 pm at the funeral home with interment to follow at the VanSkyock Addition to the Sheridan Cemetery, Sheridan, MO. Jeff Blaine officiated. Memorials may go to St. Francis Hospice or the Sheridan Community Building in care of the funeral home.

Tevin Cameron Maintains Rushing Lead as Regular Season Closes

Tevin Cameron maintained the league lead in rushing yardage as the regular season closed. As Worth County closes in on the 3,000 yard mark in total offense for the season, Cameron has accounted for a little over half of it, 1,353 on the around and another 120 in passing and 38 in receiving yardage for a total of 1,511. He has 94 carries, figuring out to a 14.4 yards per carry average.

Ryan McClellan has been emerging as a second option for Worth County. He is now up to 534 yards in 42 carries, for a 12.7 average. Isaac Alarcon has 40 carries for 265 yards. Jeremy Wimer has 33 carries for 166 yards. Nate Adwell has 14 carries for 52 yards. Andrew Alarcon has 13 carries for 102 yards. Jacob New has 7 carries for -9 yards. Wayde Parman has 7 carries for 28 yards. Devan Jackson has 1 carry for 2 yards.

Tevin Cameron leads in touchdowns with 31, followed by Ryan McClellan with 16, Isaac Alarcon with 5, Jeremy Wimer and Andrew Alarcon with 2, and Nate Adwell, Wayde Parman, and Devan Jackson with 1.

Through the air, Worth County has completed 485 yards as a team. Ryan McClellan has completed 9 passes in 18 attempts for 246 yards. Tevin Cameron has completed 4 passes in 5 attempts for 120 yards. Jacob New has completed 5 passes in 10 attempts for 119 yards.

Caleb Parman leads the team in receptions with 7 for 178 yards. Bryant McCord has 6 catches for 199 yards. Mason Hawk has 2 catches for 59 yards. Tevin Cameron has 1 catch for 38 yards. Reed McIntyre has 1 catch for 2 yards.

Defensively, Drake Kinsella leads the Tigers in tackles with 68. Tevin Cameron has 65, Ryan McClellan 52, Devan Jackson 43, Bryant McCord 39, Brayden Welch 37, Caleb Parman 32, Mason Hawk 28, Wayde Parman 20, Jaxon Anderson 17, Isaac Alarcon 16, Andrew Alarcon, Nate Adwell, and Colton Wilmes 10, Jeremy Wimer 9, Jacob New 7, Ethan Thomas 5, Reed McIntyre and Justin Dye 4, Dakota Auffert 3, and Austin Welch 1.

Drake Kinsella leads the team with 8 sacks so far. Mason Hawk has 4.5, Brayden Welch 2, Tevin Cameron 1.5, Bryant McCord 1, and Nate Adwell and Wayde Parman 0.5.

Mason Hawk leads with three forced fumbles. Drake Kinsella has 2, while Jacob New has 1. Tevin Cameron leads the team with 3 fumble recoveries, while Ryan McClellan has 2. Mason Hawk, Wayde Parman, Drake Kinsella, Reed McIntyre, and Jacob New all have 1 fumble recovery.

Bryant McCord leads the team with 5 tipped passes. Drake Kinsella and Mason Hawk have 2 each, while Ryan McClellan, Tevin Cameron, and Isaac Alarcon each have 1.

Bryant McCord leads with 5 picks. Ryan McClellan has 4, while Isaac Alarcon has 2. Drake Kinsella has one blocked punt, while Ryan McClellan and Bryant McCord each have one pick-six.

Offensively, Tevin Cameron led the Tigers with 9 carries for 122 yards. Jeremy Wimer had 5 carries for 19 yards. Ryan McClellan had 3 carries for 50 yards. Andrew Alarcon had 3 carries for 6 yards, while Jacob New had 3 carries for -3 yards. Isaac Alarcon had 2 carries for 42 yards, while Wayde Parman had 1 carry for 0 yards.

Through the air, Tevin Cameron had one completion in one attempt for 40 yards. Mason Hawk had one catch for 40 yards and a score.

Defensively, Ryan McClellan had 9 tackles against Stanberry. Nate Adwell, Drake Kinsella, and Mason Hawk each had 8. Brayden Welch and Devan Jackson each had 7. Bryant McCord and Wayde Parman each had 5. Caleb Parman, Tevin Cameron, and Isaac Alarcon each had 4. Jaxon Anderson and Justin Dye each had 3. Jeremy Wimer, Andrew Alarcon, and Ethan Thomas had 2. Reed McIntyre had 1. Bryant McCord and Brayden Welch each had 1 sack, while Nate Adwell, Drake Kinsella, Wayde Parman, and Mason Hawk each had half a sack. Mason Hawk and Ryan McClellan had fumble recoveries. Bryant McCord had a tipped pass and a pick.

