The coaches have released the Class 4 District 11 All-District Team. Among those to get recognition is Reeds Spring Sophomore Lance Hafar. The Wolves Big Man led them in points and rebounding this season.
Player of the Year
Luke Vandersnick – Logan Rogersville
Coach of the Year
John Schaefer – Logan-Rogersville
Luke Vandersnick – Logan-Rogersville
Jacob Swope – West Plains
Cade Blevins – Logan-Rogersville
Triston Letterman – Marshfield
Clay Butler – West Plains
John Warren – West Plains
Ryker Strong – Logan-Rogersville
Austin Porter – Marshfield
Brandon Menifee – Hillcrest
Lance Hafar – Reeds Spring
The SouthWest Central League has released its All-Conference teams for both girls and boys. No surprise, there is a couple of Blue Eye athletes at the top of the respective lists. Kohnnar Patton is the choice of the girls coaches for MVP of the league. Its Andrew Mitchell that got the nod on the guys side. The SWCL coaches choose five players for each of the first and second teams, with the MVPs not counting in those numbers..
Here are the All-SWCL teams…
Girls
MVP– Kohnnar Patton – Blue Eye
Defensive Player of the Year– Kenzie Hobbs-Blue Eye
Coach of the Year – Ken Elfrink
1st TEAM
Taylor Arnold – Blue Eye
Kenedi Larson – Blue Eye
Madison Hicks – Crane
Shelby McMurry – Sparta
Page Tate – Spokane
2nd Team
Elizabeth Gearing – Billings
Abby Rice – Galena
Sadie McMenamy – Crane
Alyssa Diers – Sparta
Raylen Wallace – Spokane
Honorable Mention
Bailey Groves – Billings
Ayshia Bettlach – Blue Eye
Kenzie Hobbs – Blue Eye
Gracie Brawley – Crane
Britney Ducey – Galena
Annabelle Bowman – Purdy
Maggie Robbins – Southwest
BOYS
MVP – Andrew Mitchell – Blue Eye
Defensive Player of the Year– Wes Branstetter – Crane
Coach of the Year – Kevin Smith – Crane
1st Team
Isaiah Bean – Spokane
Tyler Campbell – Crane
Isaiah Smith – Crane
Nathan Garnett – Blue Eye
Collin Teague – Sparta
2nd Team
Dawson Sherer – Galena
Colton Plowman – Billings
Zane Gale – Spokane
Osiel Aldava – Purdy
Bobby Brown – Billings
Honorable Mention
Fernando Garcia – Purdy
Jackson Bray – Spokane
Wyatt Snelson – Galena
Wes Branstetter – Crane
Jake Reagan – Blue Eye
Josh Whitchurch – Sparta
Cruz Marquez – Southwest
Austin Pippen – Southwest
Tyler Essick – Billings.
photo courtesy of Jim Connellphoto courtesy of BEHS
The Big 8 East Coaches have released their selections for All-Conference
Player of the Year - Jordyn Gault Logan Rogersville SR Coach of the Year – Denny McHenry Logan Rogersville
1st Team
Jordyn Gault*- Logan Rogersville SR
Cameron Call*- Mt. Vernon SR
Caitlin Hicks*- Mt. Vernon SR
Maci McHenry*- Logan Rogersville SR
Bug Bailey- Hollister SO
2nd Team
Kalena Asbill- Reeds Spring SR
Lilly Edwards- Springfield Catholic SR
Taylor Overstreet- Logan Rogersville SR
Lacy Stokes- Mt. Vernon SO
Lindsey Murphy- Springfield Catholic SR
Honorable Mention
Alexis Moon- Marshfield SR
Sophia Nixon- Logan Rogersville JR
Elizabeth Martin- Aurora SO
Olivia Wilson- Springfield Catholic SR
Shelby Strailey- Reeds Spring SR
The Big 8 East Coaches have released their selections for All-Conference…
Player of the Year – Luke Vandersnick- Rogersville Sr
Coach of the Tear – John Schaefer- Rogersville
1st Team
Luke Vandersnick*- Logan Rogersville SR
Jake Branham*- Springfield Catholic SR
Kelly Vaughn*- Mt. Vernon SR
Charlie O’Reilly*- Springfield Catholic SR
Triston Letterman- Marshfield SR
Cade Blevins- Logan Rogersville JR
2nd Team
Mason Ballay- Mt. Vernon SO
Michael Manzardo- Springfield Catholic SR
Cale Miller- Mt. Vernon JR
Austin Porter- Marshfield SR
Carter Krysl- Hollister SR
Honorable Mention
Ryker Strong- Logan Rogersville SR
Lance Hafar- Reeds Spring SO
Tyson Riley- Springfield Catholic SR
Presley David- Hollister JR
Drew Cromer- Marshfield JR
Its hard to believe but this High School Basketball season is just about in the books. The small schools start District play on Saturday and the big schools follow the week after.
