Sports

According to Google Maps, it is 179 miles from Monett High School to California High School. The team plans to leave around noon and return home in the wee hours of the morning Saturday. During the course of this road trip, Monett will be seeking several answers as it begins a schedule that features a six-time defending state champion in a conference that has won at least one state title in eight of the last nine seasons...

Yes, all the games on the schedule are important, and no, there is no game as important as the one you are getting ready to play. With all hyperbole aside, the Pierce City football team has a huge game awaiting them at home on Friday as the Eagles open the 2017 season with Diamond...

1: The ranking the Cubs ended the season with last year. 15: The number of starters Monett lost off last year's team. 7: The number of returning starters for Monett this season. 565: The number of points the Cubs scored last year in 14 games (37.6 points per game average)...

Normally, on a construction site, the punch list represents the fine tuning details a contractor must complete before he can mark the job officially finished. All summer long, the Monett coaches have been working to get their gridiron project ready for the grand opening on Friday at California...

What a difference a year makes when it comes to growth and experience on the gridiron. Last year, the Pierce City football team entered its annual jamboree with question marks at several positions. Coach Brad Hocker said his main goal was just to go and compete and then assess situation...

Often overshadowed by other fall sports, the Monett cross-country team has quietly set out on a path that has allowed it, as a team, to improve over each of the last three seasons. Kelly George, Monett coach, deserves credit on two key fronts for the program’s growth and increasing success. First, George pushed for the creation of a middle school cross-country program...

Monett will soon be thrashing in area pools and looking to make even more history this season. Last year, the Cubs sent their first qualifiers to the state meet. This year, they are poised to make a run at a medal. “I think that this can be a very good year for us,” said Dan Janssen, Monett coach. “We lost a bit of depth from last year. We did not lose a dual meet last year and it will be tough to keep that trend going. I look for us to be a top six school at the SWMO Regional again...

The Monett cheerleaders just returned from a Universal Cheerleaders Association Cheer Camp in Osage Beach where they earned a number of awards.

Several Monett teams will display their talents in pre-season jamborees over the next seven days. Softball The Lady Cubs welcome Willard, Seneca and Webb City to North Park on Friday. Monett plays Willard at 4:30 p.m. and Webb City at 6 p.m. The first game will be five innings or 75 minutes, whichever comes first. The second game will last four innings or one hour, whichever comes first...

For the truly enthusiastic football fans, jamborees serve as a chance to whet the appetite. They are more of the dining equivalent of an appetizer, something to take the edge off, before the main course arrives. For the players, jamborees are a chance to finally punish an opponent in a different-colored jersey...

The dream of gridiron glory takes root early in many Mighty Mite players.

Monett resident Matt Ticknor took time to make his pledge to the Monett Booster Club Saturday at the annual Fall Sport Pride Night at Burl Fowler Stadium, as board member Rebecca Merriman looks on.

For the first time in Missouri soccer history, the name Monett, or at least two mispronunciations (Monet and Mon-et) were heard at the state soccer Final Four last season. The Cubs settled for a second-place finish with a 3-0 setback to John Burroughs in the state championship game, but that did not change the fact that the pint-sized school from southwest Missouri had made a giant splash on the state stage...

The sights are set just a bit higher for the Monett softball team this season. Last year, the Lady Cubs finished a 19-9 campaign that witnessed them win another undefeated Big 8 Conference title and secure their prominent place in the district with their fifth title in the last six seasons...

Every season, the National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS) releases its new rules and clarifications for the high school football season. Since the Missouri State High School Activities Association (MSHSAA) uses these rules as a guideline for its member football schools, they have become Missouri’s new rules as well...

Ask anyone who knows Monett volleyball coach Courtney Popanz, and they will all use the same word to describe her — intense. A 2006 alumna of Monett High School, Popanz is not just invested in her players, but invested in resurrecting a program that she herself once played, bled and fought for...

Monett High School will hold its annual Fall Sports Pride Night at the Burl Fowler Stadium on Saturday. Pride Night provides an opportunity for the community to enjoy a football scrimmage and meet the athletes, cheerleaders and marching band representing Monett High School during the 2017-2018 fall sports season...

The Monett Cubs Athletic Booster Club has begun its annual "Catch the Spirit" membership drive. The Booster has eight different levels of support this season ranging from $20 to $1,500. The Booster Club will accept memberships all season long. Individuals may mail checks, payable to the Monett Athletic Booster Club, to P.O. Box 201, Monett, MO 65708...

