Ozark Preps Illustrated April 2011

O zark i l l u s t r at e d April 2011

STATE CHAMPS Lady Tigers Pirates Lady Eagles

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LETTER EDITOR

Le

from the

Dear Readers:

Welcome to the latest issue of Ozark Preps Illustrated! Before I go any further, I want to encourage our readers to patronize our advertisers, because without their generosity and ad revenue, we would not be able to do something we love to do, which is provide in-depth coverage of high school sports throughout the Ozarks each month. And don’t forget to tell them you saw their ad in Ozark Preps Illustrated! Of course, please encourage any business owner or other person you know that makes marketing decisions to show their support for high school sports by advertising in the magazine.

After a one-month hiatus due to the Spring Sports Preview, the Rewind section returns this month, and features the 1997-98 Halfway Cardinal baseball team, which posted a 61-4 record over two seasons, enjoyed a couple of Final Four trips and won a Class 1A state championship in 1998. The Rewind section has become one of my favorite articles to write each month, mainly because it takes me back to my own “glory days” back at Southport High School in Indianapolis, where I grew up.

Regardless of where you grew up, what school you attended, or how long ago you graduated, if you played high school sports, then you have memories embedded in your mind that cannot be forgotten. It may be a specific game, play or series of plays, a big win in the state playoffs or over a heated rival, or in some cases a “what might have been” bitter loss, but those memories are all there ready to be relived as soon as someone or something reminds you of those times.

That has been the case with the men and women that I have had the privilege of interviewing these past few months for the monthly Rewind article. Whether it was the Jolly Green Giants, or the Lady Jays, or the Hicks from the Sticks, and now the Halfway Cardinals. As I sat and listened to the former Cardinal players recall specific plays and games from their state tourney runs, I could not help but think back 20-plus years to my senior year of high school and the run the Southport Cardinal football team made in the Class 5A state playoffs.

I was born and raised in Indiana, which is a state fanatical about its basketball. Those of you who have seen “Hoosiers” (or who have followed Butler in March Madness the past couple of years) realize this. Southport was always good on the hardwood, but had not experienced much football success. However, for one year at least, Southport became a football school. We did not win a state championship that season, instead losing in the Final Four to the Ben Davis Giants, the eventual state champions (and the mythical USA Today national champions a year later).

I still remember specific plays from that game like they happened last night, though. Like the Ben Davis kicker nailing a 50-yard field goal as time expired in the first half to put us in a 20-3 hole, or our defense picking off two passes early in the second half that led to touchdowns and cut the lead to 20-17. I also remember our defense forcing Ben Davis into a 4th-and-1 in our territory in the final two minutes of the game. “Hold them and we get the ball and have a chance to win the game,” I remember thinking at the time. I still see our nose guard, though, jumping offside on a hard snap count and giving Ben Davis a first down. That was the ballgame. Final score: Ben Davis 27 Southport 17.

That is the beauty of high school sports. Regardless of whether you are the star player (I wasn’t) or a role player (that was me), high school sports are all about making memories. There can only be one state champion in each sport (at least in each class), so that means that the majority of high school athletes will NOT win a state championship in any given year, but they will all make memories that will last a lifetime.

I congratulate the Purdy and Stockton girls basketball teams and the Crane boys team for winning state championships in their respective classifications. But I know that these boys and girls were not the only players this season—in all sports—that have made memories. That is what means the most…going into competition with your closest friends and making memories you will never forget!

As always, thanks for reading Ozark Preps Illustrated!

Sincerely,

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O zark i l l u s t r at e d O z ill O zark i l l u s t r at e d O ill O zark O zark i l l u s t r at e d PW O z ill O zark i l l u s t r at e d O ill O zark i l l u s t r at e d O z ill O zark i l l u s t r at e d O ill O zark i l l u s t r at e d O z ill O zark i l l u s t r at e d O ill O zark i l l u s t r at e d O Editor-In-Chief

bshive@ozarkpreps.com

i l l u s t r at e d

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P.O. Box 777 Bolivar, MO 65613 417.770.0003

Publisher/Editor-In-Chief Byron Shive Art Director Ty DeClue

Advertising Sales Representative Lisa Rayl Contributing Writers Scott Puryear Dr. J.P. Simanis Monica Wallace

Contributing Photographers Rick Akins, Cindy Evans, Lynn Harman, Linda Patton, Sharon Payne, Kelly Presley, Janet Timmerman, Michelle Wheeler

On the Cover Halfway’s Mark Timmerman pitches in the 1998 Class 1A state championship game.

(Photo courtesy of Janet Timmerman)

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The Halfway Cardinal baseball team - which posted a 61-4 record from the fall of 1996 to the spring of 1998 - captured the 1998 Class 1A state championship.

It was a family affair at Walnut Grove this season, as five members of the Harman family contributed to the Lady Tigers’ success on the diamond and hardwood.

Fair Grove’s Kayla Kepler (L) and Pleasant Hope’s Lauren McCurry (R) (Staff Photo)

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Walnut Grove’s Hannah Harman (Staff Photo)

O zark O zark rk i l l u s t r at e d i l l u s t r at e d ted O zark O zark O z i l l u s t r at e d i l l u s t r at e d ill STARTING LINE UP O zark O zark rk i l l u s t r at e d i l l u s t r at e d ted State Champs O zark O zark O 18 Stockton Lady Tigers i l l u s t r at e d i l l u s t r at e d ill State Champs O zark O zark rk i l l u s t r at e d i l l u s t r at e d ted 20 Crane Pirates O zark O zark O State Champs i l l u s t r at e d i l l u s t r at e d ill 22 Purdy Lady Eagles O zark O zark rk i l l u s t r at e d i l l u s t r at e d ted Rewind 26 Halfway Goes All O thezark Way O zark O i l l u s t r at e d i l l u s t r at e d ill O zark O zark rk i l l u s t r at e d i l l u s t r at e d ted 30 Family Ties O zark O zark O z i l l u s t r at e d i l l u s t r at e d ill O zark O zark rk i l l u s t r at e d i l l u s t r at e d t e d DEPARTMENTS O zark O zark O i l l u s t r at e d i l l u s t r at e d ill Milestones 6 O zark O zark rk Time Out 8 i l l u s t r at e d i l l u s t r at e d ted Chalk Talk 10 O zark O zark O i l l u s t r at e d i l l u s t r at e d ill 12 Photo Finish O zark O zark rk i l l u s t r at e d i l l u s t r at e d ted On The DL 16 O zark O zark O i l l u s t r at e d i l l u s t r at e d ill End Zone 34 O zark O zark rk i l l u s t r at e d i l l u s t r at e d ted Ozark Ozark O

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Sparta cross country and track coach Monica Wallace talks about the keys to a successful program.

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Dr. J.P. Simanis talks about preventing knee injuries.

Scott Puryear makes some observations on Ozark prep sports.

Marion C. Early’s Brody Huff (R) (Photo by Kelly Presley)

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MILESTONES

BOYS BASKETBALL Zach Akins, Crane—2nd-Team All-Conference (SWCL) Cody Anderson, Kickapoo—Honorable Mention All-Conference (Ozark) Shane Artz, Marion C. Early—MBCA Academic All-State Dylan Barnum, Strafford—Honorable Mention All-Conference (Mid-Lakes) Marshall Bashmam, Aurora—Honorable Mention All-Conference (Big 8) Devon Bennett, Purdy—Honorable Mention All-Conference (Ozark 7) Trent Bergmann, Dadeville—MBCA Academic All-State; MSSA Class 1 2nd-Team All-State; 1st-Team All-Conference (PCL) Hunter Bishop, Spokane—Honorable Mention All-Conference (SWCL) Austin Brown, Walnut Grove—2ndTeam All-Conference (PCL) Logan Brown, Everton—1st-Team AllConference (Mark Twain) Andrew Bumgarner, Sparta—MBCA Academic All-State; Honorable Mention All-Conference (SWCL) Brady Chastain, Billings—1st-Team AllConference (SWCL) Levi Cook, Crane—MBCA Class 2 AllState; MSSA Class 5 1st-Team All-State; SWCL Player of the Year; 1st-Team AllConference (SWCL) Blayne Cowan, Pleasant Hope—Honorable Mention All-Conference (MidLakes) Levi Crews, Humansville—1st-Team AllConference (PCL) Clay Crouch, Wheatland—MBCA Class 1 All-State; MSSA Class 1 1st-Team AllState; PCL Most Valuable Player; 1stTeam All-Conference (PCL) Trevor Decker, Spokane—2nd-Team AllConference (SWCL) Avery Dingman, Branson—MBCA Class 5 All-State; MSSA Class 5 1st-Team AllState Ben Dobbins, Dadeville—2nd-Team AllConference (PCL) Ryan Durst, Fair Play—2nd-Team AllConference (PCL) Jordan Dykes, Marionville—2nd-Team All-Conference (Mid-Lakes) Cody Ernsberger, Verona—2nd-Team AllConference (Ozark 7) Austin Essick, Billings— MSSA Class 2 2nd-Team All-State; 1st-Team All-Conference (SWCL) Robbe Ewing, Stockton—1st-Team AllConference (Mid-Lakes) Dalton Fisher, Clever—Honorable Mention All-Conference (SWCL) Josh Flood, Hurley—2nd-Team All-Conference (Mark Twain) Blake Freedman, Glendale—Honorable Mention All-Conference (Ozark) Bradley Freeman, Sparta—2nd-Team AllConference (SWCL) Dalton Freeze, Stockton—2nd-Team AllConference (Mid-Lakes) Chris Friederich, Ozark—MBCA Academic All-State Rhen Garner, Miller—2nd-Team AllConference (SRVC) Judd Ginnings, Wheatland—2nd-Team All-Conference (PCL) Colin Gowen, Hermitage—2nd-Team All-Conference (PCL) Darnell Green-Beckham, Hillcrest— Honorable Mention All-Conference (Ozark)

Dorial Green-Beckham, Hillcrest— MBCA Class 4 All-State; MSSA Class 4 1st-Team All-State; Ozark Conference Player of the Year; 1st-Team All-Conference (Ozark) Rob Guerin, Crane-- MSSA Class 2 Coach of the Year Cody Hall, Purdy—Honorable Mention All-Conference (Ozark 7) Tyler Hall, Kickapoo—Honorable Mention All-Conference (Ozark) Justin Hansen, Marionville—1st-Team All-Conference (Mid-Lakes) Jerrod Harmon, Fair Grove—2nd-Team All-Conference (Mid-Lakes) Kaleb Harter, Billings—2nd-Team AllConference (SWCL) Tommy Hedges, Glendale—Honorable Mention All-Conference (Ozark) Tyler Hinshaw, Miller—MBCA Academic All-State; 1st-Team All-Conference (SRVC) Brennan Holt, Skyline—2nd-Team AllConference (Mid-Lakes) Jake Hull, Chadwick—1st-Team All-Conference (Mark Twain) Austin Hunsaker, Bradleyville—AllConference (White River); 2nd-Team AllConference (Mark Twain) Derek Hurst, Forsyth—Honorable Mention All-Conference (SWCL) Tim Huskisson, Willard—MBCA Class 5 All-State; MSSA Class 5 1st-Team AllState Justin Jack, Miller—MBCA Class 2 AllState; MSSA Class 2 1st-Team All-State; SRVC Player of the Year; 1st-Team AllConference (SRVC) Riley Jack, Miller—2nd-Team All-Conference (SRVC) Cameron Johnson, Glendale—1st-Team All-Conference (Ozark) Dakota Johnson, Chadwick—1st-Team All-Conference (Mark Twain) Kaden Jones, Mt. Vernon—1st-Team AllConference (Big 8) Gavin Kenney, Stockton—2nd-Team AllConference (Mid-Lakes) Wesley Kissinger, Verona—1st-Team AllConference (Ozark 7) Jesse Laughlin, Bradleyville—Honorable Mention All-Conference (White River) Parker LiaBraaten, Spokane—MBCA Parkview’s Emily Akins (#22) and Glendale’s Emily Cline (#25) (Photo courtesy of Rick Akins)

Academic All-State; 1st-Team All-Conference (SWCL) Mike Linehan, Dadeville—MSSA Class 1 Coach of the Year Seth Losack, Verona—Honorable Mention All-Conference (Ozark 7) Matt Loyd, Fair Grove—1st-Team AllConference (Mid-Lakes) John Luecke, Blue Eye—Honorable Mention All-Conference (SWCL) Seth Martin, Hollister—MBCA Academic All-State Zach Medley, Dadeville—MBCA Class 1 All-State; MSSA Class 1 1st-Team AllState; 1st-Team All-Conference (PCL) Jalen Norman, Nixa—MBCA Class 5 AllState; MSSA Class 5 2nd-Team All-State Jared Pearson, Osceola—Honorable Mention All-Conference (WEMO) Anthony Peters, Strafford—2nd-Team All-Conference (Mid-Lakes) Clark Petrochilos, Clever—1st-Team AllConference (SWCL) Zane Phillips, Mt. Vernon—2nd-Team All-Conference (Big 8) Alex Poke, Parkview—1st-Team All-Conference (Ozark) Dustin Preston, Greenfield—2nd-Team All-Conference (SRVC) Dick Rippee, Kickapoo—Ozark Conference Coach of the Year Ryan Rippee—MBCA Class 5 All-State; 1st-Team All-Conference (Ozark) Koleder Ross, Bradleyville—Honorable Mention All-Conference (White River) Luke Routh, Weaubleau—2nd-Team AllConference (PCL) Eric Sechler, Pleasant Hope—1st-Team All-Conference (Mid-Lakes) Tyler Simpson, Hurley—2nd-Team AllConference (Mark Twain) Wyatt Stephens, Galena—2nd-Team AllConference (SWCL) Adam Teague, Fair Play—1st-Team AllConference (PCL) Landon Terry, Purdy—1st-Team All-Conference (Ozark 7) Hawken Thieme, Greenwood—MBCA Class 2 All-State; MSSA Class 2 1st-Team All-State Seth Thomas, Chadwick—MBCA Class 1 All-State; MSSA Class 1 1st-Team AllState; Mark Twain Conference Player of the Year Korry Tillery, Parkview— MSSA Class 5 2nd-Team All-State; 1st-Team All-Conference (Ozark) Kendall Tilley, Billings—SWCL Coach of