With that being said, here is a look at the districts featuring our local teams.. and a little bit of how I see the tournament going…
Class 2 District 10 at Spokane.
Girls– 1. Blue Eye 2. New Cov. 3 Spokane 4. Sparta 5. Morrisville 6.S of O 7. Pleasant Hope 8. Greenwood.
Blue Eye is the big favorite here and should roll through this tournament. Back at full-strength the Lady Bulldogs have a great chance to be playing at JQH in a few weeks.
Boys– 1. Greenwood 2. New Cov. 3. Blue Eye 4. Spokane 5. Sparta 6. SofO 7. Pleasant Hope 8. Morrisville
Greenwood has to be the favorite here. Mohammed is the real deal. He has already broken the single season scoring record for Springfield schools and has a real shot to have a 1000 point season. Blue Eye and New Covenant have a real shot here, but will have to be at the top of their games. Don’t count out Spokane, either. The Owls are hosting and do own a victory over the Blue Jays.
Class 3 District 11 at Clever
Girls- 1. Strafford 2. Fair Grove 3. Clever 4. Buffalo 5. Catholic 6. Forsyth 7. Ava 8. Hollister
This is the toughest district in the state regardless of Class. Case in point, Hollister has won 15 games and is seeded last, and really has no argument to be any higher. Clever is the 3 seed, and should be. They beat Kickapoo, the Class 5 District 11 top seed by 25. Now, all that being said, this will be Strafford District. The Lady Indians are the best team in the state and one of the best in the nation. They have won 107 in a row and that number will continue to grow.
Boys- 1. Catholic 2. Strafford 3. Fair Grove 4. Clever 5. Hollister 6. Forsyth 7. Buffalo 8. Ava
This one should be a good one. That Hollister-Clever matchup in the first round will be one to watch. The Tigers play hard and always bring their defense. Its all going to come down to their shooting. If they can limit the turnovers and put the ball in the hole they can pull the mild upset. Forsyth has turned some heads this year. Fair Grove is a tough matchup for them. The regular season game was a 19 point win for the Eagles. Panthers will keep this one closer. In the end Catholic is the one seed for a reason. They are the best team here. The should be claiming a plaque to hang on the wall beside the one they got for football.
Class 4 District at Logan-Rogersville
Girls- 1. Rogersville 2. West Plains 3. Reeds Spring 4. Hillcrest 5. Marshfield 6. Aurora
The fact that Reeds Spring has won 10 games this year considering the injuries and defections, is a real tribute to coaching and the desire of those still on the team. They have a real shot to have the most wins in a over a decade and pick up their fist district win since 2013. In the end this district will come down to Rogersville vs West Plains. The two of them played a one point game earlier this season in Zizzerland. Rogersville won that one. I have picked all #1 seeds so far… why not West Plains, here. It will be a dandy no matter who wins.