Monday, October 16, 2017

Shamrock Softball is Going to State

North Harrison’s magical season rolled on as they turned back Maysville 4-2 Monday night to punch their ticket to the state tournament. It will be played Friday at 2:00 at the Killian Sports Complex in Springfield against Canton. The State Championship Game will be played Saturday at 4 pm at the same facility.

North Harrison is now 21-6 for the year. They finished 11-2 against GRC foes, including 5-1 against the West and 6-1 against the bigger East schools. Maysville was a red hot team going into the game and ends their season at 13-13. They started off 1-6 for the year and battled injuries as well as difficult competition like Benton, Lawson, and Platte Valley. They hit a low with a loss to Polo, the Panthers’ lone win in the conference portion of the schedule. But they steadily improved over the year and a 6-5 victory over King City and a 3-1 victory over Stanberry late in the season turned their season around. They knocked off Stewartsville easily, then took down DeKalb 2-1 in the District title. Then, they took down a high-flying Norborne squad sporting a 19-3 record 8-0 in sectionals. Maysville, which is loaded with freshmen and sophomores and only one senior, will return as one of the teams to beat in the GRC East next year.

For North Harrison, there had been an unwritten taboo about talking about state the last few years, with the focus being on one game at a time. But this year was different, as they broke it the first day of practice. “The seniors decided they wanted to go to state for everyone who they had played with over the last few years who had worked just as hard, but fell short,” said Coach Brandon Craig. The underclassmen all bought in, with four different freshmen and a sophomore starting and another sophomore stepping in from time to time.

Back in 2011, the Shamrocks started a junior high softball program for the first time; this was the first bunch who made it all six years. They grew up in a hurry; by their 8th grade year, they won all their games with the exception of an epic pitching duel between Grace Schottel and the Worth County Tigers and Payton Craig, which went 2-1 in Worth County’s favor.

This year, North Harrison finally broke through Sectionals after being barred by Jefferson and Stanberry over the last few years; longtime Stanberry Coach Rod Walker was one of the many folks to congratulate Coach Brandon Craig after the win.

The game started off inauspiciously for the Shamrocks as Maysville slap hitter Cat Whiteman dropped one behind second for the first pitch; four different green shirts chased it to no avail. Sadie Smith moved her over with a bunt, but Brea Blanton, Maysville’s most dangerous hitter, popped out.

Emily Brown whiffed to end the inning. One of the keys to the game was that Payton Craig had Blanton’s number, holding her to 0 for 4 for the night. North Harrison will need a similar effort Friday, as Canton tagged Gallatin for 17 runs on their way to victory in sectionals, and knocked off favored Salisbury 6-3 with a late home run after being down 3-1 at one point.

It still looked inauspicious for North Harrison, as the wind was blowing in from left, keeping Payton Craig’s long drive in the park and the Shamrocks off the board in the first. But then in the second, Audry Briggs doubled off the wall in left center to start and Emma Craig moved her over on a bunt. Mason Cracraft popped out, but Kami Gibson singled to left to bring Briggs home. It was like that all night; everyone had each others’ back when something went wrong.

Payton Craig plunked Lexy Nicholson in the knee to start the fourth. Josie Fitzwater struck out after failing to get a bunt down, but slap hitter Cat Whiteman was up next. She was a triple threat as she swung away this time and hit a screamer to the opposite field, but right at third baseman Ashlynn Gilpatrick. She tried to double off Nicholson, but threw it away. Right fielder Carly Rinehart didn’t act like a freshman as she was right there to back it up, but the ball rolled into the press box, which had photographers in it at the time. By rule, that is treated just like the ball going into the dugout and Nicholson automatically went to second. It didn’t matter as Sadie Smith grounded out to Cracraft at second to end the inning with North Harrison’s 1-0 lead intact.

Once again, Payton Craig drove it to the wall in left and once again, the wind held it in for a catch. Craig hit Emily Brown on the hand; it could have been called either way, but she took first with one out. It didn’t matter as Craig picked herself up by forcing her at second with a laser beam after fielding Olivia Owen’s slow roller. Then, Mason Cracraft caught Madeline Smith’s screamer to get out of the inning.

Maysville finally scored in the fifth after North Harrison couldn’t take advantage of an error in the fourth. Stephanie Hyatt hit a pop fly single that dropped in to start off. Nicholson moved her over with a bunt and the 9th batter, Josie Fitzwater, walked. Cat Whiteman hit into an apparent force at third, but Gilpatrick threw it away and the bases were loaded. Sadie Smith grounded out to Cracraft at second to bring in one, and Blanton came up, but once again, everyone had each others’ back and Payton Craig got her to ground out back to the mound to get out of the inning with the game still tied at 1-1.