Expert athletic training advice is available more than ever before to area athletes thanks to a new program created by Cox Health Systems in conjunction with its athletic training division. “I like to call it a virtual athletic trainer,” said Greg Gilmore, Cox Monett Hospital’s athletic training coordinator. “Think of it along the same the lines of direct connect with hospitals, only instead of conferencing with a physician, athletes would conference with an athletic trainer.”...

Monday marked the first official day of fall practice for Monett athletes.

The Monett Cubs Athletic Booster Club has begun its annual “Catch the Spirit“ membership drive. The membership drive kicks off in earnest on Saturday, Aug. 5 at the annual Monett Fall Sports Pride Night with the booster club tailgate party at 5:30 p.m. at Burl Fowler Stadium...

With temperatures climbing into the mid-90s and the heat index to making them feel like 100, area athletes need to prepare themselves now for the fall practice season that begins on Monday. For some individuals, working outside or participating in summer sports camps is unavoidable. In these cases, extreme caution and care should be taken to ensure that an individual doesn’t succumb to the extreme elements...

Monett fans will have a close connection on Sept. 2 as the Bears of Missouri State (MSU) travel to Columbia to face Mizzou. Cub alumnus Kurran Blamey will start for the Bears in the 11 a.m. game Missouri State fans can purchase single-game tickets for the opener at Missouri on Aug. 1 at the MSU Athletics box office. A limited number of tickets in the Missouri State fan section for the game at Memorial Stadium in Columbia will be available for purchase, starting 10 a.m...

Windmill Ridge Golf Course will host a Junior Golf League through Aug. 3. The league is open to golfers age 8-15, with league play every Thursday morning. Players will need their own bags and clubs, should have a basic knowledge of golf and should have the ability to put the ball in play...

The Monett Booster Club is selling raffle tickets to the Aug. 31 Kansas City Chiefs pre-season game with Tennessee. The winner will receive 14 tickets to the game, an Arrowhead Suite and 4 pre-game passes to go on the field. Tickets are $25 and will be limited to 500 total sold. They can be purchased at Monett High School, Community National Bank and First State Bank. The winner will be drawn on Aug. 5 at the Monett fall Sports Pride Night...

The Mighty Mite Cheer Camp is slated for Aug. 1-3 from 6-8 p.m. at the Monett Athletic Complex (MAC), located at 2150 Park St., behind Price Cutter. There is no charge to attend this year's event, which is open to cheerleaders in third through sixth grades...

A new shooter seminar is set for the Andy Dalton Shooting Range and Outdoor Educational Center on Aug. 10. This seminar is designed for individuals thinking about purchasing their first gun and want to learn more before they take that step. Discussion will include gun safety, safe storage, understanding types of guns and their parts, ammunition selection, what to expect on the gun range, things you need, and cleaning your gun...

The Monett football team will host its second annual Monett Football Golf Tournament on July 28 at Windmill Ridge. The cost for the four-person scramble is $200. The shotgun start is slated for 1 p.m. For more information, people may contact Derrek Uhl at duhl@g-apps.monett.k12.mo.us...

The Missouri Department of Conservation agency is offering an online hunter education course. The all-online course for is for residents 16 and older. The class includes videos and animation on a number of firearms hunting related areas including hunter safety, firearms safety, regulations and ethics. Hunters 15 and younger are still required to complete the blended hunter education course, which includes an in person hunter education skills session...

The Monett Soccer Club, a local competitive team will start practice on Aug. 7 from 6-8 p.m. at the South Park fields. Children born from 2003 to 2009 are encouraged to come out and be evaluated for a team. For more information, people may contact Jeff Meredith at 417-489-7919...

The Aurora Lions Club will host its second annual four-person golf scramble on Aug. 5 at Honey Creek Golf Course. The cost is $200 per team. For more information call Frank Peterson at 417-520-6006 or Gene Godwin at 417-880-2201.

The Missouri Department of Conservation and the Department of Natural Resources will host a Kids Fishing Day on Aug. 19, at Roaring River State Park. Young anglers will have opportunities to catch fish and learn about fishing at Roaring River State Parks Kids Fishing Day...

