Author: perry@perryphillipsinsurance.com

   

 

  For the second consecutive game Blue Eye came out firing on all cylinders and for the second consecutive game they, pretty well, put their opponent away in the first quarter.

  After taking care of Miller Wednesday Night, in Carthage.  The Lady Bulldogs had a lot shorter trip this afternoon.  Republic was the site and Dora was the opponent, as Blue Eye headed into their State Quarterfinal game looking to secure their third consecutive trip to the Show-Me Showdown.

  The Lady Bulldogs, again, came out with hot shooting and a stingy defense that saw them forcing turnovers and bombing away from long range.  Before the Lady Falcons had time to blink, Blue Eye jumped out to a 13-0 lead.  That margin had climbed up to 26-9 by the end of the first quarter and 39-18 by the half.

Before going to the locker room, the Lady Bulldogs had scorched the nets for 9 long range bombs. (Avery Arnold 4, Gracyn Fairchild 3, and Riley Arnold 2.)  About the only thing that Blue Eye struggled with all-afternoon was fouls.  But, not even that, would detour the Lady Bulldogs on this day.

  It was more of the same in the second half.  By time the third quarter ended Blue Eye held a 59-29 lead and we started the fourth quarter with a running clock.  

  The outside shot was the point of emphasis for Blue Eye in the first half, but the second half saw Kyla Warren come to life inside the lane.  She would score 16 of her team high 22 in the second half.

  In the end, Blue Eye had secured a spot in the Final Four for the third year in a row.  Dora was led by Cassidy Hambelton, who finished with a game high 27 points.

  In addition to Warren, Avery Arnold (15), and Gracyn Fairchild (14) finished scoring in double figures.

  Blue Eye will take on Wellington-Napolean at Noon in the State Semi-Finals.  The game will take place at JQH Arena and can be heard on perryphillipssports.com.

    Evangel is the choice for Hollister Defensive Back/Wide Receiver Tyler Goebel.  He made it official with the signing of a National letter of Intent this morning at Hollister High School.

  Goebel was part of a Hollister team that saw the Tigers achieve the first winning season in school history as well as host a district playoff game.

  The Valor as getting a player that is likely to contribute initially on the defensive side of the ball, but playing offense is not out of the question either.  The 6 foot 165 lbs senior said he chose Evangel, in part, due to its close proximity to Hollister, so his family to see him play.

  Evangel is part of the Heart of America Conference and Plays in the NAIA.

Goebel Signing  (click on link to hear interview with Tyler.

 

 

    Most have known for some time, that Ty Cooper would play Collegiate Golf.  Despite his sharp shooting on the hardwood, his prowess on the Golf Course is much more.  On Saturday he signed a National Letter of Intent to continue his academic and athletic career at Palm Beach Atlantic University, in West Palm Beach, Florida.

   You probably know that earlier this season, Cooper became only the 7th Reeds Spring basketball player to accumulate 1000 points in his career.  On the Golf  Course, though, he is among the best the state has to offer.  He qualified for state as both a freshman, and a junior.  His sophomore season was lost to MSHSAA cancelations due to Covid and he will be among the favorites for state medalist honors when he plays his senior season, this spring.

  Palm Beach Atlantic is and NCAA DII school and competes in the Sunshine State Conference.

TyCooperSigning  (click on link to hear interview with Ty )

 

  

    It was the best year in Hollister Football History, by most any way you can measure it.  A big part of that success was, in part, due to the outstanding play of Michael Schultz.  Despite an injury costing him the later part of the season, the Linebacker was a force for the Tigers.

  This morning he signed a National Letter of Intent to continue his academic and athletic career at the United States Merchant Marines Academy in Kings Point, New York.

  Schultz has done the work on the field and in the classroom.  That hard work has afforded him this great opportunity.

SchultzSigning  (click on link to hear my interview with Schultz)

  USMMA competes in NCAA  Division III

     My number one story is one that has happened before.  Riley Arnold won the State Championship in Cross-Country. 

    Now, winning the State Championship is nothing new to Arnold.  She did the same thing last year, and the year before that, and the year before that.   Riley will finish her high school career knowing that there was never a time, in which she was eligible, that she did not win the State’s Top Prize.  She is only the fourth runner in the history to Missouri Cross-Country to win four state titles.  The first to be able to accomplish the feat after her school changing classes.  (Blue Eye was bumped up a Class, in size, this year)

  This year was the closest of the four Championship events for Arnold.  She beat Julia Pattison from West Platte by just .4 seconds.  A year ago, she outdistanced Riley Bryan by ten seconds (incidentally she won the state championship in Class One, this year, with Arnold participating in the larger class).  It was Riley’s sister, Avery, who was the runner up in 2018 and 2019.