Maysville had every reason to expect the momentum as North Harrison’s 7-8-9 hitters were coming up, but with one out, Sally Briggs hit a grounder into the hole between second and first. Second baseman Stephanie Hyatt made a diving stop, but Briggs hustled down the line and beat the throw before giving way to pinch runner Rainey Fordyce. Carly Rinehart forced her at second, but Payton Craig finally came through, hitting a screamer down the left field line just fair for a double, putting runners on second and third. North Harrison hit a ton of line drives just foul all year on the left field line, but this was the break they were looking for. Brandi Rivet shot one up the middle for a base hit and both runners scored as Payton Craig game home on a futile throw home. Catcher Brea Blanton threw a laser down to second to get Rivet out, but it didn’t matter as North Harrison went back up 3-1.

That stood North Harrison in good stead as Emily Brown hit a grounder that looked like trouble to start the sixth. First baseman Kami Gibson had to dive to grab it, but second baseman Mason Cracraft had her back, scrambling to first for the 3-4 putout. That loomed up strongly as strike three got away from catcher Emma Craig, putting Olivia Owen on. Madeline Smith shot a single off third baseman Ashlyn Gilpatrick’s glove into left and they went to second and third on a wild pitch. Hyatt grounded out to score Owen, but then Lexy Nicholson was called out on strikes to end the inning with North Harrison still ahead 3-2. Without the outstanding defensive play to start the inning by North Harrison, the game would have been tied at this point.

Once again, a scratch hit led to a run by North Harrison to start their half of the sixth. Ashlynn Gilpatrick beat out an infield hit when her shot into the hole was snagged by the shortstop, but she beat it out. Audry Briggs hit one as hard as she had all year, but right at second baseman Stephanie Hyatt for an out. But Hyatt tried to double off Gilpatrick and threw it right into the dugout to advance Gilpatrick. Emma Craig flied out for the second out and then Mason Cracraft and Maysville pitcher Sadie Smith got into a long battle. Smith had kept North Harrison off balance all night with her change that she would throw at any time in the count. Cracraft got down 0-2 in the count, fouled off a pitch, and got back to 3-2. She fouled off another pitch and then turned on a change and hit a high, slow chopper that somehow got past short and into center. It was enough to score Gilpatrick with a badly needed insurance run. It was the lone changeup that North Harrison got a hit off of. All of North Harrison’s runs scored with two outs.

There was a heartstopping moment in the seventh inning after Payton Craig got Josie Fitzwater called out on strikes and got the dangerous Cat Whiteman to go after a slow change to strike her out. Sometimes, the last out is the final one to get, and what would have been the last out squirted out of second baseman Mason Cracraft’s glove as Sadie Smith reached safely. That brought up Brea Blanton, who had been slugging it all year for Maysville with the tying run. She turned on Payton Craig’s first pitch and it looked headed into left for a base hit. But once again, everyone had each others’ back as shortstop Brandi Rivet chased it down. The light wind coming in from left held it up long enough for her to get to the edge of the grass and make the catch for the final out.

Sunday, October 15, 2017

Two More Unbeatens Fall from Ranks in Final Week of Season

Two more unbeatens have fallen thanks to a couple of prime matchups Friday night. Worth County toppled the top ranked team in Eight Man, while Rock Port pulled off a thriller against Mound City.

#3 Worth County 56, #1 Stanberry 14 – This one was over early. Worth County kicked to start off the game and constantly kicked it into the end zone, pinning Stanberry at their own 15. Stanberry turned the ball over several times like North Andrew had last week, sealing their fate. The question was how well Worth County could stop a good running team, and they were up to the task. Worth County will now rest a week before taking on either East Atchison or North/West Nodaway. The Wolves feature a triple option game, but can still air it out to Gage McAdams deep. North/West Nodaway has a young team with prize quarterback Korbin Koch at the helm carrying much of the load.

For Stanberry, they will have to lick their wounds as they face Albany, which improved towards the end of the year despite losing Coburn and pulled off a win over Braymer 54-50. If they win, they will go on the road to face Rock Port, which always plays well at home.

The combination of short fields and a stingy Stanberry defense meant Tevin Cameron “only” got 115 yards in 8 carries. But it was enough to keep him in the league lead. He has 93 carries for 1346 yards. Zach Pearon of Hardin-Central had 145 yards in 30 carries in a losing effort against Southwest Livingston, leaving him with 1313 yards in 179 carries. Trey Schieber (Stanberry) picked up some big gainers late in the Worth County game and is now at 1250 yards in 131 carries. Cole Durbin (Stanberry) has 117 carries and 1181 yards.