the Year Anthony Vermillion, Crane—1st-Team All-Conference (SWCL) Garrett Vest, Hermitage—2nd-Team AllConference (PCL) Tyler Weaver, Fair Play—1st-Team AllConference (PCL) Dakota Webb, Dadeville—MBCA Academic All-State; MBCA Class 1 All-State; MSSA Class 1 1st-Team All-State; 1stTeam All-Conference (PCL) Byron Williams, Hillcrest—1st-Team AllConference (Ozark) Shane Williams, Mt. Vernon—2nd-Team All-Conference (Big 8) Conner Wilson, Strafford—MBCA Academic All-State; MBCA Class 3 All-State; MSSA Class 3 1st-Team All-State; 1stTeam All-Conference (Mid-Lakes) Mike Wilson, Strafford—Mid-Lakes Conference Coach of the Year Brodie Wingert, Kickapoo—1st-Team All-Conference (Ozark) Jared Yarberry, Strafford—2nd-Team AllConference (Mid-Lakes) Nick Yocum, Republic—MSSA Class 4 2nd-Team All-State Joe Young, Logan-Rogersville—MBCA Class 4 All-State; MSSA Class 4 1st-Team All-State Alec Zimmer, Branson—MBCA Academic All-State GIRLS BASKETBALL Emily Akins, Parkview—MBCA Academic All-State; MBCA Class 5 All-State; MSSA Class 5 2nd-Team All-State; 1stTeam All-Conference (Ozark) Lauren Aldredge, Marshfield—MBCA Class 4 All-State Zoe Allen, Kickapoo—Honorable Mention All-Conference (Ozark) Annie Armstrong, Kickapoo—MBCA Class 5 All-State; 1st-Team All-Conference (Ozark) Bekah Bade, Springfield Catholic—MSSA Class 3 2nd-Team All-State Maddie Bauman, Clever—2nd-Team All-Conference (SWCL) Mary Bergmann, Dadeville—2nd-Team All-Conference (PCL) Amelia Bramer, Mt. Vernon—1st-Team All-Conference (Big 8) Beki Breshears, Aurora—Honorable Mention All-Conference (Big 8) Katie Burkhart, Weaubleau—1st-Team All-Conference (PCL) Ashli Burton, Stockton—Honorable Mention All-Conference (Mid-Lakes) Garrett Burton, Stockton—2nd-Team All-Conference (Mid-Lakes) Tristan Carrasquillo, Verona—MBCA Class 1 All-State; MSSA Class 1 1stTeam All-State; 1st-Team All-Conference (Ozark 7) Jenna Chadd, Verona—MBCA Class 1 All-State; 1st-Team All-Conference (Ozark 7) Alyssa Chastain, Crane—Honorable Mention All-Conference (SWCL) Anna Clark, Glendale—Honorable Mention All-Conference (Ozark) Emily Cline, Glendale—MBCA Academic All-State; 1st-Team All-Conference (Ozark) Tori Coffer, Sparta—Honorable Mention All-Conference (SWCL) Cortney Conrad, Hurley—1st-Team AllConference (Mark Twain) Kaitlan Cramer, Stockton—MBCA Class 3 All-State; MSSA Class 3 1st-Team AllState; 1st-Team All-Conference (MidLakes) Erika Davis, Chadwick—1st-Team All-

Haley Harman, WalnutGrove— 1st-Team AllConference (PCL) Parkview’s Korry Tillery Hannah Har(#34) and Logan-Rogersman, Walnut ville’s Joe Young (#24) Grove—MBCA (Staff Photo) Class 1 AllState; MSSA Class 1 1stTeam All-State; PCL Most Valuable Player; 1stTeam All-Conference (PCL) Heather Harman, Walnut Grove—MBCA Class 1 All-State; MSSA Class 1 2nd-Team AllState; 1st-Team All-Conference (PCL) Lexi Harman, WalnutGrove— 2nd-Team AllConference (PCL) Katie Harold, Glendale—MBCA Academic All-State Doug Hepler, Mt. Vernon— Big 8 Conference Coach of the Year Kayla Hickey, Blue Eye—1stTeam All-Conference (SWCL) Jessica HolConference (Mark Twain) land—1st-Team All-Conference (Mark Megan Deines, Glendale—MBCA Class Twain) 5 All-State; MSSA Class 5 1st-Team AllKaryli Ingles, Forsyth—2nd-Team AllState; Ozark Conference Player of the Conference (SWCL) Year; 1st-Team All-Conference (Ozark) Riley Israel, Crane—Honorable Mention Linsey Denney, Everton—1st-Team AllAll-Conference (SWCL) Conference (Mark Twain) Mariah Jennings, Hurley—2nd-Team AllKrystyn Dollarhide, Chadwick—1stConference (Mark Twain) Team All-Conference (Mark Twain) Shelby Jones, Chadwick—2nd-Team AllRichard Driscoll, Stockton—MBCA Conference (Mark Twain) Class 3 Coach of the Year; MSSA Class 3 Kayla Kepler, Fair Grove—MBCA Class Coach of the Year 3 All-State; MSSA Class 3 1st-Team AllCiara Eastwood, Fair Grove—2nd-Team State; 1st-Team All-Conference (MidAll-Conference (Mid-Lakes) Lakes) Alexis Edwards, Republic—MBCA Class Taylor Kleier, Hillcrest—Honorable Men4 All-State; MSSA Class 4 1st-Team Alltion All-Conference (Ozark) State Emily Loethen, Springfield Catholic— Caitlin Evans, Pleasant Hope—2nd-Team MBCA Academic All-State All-Conference (Mid-Lakes) Lauren McCurry, Pleasant Hope—MBCA Jordan Farmer, Clever—1st-Team AllClass 3 All-State; MSSA Class 3 1st-Team Conference (SWCL) All-State; 1st-Team All-Conference (MidTaylor Filley, Strafford—Honorable MenLakes) tion All-Conference (Mid-Lakes) Maggie McManamy, Crane—1st-Team Olivia Francka, Halfway—2nd-Team AllAll-Conference (SWCL) Conference (PCL) Rebekah McTeer, Hillcrest—Honorable Kate Frazier, Glendale—MBCA AcademMention All-Conference (Ozark) ic All-State Jeremy Mullins, Crane—SWCL Coach of Lindsay Garza, Blue Eye—Honorable the Year Mention All-Conference (SWCL) Molly O’Brien, Spokane—MBCA Class Erin Gavin, Mt. Vernon—Honorable 2 All-State; MSSA Class 2 1st-Team AllMention All-Conference (Big 8) State; SWCL Player of the Year; 1st-Team Kara Glor, Skyline—MBCA Class 3 AllAll-Conference (SWCL) State; 1st-Team All-Conference (MidTaylor Parham, Hillcrest—MBCA Class Lakes) 4 All-State; MSSA Class 4 2nd-Team AllDanielle Goodman, Mt. Vernon—1stState; 1st-Team All-Conference (Ozark) Team All-Conference (Big 8) Audrey Patton, Purdy—2nd-Team AllJordan Graham, Kickapoo—1st-Team Conference (Ozark 7) All-Conference (Ozark) Jim Pendergrass, Kickapoo—Ozark ConBrittany Groves, Billings—Honorable ference Co-Coach of the Year Mention All-Conference (SWCL) Taylor Pinkly, Verona—Honorable MenImani Hairston, Osceola—2nd-Team Alltion All-Conference (Ozark 7) Conference (WEMO) Demi Price, Galena—2nd-Team AllJamie Hale, Chadwick—Mark Twain Conference (SWCL) Conference Player of the Year Kyra Ramsey, Republic—MBCA Class 4 Michaela Hanafin, Clever—2nd-Team All-State All-Conference (SWCL) Miranda Ray, Wheatland—1st-Team AllMikalah Hardcastle, Sparta—MBCA Conference (PCL) Class 2 All-State; 1st-Team All-ConferTaylor Redd, Halfway—2nd-Team Allence (SWCL) Conference (PCL)

Molly Robb, Parkview—MBCA Academic All-State Ashley Roberts, Skyline—1st-Team AllConference (Mid-Lakes) Addy Roller, Purdy—MBCA Class 2 AllState; MSSA Class 2 1st-Team All-State; 1st-Team All-Conference (Ozark 7) Lyndie Routh, Humansville—1st-Team All-Conference (PCL) Bethany Roweton, Weaubleau—2ndTeam All-Conference (PCL) Chelsey Rowland, Skyline—2nd-Team All-Conference (Mid-Lakes) Chayla Rutledge, Stockton—MBCA Class 3 All-State; MSSA Class 3 1st-Team All-State; 1st-Team All-Conference (MidLakes) Lanley Scroggins, Fair Play—2nd-Team All-Conference (PCL) Alexis Self, Osceola—1st-Team All-Conference (WEMO) Lakin Simmerman, Ash Grove—2ndTeam All-Conference (Mid-Lakes) Kirsten Smethers, Branson—MBCA Academic All-State Jessica Smith, Verona—1st-Team AllConference (Ozark 7) Kelsey Steele, Crane—1st-Team All-Conference (SWCL) Brooke Swadley, Purdy—1st-Team AllConference (Ozark 7) Jenny Talbert, Fair Grove—Mid-Lakes Conference Coach of the Year Renee Temple, Glendale—Ozark Conference Co-Coach of the Year Rana Thomas, Parkview—1st-Team AllConference (Ozark) Alisha Thorpe, Dadeville—2nd-Team All-Conference (PCL) Kendra Vernatti, Spokane—Honorable Mention All-Conference (SWCL) Callie Weant, Weaubleau—MBCA Class 1 All-State; MSSA Class 1 2nd-Team AllState; 1st-Team All-Conference (PCL) Kaile Weinreis, Ash Grove—MBCA Academic All-State; MSSA Class 3 2nd-Team All-State; 1st-Team All-Conference (MidLakes) Jonna Welch, Bolivar—MBCA Class 4 All-State; MSSA Class 4 2nd-Team AllState Julia Wells, Glendale—Honorable Mention All-Conference (Ozark) Shelby White, Purdy—MBCA Class 2 All-State; MSSA Class 2 1st-Team AllState; Ozark 7 Conference Most Valuable Player Kenzie Williams, Mt. Vernon—MBCA Class 3 All-State; MSSA Class 3 1st-Team All-State; Big 8 Conference Player of the Year; 1st-Team All-Conference (Big 8) Tara Williams, Blue Eye—2nd-Team AllConference (SWCL) Hannah Wisdom, Skyline—Honorable Mention All-Conference (Mid-Lakes) Kailee Woodall, Bradleyville—2nd-Team All-Conference (Mark Twain) Ryan Yates, Verona—Ozark 7 Conference Co-Coach of the Year Grant Young, Purdy—MBCA Class 2 Coach of the Year; MSSA Class 2 Coach of the Year; Ozark 7 Conference CoCoach of the Year MISCELLANEOUS • It was recently discovered that Parkview’s Emily Akins is Missouri’s all-time girls high school basketball consecutive free throws leader. The senior standout—who was also recently named MBCA Class 5 All-State—made 36 consecutive free throws during an eight-game stretch from Jan. 21 to Feb. 11, 2010, breaking the old record of 33 straight. In addition, Akins’ career free throw percentage of 79.01 percent ranks ninth in state annals, while the Evangel-signee’s 18 points in the first quarter against Aurora on Dec. 20 is the eight-highest individual point total for one quarter in state history.

• Stockton’s Kaitlan Cramer scored 15 points in a 71-49 win over Bolivar on Jan. 13 to surpass 1,500 points for her career.

The senior, who scored 25 points in the Class 3 state championship game, ended her career with 1,840 career points.

• Stockton’s Robbe Ewing broke three school records this season. The senior broke the school career scoring record with 20 points in the Tigers’ 66-48 victory over Adrian in the District championship game on Mar. 5. Ewing, who ended his career with 1,423 career points, broke Matt Stafford’s record that had stood since 1991. Ewing also broke the school records for three-pointers in one game and in a career when he connected on 10 long range bombs in the Tigers’ 8177 overtime win over El Dorado Springs in the District semifinals. Ewing broke Adam Thomas’ record for three-pointers in a career in the first quarter.

• Halfway’s Olivia Francka scored the 1000th point of her career on Mar. 5 with 15 points in a 42-18 victory over Fair Play. The senior finished her career with 1,026 points.

• Everton’s Jessica Holland scored pulled down her 1,000th career rebound on Feb. 28 in the Lady Tigers’ 49-34 victory over Thomas Jefferson in the first round of Districts. Holland, who had 13 rebounds in the game, finished her career with 1,020 rebounds.

• Parkview’s Gabi Mostrom, a freshman outside hitter for the Lady Vikings, received Highest Honorable Mention in consideration for the 2010 PrepVolleyball.com National Frosh 59.

• Wheatland’s Miranda Ray scored the 1000th point of her career after scoring 16 points in a 64-57 loss to Stoutland on Dec. 13. Ray ended the season with 1,412 career points.

• Halfway junior Taylor Redd surpassed the 1,000 career point plateau with 15 points in a 76-50 loss to Walnut Grove on Feb. 21. Redd enters her senior season next year with 1,083 career points.

• Purdy junior Addy Roller scored the 1500th point of her career in a 49-42 victory over Crane in the Sectional round of state tournament play on Mar. 9. Roller, who was 8-for-8 from the free throw line in the game in scoring 15 points, finished the season with 1,581 career points.

• Stockton’s Chayla Rutledge scored nine points in a 56-28 win over Marionville on Jan. 31 to surpass 1,500 points for her career. The senior, who scored 29 points in the Class 3 state championship game, ended her career with 1,715 career points.

• Osceola’s Kaitlyn Schrock, a freshman setter/right-side hitter for the Lady Indians, received Special Mention in consideration for the 2010 PrepVolleyball.com National Frosh 59.

• Parkview’s Korry Tillery surpassed the 1000-point career plateau after scoring 24 points in the Vikings’ 75-65 victory over Kickapoo on Jan. 28. Tillery, who finished his career with 1,115 points, was within reach of surpassing 1,000 rebounds for his career, finishing with 938 boards.

• Weaubleau’s Callie Weant surpassed the 1,500 career point plateau on Feb. 22 with 20 points in a 68-38 win over Halfway. Weant, who ended her career with 1,559 points, also surpassed 1,000 rebounds for her career this season.