 It’s not just Cross-Country where she excels.  She has also been named All-State in volleyball, a sport that runs concurrently with the cross-country season.  Yes, you probably already know that she is All-State in basketball, and you guessed it All-State in Track as well.  

  Riley is set to continue her academic, as well as Cross-Country and Track careers at Southwest Baptist University in Bolivar

 

     2021 was a banner year for Hollister baseball.  Most everyone knew they would be pretty good, going into the year, but not sure many knew just how good of a run they could get on.

   They won eleven of their first twelve.  Then had back to back losses to Aurora and Logan-Rogersville.  But, this group never lost confidence.   They lost a couple of players in the middle of the season and had to shuffle the lineup a bit.  But, that adversity only seem to make this group stronger.  They came together and became a more complete TEAM.

   By time districts got here they were firing on all cylinders.   In the semis they run ruled Monett and then took down host, Aurora, in a classic District Championship game.

  State playoffs started with a 4-2 victory over Seneca on a raining afternoon at Tiger Field.  Then came the game with Catholic, Tigers held a slim 6-5 lead and needing one out to advance.  The Irish were threatening to steal the contest.  Here is how I described it……

     The Tigers would fall to Blair Oaks in a great Semi-Final game 3-2, and dropped the third place game to Lafayette a day later.

   It was a season to remember for the Tigers and an incredible group of young men.

 

   

     The number 3 story on my list of top stories of 2021 is the decision by the College of the Ozarks to end its affiliation with the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics.

   In March the school announced that its long standing membership within the NAIA was coming to and end and that the school would be competing in the National Christian College Athletic Association.  The school had held dual memberships with the organizations.

  As a former athlete at the school and one that competed in the NAIA, when it was at its height, before big defections to NCAA Division II, I was sad to hear the news.  Honestly, it came as no surprise.  If you were paying attention you saw it coming, maybe not as soon as it did, but it was coming.

  The loss of the tournament a few years ago was the first indication.  But, once the guys were withdrawn from last years NAIA Championships after qualifying and being placed on the bracket, it was just a matter of time.  The women were allowed to compete, but soon learned the fate of their program as well.

  There is certainly nothing wrong with the NCCAA and I am happy that athletics will continue at the school.  Its just a different ballgame, and I will miss the competition the NAIA provided me and my fellow alums.

   

  When you lose, one of, if not the best player in program history, its natural to take a small step back.  But, that was not the case at Blue Eye

  Kohnnar Patton headed to Evangel after the Lady Bulldogs Final Four appearance in 2020.  But the 2020-2021 team decided they wanted to step up and make history on their own, and that is exactly what they did.

  In a year where State Playoff games were not held at the normal neutral sites, the Lady Bulldogs were forced to not only go through tough opponents they would have to beat them on them in their own gyms.  As fate would have it, Blue Eye would not get a chance to host.  But, this team responded without a problem.

  They went to Greenfield for the sectional round and came away with a 42-38 win in a very tough environment.  Then they gassed up the vehicles and made the long trip up to Richland for the State Quarterfinals.  There, they were firing on all cylinders and downed them 71-55.  They had once again punched their ticket to the Show-Me Showdown in Springfield.

    They would fall to, eventual State Champ, Ellington in the Semis before bouncing back to beat Scotland County in the State Third Place Game.  Coach Ken Elfrink and the Lady Bulldogs cemented themselves as a perennial power in Girls Basketball in Missouri.

 

     Chris Funk giving up the reins for the Reeds Spring baseball program steps in as the #5 story in my top ten from 2021.

   After 18 years of leading Reeds Spring baseball Funk stepped away from the game.   He remains in the district as a teacher and an assistant football coach.

   My thoughts on Coach Funk were expressed in the following article from this past May.

http://www.perryphillipssports.com/?p=2019

   The 2021 football season was one of many accomplishments for the Hollister Tigers.  It is hard to make any conclusion other than the fact that it was the best team in the history of their program.

  They finished the year 6-4.  The first winning season in the programs history.  They got to host a district playoff game for the first time.  And, as big to many, they defeated Reeds Spring 26-20 on September 23rd, a rare Thursday Night contest, to claim the Backyard battle traveling trophy.  It was the first victory for the Tigers over the Wolves in 15 tries.

  The season would end at the hands of that same Reeds Spring team.  But it does not tarnish all that was accomplished.  AJ Narvaez was named All-State.  And with names like Blake Russell, and Luke Calovich returning, this could just be the start for Hollister.