#2 Sacred Heart 73, Northwest/Hughesville 28 – Sacred Heart is one of three unbeatens left, but tailender Hughesville was able to tag them with 28 points.

#4 Rock Port 40, #5 Mound City 38 – This one was as good as advertised. Mound City took a 38-34 lead in the fourth before Rock Port came back and scored with under two minutes left to get the win. Caden Linthicum had three picks inside the red zone to stop Mound City drives, and they had four total. He also caught 7 passes for 153 yards as Jace Hughes completed 11 of 19 passes for 224 yards.

For Mound City, Dylan Marrs completed 15 of his 33 passes for 224 yards, and prize receiver Matthew Poppa, who had been out with an injury, came back to catch 13 passes for 203 yards. For Rock Port, Gavin Abbott had 12 carries for 123 yards.

Defensively, Carter Ottman had 19 tackles for Rock Port. Aaron Lawrence had 10, Dalton Brake 8, Gavin Abbott and Caden Linthicum 7, and Ryan Dewhurst 6.

With the win, Rock Port nails down the second seed in District 1 behind Worth County and gets a bye. Mound City gets the top seed in their district. Mound City stays atop District 2 regardless of the outcome.

#6 Greenfield 61, North Shelby 6 –
Greenfield has only two losses in their last two years – both to Sacred Heart. Bailey Baker completed 7 of 9 passes for 185 yards in this easy win. Gage Burns rushed six times for 98 yards and two scores, while Bailey Baker had 6 carries for 64 yards.

#7 King City 56, St. Joseph Christian 50 – King City trailed by as much as 30-12 and trailed all night against the Lions, but fought back and got a late tally with 19 seconds left to go ahead. Collin Breckinridge was 16 for 35 with 223 yards for the winners. Jacob Moen continued to move up the leaderboard as he had 132 yards. For Christian, Braden George did all he could as he had 241 yards for the night on the ground.

#8 North Andrew 72, Braymer 20 – North Andrew picked up a big over the GRC tailenders, recovering from its 56-6 halftime loss to Worth County.

#9 East Atchison 58, Platte Valley 12 – The Longhorns fell behind 16-0 and nearly made a game of it, closing to within 16-12 after a fumble return. But Ian Hedlund, the fullback in the Wolves’ Triple Option game, had a breakout game with 8 carries for 146 yards, while the Wolves got another 112 yards through the air on 5 attempts and 5 completions to Gage McAdams. Briacin Bywater added a 26 yard run.

#10 Chilhowee 42, K.C. East 20 –
Chilhowee stayed on the boards despite their loss the week before and clinched their first winning season in quite some time, getting their 6th win of the year against their Kansas-based foes.

OTHER GAMES
South/Nodaway-Holt 52, North/West Nodaway 7 – The Muskets were obviously expecting more against a team that had only three wins coming in, but Weston Williams torched the Muskets in Burlington Junction with 29 carries for 333 yards and 5 touchdowns. Eric Ottman rushed 9 times for 80 more yards. Williams’ effort put him over the 1000 yard mark, putting him fifth on the eight man leaderboard.

Pattonsburg 94, Albany 62 – Folks in Albany were wondering where their wins were going to come from. Last year, they won handily over Pattonsburg, but this year, the Panthers crashed their Senior Night. Playing Worth County seems to bring out the best in enemy teams in subsequent games; the Panthers have been on a scoring tear since their 62-0 loss to the Tigers, hanging 80 on K.C. East and 94 on Albany.

Stewartsville 54, DeKalb 28 – Stewartsville has every right to be pleased with the way their season has progressed after they went through the Rock Port/Mound City gauntlet early and fell into a hole. They are back up to 4-4 with the win. Gage Rush ran for 85 yards and threw for 121 more. Cain Rush caught a 29 yard touchdown pass and scored on runs of 4 and 8. But DeKalb has shown some life late in the year after not winning a game last year; they beat Platte Valley 68-62 for their lone win this year and went the distance against Mound City before losing 50-14.

ELEVEN MAN
Maryville 14, Lafayette 12 – This was an off year for Maryville – by their standards. After graduating over 20 seniors, the Spoofhounds finally came down to earth in the MEC after outclassing the conference for the last several years, taking losses to Chillicothe and Smithville. But they are still good enough to play spoiler; they denied Bart Hardy’s Lafayette team a chance at the conference title Friday night.

South Harrison 40, Putnam County 20 – Winless last year, South Harrison fell into a 14-0 hole against the Midgets in Bethany. It looked like more of the same, but then the Bulldogs completely outplayed them the rest of the way, coming back for a 40-20 victory. They have now won four games this year, a vast improvement over last. Prize receiver Treyton Campbell can grab anything remotely within reach, stretching out defenses and opening everything else up.