• Purdy standout Shelby White scored the 1500th career point of her career with 10 points in the Lady Eagles’ thrilling last second 62-61 victory over Parkview in the quarterfinals of the Pink & White Tournament on Dec. 28. The senior also surpassed the 1,000-rebound plateau for her career when she pulled down 14 boards in a 79-25 victory over Thomas Jefferson on Feb. 22. White, who will play collegiately at Drury next season, finished her illustrious career with 1,834 points and 1,092 rebounds, becoming only the third female player to reach the 1,500-point and 1,000-rebound career plateau.

TO Kate Barnett Track Sparta

Christian Jordan Football/Track Ozark

Kelsey Kapella Softball/Basketball Hollister

Drew Cherry Baseball Forsyth

Karlie Koenemann Basketball Walnut Grove

Tyler Weaver

My best friend The Green Hornet played four or five straight volleyball games with her spandex turned backwards

Either Seinfeld or How I Met Your Mother

There are too many Definitely go to to mention just State! one.

My freshman year, I threw a touchdown pass on the last play to beat Willard

That 70’s Show

Ben Franklin

Make it to State

Winning Districts Twilight for the first time in softball my sophomore year. We were the first girls team at Hollister to win a District title.

ThanksKilling Hitting a walk-off homerun against Billings last season.

Burn Notice

Abe Lincoln...he’s an honest fella

Tosh.0

Ted Williams

This is a hard one!

Could we beat our arch-rival in the Final Four? I would always beat my arch-rival, because there’s more bragging rights involved.

Go to the Final Four as a senior, just because we’ve only made it once in baseball.

Our last game against Old Superman Montrose (state movies quarterfinals). We played hard and even though we lost, we accomplished a lot and that’s going to roll over to next year I have a lot of sports Ghost Lake

Jersey Shore

Elvis Presley

I would always choose to go to the Final Four

My Name is Earl

Honest Abe

Go to the Final Four as a senior. That means way more to me.

Babe Ruth

I’m very competitive and don’t like to lose to anyone, but I’d probably have to suck it up and say go to State, because that’s where it matters the most.

Catfish

memories. In my junior year, we were down by Basketball/Baseball 28 to Morrisville, and I scored 16 of the team’s Fair Play 28-straight points to tie the game, and then scored eight more points in overtime for the win.

I won State in the mile There was some Grey’s Anatomy and two mile my sophoBarnie movie when Olivia Francka more year, but in the mile, I had a girl come I was little that Cross Country/Soft- up even on me at the scared me mark. I kicked it in ball/Basketball/Track 300m and at the 100m mark, I thought, “this is it.” I knew Halfway I had it at that point.

Obviously, the Napoleon Dynamite Is SportsCenter a basketball team’s run Dylan Barnum show? to the Final Four this Football/Basketball/ year. I have finished in second-place four times Track in track, but that wasn’t Strafford near as much fun.

6

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TIME OUT

George Washington Definitely go to the Final Four.

Kirby Van Burch

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CT

CHALK TALK

Monica Wallace Head Cross Country/Track Coach, Sparta Trojans

At some point in everyone’s lives, we all have had the thought we need to step out of our “comfort zone.” My program needed a change. I needed to try something new or different and get myself, as well as my athletes, out of our “comfort zone.” As a coach, pushing and motivating our athletes to that next level is what essentially separates the good years and makes them into great years.

I realized it was time to take my program to a different level. I needed to find ways to motivate my runners to move out of their comfort zones and want more for themselves as well as our program. Stepping out and going to the next level is often a difficult change to make.

You have to create adventure and excitement for today’s athletes or over time boredom will diminish their commitment levels.

The topics that I would like to address are areas that I changed within my two programs. These topics do not only apply to cross country and track, but to coaches of all sports. I felt these were changes that were essential to create the team that I wanted.

GOAL SETTING: As a coach, we all start out at the beginning of every season setting team goals, as well as individual goals. Once these goals are put onto paper, the true work begins.

Our team looked at old habits that we needed to break and what new habits we needed to create. I would remind the team of these daily in the drills and conversations I would have with them. Throughout each race, everyone knew where they needed to place and what their goal time needed to be for that race. They were always prepared.

PRACTICE: Think about those days of practice that you just go through the motions. My athletes would come to practice and put in the distance and I felt I had done my job. Needless to say, just going through the motions never accomplished those goals we would set at the beginning of every season. Your athletes need to know you are investing in them, they are crucial to the team, and most importantly, you care about them.

CHANGING THE TYPES OF WORKOUTS/ DRILLS: Discovering the types of workouts and drills that will further enhance the team that you have is crucial to the team’s success.

Sometimes as coaches, we continue to run the same drills or do the same workouts because we don’t want to have to change. We need to remember it is not about us, but our athletes. It is our job to help them reach their full potential and create a sense of accomplishment. By doing this, we are essentially stepping out of our “comfort zone.” Undoubtedly, this made the difference in our improvement this season.

I am beyond proud of the team’s accomplishments.

TEAM BONDING: Convincing the team that they have to believe in their teammates to make the program a success is extremely crucial. My runners knew every race that it wasn’t just about them…it was about the team! Even on the days they didn’t feel like giving their all, they knew they needed to in order for the team to have the success we were striving for and deserved.

This year’s team bonded and enjoyed just hanging out with each other. I can recall one

day we were out of school on a half day. The entire team wanted to stay after and get in a longer run before the weekend. We ran ten miles and came back to do our ice bathes. At 3:30 p.m. on a Friday, I reluctantly would have to tell them it was time to go home. They wanted to just be with each other. As their coach, I knew then that they had bought into what I was doing.

SHARE YOUR PERSONAL INTEREST: My passion in life is spending time in Colorado.

I wanted to share that part of myself with my runners and give them the opportunity to experience something new. We were fortunate enough to be able to take a trip to Colorado this summer.

I knew this trip made a significant difference in my athletes and their motivation going into the season. I realize trips like this are not possible for every program, but my goal was to find the inspiration to light the team’s fire! This trip played a big role in our team’s bonding, memories, and the work ethic we developed after nine days of training at a higher elevation.

CHANGE IS GOOD: After implementing these changes, we went from being a school that was satisfied at qualifying for state in Cross Country to a team that is now more motivated than ever to achieve our goal. We know there is always more out there we need to achieve.

I believe having athletes that understood the importance of this concept is the biggest key to this team’s success. As their coach, it is my hope that they realize that stepping out of their “comfort zone” is often necessary for success.

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Walnut Grove’s Josh Peck attempts to pick-off a Hurley base runner in the first inning of Walnut Grove’s 15-0 victory on Apr. 8 during the Halfway/Wheatland Tournament at Halfway. (Staff Photo)

Stockton pitcher Kevin Martin fires a pitch to the plate in the Tigers’ 21-9 victory over El Dorado Springs in round robin play of the Buffalo/Bolivar Tournament on Mar. 24 at Bolivar High School. (Staff Photo)

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Fair Grove’s Matt Loyd hurls a pitch to catcher Jerrod Harmon as Springfield Catholic’s Calvin Roebuck bats during round robin play of the Buffalo/Bolivar Tournament on Mar. 24 at Buffalo High School. The Fightin’ Irish won the game 11-8. (Staff Photo)

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Parkview’s Anna Withers (#19) battles Logan-Rogersville’s Colette Mast (#19) for the ball as the Lady Vikings’ Becca Castillo (#22) and the Lady Wildcats’ Megan Smith (#7) close in on the play in the teams’ matchup on Mar. 31 at Parkview. The Lady Vikings won the game 1-0. (Staff Photo) Hurley’s J Simpson puts the ball in play in the second inning of the Tigers’ 15-0 loss to Walnut Grove on Apr. 8 during the Halfway/Wheatland Tournament at Halfway. (Staff Photo)

El Dorado Springs senior Trey Barger (#33) drives the ball down the leftfield line against Stockton in the Bulldogs’ 21-9 loss to the Tigers in round robin play of the Buffalo/Bolivar Tournament on Mar. 24 at Bolivar High School. (Staff Photo)

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Marion C. Early shortstop Brandon Martinsen applies the tag to Dadeville’s Zane Medley, who was caught stealing in the third inning of the Panthers’ 10-0 victory on Apr. 8 in the finals of the Halfway bracket of the Halfway/Wheatland Tournament. Morrisville’s Dustin Hargus (#2) watches the play unfold from his second base position. (Staff Photo)

Kickapoo’s Stefan Herron (L) makes the exchange with teammate Cody Anderson (R) after the first leg of the 4x200 meter relay at the All-City Relays on Mar. 31 at JFK Stadium.

(Staff Photo)

P

Bolivar base runner Kolby Follis (L) and Stockton shortstop Robbe Ewing (R) react to a pop-fly on the infield during the Liberators’ thrilling 7-5 come-frombehind victory in eight innings over the Tigers in round robin play of the Buffalo/Bolivar Tournament on Mar. 22 at Bolivar High School. (Staff Photo)

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Sports can cause a lot of strain to joints resulting in ligament and meniscal tears. These tears and other knee injuries can sideline an athlete for up to a year. The risk of knee injuries can be significantly decreased and maybe even prevented by taking certain precautions.

One way to prevent a knee injury is to participate in knee strengthening exercises. “Compound exercises are good exercises for the knees because they involve multiple muscle groups and joints, thereby improving joint stability, as well as coordination, reaction time and balance,” says J.P. Simanis, M.D., board certified physician with the CMH Sports and Occupational Medicine Clinic. “Performed

Dr. J.P. Simanis M.D., MPH, MSPH

correctly, compound exercises like squats, leg presses, deadlifts and lunges, as well as isolation exercises like leg curls and leg extensions, are all great knee strengthening exercises. Adding weights also helps to keep bones strong.”

Stretching is another easy way to potentially decrease the risk of knee injury. “When muscles are tight, they exert extra force on joints and limit range of motion,” says Simanis. “Always warm-up before and cool-down after workouts, and be sure to stretch regularly.”

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Kaitlan Cramer (Staff Photo)

Kaitlan Cramer (L), Amber Thomas (#11) and Chayla Rutledge (R) (Photo by Michelle Wheeler)

STATE CHAMPS

By Byron Shive

STOCKTON LADY TIGERS “Can I getta Zooga?” Zooga, Zooga, Zooga!

That line, originally made famous by The Frogman in the movie “The Little Rascals,” became a rallying cry for another Gang of tightknit friends this season, as the Stockton Lady Tigers captured the school’s fourth girls basketball state championship by running roughshod through the Class 3 Final Four Mar. 17-19 in Columbia.

Stockton turbo-clocked a 29-2 Kennett team in the state semifinals, racing to a 30-13 halftime lead before coasting to a 64-24 victory over the state’s ninth-ranked team. The Lady Tigers then posted a 74-52 victory over #6 Hermann in the state championship game to run their record to 28-3 for the season. Senior AllStaters Chayla Rutledge and Kaitlan Cramer led the way for Stockton in their final game in a Lady Tiger uniform with 29 and 25 points, respectively. Junior twins Ashli and Garrett Burton scored 10 points apiece.

“I think it would have been more exciting if it had been a close game, but it was still exciting,” said Ashli Burton. “We were expecting it to be close.” Head coach Richard Driscoll concurred. “I don’t know that I would call them ‘easy’ wins, but we did not go into those games 18

thinking they would be blowouts,” said the reigning MBCA Class 3 Coach of the Year. “I felt like we were capable of winning by a decent margin, but not by that much. But when you buckle down and play good defense, these things can happen.”

Defense was certainly the Lady Tigers’ calling card this season, as Stockton used a swarming pressure defense to set-up its offense, which often meant breakaway lay-ups. “We’re gonna guard you, whether it’s full or half court,” said Driscoll. “We try to defend you and push you outside the three-point line, so that you can’t start your offense. We try to protect the paint— that’s the first and foremost key. We want to contest every shot and rebound. I firmly believe that if we play defense the way we are capable of playing it, our offense will take care of itself.

We want to create turnovers, play defense, rebound, and then get out and run. I want to stop people from scoring.”

Stockton executed Driscoll’s system with deadly precision in both Final Four games. The Lady Tigers harassed opposing ball handlers, denied passing lanes, protected the paint, trapped with abandon, and rebounded with authority. The result was a frazzled opponent, and

an onslaught of fast break points. Even when the Lady Tigers were forced into a half court set on offense, they executed that to near perfection, as well.

The seeds for Stockton’s state title run were sown last spring following the Lady Tigers’ 4630 loss to Maryville in the state quarterfinals.

“The loss last year just made us more focused,” said Rutledge, who will play basketball collegiately next year at Benedictine. “I remember us thinking, ‘we still have another year to do this.’”

According to Driscoll, Maryville did not get the Lady Tigers’ best shot. “We had gone through so much adversity prior to that game,” said Driscoll, citing injuries and illnesses. “We may not have won the game, but we felt like we didn’t give them our best shot.”

Stockton avenged last season’s disappointing state quarterfinal loss this season, but had to stage a dramatic comeback to do so. In fact, Stockton trailed at halftime by double digits in both of its Sectional and state quarterfinal victories. The Lady Tigers rallied to beat St. Pius X 54-43 in the Sectional round before beating Maryville 41-37 in the quarterfinals despite a 16-point third quarter deficit. “We weren’t

the team heading out of the locker room for pre-game warm-ups, a question that was first posed to her friends during youthful slumber parties growing up. As if that was not enough inspiration, Meeks also would “Dougie” before every game.

The team motto was “Don’t Stop Believin’,” taken from the title of a Journey song that the Lady Tigers regularly sang throughout the season. One verse of the song is particularly prophetic, and goes hand-in-hand with Stockton’s one-game-at-a-time mentality:

Working hard to get my fill Everybody wants a thrill Payin’ anything to roll the dice just one more time Some will win, some will lose Some were born to sing the blues Oh, the movie never ends It goes on and on and on and on

The Lady Tigers’ easygoing and playful nature also extends to their head coach, who has been known to get quite animated on the bench and in practice. “He’s bipolar,” said Thomas. “He’s scatterbrained,” said Cramer.

“He’s like a giddy little high school boy. You

always know if you’ve done something good or bad.” “Actually, no you don’t,” interrupted Rutledge, “because you get both screamed at you.”

Assistant coaches Kevin Burns and, to a lesser extent, Chad Burton were the yin to Driscoll’s yang. “Coach Burns kept everything even-keeled this season,” said Cramer. “You would be getting yelled at by Coach Driscoll about something and then Coach Burns would say ‘good job.’” Rutledge described the coaching dynamic as good cop-bad cop, with Burns the good cop and Driscoll the bad.