Boys- 1. Logan-Rogersville 2. West Plains 3. Marshfield 4. Hillcrest 5.Aurora 6. Reeds Spring
While this one will also come down to the top two seeds. I just dont see Rogersville losing. The Wildcats have plenty of firepower and know how to close out game. The beat the Zizzers by 20 in January and will do it again to gain a birth in the State Playoffs.
Not sure how the seeding turned out this way. Branson and Nixa have similar records. Branson beat Nixa at Nixa. They played Ozark to 7, while Nixa lost to their rivals by 15. Yet, Nixa is seeded ahead of the Lady Pirates. So there has to be something I am missing here.
A couple of years ago, I thought the Lady Pirates were snubbed and was called a homer for picking them to win it. Well, that year they had my back and rewarded me for my confidence in them with taking the title. This year I still think they will make some noise, but the pick here has got to be Kickapoo. The Lady Chiefs are on a long winning streak and seem to be showing the form that we all expected from them this season.
This one should be good. The top three are all really close and the head to head games have shown it. All games decided by five points or less. I can make arguments for all three schools. Kickapoo is at home and has already beaten the other two. Jay Osborne is as good as it gets. He always finds ways to make his Eagles a dangerous threat this time of year. But, I am going with Ozark, here. Yes, they are 0-3 against the other two teams this year, and yes many thought this would be a rebuilding year for the Tigers. I could easily be wrong, as I said, I think this one is a toss up.. but if I have to make a pick I am going with Mark Schweitzer’s bunch.
It should be a real entertaining couple of weeks. Looking forward to all the action.
Justin Miller knows all about success against Bolivar. The Reeds Spring senior, knew nothing but victory as a varsity starter against the Liberators. His Wolves defeated the COC rivals in 2016 and 2017. (They did not play this past season) He will look to continue that success on the same field that the Liberators call home.
On Wednesday, Miller signed a National Letter of Intent to continue his football career at Southwest Baptist University.
Miller helped pave the way for some of the most prolific offensive seasons in Reeds Spring football history including the record setting season for Kelly Newton two years ago. He is a multiple time All-Conference and All-Area Selection.
The Bearcats are members of the Great Lakes Valley Conference and compete in NCAA Division II
JustinMillerSigning (click link to hear interview Jim Connell and I had with Justin)
Justin and his familymaking it officialMiller with RS Coaches
In my years of covering sports in this area I have had the pleasure of working with several great high school coaches. There are some terrific coaches still on the sidelines and some from the past or that have gone to other schools: Gary Blevins, Steve Hancock, Duane Hiler, Randy Bishop, just to name a few that are great influences but no longer coach in the tri-lakes.
What is it that makes a great coach? Winning? Well, that certainly helps. There is a saying that “winning cures all”. Well, winning does a lot. It is the easiest sign of accomplishment for those not close to the program to gauge. But, not every school is going to be in a position to win every season. If you are at a public school (that plays by the rules) you don’t get to pick your players. Its not like you can look at your team, say I need a quarterback or a point guard, and go out and get one from the next town over.
Don’t get me wrong, I love to win. I am as competitive guy as you will find. But, years ago, I came to realize that there is a whole lot more important things than winning. I am a staunch believer that it should be an extremely rare instance that a HS coach loses his job strictly because of wins and loses.
Of course a coach needs to know the game. A great coach cares more about helping your kid become a better human than he/she does about them making All-Conference. At the end of the day, if being part of a program eventually makes players better future spouses and parents I would say that is pretty awesome. After all there is not much more important than that.
I have learned that you cant judge from limited exposure: For instance, a coach yelling at a player during a game. I can tell you, from experience, that the vast majority of the time it is not being done to embarrass or berate the athlete. Yes, there are exceptions, but I really think, those are exceptions. Usually it is being done to drive home a point that has been discussed, a few, if not many times before. Sometimes, its all about challenging the athlete and getting the very best out of them. And many times its as much of a life lesson as it is a game lesson.