Hamilton 56, East Buchanan 16 – This year’s version of the Galloping Ghost, LaTroy Harper, was at it again for Hamilton. He scored on runs of 70, 70, and 31 as the Hornets built up a 44-0 halftime lead against previously unbeaten East Buchanan. Harper finished with 19 carries for 274 yards, a typical night’s work for him.

Tigers Clinch GRC Football Title for First Time Since 1984 With Victory

Worth County won its first GRC football title since 1984, as they toppled Stanberry from the ranks of the unbeaten 56-14 Friday. The win meant that they are now the top seed in the district, meaning they have a week off to prepare for East Atchison or North/West Nodaway. In the meantime, Stanberry is faced with a difficult road trip to Rock Port, which beat Mound City 40-38 in a nailbiter in Rock Port. It can work both ways, however; last year, Stanberry played during the first round of districts, Worth County had the week off, and Stanberry successfully invaded Worth County to end their season.

The winner of the game between Worth County and either East Atchison or North/West Nodaway plays the winner of Stanberry at Rock Port three weeks from Friday for the district title.

Should Worth County win out and Mound City win out, Worth County would host Mound City, since the top team on the bracket hosts during odd numbered years. Should North Andrew knock off Mound City, they would host, since they hosted fewer district games than Worth County.

During Worth County’s Senior Night, which took place before the game, seniors from different squads were recognized. Recognized from the football team were Tevin Cameron, Ryan McClellan, Wayde Parman, Brayden Welch, Devan Jackson, Drake Kinsella, Mason Hawk, and Bobby Lynch. Water girls were Shylea Moellenberndt and Alyssa Fletchall. Elizabeth Owens and Olivia Davidson were recognized from the cheer squad. From the band, Quentin Miller, Drew Martell, Elizabeth Owens, Riley Drury, and Olivia Davidson were recognized.

Worth County kicked off to start the game, and Stanberry sought to air it out on their first play from scrimmage. However, it fooled nobody and Bryant McCord came in on a corner blitz and sacked Cole Durbin untouched. Stanberry was forced to punt, and Worth County caught a break when Tevin Cameron was apparently stripped by a Stanberry player, only for the officials not to notice and Worth County got the ball deep in Stanberry territory at the 29. Worth County only needed one play to score as Cameron got a block from Ryan McClellan and converted a spread draw for a score with 9:52 left. He ran in the extra points as well to make it 8-0.

Stanberry started making headway on its next drive, until set back with a false start penalty. Then, Cole Durbin fumbled it and Ryan McClellan recovered on the 19 while Durbin was fighting for yardage and Worth County had another short field. On their second play, a keeper from McClellan fooled everyone and he took it around the right end and to the house with 7:42 left. Tevin Cameron ran in the extra points to make it 16-0.

Once again, Worth County stripped Durbin of the football and got the ball back on the Stanberry 19. Faced with third and one, Stanberry jumped offsides to the 5, and Tevin Cameron got a block from Isaac Alarcon to get in again with 5:57 left to make it 22-0.

Stanberry muffed the ensuing kick out of bounds at their own 7, and they were forced to punt. A holding penalty wiped out a touchdown for Worth County and they started at their own 35, but Isaac Alarcon took the carry and bounced it out and down the left sideline for a score with 4:09 left for a 45 yard run. Tevin Cameron ran in the extra points to make it 30-0.

Stanberry finally started making some headway on its next series, but a bad snap on second and three at the 40 set them back to the 32. Stanberry went for it in desperation on fourth down and 11, but the pass, intended for Levi Murphy, was incomplete as he slipped and fell. Worth County was stuck with third and 11 at the 33 and Ryan McClellan took a keeper around the right end. John Shanks seemingly had him in his sights, but a Tiger blocker slowed him down just enough for McClellan to get free and down the right side of the field for a score with 31.1 seconds left. A pass from Ryan McClellan to Mason Hawk on a guard eligible play made it 38-0.

Stanberry finally got its vaunted ground game going on its next series after starting at its own 15. They picked up three first downs and got to the Tiger 32 before Trey Schieber got loose on a counter with 7:23 left to put Stanberry on the board.

On the ensuing kickoff, Ryan McClellan was shaken up and Jacob New replaced him at quarterback. It didn’t matter, as Tevin Cameron shot up the middle for 33 yards into Stanberry territory at the 38. He picked up 3 more and then scampered 35 yards for a score with 6:07 left to quell Stanberry’s attempt to rally. Jacob New’s pass to Isaac Alarcon made it 46-6.