All kidding aside, the Stockton girls have a deep respect and admiration for their coach.

“He’s cares about every one of us,” said Thomas.

“We can talk to him about more than just basketball,” added Rutledge. “He’s a great little fella,” said Cramer. “He’s like our dad.”

“It’s never been about winning it (a state title) for myself,” said Driscoll. “I’m very close to these girls. I wanted it more for them than for me. It’s all because of them. Coaches lose games and players win them. This was a special team.”

Can I get an “Amen?”

Chayla Rutledge (Photo By MIchelle Wheeler)

Photo)

ready to go home,” said Rutledge. “Our crowd helped us a lot in those games,” said Garrett Burton. “We had been there in the big game before, and that helped.”

After rising to the top-ranking in Class 3, Stockton suffered a couple of hiccups, the first a 63-57 home loss to Skyline. However, it was a 63-61 loss at Fair Grove on Valentine’s Day that refocused the team. “That game exposed some chinks in our armor,” said Driscoll. “That game was a wake-up call, really.” Stockton reeled off nine straight victories to close the season.

The Lady Tigers had a pair of All-State players in Cramer and Rutledge, and All-Conference performances by the Burton twins, but it was truly a team effort by Stockton. The state champion Lady Tigers included seniors Kaitlan Cramer, Kelli Ratliff, Chayla Rutledge, Tiffany Taylor, Amber Thomas; juniors Garrett and Ashli Burton; sophomores Breeanna Burns, Emilyn Dearman, Bethany and Laura Meeks, Josie Pyle, Rachel Wheeler, and Kelsi Wilkins; and freshman Alexis Smith.

The entire school and community of Stockton got behind the team. However, this was not the town’s first rodeo, so to speak, since Stockton has captured three other state titles in a four-year span (2001, 2003, 2004) in the past decade. “Our crowd always beat out their crowd, even though we may not have had as many people,” said Cramer.

This was never more evident than in the state semifinals against Kennett, which was played at noon on a Thursday. Seemingly the entire Boot Hill had made the trip to Columbia to support the Lady Indians, and filled nearly half of the lower bowl at the Hearnes Center. However, it was the Stockton contingent that was loud, proud, and clearly the rowdiest. “We have really good fans that are very loud,” said senior Amber Thomas. “Our crowd had more heart,” said Garrett Burton.

The players are well known now throughout the town. “We’re almost like celebrities around here,” said Rutledge. “It’s something to be proud of. It’s brought the community together.

The people in the town get to share the same thing. If you go to the grocery store, you’ll have someone congratulate you. You may not know them, but they know you.”

Like most small towns in the Ozarks, the Lady Tigers grew up playing basketball together, and that team chemistry and camaraderie was evident this season—both on and off the court. “We know how each other plays,” said Thomas, who will play volleyball next season at Fort Scott. “We know where everyone is going to be, because we’ve played together for so long.” Driscoll knew three years ago that he had the makings of a special team rising up the ranks. “I knew when Kaitlan and Chayla were freshmen, and the Burton twins were in eighth grade, that we could make a run at some point in their careers.”

As focused and determined as the Lady Tigers are on the court, they are just as carefree, loose, and fun-loving off of it—even in pregame warm-ups. The catalyst for the fun-loving and easygoing nature of the team was sophomore Laura Meeks, who Rutledge described as the team’s “personal pump up system.” In addition to leading the “Zooga” chants, Meeks also would call out “Can I get an ‘Amen?’” prior to

Hunter Quick (L) (Staff Photo)

Anthony Vermillion (Staff Photo)

STATE CHAMPS CRANE PIRATES

By Byron Shive

The first time was a charm for the Crane boys basketball team this season, as the Pirates won the Class 2 state championship Mar. 19 in the school’s first-ever trip to the Final Four. The win also marked the school’s first state championship in any sport. It was a dream come true for the team, and especially for the Pirates’ four seniors.

“As a little kid, you dream of playing in the state championship game,” said senior Zach Akins. “I never thought that I would be able to experience it. The feeling was awesome, better than I ever could have imagined. When the final buzzer sounded, I thanked God for every20

thing that He had done. We put all of our trust and faith in Him, and let Him do the rest.”

Getting to State had been a goal of the team since preseason. “Dreams can become a reality,” said senior Hunter Quick. “In the preseason, our coach (Rob Guerin) set a goal of making a trip to Columbia in March to play at State, and to not only accomplish that goal but to go on and win the championship is the best feeling ever.”

Senior standout Levi Cook led the way in the Pirates’ 77-63 victory over #4-ranked Bernie in the championship game with 42 points and 15 rebounds. Cook nearly recorded the first triple

double in state championship history, as he also dished out eight assists. “I just came out thinking that it was just another game, and all my shots seemed to be falling that night,” said Cook, who also broke Crane’s 51-year old career scoring record this season.

“I have watched him play that style of game a few times, so it didn’t really surprise me much,” said head coach Rob Guerin. “He is always ready to deliver in big games and big situations.

I wish he could have accomplished it (a triple double) with two more assists, but he still did an amazing thing.”

“I couldn’t be happier for him, and it couldn’t

what we needed to do to be successful.”

The Pirates had the talents of an All-Stater in Cook, and the leadership of three other seniors, but this truly was a team effort. “We couldn’t have done it without our seniors or the rest of the team,” said Guerin. “They all played well and fulfilled their role well.” In addition to seniors Akins, Cook, Quick and Vermillion, the rest of the Crane Pirates included juniors Alex Estes and Cody Lumpkin, sophomores Jordan Bowling, Thomas Chabrecek, Bailey Moore, Cole Walden and Jonah Walker, and freshman Zane Mahan.

The trip to the Final Four itself was a big deal around the Crane community, and winning the state championship was a nice bonus for the Pirate faithful who made the trek to Columbia.

“It means a lot, because this is one of the most memorable things that will ever happen to the Crane community,” said Cook. “It means a lot to the community and I think they will always remember their first state championship,” said Vermillion.

“This was a very big deal to our program, school, and community,” said Akins. “It was a big deal for our program, because this was the first appearance of the boys basketball team in the Final Four. It was big deal to our school, because this had never happened. There were signs all over our school saying ‘Good Luck.’ They also had a really big send off for us. This was a big deal for our community, too. The town of Crane was nearly empty while we played in Columbia.

I want to thank everyone for their support.”

The Crane faithful were just as appreciative when the Pirates returned home with a state championship. “We are almost four hours away and had one of the biggest crowds that weekend,” said Guerin. “They showed their support by cheering loudly to keep the boys pumped up, and that helps our boys play that much harder. On Sunday (following the state championship game on Saturday), we made it back into town about 2:00 p.m., and they had signs decorating the road, along with a lot of people along the road and in the parking lot cheering, as we made our way back into town and unloaded into a mob of people. It was a

great way of showing appreciation.

“I would like to say thank you to my assistant coach, Joshua Loveland, my wife and bookkeeper, Gretta, and my student manager, Zach Cook, for all of their help,” added Guerin. “We couldn’t have done it without Coach Guerin, Coach Loveland, Gretta, or all of our fans and family,” said Cook, who will play collegiately next season at College of the Ozarks.

Akins, a starter at guard, almost missed out on the state title run. The senior had planned to focus on baseball in his senior season, but was “bribed” into playing by Cook. “I didn’t even want to play this year,” said Akins. “I played because Levi told me that he wouldn’t play baseball if I didn’t play basketball. After losing four seniors from last year, I didn’t think we had any chance to make it past Districts. I thought that we were going to have an average year, but this was the perfect season.”

For the seniors, winning a state championship in their final high school game was a moment they will never forget. “It feels great that we were able to accomplish everything that was possible,” said Vermillion. “It was the best feeling ever, just knowing there was nothing more we could have done,” said Quick. “We accomplished everything we wanted to do.

What a way to end my basketball career.”

Levi Cook (Staff Photo)

have happened to a more deserving person” said Quick of Cook and his performance. “He is a tremendous athlete and the best basketball player I’ve ever seen in Missouri at the high school level.”

Crane finished the season with a 27-5 record, but the way the season began did not exactly foreshadow the state championship to come, as the Pirates dropped three of their first five games. After a double overtime victory over Reeds Spring on Dec. 13, Crane reeled off five more victories, the last two coming in the Southwest Central League Tournament. The Pirates then lost back-to-back games to stateranked Billings, the first in the SWCL championship game and the second a regular season contest six days later. The Pirates would not lose again, though, ending the season with 19 consecutive wins.

In the first round of Districts, Crane beat Galena, and then rolled over Ash Grove in the second round by a score of 72-33. State-ranked Billings, the Pirates’ SWCL nemesis, was upset in the first round by New Covenant Academy in a 100-99 thriller. The Pirates defeated the Warriors 66-49 in the District title game.

Crane’s Final Four dreams were nearly dashed in the Sectional round, as the Pirates needed overtime to defeat Miller 56-54. After a 69-51 victory over Linn in the state quarterfinals, Crane was bound for its first Final Four in Columbia. The Pirates defeated upstart New Bloomfield, which entered the game with a 13-16 record, by a 68-49 count to advance to the Class 2 state championship game, as Cook led the way with 22 points.

The Pirates stepped up their defense in the postseason, a key factor in Crane’s march to Columbia. “I thought we would have a shot at the state championship after our first game of Districts,” said Akins of the Pirates’ 71-61 victory over Galena. “Everybody stepped up and played hard every minute. Our defense was the key to our success. Our team could always score, but the problem was keeping the other teams from scoring.”

“Our team defense improved throughout the year,” said senior Anthony Vermillion. The smothering Crane defense played a key role in the state title game, as the Pirates limited Bernie’s potent three-point shooting to just 8-for34 accuracy. “Tough defense and rebounding are always our keys,” said Guerin. “We wanted to get a hand up on the three-point attempts and be sure we boxed out and only allowed one attempt per possession. We also tried to push the tempo to a faster pace to get the other team into a mismatch or to have to play us in transition.”

The seeds of making the school’s first trip to the Final Four were sown in the preseason, and watered game-by-game throughout the season. “I told the boys, at the end of our summer games, that they had the potential to make a trip to Columbia,” said Guerin. “I told them that if they wanted that goal to become a reality, that they would have to work hard every day in practice and in games to get prepared for what any team might throw at us. After that, I hadn’t really thought about it. We focused one game at a time all season long, so when the postseason started we were used to focusing on one team and what to do to beat them.

It made it easier to keep the boys focused on

PURDY LADY EAGLES

After a grueling regular season schedule, the hard work of the battle-tested Purdy Lady Eagles paid off with a state title following a 55-49 victory over Couch in the Class 2 state championship game Mar. 19 at Mizzou Arena in Columbia. The win upped Purdy’s record to 26-6 for the season, and was the school’s first girls basketball state title since the Lady Eagles won the Class 1A title in 1981.

“Winning a state championship has been a lifetime goal of mine, and it feels great to have finally achieved that goal,” said senior standout Shelby White, an All-State selection who scored 19 points and pulled down 17 rebounds in the title game. “Winning a state championship is the ultimate accomplishment,” said senior Audrey Patton. “Our team has worked very hard to get to this point.”

Clinging to a two-point lead in the waning seconds of the state championship game, Couch went to the line with a one-and-one and a chance to tie the game. In the timeout prior to the free throw, Purdy head coach Grant Young put his two best free throw shooters, White and 22

junior Addy Roller, under the basket to block out. “I told them, ‘she will miss this front end one-and-one,’” said Young, the reigning MBCA and MSSA Class 2 Coach of the Year. “You have to give me the best block out you ever have. It is coming to you two. They both did and Addy got fouled and hit both free throws. Ball game.”

In fact, Roller hit four consecutive pressurepacked free throws in the final seconds to ice the game. “When I got fouled at the end, I just went up to the line and told myself it was just another free throw,” said Roller, who scored 20 points to pace the Lady Eagle attack. “Do what you always have done and put it in.”

The road to Columbia was a grueling one, as Purdy faced a gauntlet of Class 4 and 5 teams in the pre-conference portion of the schedule, including tournaments at Aurora and Kickapoo, as well as the annual Pink & White Tournament.

The Ozark 7 Conference was no picnic either, as the conference games included match-ups with state-ranked Verona and Exeter, which was the Class 1 runner-up. Despite four losses (all to bigger schools), Purdy rose to the #1 ranking in

Shelby White (Photo by Linda Patton)

Brooke Swadley (Staff Photo)

STATE CHAMPS

By Byron Shive

Class 2 at the midway point of the season.

After knocking off big schools Parkview and West Plains in the quarterfinals and semifinals, respectively, of the Pink & White Tournament, the Lady Eagles nearly won the tournament before losing a hard fought 47-40 championship game to Class 5 Ozark in a game that was back-and-forth until late in the fourth quarter.

“I put these girls through the toughest regular season schedule of any team I have ever coached,” said Young. “And these girls accepted the challenge. We played games at Hearnes, McDonald Arena, JQH, and Mizzou Arena.

How many small schools can say they did that?

I ran these girls more than any boys team I have ever coached. Our conditioning sometimes wore people out even before halftime.”

Despite the state title game win, the Lady Eagles let Couch back in the game in the third quarter. Leading 28-20 at the halftime break, Couch rallied to trail by just three heading into the fourth quarter. “I told the team in the locker room at halftime, ‘For once in your lives, could you please give me a good third quar-

Roller, the rest of the Lady Eagles included seniors Brittany Mareth, Shelby Scott and Brooke Swadley; juniors Kristyn Comman and Rachael Neill; sophomores Bailey Spears and Mattie White; and freshmen Carleigh Hall and Megan Schilly.

“One or two players does not comprise a team,” said Young. “Our JV players knew other team’s inbounds plays and set plays better than our own. They pushed us every day in practice.

These kids will relish the opportunity to take over next year with greater responsibility at the varsity level.”

“Brooke Swadley was our comedian,” said Roller of the senior. “She kept us all relaxed and ready to go.” Swadley provided some unintentional comedy during Districts when she missed a step and tumbled headlong into some trash bags.

The state championship also means a lot to the Purdy community, which has followed the Lady Eagles all over Southwest Missouri this season.

Members of the 1981 state championship team also made the trek to Columbia— including one player who resides in New Mexico.