Sometimes it is the ones that are the most vocal that actually care the most. I cant tell you the number of times that I have seen kids that were on the other end of some of those discussions talk about how much they love that same coach that laid into them. They talk about how much of an influence that coach was on them.
We are blessed, in this area, to have such a great group of men and women to lead our young folks. Not everyone is as lucky. I am grateful, not only for their help, but for the wonderful leaders they are. THANKS COACH(es)
Its always a special day when a local athlete signs a letter of intent to continue their athletic career at the next level. It happened again today at Hollister.
Craigon Bradley made her decision offical, she will take her running talents to Baldwin City, Kansas and compete for Baker University. She signed her award letter today, at the Hollister High School Library, in front of family and friends.
Coach Scott Wenger told the crowd about her hard work and how happy he was to have had the chance to work with her. She represented the Lady Tigers at the State Meet his past fall.
Baker University is part of the Heart of America Conference and competes in the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA).
BradleySigning (click on link to hear interview with Bradley)
Bradley thinking those who helped herIts officialCoach Wenger addressing the crowdBradley with mom, dad, and coaches
When preparing a scouting report to play the Reeds Spring girls basketball team, number one on the list is FIND # 13. Its not hard, she will, most likely, be the one with the ball, pushing the offense.
That number 13 is Kalena Asbill. She is the little 5 foot 3 inch dynamo that makes the Lady Wolves go. Earlier this season she reached rare air, for Reeds Spring Lady Wolves basketball by entering the 1,000 point club. Yesterday, she joined another club. She signed a National Letter of Intent to continue her basketball and academic career at Briar Cliff University in Sioux City, Iowa.
Coach Mike Power is happy to land Asbill. He thinks that her ball handling ability and ability to score can help them right away. He made the trip down from Sioux City to be present at the signing.
Asbill has the season and career steals records for Reeds Spring and continues her climb up the career scoring chart.
Briar Cliff is part of the Great Plains Athletic Conference (G-PAC)
AsbillSigning (Click on link to hear interview with Kalena)
Kalena with her family and coachesSigning the LOIAsbill and the Lady WolvesCoach Eakins talking about Kalena
Its time for what I deem as the number one local sports story of 2018.
After looking at it time and time again, I kept coming up with the same answer…… BRIAN MOLER.
You may ask how an assistant coach stepping down could be the number one story of the year. Well, Brian Moler is not just any assistant coach.
The man who is responsible for making Reeds Spring football relevant has decided to leave the sidelines and devote his full attention to his administrative duties.
When Moler came to Reeds Spring the football program was a mess. Jeremy Hays had finished two tough years. The Wolves were 2-18 under his leadership and lacked direction.
Moler took over the head coaching duties, and while winning did not happen immediately, you could start to see a change. Focus and Direction improved. Off-Season became more of a priority. By 2012, the turnaround was revealed on the field; seven wins for the first time in 15 years. And it just took off from there.
But, to me its not just about the wins. Its how he did it. He surrounded himself with a great staff. He did a great job of mentoring some young coaches and brought in some great experience to mix in with it. You add the hiring of Lance Gosch to it and the the program was ready to reach heights it had never seen. And, it has improved even more with more additions.
When he moved into the assistant principal role, he gave up head coaching duties and became part of Coach Gosch’s staff. For many that could be tough, but the two of them were great with the transition and the program has continued to thrive.
But most important of all, is the influence on the lives of countless young men and women he has had as a coach and school leader.
Just like everyone I love to win. But, for me, the best job a coach can do is to help students become better future spouses and parents. In my opinion, there is no doubt that Brian Moler has done that, from the start. Whether it was Reeds Spring, Aurora, Strafford, or Hillcrest, Moler has left a big impact everywhere he has been.
Finally, I would me remiss to not mention his biggest supporter, his wife Amy. She has been by his side every step of the way. Her love and support have been a huge reason that Brian has been able to do the job he has done. Together, they have build a family that is a shining example for everyone.