A holding penalty on Stanberry drove them back to their own 7 on the next series, setting up a safely as Mason Hawk sacked Durbin in the end zone with 5:41 left to make it 48-6. On the ensuing kickoff, Bryant McCord got a nice runback, but Hunter Johnson stripped him at the end of the run. Stanberry couldn’t do anything with it and Worth County looked like they would be stopped with fourth and 17 at the 40 with time running out in the first half. But then Tevin Cameron threw a halfback pass and aired it out to Mason Hawk on a guard eligible play and nobody was anywhere near him as he took it to the house with 1:53 left. Isaac Alarcon ran in the extra points to make it 56-6.

Trey Schieber got loose for 24 yards on a power sweep to the Tiger 36, but the Bulldogs stalled there and frustration set in as a Stanberry player was flagged for a late hit back to their own 34. Stanberry aired it out on fourth and forever, but Bryant McCord picked it off and ran it back to the Stanberry 23 before time expired.

The second half was played by the subs of both teams. Worth County’s JV made two goal line stands before Brian Medina scored for Stanberry with 1:34 left in the game from 5 yards out.

Wednesday, October 11, 2017

North Harrison Ends Three Years of Futility at Sectionals; Beats Platte Valley 3-2

North Harrison had been to sectionals each of the last three years. Each time, Stanberry or Jefferson was there barring the door. But finally, North Harrison broke the barrier Wednesday night and took down Jefferson 3-2 to advance to the Elite Eight.

Last year, North Harrison had gotten past Princeton and Worth County, erasing a 2-0 deficit in the fifth inning in the district title game to move on, only to fall to Platte Valley 6-1. Two years ago, they beat Stanberry 12-6 in the regular season, only to fall to them 3-2 in nine innings.  Three years ago, they beat Jefferson 9-7 in the regular season only to fall 3-0 in sectionals. But Coach Brandon Craig gave his seniors, Payton Craig, Brandi Rivet, and Audry Briggs, all the credit for North Harrison’s strong postseason this year. “They’re getting more and more focused as we get into the post-season,” he said. Coach Craig talked about his team’s youth at the start of the season, but the younger players have bought in and stepped up.

It was a full house at North Harrison, with many former players from teams over the last 25 years there to cheer them on. Dava Nelson, who had pitched North Harrison to the state tournament twice in 1992 and 1993 and whose team won the 1993 state title, couldn’t resist staying away from the dugout after all this time.

The Shamrocks got their first run in the third when Payton Craig led off the inning with a single to center. Platte Valley catcher Josie Deen had made a living off picking off enemy runners, but threw one away, allowing Craig to go to second. Brandi Rivet laid down a bunt that rolled down the first base line and stayed fair, putting runners on first and third. Ashlyn Gilpatrick hit a fly ball into the right field corner that was clearly foul. But the Platte Valley right fielder, instead of letting it drop, caught it. On a foul ball, no runners can advance; however, on a catch, runners can tag up and advance whether it’s fair or foul. Payton Craig alertly tagged up and scored.

It looked like it would be the only run North Harrison would need at first. Payton Craig retired the first 11 Eagle batters, striking out four in the first three innings. Josie Deen finally walked in the fourth inning with two outs after getting to 3-2 and fouling off four pitches. Kaylin LaMaster, who had hit a home run off Craig in the earlier game between the two teams, was up, but she grounded out to Gilpatrick for the final out.

Things continued to go roses for North Harrison as Kami Gibson singled with one out in the fourth. Hunter Stevens forced Olivia Babinski (running for Gibson) at second. But that was good enough to bring up Payton Craig and she shot a single to center. Platte Valley pitcher Elizabeth Turpin began fighting the strike zone and walked Brandi Rivet on four pitches. Ashlyn Gilpatrick, faced with a 3-2 count, walked on a close pitch despite plenty of squawking from the Eagle fans and dugout, forcing in Rainey Fordyce (running for Stevens) to make it 2-0. Audrey Briggs reached on an error as the third baseman let one get through her legs, bringing in Craig to make it 3-0.

In Jefferson’s 5-3 victory over North Harrison in Conception this year, the Eagles used one bad inning to jump to a lead. Something like that almost happened in the fifth. Amber White, who has had Payton Craig’s number over the last three years, and who bats left-handed, shot an opposite field single down the left field line to start off the fifth for Platte Valley. Jessie Miller followed with another one just past shortstop and Vanessa Pappert ran for her. Mikayla Mattson was called out on strikes, but Craig threw away Ashley Mattson’s grounder to score two runs and put the tying run on base. But Turpin and Stephanie Chor both grounded out and North Harrison still had their lead. The key difference between that inning and the second inning of the 5-3 loss to Platte Valley was that after the first error, North Harrison didn’t make another one Wednesday.