“The community loves its basketball here and has a pride in its basketball teams, and will talk about this for many years,” said Young.

“Winning State means everything to them, just like it did 30 years ago,” said Roller. “They were behind us the whole way, and I know that they helped us win the championship. Our boys cheering section was fantastic and very appreciated.

I appreciate everything the Purdy community has done for us the whole year, and I’m glad we can give something back to them.”

“It’s hard to put into words how proud the Purdy community is of their Lady Eagles,”

said Patton. “They have supported us throughout our high school years by packing the gyms for regular season play. We have an amazing following and we love them all.”

From preseason practice to the final buzzer of the last game, coaches (and players) devote a lot of blood, sweat and tears into molding a team. “Every team goes through adversity at some point during a season,” said Young. “We learned that life happens around us as we play basketball. This was a very special group that will be in my heart forever. They worked hard, they were passionate, and they played together unselfishly as a team. I feel privileged to have gotten the chance to coach some classy girls that will be successful adults in our society.”

Audrey Patton (Photo by Linda Patton)

ter?’” said Young. “Since Districts, we let our opponent comeback in the third, and we did again. At the first media timeout, I said, ‘Well, you haven’t given me one all year. So at least we’ll have our fourth quarter where we seal the game.’ And we did.”

With the state championship game close in the final seconds, though, the Lady Eagles had no doubt about what would be the final outcome. “There was no doubt in my mind that we were not going to lose that game,” said White, who will play next season for the Drury Lady Panthers.

“The entire game was back and forth,” said Patton. “Towards the end, I felt like we stayed calm, because Coach Young had pushed us to play hard against bigger, tougher teams this season. In the end, it paid off.”

The date of the state championship game had extra significance for Young. Not only had he been baptized on Mar. 19, but the state championship game also marked the one-year anniversary of the date his wife, Julia, was diagnosed with Stage 2 breast cancer. Thankfully, her prognosis is good a year later.

Although the team is blessed with talent throughout the lineup, the Lady Eagles’ team chemistry played a pivotal role throughout the season. “We have played together for so long that we knew what our roles were as individuals,” said White. “We all knew what it was going to take to achieve our goal.” The fact that the girls had been playing together for so long also helped. “Most of us have played together for so long that we know where the other person is going to be on the floor,” said Patton.

“There are times when we can make passes just knowing our teammate will be there.”

“We were just like a family,” said Roller. “We would do anything for one another, and we all knew that. If one girl was down, someone else would pick her up and that’s how we made it as far as we did.” “‘It’s not who you play, it’s how we play’ was a quote our assistant coach, Jennifer Schallert, took with us all season,” said Young. “Great teams achieve this, but we couldn’t do it without God. We prayed after every practice and before every game as a team. We couldn’t have been as successful without Him as our biggest fan and supporter.”

The Lady Eagles had a couple of pregame and other rituals, too. “Before every game, Shelby White would play a relaxation song on her phone and we would meditate, right before Coach Young would come in to have a laugh before we went out and played,” said Roller. “There are so many rituals and superstitions that I can’t name them all,” said Young.

“My OCD at times gets on the player’s nerves, but also relaxes them.”

“In our huddle after each practice and before each game, we would hold hands and pray. Then, for every away game, we would go to Addy’s house and her mom would cook us dinner. We would hang out and just relax before our game. This was good team bonding time.”

The Lady Eagles had a pair of All-State players in Roller and White, as well as a strong starting lineup. However, the state championship would not have been possible without the contributions of the unsung heroes. In addition to seniors Patton and White and junior

Full Spread

Full Spread

By Byron Shive

Halfway Goes All the Way Small school baseball, for the most part, means dirt infields, quirky home field nuances, and fewer students from which to choose players for a team.

Halfway certainly is a small school—and town for that matter. Halfway is located, literally, halfway between Bolivar and Buffalo on Highway 32.

Driving across Polk County into Dallas County— or vice-versa—Halfway serves as a brief 45 miles per hour speed zone. There’s a church or two, a convenience store and a few other smaller businesses, and there is the Halfway School, which sits on the south side of the road in the “middle” of town.

In the late 1990s, though, Halfway was a destination point for baseball fans all across the Ozarks, who made the trek to the tiny hamlet to see firsthand one of the best baseball teams in the area. The Cardinals had experienced some success in the mid-90s, winning their share of games and a District title or two, but those years paled in comparison to a two-year stretch from the fall of 1996 to the spring of 1998, in which Halfway posted a record of 61-4 (fall and spring combined) while winning the 1998 Class 1A state championship. The Cardinals finished in a disappointing 4th-place in 1997 with what many feel was a better team than the 1998 state champions.

Changes were in store at Halfway going into the 1996-97 school year. The fall of 1996 marked the first season of fall baseball at Halfway. It also signaled the arrival of new head coach Steve Carvajal. The fall of 1996 also was the end of life as the Cardinals knew it, as Carvajal drilled his players relentlessly in the muggy August heat. The players may have despised Carvajal at the time, but to a man, they all heap praise on him years later.

“The practices with Coach Carvajal were just insane,” said Ben Locke, a senior on the 1997 team. “It was a shock to the body, the work he

was putting us through. Honestly, game time was the least stressful of any of it, because it was just a downhill slide from there.”

“In the fall, he worked our tails off,” said Mike Calhoun, a junior on the 1997 team. “That prepared us more than anything. We went back to the basic fundamentals. I remember even re-learning how to take batting practice. I had never had a coach like that. He was a really good baseball coach. He broke down baseball into small pieces, and taught every fundamental aspect of it.”

“Coach Carvajal was a breath of fresh air,” said Matt Drake, another junior on the 1997 team.

“We had a group of boys that had been playing together our entire lives, and we knew that what he was putting us through would make us better.

We hadn’t ever worked that hard on a baseball field.”

Carvajal even instituted his own version of batting practice, which featured a pitching screen setup about 30 feet from home plate. Even though the batting practice pitcher was not intentionally throwing fastballs, at that distance, the batter was facing what seemed like 90-mile per hour heaters.

With only a few exceptions, the live pitching the Cardinals faced in games paled in comparison. “It made the pitches seem slow in games,” said Calhoun. “The pitching we faced in games was worse than what we were facing every day in practice.”

Another key difference was that Carvajal was a baseball coach. “In small school baseball, a lot of times you get a basketball coach who also coached baseball,” said Aaron Evans, yet another junior on the 1997 team. “Coach Carvajal was different, because he had a solid baseball background and had played in the upper levels of baseball.”

Everything with Carvajal’s program was regimented, including pregame warm-ups, and the Cardinals went about their business with military precision. “With all of our warm-ups, we did everything in regimens,” said Evans. “It helped us stay focused. Baseball is a mental game. If you get in an opponent’s head, you’re already ahead of them. It is intimidating. It tells the other team, ‘these guys are here for business.’ It also creates team unity and creates structure.”

“When you play small town ball, you know guys on the other team,” said Locke.

“Whenever we would be going through our pregame warmups, the other team would stop what they were doing and watch us. It was no nonsense.

All the horseplay went out the window.”

“I knew that Halfway was a quality baseball team,” said Carvajal. “I just broke down their fundamentals, and we went to work on different aspects of the game, like running the bases and being aggressive.

Rewind

Halfway’s Mike Calhoun looks to get a hit against Oran in the 1998 Class 1A state championship game, which the Cardinals won by a 9-3 count.

Calhoun, the Cardinals’ second baseman, was an All-District and All-Conference honoree his senior season. (Photo courtesy of Cindy Evans)

That work created quite a baseball season.”

Halfway entered the 1997 season with upperclassmen scattered throughout the lineup, including seniors Brian Doke, Locke, leftfielder Kenton Payne, rightfielder Nathan Poterbin, and catcher Jay Roderick. The Cardinals also sent five talented juniors to the field each game in Calhoun, Drake, Evans, Jeremy McCarthy, and Mark Timmerman.

Sophomore twins Brad and Brandon Doke also filled key roles, with fellow classmates John Andrews and Josh Forrest also contributing.

The Cardinals averaged a gaudy 13.3 runs per game in the 1997 regular season, and were held under 10 runs in only four games—all of which were victories. Halfway also had a trio of dominating pitchers in Evans, Locke and Timmerman, who regularly mowed down opposing offenses, and registered seven shutouts in the regular season. When the ball was put into play, the Cardinal defense was nearly airtight, as Halfway opponents averaged just 1.95 runs per game.

The Cardinals finished the regular season with a 21-0 record, with an average margin of victory of 11.3 runs. “We did roll through the entire season,” said Calhoun. “We were solid 1 through 9. There really wasn’t a weak spot in the lineup.

In single A baseball, if you have nine solid bats, you’re gonna score a lot of runs. Plus, we had four solid pitchers in 1A.” The Cardinals were willing to play whoever and wherever, as Carvajal sought to beef up the team’s schedule. “We added as many tough teams as we could,” said Carvajal. “We wanted to make the regular season schedule as tough as possible.”

One such team was Springfield Central—where Carvajal had been an assistant the year before— and the Cardinals headed south to play the big school Bulldogs in a regular season match-up.

“When we walked onto the field at Central, they were making fun of us,” said Calhoun. “‘Oh Halfway, where’s that at?’ They were razzing us for being the little hicks from Halfway. We said, ‘let’s

Halfway’s Mark Timmerman hurls a pitch to the plate in the Cardinals’ 9-3 victory over Oran in the 1998 Class 1A state championship game.

“There’s nothing that can top that,” said Timmerman of winning a state championship. “I pitched one of the best games of my career. That was one of the greatest days of my life.” (Photo courtesy of Sharon Payne)

run rule ‘em’… and we did.”

Evans also recalls the catcalls from the Bulldogs.

“You got this 1A school from out in the country,” he said. “At big schools like Central, you’d have tryouts and then pick the best players for the team.

At Halfway, there were no tryouts.

Whoever showed up for practice was on the team.”

Final score: Halfway 11 Central 1.

The Cardinals rolled through District play, defeating Fordland 15-5 in the championship game.

Halfway used a pair of five-run innings to dispatch Clever 11-1 in the Sectional round, setting up a battle with Golden City in the state quarterfinals, with a berth in the Final Four at stake. The Eagles sent their ace, 6’6” flame thrower David Combs, to the mound. The Cardinals’ batting practice techniques would be put to the test by the hard-throwing Eagle pitcher.

“He was very effective and threw extremely hard, but he had accuracy issues,” said Evans of Combs. “Anything above 81 or 82 (miles per hour) was fast for 1A, and he was pumping it in there at 90-plus. Plus, he was tall, so it was coming in at a different angle than we were used to. It was a new challenge for us.”

The Golden City leadoff hitter smacked the first pitch of the game over the leftfield fence, and the Eagles tacked on two more runs to lead 3-0 after a half inning of play. Combs struck out the side in the first two innings, and struck out eight of the first nine Cardinal batters he faced. Timmerman hit a homerun to tie the game in the fourth and eventually, the Cardinals wore down Combs. In the fifth inning, with Combs battling control issues, the Cardinals sent 13 batters to the plate, knocking out Combs in the process. The Cardinals then hammered the Golden City bullpen for eight runs in the inning, pulling away for an 11-5 victory. It was off to the Final Four at Simmons Field on the campus of the University of Missouri.

“Our game plan was to get him (Combs) to throw as many pitches as possible,” said Carvajal. “He had thrown 93 pitches after three innings.

He’d never been hit hard, and we got to their bullpen.”

“That whole game was a battle,” said Locke.

“They were a really, really tough team. It was our biggest victory for sure. To do it at home in front of our home crowd was also big.”

In the Class 1A state semifinals, Halfway would face New Bloomfield, a Class 1A power and the defending state champions that had already won four state titles and made five Final Four appearances in the previous six seasons. The Cardinals would also have to overcome the “bright lights, big city” mentality of their first trip to the big time,

as well as the changes associated with playing their first night game of the season. On paper, it was 25-0 Halfway against 12-8 New Bloomfield, but the Wildcats’ Final Four experience played a key role in the outcome.

“I remember stepping onto Simmons Field for the first time,” said McCarthy. “Of course, it was a big deal to us small town boys. It seemed like we were just happy to be there. We let up a little on our intensity.” Timmerman agreed. “It was completely the small town boys going to the big city,” said Timmerman. “We were shell shocked over everything. We weren’t ready for it, by any means.”

“It was tough before that first game,” said Locke.

“Here we are in Columbia in this gorgeous stadium. I kept thinking, ‘stay focused, stay focused.’”

The immaculate field also differed from the small school diamond back at Halfway. “We were used to playing on a dirt infield,” said Evans. “Here we were stepping onto a college field.”

Halfway did have reason to celebrate, though only briefly. The Cardinals led 1-0 in the bottom of the second inning as Timmerman scored Calhoun on an RBI single. The Wildcats answered with a pair of two out runs in the third to lead 2-1. Halfway came back again, though, and scored two runs in the fourth inning to regain the lead at 3-2 after four innings of play. However, New Bloomfield answered with three runs in the top of the fifth, and Halfway managed only three base runners in the final three innings in the 5-3 loss.

“We misplayed two or three balls in the lights,” said Carvajal. “Evans pitched a heckuva game.

We just didn’t get the big hit when we needed it. We had a few defensive lapses that cost us a couple of runs.”

The New Bloomfield loss still haunts the Cardinal players today. “We didn’t run into New Bloomfield, we ran into our first night game, in my opinion,” said Drake. “We lost a bunch of balls in the lights. We beat ourselves. We were the better team.” Locke always felt like the Cardinals would come back and win. “It wasn’t the first time we had been down in a game,” he said. “It wasn’t an absolute foreign idea that we could lose, but we Halfway’s Aaron Evans pitches in the Cardinals’ 7-6 victory over Macks Creek in the 1998 Class 1A state semifinals. Evans was a two-time All-State honoree, and was also a USA Today Honorable Mention AllAmerican for the state of Missouri following his senior year. (Photo courtesy of Cindy Evans)

just needed to buckle down and do what we’d always done.”

“It was a close game,” said Evans. “Whether it was nerves or not, they just played better than we did. It was very disappointing. It’s heartbreaking, because we didn’t go there to take second, third, or fourth. They played better than we did and the scoreboard proved it. It definitely gave us a hunger for the next season.”