In September of 2016, the Windmill Ridge municipal golf course in Monett made the tough call to close half of it course (holes No. 1 through No. 9) to perform what Justin Beck termed as a minor renovation. According to Beck, an unusually hot and dry summer in 2010, in conjunction with no break in play, caused patches of the course’s green to die out. Instead of bentgrass growing back, Bohemia germinated to fill the void and caused issues with turf maintenance...

Windmill Ridge Golf Course will host a Junior Golf League through Aug. 3. The league is open to golfers age 8-15, with league play every Thursday morning. Players will need their own bags and clubs, should have a basic knowledge of golf and should have the ability to put the ball in play...

The Monett Booster Club is selling raffle tickets to the Aug. 31 Kansas City Chiefs pre-season game with Tennessee. The winner receives 14 tickets to the game, an Arrowhead Suite and 4 pre-game passes to go on the field. Tickets are $25 and will be limited to 500 total sold. They can be purchased at Monett High School, Community National Bank and First State Bank...

The Mighty Mite Cheer Camp is slated for Aug. 1-3 from 6-8 p.m. at the Monett Athletic Complex (MAC), located at 2150 Park St., behind Price Cutter. There is no charge to attend this year’s event, which is open to cheerleaders in third through sixth grades...

A new shooter seminar is set for the Andy Dalton Shooting Range and Outdoor Educational Center on Aug. 10. This seminar is designed for individuals thinking about purchasing their first gun and want to learn more before they take that step. Discussion will include gun safety, safe storage, understanding types of guns and their parts, ammunition selection, what to expect on the gun range, things you need, and cleaning your gun...

The Monett football team will host its second annual Monett Football Golf Tournament on July 28 at Windmill Ridge. The cost for the four-person scramble is $200. The shotgun start is slated for 1 p.m. For more information, people may contact Derrek Uhl at duhl@g-apps.monett.k12.mo.us...

The Missouri Department of Conservation agency is offering an online hunter education course. The all-online course for is for residents 16 and older. The class includes videos and animation on a number of firearms hunting related areas including hunter safety, firearms safety, regulations and ethics. Hunters 15 and younger are still required to complete the blended hunter education course, which includes an in person hunter education skills session...

The Monett Soccer Club, a local competitive team will start practice on Aug. 7 from 6-8 p.m. at the South Park fields. Children born from 2003 to 2009 are encouraged to come out and be evaluated for a team. For more information, people may contact Jeff Meredith at 417-489-7919...

The Aurora Lions Club will host its second annual four-person golf scramble on Aug. 5 at Honey Creek Golf Course. The cost is $200 per team. For more information call Frank Peterson at 417-520-6006 or Gene Godwin at 417-880-2201.

It has been said that the only thing that is consistent is that nothing is consistent. Nowhere is this fact any more true than in the coaching ranks in high school sports. This year, the Monett district moved or hired additional coaching staff to fill 14 vacancies...

The 2017 Monett Youth Baseball and Softball League Babe Ruth age 16-18 baseball team sponsored by Arvest.

The 2017 Monett Youth Baseball and Softball League Babe Ruth age 13-15 baseball team sponsored by Arvest.

A new rule is literally changing the face of softball in Missouri this season. Beginning this fall, all pitchers must wear protective masks while in the pitcher’s circle. Last season the Missouri State High School Activities Association (MSHSAA) tucked a one sentence statement into the rulebook announcing the change for this season...

The Monett Soccer Club, a local competitive team will start practice on Aug. 7 from 6-8 p.m. at the South Park fields. Children born from 2003 to 2009 are encouraged to come out and be evaluated for a team. For more information, people may contact Jeff Meredith at 417-489-7919...

The 2017 Monett Youth Baseball and Softball League 12-and-under softball team sponsored by the Bayou Restaurant.

Vision, enthusiasm and a workable plan led the Purdy school district to name Jeremy Dresslaer the new boys basketball coach at Purdy High School. “We felt confidence in the plan that Jeremy laid out in his interview,” said Alan Spencer, Purdy athletic director. “He has enthusiasm and a strong belief in teaching fundamentals. That lined up with what we were looking for in our next coach.”...

Crews at Burl Fowler Stadium have been working feverishly to complete a projected $700,000 of renovations to the field house building.

The 2017 Monett Youth Baseball and Softball League T-ball team sponsored by MEA Financial.