North Harrison could not get an insurance run home in either the fifth or the sixth. In the fifth, Mason Cracraft singled and Carly Rinehart moved her over with a bunt, but Kami Gibson and Hunter Stevens struck out to strand her. Brandi Rivet and Ashlyn Gilpatrick got back to back singles in the sixth with one out, but Audrey Briggs hit a line shot right at Turpin, who doubled off Gilpatrick.
Once again, Amber White, who had Craig’s number, led off the seventh and once again, she shot a single down the left field line. Thankfully, Jessie Miller popped out back to Craig and Mikayla Mattson was called out on strikes. But then Ashley Mattson hit a slow roller up the middle that second baseman Mason Cracraft was able to stop but couldn’t make a play on.

That brought up Turpin, who hit a slow roller up the first base line. Kami Gibson got to it, saw she couldn’t beat Turpin to the bag, and threw it to Cracraft, who had alertly come over to cover first for the final out of the game.

Coach Brandon Craig said that the focus now was to relax and treat everything like any other game. He reminded his players that they had played Maysville in summer ball. The Wolverines beat Norborne in their sectionals to keep their season alive.

Tuesday, October 10, 2017

Showdowns Loom in Final Week of Eight Man Season

The ranks of the unbeaten in eight man football will drop to three after Friday night. First, #3 Worth County will face #1 Stanberry at Worth County in a battle to decide the GRC Conference Title as well as placement in the district seedings. Two more unbeatens will face as Mound City will travel to Rock Port in a venue that is always tough to play at. The goal for Worth County is simple, as for all the other teams in their district – avoid the trip to Rock Port. Should Stanberry beat Worth County and Rock Port beat Mound City, that could set up a trip to Rock Port for Worth County in two weeks. But if Worth County beats Stanberry, they would likely host throughout districts. That would set up a home game between Worth County and the winner of North/West Nodaway and East Atchison and then a home game between Worth County and the winner of Stanberry and Rock Port.

Worth County and Sacred Heart are on opposite brackets, meaning that they don’t play each other until the State Championship Game, if at all. Instead, Worth County would play the winner of District 2 in the semifinals. That would be either a rematch with North Andrew or the rekindling of their old rivalry with Mound City; the latter team is the top seed in that district. If Worth County is the top seed, Mound City is the top seed, and they both win out, Worth County would host Mound City, since they are on the top of the bracket in an odd-numbered year and both teams hosted an equal number of games. If North Andrew were to go on the road and beat Mound City, Worth County would travel to North Andrew, since they hosted more games.

Another tiebreaker comes into play if an unlikely sequence of events occurs. If Worth County wins Friday, but somehow finishes behind Rock Port in district standings, they would travel to Rock Port for the district finals after facing and beating Stanberry again. Meanwhile, St. Joseph Christian travels to Mound City, beats the Panthers, and sets up a matchup with North Andrew. North Andrew hosts the upstart Lions, beats them, and faces Worth County, which travels to Rock Port and wins. Worth County would host, since under the tiebreakers, both teams would have hosted an equal number of games, but North Andrew hosted a quarterfinal game and Worth County did not.

#1 Stanberry 52, #9 East Atchison 6 – Briacin Bywater nailed Stanberry with a 48 yard scoring run early for the Wolves, but then Stanberry took control ahead of their showdown at Worth County Friday. Trey Schieber had 9 carries for 145 yards for the Bulldogs. Cole Durbin had a 33 yard run, Rueben Gage had a 41 yard scoring run, and Cole Durbin threw a 37 yard pass to Brad Hailey. Zack Oldham added a sack for the Bulldogs.

For the year, Stanberry has scored 66.3 points per game and given up 28.8. Cole Durbin has completed 21 of his 35 passes for 405 yards and 11 touchdowns. Trey Schieber has 120 carries for 1164 yards, while Cole Durbin is right behind with 102 carries for 1157 yards. Brad Hailey has 15 carries for 309 yards. Zack Oldham has four sacks for Stanberry. Trey Schieber has 93 tackles.
East Atchison has scored 31.8 points per game and allowed 31.5 points. Jake McEnaney has completed 36 of his 81 passing attempts for 759 yards. Gage McAdams has 28 catches for 637 yards, the most in eight man football. Gage McAdams has 5 picks and Jake McEnaney 4 for the Wolves. McAdams has 82 tackles.

#2 Sacred Heart 49, #10 Chilhowee 0 – Chilhowee broke into the rankings for the first time ever this week, but Sacred Heart had little trouble disposing of them.