The loss carried over into the third-place game the following day against Holcomb, as the Cardinals went through the motions in a 6-2 loss to finish in fourth-place. “It wasn’t even like the same team the next game,” said Calhoun of the Holcomb loss. “We knew we weren’t going to win the championship. It’s a different feeling when you know you’re playing for third-place instead of a championship. It was just a numb feeling. It was probably the worst game we ever played.”

“Our heads definitely weren’t in it,” said Locke.

“With the run we were on, it’s tough to take a loss right before you’re about to play for a state championship. As a team, it was tough recovering from that.”

“We were determined that we were going to go back,” said Calhoun. “We were going to do whatever it took to go back to State. There was no reason we couldn’t win it with the group we had coming back.”

Several Cardinal players garnered postseason honors, led by senior Ben Locke, who was named 1st-Team All-State as a third baseman after batting .493 for the season with nine homers and 51 RBI. The senior, who also went 8-1 on the hill with a 1.22 ERA, was also named the PCL Most Valuable Player. Evans garnered 2nd-Team All-State honors as a pitcher after posting a 9-1 record and 2.28 ERA, and also batted .453 at the plate with 32 RBI. Drake also was named 2nd-Team All-State after a standout season in centerfield. Drake, Evans, Locke, Jay Roderick, and Mark Timmerman were all named to the All-District Team. Evans and Timmerman joined Locke as 1st-Team All-PCL players, while Mike Calhoun, Drake and Roderick received 2nd-Team honors. Senior Nathan Poterbin received honorable mention recognition.

it.” Carvajal is currently the Superintendent of the LaPlata R-II School District.

“Without Carvajal, we wouldn’t have gone to State,” said Locke, who went on to play collegiately at Avila University. “I don’t think the ’98 team would have either. I played baseball for 14 years and he was, by far, the best coach I ever had.”

Rick Hammers, a member of Hillcrest’s 1988 state champions, took over the helm. “I knew there was some talent at Halfway—a lot of it,” said Hammers.

“They had a good nucleus coming back.

There were a few holes, mainly with the loss of a starting pitcher and at catcher.

I had seen them play the year before a couple of times and at the 1A level, they were a very good baseball team.

“They really didn’t need to be motivated too much,” he added. “We worked a lot on bunting and base running, and they had a lot of freedom to do what they wanted. The bunting game and running game were a big part of our success, along with our starting pitching.”

“They were actually very similar coaches,” said Evans of Carvajal and Hammers.

“Both had solid baseball backgrounds.

Hammers was open to us keeping the same routines and regimens, because they obviously were successful. He built upon what Carvajal had taught us.

“There was a transition period, because everyone had great respect for Carvajal,” added Evans. “There’s always an unknown with a new coach, but he helped us grow as players and people, just as Carvajal had helped us grow as players and people.”

“He basically took what was already started and he let us be successful,” said Calhoun of Hammers. “Looking back on it, I think he was wise to do what he did. He was a good coach. Our practices were like drills and we already had our drills down.”

Halfway entered the 1998 campaign as the #7-ranked team in Class 1A, but quickly ascended to the top spot in the rankings. The Cardinals opened the season with 10 straight blowout victories, including six shutouts. The Cardinal offense was on a power surge, too, with balls leaving the yard with regularity.

In the tenth game, the Cardinals were beaten 4-1 at home by Pleasant Hope, though. In the next game, the Cardinals fell behind at Fordland 4-1 after three innings and never recovered, losing 5-2 to drop their record to 10-2.

The bus trip back to Halfway was a turning point for the season, as the back-to-back losses refocused the team. “We had a ‘come to Jesus’ moment on the bus ride back,” said Calhoun. “The air was thick. The five seniors said, basically, ‘if we have to score every run, we’ll do it.’

We gave a ‘pretty strong exhortation’ to the underclassmen that they needed to step up and score at the bottom of the order. Losing those two games was

Halfway’s Matt Drake bats against Oran in the 1998 Class 1A state championship game, a 9-3 Cardinal victory. Drake was a two-time All-State selection as a centerfielder. (Photo courtesy of Cindy Evans)

Halfway returned a core group of players for 1998, and had several underclassmen ready to step into more prominent roles. In particular, junior Brandon Doke stepped into the spot vacated

by Locke in the rotation. The Cardinals had Evans and Timmerman at the top of the rotation, with Doke pitching a midweek game when needed.

Doke also played third base when not pitching, while twin brother Brad Doke replaced Poterbin in right. Junior John Andrews replaced Payne in leftfield. Freshman Clint Vest stepped into the catcher’s role in place of the departed Roderick.

The Cardinals knew they were losing five seniors, but they did not know that they would also lose their head coach after just one season, as Carvajal left Halfway to coach at North Shelby.

“Sometimes, I wish I would have stayed one more year, but it was a good opportunity,” said Carvajal of his decision to leave. “It was a storybook season, and those boys worked their tails off. They were a good group of kids that wanted to learn. It was a special bunch of kids, and I’ll never forget

the best thing that ever happened to us. After the Fordland game, we became a strong team.”

“That was the best thing that could ever have happened to us,” echoed Timmerman of the two losses. “It gave us the realization that we could be beat. We were beatable. With the ’97 team, the worst thing that didn’t happen was that we thought we couldn’t be beat.”

“I don’t like to lose, but one of the problems in 1997 is that we had never lost,” said Evans of entering the Final Four undefeated. “Those losses made us realize that we needed to get our stuff in gear. It’s not a guarantee—anything can happen. It was an eye-opener, a wake-up call. It was a make or break point, and those two losses helped us as much as anything. We got refocused on one-game-at-a-time instead of looking ahead to State.”

“It took a little of the pressure off,” said McCarthy of the losses. “It made us refocus our intensity.

You learn more about your team when you lose a game or two.”

“Losing builds character,” said Hammers.

“Were we a little confident? Yeah. If you’re gonna lose, you better do it early and get it under your belt. It was a humbling experience for everyone.”

The Cardinals rebounded from the two losses by hammering Fair Play and then Weaubleau in the first round of the Polk County League Tournament.

The Cardinals came from behind to beat Morrisville 5-3 in the semifinals, setting up a rematch with Pleasant Hope for the PCL tourney title.

The Cardinals and Pirates battled for six innings and stood tied at two heading to the seventh. After the Pirates were shut down in the top of the inning, Evans launched a walk-off grand slam over the leftfield fence to give Halfway a 6-2 victory. “I knew we were going to win the game when Evans came up to bat and the bases were loaded,” said Calhoun. “I just didn’t know he’d hit it out. You knew it was gone as soon as he hit it.”

“We wanted that game,” said Evans. “When someone beats you, from a competitive standpoint, you want to avenge that loss. I wasn’t thinking about hitting a homerun in that situation, I just wanted to put the ball in play. I swung and it flew off the bat.”

Hammers has high praise for Evans. “If there is any player that worked harder than Aaron Evans, I’d like to meet him,” said Hammers. “He did what it took to be great. He did the extra things on the side. He was the hardest working player ever.

He was a baseball player. He was one of the top three players I ever coached.”

The Cardinals followed up the PCL title with an 8-7 victory over a pesky Sparta squad, as Drake hit a two-run homer in the third and Timmerman a three-run bomb in the fourth, both of which gave Halfway a lead. “We started to worry it was going to be our third loss,” said Timmerman. “We had determined after our second loss, though, that losing was not an option anymore.”

Halfway closed the regular season with two more victories and then defeated Dadeville 5-3 in the first round of Districts. The Cardinals dispatched Morrisville for the second time in two weeks by a 5-1 count in the District title game.

The Cardinals played host to Billings in the Sectional round, and perhaps the largest crowd in Halfway baseball history turned out for the game.

“The little field we had only had a couple of small bleachers, but there were lawn chairs lined up all around the field, and people were standing everywhere,” said McCarthy.

The Cardinals and Wildcats battled to a 3-3 tie through six innings. In the bottom of the seventh inning, with the score still tied 3-3, Evans led off with a triple. After Drake and McCarthy were intentionally walked to load the bases, Brandon Doke was hit by a pitch, forcing home Evans from

third with the winning run.

“That was the most anti-climactic win you could have,” said Evans, who would go on to play collegiately two years at College of the Ozarks and three more at Southwest Baptist University.

“You’re expecting a hit, or at least a ball in play.

You don’t expect a game to end that way. You’re thinking, ‘Is that it? Is it over?’ They did the right thing strategically with the intentional walks, because he could have hit into a double play.”

“In order to win a state title, you have to have breaks throughout the season, and we caught a break,” said Hammers. “We had the heart of the lineup coming up. They tried to set-up the double play. It was a tough decision. I would hate to have been on the other side making that decision. It was a battle of attrition, and we won.”

After defeating Jasper 6-1 in the state quarterfinals, the Cardinals were headed back to Columbia for the 1998 Class 1A Final Four, once again at Simmons Field. Halfway’s opponent would be a familiar foe in Macks Creek, a team the Cardinals had already beaten 9-3 earlier in the season.

“I was really happy with our pairing at State,” said Hammers. “I felt very confident going into that game. My biggest decision was should I pitch our ace, Evans, or Timmerman? They were both workhorses that year. I decided to go with our ace.

We had to get out of the gate. You don’t want to lose without your ace on the mound.”

Halfway led 3-0 after two innings, added two more in the fifth and two more in the sixth to lead 7-0 going to the bottom of the sixth. Macks Creek erupted for four runs in its half of the inning, and after Halfway went scoreless in the seventh, the Pirates were down to their final at-bat.

A couple of errors put two runners on to start the inning, followed by a groundout and strikeout.

The next Pirate batter ripped a two RBI double to cut the lead to 7-6. Following a walk and stolen base, the Pirates had runners at the corners with two outs. Evans slammed the door shut by striking out the last batter, as the Cardinals escaped to the state championship game with a 7-6 victory.

“I got ahead in the count on the last batter,” said Evans. “I didn’t want to give him anything to hit.

I had one more base to give. It was stressful, but you just have to focus on your job. I wasn’t thinking about the state championship, I was thinking, ‘just do you job.’ All of the stretching, regimens and practice were focused on being mentally in tune and doing your job.”

“I think everybody thought it was going to be a blowout,” said Calhoun. “The biggest thing I remember is thinking—when it got tight at 7-6— that it might be possible they were going to take us. You just get that sick feeling in your stomach.

‘We’re not surely gonna let this happen again.’

Bless his little heart, Aaron struck that guy out to end the game.”

“Aaron was sore that day and did not have his best stuff,” said Hammers. “Still, I would rather have Aaron at 75 percent than most pitchers at full strength. It was a big game to win or lose.”

“With Evans on the mound, not to say there wasn’t any doubt, but I wouldn’t have wanted anyone else on the mound,” said Drake. “He was the man. We had our ace on the mound.”

In the state championship the following day, Halfway jumped on Oran early, batting around in the first inning for an early 3-0 lead. “That’s what made it easier—not easy—was that we scored so many runs early,” said Timmerman, who was pitching the state championship game for the Cardinals. “With a two-, three-, four-run lead, you can make some mistakes. The nerves were a lot better after we batted in the first.”

“He was a pitcher,” said Hammers of Timmerman. “He didn’t have a phenomenal fastball, but he threw strikes. He also had a nice overhand

curve that was hard The Halfway Cardinals dog pile on the to hit. He kind of mound after the final out of the 1998 Class 1A state championship game, a made them look 9-3 victory over Oran. The Cardinals, foolish. He threw who posted a 24-2 record during their one of the better state championship season, had a twogames of his career year fall and spring record of 61-4 that day.” from 1996 to 1998. (Photo courtesy of The Cardinals Cindy Evans) scored four runs in the fourth to break the game open, keyed by a two-run double to right center by McCarthy. In the top of the fifth, McCarthy ripped another two-run double to right center, scoring Evans and Drake to up the lead to 9-2.

Oran added a run in the seventh, but 1st-Team All-PCL teams. McCarthy was named Halfway won going away by a 9-3 count. The 2nd-Team All-Conference, while John Andrews, Halfway Cardinals were state champions.

Brandon Doke, and Clint Vest received honorable “There’s nothing that can top that,” said Timmermention recognition. man of winning a state championship. “I pitched Winning a state title was special, but made one of the best games of my career, but I had the even more special by doing it with friends with defense behind me. We had no errors. I was never whom they had grown up playing baseball. “We a strikeout pitcher. I made them put the ball in all started playing baseball together when we play. That was one of the greatest days of my life.” were in first grade,” said Timmerman. “We knew “We went out winning and there’s no better how everybody played. That’s one of the biggest way to go out than winning,” said Calhoun. “Very reasons for our success in high school. In certain few Missouri teams get to walk away with a win. I situations, like pick-offs or squeeze bunts, all you couldn’t help but think that if this team could win had to do was make certain eye contact with difit, then last year’s team should have won it.” ferent people and they knew what you were go“Timmerman pitched a great game,” said Evans, ing to do.” The only player who did not grow up who played shortstop in the game. “I remember in Halfway was Calhoun, who moved there from the last play. We were one out away. I had always Louisville, Ky., prior to his sophomore year. “Calbeen taught never to look ahead, but yet there was houn fit right in with the rest of us, because he this anticipation. The last ball was hit to short, and played just like we did,” said Timmerman. stuff just slowed down. Think. Do your job. Block The years that have passed have not dampened everything out. It was just a routine play that I had the sense of accomplishment. “It makes you feel made thousands of times in practice. Just field it like you accomplished something in high school,” and throw it to first. The bench cleared and there said Calhoun. “You don’t get the chance to do was a big dog pile.” what we did the rest of your life. It’s unique. You “It’s not about me,” said Hammers. “Coaches get to compete and be a champion. It was special are only as good as how well their players perto do it with guys that I was friends with.” form. We played phenomenally that day. We “It is something to talk to my kids about,” said played great defense and got a great pitching perTimmerman. “It’s just pretty special. I hope my formance.” kids can experience something like that in their “Even though Carvajal wasn’t there in ’98, he lifetime.” was still with us,” said Drake. “He taught us a lot “I moved away, so I don’t get to see the guys and we carried that over into ’98.” as much anymore,” said Drake, who now lives in Evans finished his standout senior season by beMountain Grove. “I like to pull out my ring eving named an Honorable Mention All-American ery now and then and show my boys. Show them for the state of Missouri by USA Today after batting some pictures of what a state championship looks .564 with 15 homers and 45 RBI, while also postlike and what it means.” ing a 16-1 record on the mound with 135 strikeWhat it means is that after a disappointing outs over the course of the fall and spring seasons. fourth-place finish in 1997, the Halfway CardiEvans also was named 1st-Team All-State as a Diamond Exteriors bc nals—who 3/30/11 AM record Pageof 61-4— 1 posted8:23 a two-year pitcher, All-District, and 1st-Team All-Conference. had gone all the way in 1998.

He was also the 1998 PCL Most Valuable Player.

There was plenty of postseason recVinyl Siding • Soffit • Fascia • Replacement Windows & Doors ognition to go around, though, as both Ti m m e r m a n (infielder) and Drake (outfielder) also received 1st-Team AllState recognition. Calhoun, Drake and Timmerman joined Evans on the All-District and 4802 S. 220th Rd. • Halfway, MO 65663

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Photo courtesy of Lynn Harman

FAMILY ties

By Byron Shive

Family is the most important thing in the world.

– Princess Diana After a successful softball season in the fall, in which Walnut Grove finished 19-8 and won a District title, the Lady Tigers (24-6) made a run to the state quarterfinals on the hardwood before bowing out with a loss to defending state champion Montrose. It is not unusual for a school— particularly a Class 1 school—to have a couple of relatives playing on the same team. However, it is almost unheard of to have five members of one family playing together at the same time. It is even more unlikely that all five relatives have the talent to compete at a high level, which is what Walnut Grove has had at its disposal this year in the form of five members of the Harman family—all five of which were significant contributors to the Lady Tigers’ success on the diamond and the court this 30

season.

Deciphering who is related to whom and how they are related can get confusing—at least to an outsider. Hannah Harman is a senior—and a multisport standout. After breaking the state record for career strikeouts in the fall, Hannah followed that up with her second straight All-State performance on the basketball court. Heather Harman, a freshman, is Hannah’s younger sister who also received All-State recognition this season as the Lady Tigers’ point guard. Hannah and Heather are the middle two of Russ and Dawn Harman’s four daughters.

Haley Harman is a senior who garnered 1stTeam All-Polk County League recognition this season in basketball. Lexi Harman, a freshman, is Haley’s younger sister who received 2nd-Team AllPCL recognition in basketball despite playing virtually the entire season with a torn ACL. Haley and

Lexi are the daughters of Gene and Lynn Harman.

Cheyenne Harman is a junior who made major contributions despite playing throughout the season with a nagging turf toe injury. She is the oldest of Marty and Tena Harman’s two daughters.

The Harman family has deep roots in Walnut Grove, and has resided in the community for generations. With multiple branches from the same family tree, it probably should not be a surprise that the high school careers of five family members coincided with one another. Regardless, it has been a year that these five girls have looked forward to for a long time.

“We’ve looked forward to this year for as long as we can remember,” said Cheyenne. “We’ve looked forward to this year for a long time,” echoed Haley. “We would just count down the days until we could all play together.”

Things turn out best for the people who make the best of the way things turn out. – John Wooden The Harman girls had been looking forward to this season—particularly on the basketball court— for a long time, and had often talked about the opportunity for all of them to play for the same team.

Hannah would anchor the post, while Haley would be free to roam inside and out. Cheyenne, a two-year starter, would also be another insideout threat. Add to that the contributions of a pair of cat quick incoming freshmen guards in Heather and Lexi and it would be easy to fantasize about numerous wins and deep runs in March—with a lot of fun along the way.

However, things do not always go according to plan, as the team—and the family—faced adversity at the beginning of the season. Cheyenne suffered a turf toe injury in December which kept her out of action for over a month. Although she played through the rest of the season, she was never fully healthy. “It’s been a great year,” said Tena Harman. “It was a little disappointing, though, with all the injuries.”

Lexi suffered a torn ACL in the Walnut Grove holiday tournament. She played the rest of the game with the injury, but her return to action was doubtful after tests confirmed the worst. Her big sister, Haley, had previously suffered the same injury. After learning that she could not do any further injury to the knee, Lexi postponed surgery and returned to action to finish the season. “We knew what was in store,” said Lynn Harman of Lexi’s injury. “She’s a tough cookie, though. We talked to the surgeons and got a brace made. She went back out there and played.”

Lexi returned to action, but was not nearly as fast as she had been. “It didn’t hurt that bad,” said Lexi. “I kind of learned what I could do and what I couldn’t do on it. I was definitely a lot slower afterwards.”

“When we were all healthy to start the season, it was a sight to see,” said head coach Rory Henry.

“Lexi’s a game-changer when she’s healthy. When we first learned that it was a torn ACL, I was just sick. It was emotional for all of us when I told the team.

“The loss of both Lexi and Cheyenne changed the speed of our team defense,” said Henry, adding that Megan Shuler also suffered an injury. “We had all these things going for us. Both girls came back, but they were not at 100 percent. We were playing our best basketball at the end of the season, which is what we wanted, but you still play the ‘what if?’ game.”

Photo courtesy of Lynn Harman

“It killed her and it killed us,” said Haley of her sister’s injury. “She played with a torn ACL, and I still don’t know how that worked. It did slow her down some, but she’s determined. She would have always wondered what she missed if she hadn’t played. The rest of us just had to pick up the slack.”

“It was amazing and a lot of fun,” said Lexi. “It was probably the most fun I’ve had playing basketball in my career. And I got to play with my sister.”

To be a team, you must be a family. – Don Meyer “The whole team was like a family,” said Lexi.

It did not matter if your last name was Harman or not, if you were a member of the Lady Tigers, then you were a member of a family. “Yeah, we’re all related, but we’re best friends, too…all of us—not just the Harmans,” said Haley. “The whole team is a family.”

Walnut Grove is like a lot of other small towns and communities in the Ozarks, meaning that everyone pretty much knows everyone else. It also means that you are likely to have the same classmates in your graduating class that you had in kindergarten. Having grown up together, it was easy for the Harmans and their teammates to form lasting friendships over the years.

Even though the Lady Tigers—Harmans and non-Harmans alike—knew each other, though, that did not stop the team from becoming a “family” through various team bonding activities. “We have our team bonding time,” said junior Karlie Koenemann, who was one of the team’s key contributors off the bench this season. “We usually go to Hannah’s house to watch movies during the season.

We try to keep everyone together.”

The team bonding worked, as it was easy to see by fans and observers alike that the Lady Tigers were a close-knit bunch.

“They have so much fun together,” said Lynn.

“They’re best friends, but they can be brutally honest with each other.” Added Gene: “They just have great chemistry together.”

If the family were a fruit, it would be an orange, a circle of sections, held together but separable—each segment distinct. – Letty Cottin Pogrebin The Harman girls may be related, but that does not mean that they do not all have distinctly different personalities. In fact, the girls’ differing personalities complement each other well. “We all balance each other out,” said Hannah. “Between the five of us, there’s never really a dull moment, that’s for sure.” The girls all have “great personalities,” according to Henry.

“It’s always fun and they’re always laughing,” he said.

“I don’t see these girls having too many bad days.”

“They all have great personalities,” said Koenemann. “They have a lot

of energy…maybe too much.” Heather is the “class clown,” according to Koenemann, who made sure to tell the infamous “cat story.” Apparently, during one of the team bonding nights, Heather crawled on all fours into the kitchen, “meowing” the whole way, in an attempt to get the family cat to run into a wall. “I guess you had to be there,” said Koenemann. “Heather is something else,” said Hannah of her little sister. “She’s hilarious. She’s pretty hard-headed, but I love her.”

According to her mom, Heather is a sponge for new information, regardless of how insightful or irrelevant it may be. “She’ll come in all the time and say, ‘Mom and Dad, did you know…?’ and spout off some random fact,” said Dawn. “She’s something else. Everything’s a crack up with her.

Everything’s a funny. She wears her emotions on her sleeve. You never have to wonder what she is thinking or feeling, because it’s written all over her face. She’s her own worst enemy in that way.”

Lexi is “sweet as she can be,” according to Hannah. “She’s so nice.” Heather thinks the world of her classmate, cousin, and friend. “She’s my best friend,” said Heather. “She’s hilarious and so full of energy.” Heather and Lexi are virtually inseparable. “Heather and Lexi are always together,” said Dawn. “Everything’s funny to those two. They’re always laughing about something.” When the two are not together, “it’s like Heather is missing her other half,” said Russ. “Those two are crazy,” said Hannah of the Heather-Lexi tandem. “It’s always Heather and Lexi.” The games in which Lexi was out with the knee injury were particularly painful for Heather. “The few games we didn’t have Lexi, Heather was lost,” said Russ. “Lexi was her

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Cousins by blood – friends by choice. – Darlene Shaw Marty and Gene are brothers, and Russ is the brothers’ first cousin. Therefore, that makes Haley and Lexi first cousins with Cheyenne. It also means that, technically, Cheyenne, Haley and Lexi are all third cousins with Hannah and Heather. However, the girls prefer to just be called friends rather than dealing with all the “Where Did I Come From?” family tree technicalities.

“We’re all really close, because we’ve grown up together,” said Cheyenne. “All of us became best friends,” said Haley. “You have to be when you’re with them every day. You have to learn to like each other.” Due to their ages, Hannah and Haley have been friends seemingly forever, with the freshmen, Heather and Lexi, also closer to each other than they are with the others.

“We were always close, but I guess you could say this season has brought us closer together,” said Lexi. “The coolest thing is that the girls have bonded together,” said Tena. “They’re closer than they’ve ever been before. They’ve always played together, but never on the same team at the same time. As they get older and have kids themselves, it will be neat that they have that bond they can share.”

all of us became best friends” - Haley Harman

We’ve looked forward to this year for as long as we can remember - Cheyenne Harman

Basketball is like photography, if you don’t focus, all you have is the negative. – Dan Frisby Road trips to away games for the Lady Tigers usually evolved into a travelling comedy caravan—at least on the trip back home. “We have a ‘no cell phone policy’ on road trips,” said Henry.

“I try to tell the team to be focused to games and on the way back. We usually have no problems on the way to a game, because the girls know they have a job to do, but after the game—on the way back—it can get quite loud on the bus.

I don’t even try to go to the back of the bus. Usually, I can’t even understand what they’re saying because they’re laughing so much.”

The team brought a special “friend” along for the bus rides this year. On the way to road games, Jasmine—a doll that came from a McDonald’s Happy Meal—was tied on a string, thrown out the bus window and dragged along the ground, a la “Napoleon Dynamite.” Jasmine survived the ordeal, but is in need of some “plastic” surgery.

What you are as a person is far more important than what you are as a basketball player. – John Wooden The Harman girls are a fun-loving bunch and really talented athletes, but more importantly, they are good people. “I’m most proud of the girls’ attitudes,” said Lynn. “It’s not just their athletic ability, but they’re such good kids. They are great role models for future Lady Tigers.”

“All of these girls—the entire team—are just great kids,” said Henry. “You never have to worry about what these kids’ intentions are. They’re some of the best kids I’ve ever been around. It’s been a joy to coach these girls. They work hard and have some of the best work ethic I’ve ever seen.”

Nell Harman, the girls’ grandmother, passed away in Oct. 2009, but before her passing, she

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Those who wish to sing always find a song.

– Proverb You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take. – Wayne Gretsky “Hannah thinks she’s a good singer, too,” added Heather to the Hannah anecdote-fest. “She’s always, like, ‘Every time I go on long road trips, I practice my singing. Heather, I’m getting really good.’ She’s terrible. She never sings any song right. She always gets the words wrong.” Hannah is not the only potential “American Idol” contestant on the team, though. “We sing a lot,” said Hannah. “Heather and Lexi will sing the whole way on bus trips.”

Although Hannah is an All-State player in both softball and basketball, according to Heather and Lexi, her volleyball skills are lacking. “She thinks she’s great at volleyball,” laughs Heather. “She’s terrible.” Lexi recalls Hannah telling her, “I really love volleyball. Do you think if college basketball doesn’t work out, I could get a volleyball scholarship?” Heather told her, bluntly as only a sister can, “Hannah…you (stink) at volleyball.”

The team likes to recite quotes—inspirational, motivational, and otherwise. Cheyenne recalls Hannah attempting to recite a pretty famous quote, but butchering it in typically humorous Hannah fashion. “She said, ‘You always make 100% of the shots you don’t take,’” said Cheyenne.

Heather, the team’s point guard, knows where to get the bread buttered, though. “On the court, she’s a beast,” said Heather. “No one can stop her. I did feed her a lot.”

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pooper…I’m just smart.” Regardless of whether or not she “controls” the others, the family ties go much deeper between Haley and Hannah. “Haley is not just my cousin, she’s my best friend,” said Hannah. “She’s the Mom of us all, though.”

Hannah is the tender-hearted member of the group. “She has the biggest heart of any person ever,” said Dawn of her daughter. Hannah is also as unassuming as they come, not wanting anyone to publicize her gaudy athletic statistics. “For Senior Night, Hannah had to fill out a sheet and list all of her accomplishments,” said Russ. “She only wanted to put a couple of things on there. I told her that she had earned everything that she had accomplished and that she should list everything, but in her eyes, she thinks she’s bragging.”

The late Larry Hazelrigg, a longtime reporter for the Springfield News-Leader, called Hannah “The Invisible Pitcher” on the mound, because you could never tell if things were going well or not by the expression on her face. “She never wanted to show anyone up by celebrating on the mound,” said Dawn. “She doesn’t want anyone making a big deal out of her,” said Russ.

Hannah is the best all-around athlete of the bunch, but she also bears the brunt of the others’ jokes. “She definitely should have been born a blonde,” said Haley of her cousin and friend. “I don’t think she’s all there,” said Heather of her sister. “She makes it easy to make fun of her.” Hannah cannot even get any love from her mother on the matter. “We call her ‘The Blonde,’ because you can tell her something, and she’ll say ‘Really?,’” said Dawn. “She’s so gullible.”

One story sums up Hannah’s personality about as well as any other, and there are certainly many to choose from. The Lady Tigers have a play which entails Hannah to cut toward the ball and yell, “Ball, Ball, Ball.” Even though Walnut Grove has ran the play for years, Hannah still does not know the name of it. Whenever the play is called by Henry, “Hannah just looks at me with this confused look, and I say, ‘it’s the ball-ball-ball play,’” said Haley. “That is so embarrassing,” laughed Hannah. “I’m really ditzy. I can’t remember the name of that play to save my life. To me, it’s just the ‘ball-ball-ball play.’”