#3 Worth County 56, #8 North Andrew 6 – Worth County had little trouble putting away North Andrew at halftime to hand the Cardinals their third loss of the year. The first comparisons between Worth County and Sacred Heart can be made. Worth County beat North Andrew at halftime, while the Cardinals went the distance against Sacred Heart and were able to put points on the board. But the only thing that matters is what happens if and when the two teams take the field.

Tevin Cameron is the leading rusher in the league for Worth County now; he has moved ahead of everyone else thanks to several 200-yard efforts. It hasn’t hurt that he leads in average yards per carry with 14.5; he has 85 carries for 1231 yards. He is ahead of Zach Pearon (Hardin-Central) at 1168, Trey Schieber (Stanberry) with 1164, and Cole Durbin (Stanberry) with 1157. Having Isaac Alarcon as his personal escort helps; two years ago, Alarcon blocked for Brevyn Ross, who had 188 carries for 1926 yards in 2015.

With Cameron as runningback, Alarcon as personal escort, a formidable line in Drake Kinsella, Mason Hawk, and Colton Wilmes, and receivers who can block in Caleb Parman and Bryant McCord, Worth County hasn’t had to go through the air much. But when they have, they have found success. Ryan McClellan has 9 completions in 17 attempts for 233 yards. Eight of his completions have been for scores. He has rushed for 400 more and Alarcon still gets his share of carries to take the heat off Cameron.

The knock over the years on Worth County has been that they can’t defend the pass; however, Friday was the second straight week they have shut down a potent passing attack. They grounded Jacob Powelson, one of the top quarterbacks in the area, and picked him off four times and sacked him two more Friday after shutting down a potent Pattonsburg passing game the week before. This Friday, they will have to stop a good running team.

#4 Rock Port 82, South/Nodaway Holt 32 – Rock Port ran into some hot water before putting away the Spartans. Rock Port only led 18-12 early in the second before finally gaining some separation with Caden Linthicum’s 43 yard pass from Jase Hughes and Quentin Carder’s 57 yard run. Hughes ran into some unexpected turbulence through the air as he completed 8 of his 20 passing attempts after completing around 75% of his passes throughout the year, going for 112 yards. But that was more than made up for on the ground as they had monster nights from Brock Martin (16 carries, 271 yards) and Carder (9 carries, 165 yards). Gavin Abbott had a pick six. Caden Linthicum had 3 catches for 79 yards, while Ryan Dewhurst had 2 catches for 62 yards. Gavin Abbott had 13 tackles for Rock Port.

For South/Nodaway Holt, Wes Williams had 21 carries for 106 yards and added a kickoff return for a score. He added 13 tackles for the Spartans.

Rock Port is third in scoring with 64.3 points per game. They still lead the league in points allowed, giving up 8.8 per game. Jase Hughes has 43 completions in 68 attempts for 950 yards, 22 touchdowns, and three picks. Ryan Dewhurst has 18 catches for 434 yards, while Caden Linthicum has 16 catches for 430 yards. Linthicum has five picks for Rock Port. Ryan Dewhurst has 12.5 sacks for the Blue Jays, while Gavin Abbott has 4.5.

#5 Mound City 50, DeKalb 14 – Mound City put DeKalb away, but they had to go the distance against the Tigers, with one lone win on the year. T.J. Hopkins had 8 carries for 102 yards and scored on runs of 32, 22, and 22 in the win. Landon Poppa added a 29 yard scoring run. Mound City has scored 56.5 points per game this year, fifth in the league, while giving up 15.8, sixth in the league. Dylan Marrs led the league in tackles in a single game with 23. T.J. Hopkins added 12. Hopkins had 2.5 sacks in the game, while Blake Hayes had 1.5.

#6 Greenfield 50, Colony Crest (KS) 0 – Greenfield cruised to an easy win against their Kansas foes behind the arm of Bailey Baker. He was 11 for 15 for 174 yards, tops in the league this week. Marcus Wright had 5 catches for 74 yards, while Tyrell Stafford had 2 catches for 62 yards. For the season, Greenfield had scored 49.9 points per game and allowed 15.6. Baker has completed 66 of his 114 passes for 1082 yards and 22 touchdowns. That is good for second in the league. Wright has 21 catches for the year for 351 yards. Colin White has 14 catches for 249 yards.

#7 King City 50, Albany 0 – King City had little trouble with Albany in this halftime game. Collin Breckinridge leads the league with 1184 yards passing; he has 88 completions in 154 attempts. Like last year, King City is on the rebound after starting off 2-3. The emergence of Jacob Moen as a runningback has been a factor; he has broken onto the leaderboards with 824 yards in 116 carries. There is little secret to King City’s success; they give it to Breckinridge and let him read the defense.