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comfort blanket.”

Cheyenne “is the most random person,” said Hannah. “She is full of useless facts and random information. She is constantly walking into the locker room and telling everyone the ‘Fact of the Day.’ She’s like, ‘Guys, wanna hear this?’ ‘Sure, Cheyenne, what is it?’” Cheyenne is also unofficially in charge of providing background music at practice. “She always got in trouble for unedited versions,” said Heather. “She’s not as crazy as me and Lexi, but she’s funny and a lot of fun to be around.”

Haley is the mother hen of the group. “She’s such a mom to all of us,” said Heather. “She controls us and keeps us in line. She can have fun too, though, but she’s such a party pooper.” Haley defended herself by countering with, “I’m not a party

The whole team was like a family - Lexi Harman

Families are like fudge—mostly sweet with a few nuts – Author Unknown The Harman family has gathered for family reunions on a semi-regular basis over the years, and as one might imagine, when the Harman girls got together, hilarity and horseplay ensued. “Family stuff’s always fun,” said Cheyenne, with great understatement. “You don’t get to talk much, that’s for sure,” said Gene.

Not surprisingly, family reunions usually resulted in some competitive basketball games, though not so much anymore.

Basketball was not the only activity that engaged the girls at family reunions. A lot of families may have sack races or three-legged races, but that’s not the Harmans’ style. Instead, they would engage in trash can races, which featured Heather and Lexi riding in trash cans on wheels while Hannah and Haley pushed them. “That got a little crazy at times,” said Lexi.

If you don’t understand how a woman could both love her sister dearly and want to wring her neck at the same time, then you were probably an only child. – Linda Sunshine Cheyenne, Haley, Hannah, Heather, and Lexi will not be the last batch of Harmans to attend Walnut Grove High School, as there are a couple of younger Harmans on the way. Shelby Harman, Cheyenne’s younger sister, is currently in seventh grade, while Bayley Harman, Hannah and Heather’s little sister, is in fifth grade. Both served as managers for the basketball team this winter.

“They’re good managers, I guess,” said Heather begrudgingly. “Bayley’s obnoxious…she’s so annoying. I would argue with her about her managing skills, so we would fight a lot.” Said Cheyenne: “They’re always right in the middle of everything. We go a little harder on them, because they’re little sisters.”

The youngest Harmans relished the experience, though.

“I think it’s awesome that they all got to play together,” said Bayley, who is a spitting image of Heather. “They’ve taught me so much about playing hard and never giving up. I’m just very proud of them.”

“I’ve been looking forward to it,” said Shelby. “They always made me laugh. They were always there for us, kind of since we were little. They’re great role models.”

Shelby added that she wishes she “could ball like Hannah.”

“We probably got a little snippy with them, but it was easy to get on them because of them being little sisters,” said Hannah. “I’m the senior now, so it’s nice.” Hannah recalls being in the same position as Shelby and Bayley not too long ago, though, and idolizing Abby Creed and Emily Simpson, key cogs for the Lady Tigers’ 2007 state championship team. Hannah and Haley both served as managers on that team.

“Me and Haley lived and breathed Abby and Emily,” said Hannah.

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imparted some wisdom onto the Harman girls.

“She taught the girls what a name means, and how that your behavior reflects on your name,” said Tena. “Your name follows you wherever you go. She told them that they have a name that they should want to live up to, and be proud of, and a name that the community can be proud of.”

The name on the front of the jersey is what really matters, not the name on the back. – Joe Paterno With all of the hoopla surrounding the team this season—and particularly the large number of Harmans on it—it would have been easy for internal frictions to develop over the publicity surrounding the Harmans, which included TV and radio appearances and promos and various newspaper articles (and now, a magazine article). However, to all the girls, this has never been about - Heather Harman the Harmans, but about Walnut Grove.

Following the team’s District championship Friends are the most important part of your in basketball, T-shirts were printed with the usual life. Treasure the tears, treasure the laughter, but “Walnut Grove…2011 District Champions” on most importantly, treasure the memories. – Dave the front, along with each player’s name on the Brenner back. Emblazoned across the back of the shirt The year that they had all looked forward to for was, “Success is about the name on the front of so long is nearing an end, with Hannah and Haley our shirt...not the names on the back.” heading off to college in the fall. Hannah signed Henry wanted to squash any potential friction a National Letter of Intent on Mar. 25 to play basbefore it began. “I stressed to everyone early on ketball at College of the Ozarks, while Haley is that we were a team,” he said. “On one hand, we bound for Southwest Baptist University to study had a special situation in that we had five memnursing. bers of one family on the team. We didn’t want “It’s been a lot of fun,” said Hannah. “We acany distractions, but we also didn’t want to take complished a lot, both as individuals and as a anything away from them (the Harmans) either. team. I knew it would be fun and exciting, but it “We made a big deal about us being one team,” was the most fun I’ve had, by far, in any sport.” he added. “We stressed team unity. Our team mot“When I came off the floor for the last time (in to was: ‘When you give yourself up to something the state quarterfinals), that’s when it really hit me,” that is greater than yourself, it’s the greatest power said Haley. “Then my sister hugged me and that’s in life.’ All the girls bought into that philosophy when the waterworks started. It’s all her fault. I’ll and that contributed to our success.” always cherish the memories.”

“At the beginning of the season, with all the raThe wish of “one more year together” is a comdio and TV publicity, it would have been easy for mon one these days in the Harman family. “It was there to be problems, I guess,” said Haley, “but we a fun experience, but I wish we had one more don’t play selfish ball. It’s not ‘the Harmans have year,” said Heather, a sentiment echoed by her to do this or that,’ it’s ‘Heather needs to do this and mother. “I wish we would have had one more Lexi needs to do that’ to be successful. We don’t year,” said Dawn. “Things would have been topay attention to last names on the team.” tally different if Lexi and Cheyenne had not got“The other girls never said anything,” said Hanten hurt. It’s been a lot of fun, and something you nah of any perceived issues, “and we didn’t act don’t want to see end.” that way toward them, like we were better or any“They were a fun group, and a fun group to thing. We never had any problems with that. We watch,” said Lynn. were a team.”

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It was a fun experience, but I wish we had one more year

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Notes, thoughts and assorted observations from the Ozarks prep sports world… *It’s official now. Having been named the nation’s top football recruit for the class of 2012 by MaxPreps noted recruiting guru Tom Lemming and a five-star recruit by Rivals, Dorial Green-Beckham has become the most celebrated high school athlete ever to come out of the Ozarks.

With that in mind, we had several pressing questions for his adoptive father and Hillcrest coach, John Beckham, as we head down the stretch toward some big-time college football program being very happy…and a whole bunch of them wondering what more they could have done to land the 6-foot-5, 215-pound speedy Hillcrest star wide receiver.

Things like… *Does Dorial feel any pressure to deliver great times every time he steps on to the track this spring for the Hornets and runs the 100 meters, the event in which he’s the defending Class 4 state champion?

Think about it…with all the hub-bub made over the NFL Scouting Combine and all the “measurables” there each February before pro teams make a draft pick, wouldn’t it stand to reason that if, say, Dorial had a large pizza buffet meal on a track meet afternoon and was running into a 40 miles per hour headwind and posted maybe an 11.5 in the 100, would the college scouts freak out and back off out of fear that the 6-foot-5 phenom had maybe lost a step?

“I don’t think so,” John said with a laugh. “Maybe last year or the year before, but not really anymore. I think everybody knows he runs pretty good at this point.”

FYI, DGB ran a 10.59 for his personal best in the 100 last year. Did we mention that he also was the state champ in the triple jump and state runner-up in the long jump? *Is Dorial—who now holds state receiving records with 170 catches for 4,154 yards and 51 touchdowns over his first three seasons—any closer to narrowing his list of possible choices?

“We’d like to have it narrowed down to five or six schools by the first part of the summer, maybe mid-June,” John says. “We’ve got a few more visits to try to get in before that time.”

It’s important to note that the Beckhams are limited to taking unofficial, unpaid visits at this time until September. They did take a pair during spring break, visiting Ole Miss and Alabama in one-day trips. Dorial spent time playing pool with Crimson Tide star receiver, and soon to be very rich NFL receiver, Julio Jones, on the trip to ‘Bama. “Alabama was a good trip…Julio was a really cool guy,” John said. *Are the Beckhams wearing down under all of the recruiting attention?

“I’m a lot more tired of it than Dorial is,” John said with a laugh. “Right now, they’re not allowed to talk to him, so I’m the one getting the phone calls. I get a lot of calls every day…so I’ll be kind of glad when it’s over. I get a lot of calls mainly from assistant coaches, but also a lot from head coaches.

Scott Puryear Co-Host, The Sports Reporters (JOCK 98.7)

Scott Puryear has been a part of the Springfield media scene since 1985 as both a sports writer/columnist for the Springfield News-Leader and in his current role as co-host of The Sports Reporters Mondays through Fridays from 9 to 11 a.m. on JOCK 98.7 FM.

“Usually, when Darnell is getting treatment I don’t answer the phone, and I’ll leave my cell in the car,” he added. “Kind of different when I go to check my messages and it’s from Bob Stoops and Les Miles. I don’t think Dorial is a big fan of the recruiting process, and I don’t think he enjoys it. I wouldn’t be surprised if he shuts it down early.” *And lastly, there’s the aforementioned treatment for Darnell, Dorial’s freshman brother who was diagnosed with leukemia this past winter and has been undergoing treatments in Memphis for the past two months.

The best news of all…Darnell is responding favorably to those treatments, to the point where doctors aren’t ruling out his return to athletics—potentially as early as this fall—and especially by his junior and senior seasons with the Hornets if all signs continue to flow positive.

And I’m sure the college recruiters are wondering, like many fans of their programs are…does Darnell’s health situation change Dorial’s thinking in terms of staying closer to home for a college destination?

“We’ve talked about that. I told Dorial I want this to be a very selfish decision on his part, that I want him to pick the school that’s best for him,” John says. “I also told him, ‘we’re going to take care of Darnell and find a way to watch you play, so don’t let that be a factor.’ After all this, most of his treatments will be in Springfield, except for a few checkups (in Memphis).” *Speaking of DGB, Ozarks fans will get maybe one last chance to see him on a big stage next January, when Hillcrest is one of eight teams in the 28th annual Bass Pro Tournament of Champions Jan. 12-14, 2012, at the JQH Arena.

Glendale will be the other local entry as the field was announced recently by tournament director Mark Fisher.

Other teams making the trek to Springfield will be Christ the King of Middle Village, N.Y., Miller Grove High of Lithonia, Ga., St. Rita of Chicago, Westbury Christian of Houston, Lincoln out of San Diego, and Sylvan Hills from Sherwood, Ark. Christ the King will be making its 14th T of C appearance, while St. Rita from Chicago is coached by Gary DeCesare, long-time guide of the St. Raymond’s Prep teams that used to alternate with Christ the King in coming to the event.

And fans, get those autograph pens handy. As usual, it appears the most highly touted players in the field (outside of football star DGB, of course), are Westbury Christian’s 6-3 senior point guard L.J. Rose, rated the No. 1 PG in the country in the class of 2012 by ESPN; Sylvan Hills’ 6-4 shooting guard Archie Goodwin, ranked the third best nationally at his position by Scout.com; Tyree Johnson, a 6-4 junior from Lincoln of San Diego rated No. 4

by ESPN at his shooting guard position; and Tony Parker, a 6-8 senior-to-be standout from Miller Grove (Ga.) rated No. 5 at his power forward position by ESPN. *We want to take this opportunity to welcome back to the Ozarks one of the good guys in the coaching world, as Joel Wells is coming back home as the new head football coach at Kickapoo High.

Wells, an Aurora native, has spent the past three sea-

sons at Liberty (Mo.) High School, butting heads in the KC area with the likes of Rockhurst, Blue Springs and other big boys of the state’s Class 6 football powerhouse world. It’s his third tour of duty at an area school, having guided Cassville back in the late 1990s and then Nixa for seven years before heading north to Liberty, where he was 18-13 in three years. That record should come with an asterisk, as Wells saw the Liberty school district break off into two schools (Liberty and Liberty North) this past season, after going 15-6 under Wells the first two seasons.

His challenge at Kickapoo: getting Chiefs football back to the level of excellence it routinely achieved in the days of the late Jim Pearson, Kevin Byrne and early on with Kurt Thompson. Back to a time when Kickapoo Football was a feared opponent and a program that was churning out college recruits on an annual basis.

And that’s exactly one of the first tasks for Wells when he arrives at KHS full-time at the conclusion of this school year—to point out to the current batch of Chiefs that being merely good to above average for KHS football, which has become the norm in recent years (including a 4-6 mark last fall), is no longer acceptable.

“I think we’ve got to set the expectations high,” Wells says. “The research I did in looking into the job, they haven’t made the playoffs since 2001, and I know a couple of those years they were Class 6 and had good teams that simply didn’t get in. But Kickapoo shouldn’t go a 10year period without getting into the playoffs. We’re going to have to set that expectation from seventh grade on up. I think it can happen…I know they have the spring league and those things now, but you’re going to have to make football have an appeal to them.

“The big thing I want to do is have the best athletes out for football, even if it’s their second and third sport,” he added. “We want the baseball players, the basketball players, the wrestlers to come out…and from the coaches there that I’ve met, and from what I’ve been told, everybody is willing to work with each other to get them out there. Everybody wants to talk about specialization, but I want them to play basketball, baseball, run track…but I want them out there playing football, too, to create the best thing we possibly can.”

Wells, who’ll run a spread attack offense at KHS, says his brief time at Liberty also has made him better equipped as a coach to get the Chiefs to a higher level.

For one thing, Wells says, he learned better communication skills in a program where he essentially had 27 assistant coaches from the eighth grade on up.

“I’ve had the ability the last three years to compete against the best of the best up here in Class 5 and 6, so I know and I’ve seen exactly what it takes to be able to compete at this level,” Wells says. “It’s made me a better football coach, without a doubt. I feel like you really get a Master’s degree in the passing game on both sides of the ball, really. A big difference up here is when someone goes five wide, you’ve got to cover all of them. There are no imposters out there. It really expanded my knowledge of the game and things like that, and I think that has made me a better coach.”

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