Now the Tigers need to do the same thing on the hardwood this winter if they’re to challenge the Hawks’ superiority in the Jefferson County Activities Association large-schools standings.
Festus snapped a seven-game losing streak to Hillsboro in football, but the losing streak to the Hawks in basketball stands at nine games and dates back to 2015.
Last year Festus finished 12-14 overall and won three of its four league contests; the sole blemish was against the Hawks.
Ironically, before this year’s Tigers can start to show how much potential they have, and it’s a lot, on the court, they’ll have to get the football players ready to go after they fell to Union on Nov. 20 in the Class 4 state quarterfinals.
While they played football, none of the players practiced with head coach Jason Therrell and the rest of the cagers.
Therrell said he’s as excited about the football team’s success as he is anticipating a lineup that includes last year’s JCAA first teamer Cole Rickermann and second teamer DaMarion Anderson.
“Splitting them between the two sports was too much and they need to focus and help the football team,” Therrell said.
Rickermann has turned into one of the county’s most accomplished, versatile athletes. Last season, he led the basketball team in scoring with 13.5 points per game, 42 3-point baskets and 82 free throws. A junior, Rickermann already has two full varsity basketball seasons under his belt.
Part of the reason Rickermann has made such a leap on the football field this year – he was voted onto the Mississippi Area Football Conference Red Division second team – is he’s much stronger than he was as a skinny freshman.
His older sister, Abby Rickermann, was a highly competitive and talented basketball and softball player at Festus. She’s currently playing softball for Southeast Missouri State University in Cape Girardeau.
“Abby was just a tremendous athlete for our school. Cole’s the same way,” Therrell said. “They’re both highly competitive. They want to be the best and they want to help their team win.
“Now he’s coming into his own physically. He’s more athletic than people realize.”
Anderson averaged 12.6 points and seven rebounds per game last season, but he broke an arm against North County in football this season and won’t be ready at the start of basketball season. Anderson is a perfect match for what Rickermann and sophomore guard Arhmad Branch can do passing the basketball.
“That’s a setback for us but he won’t be out for the whole season,” Therrell said.
Like Rickermann his first two years, Branch has a lithe build but Therrell said he grew three inches in the offseason. Once Branch worked his way into the starting lineup after about 10 games last season, he made the case to stay by averaging eight points per game and recording 67 assists in 16 games.
“He’s seeing everybody when he has the ball,” Therrell said. “He’s hitting people with passes. In terms of court vision, he’s special in that way.”
Senior wing Collin Reando ceased to be unheralded when the league’s coaches thought enough about his play last year to vote him onto the second team. Reando is smooth in transition and was second to Rickermann in scoring with 12.8 points per game. He excels in all phases of the game.
“(Reando) will be a real key to our success,” Therrell said. “He’s one of our key returners and there’s a lot of young guys in practice who look up to him. We play four guards a lot and he can make some things happen inside.”
Every team with players of star quality need plenty of support and Festus has those in juniors Collin Weinhaus and Connor Westhoff, two guards who played on the varsity last year. They combined to make 22 3-point baskets.
Ethan Carroll, Tyler Meyers, Garrett Tidwell and Evan House are all being elevated from the JV to add depth to the bench.
With football season over, Festus has the services of Desmond Davis, who transferred from Caruthersville and wrecked offenses from the defensive line. Davis, Anderson and Branch are all cousins.
“Davis plays with a similar mentality on the basketball court like he does on the football field,” Therrell said. “He’s surprisingly agile. I think he will make an immediate impact on what we do.”
Another football player joining the cager Tigers for the first time is Kaian Roberts-Day, who used to live in Festus before transferring back from Joplin this year. Roberts-Day was one of the football team’s top running backs.
The Tigers opened their season at home against Northwest on Tuesday. As far as knocking the Hawks off their perch and breaking the losing streak, Therrell said the talent is there.
“I liked the group of kids we had last year,” he said. “They showed flashes of being a good team. There were times we weren’t quite ready. But the kids did what they needed to do in the offseason. Overall, we’re a year older and that extra skill level will show right away.
“We should be highly competitive in those situations for conference and district games. I feel Hillsboro will have a good team and De Soto is bringing back an elite player in (Jordan) Mertens.”
Mertens looks to take charge
With cases of COVID-19 running rampant throughout the county, the
De Soto boys basketball team hasn’t been spared.
The Dragons began practicing on Nov. 2, and in that time, head coach Zeb Hammond said because of quarantining and contact tracing, he hasn’t had more than three starters practice together at any one time yet.
“We’re battling the quarantine bug,” Hammond said. “What I do see is a lot of players put in work in the offseason when they were allowed to.”
Once Hammond gets his entire squad together, De Soto has a chance to be a top team in the JCAA large-schools division because it lost just one player (Cory Gibbs) to graduation from last year’s roster.
With the return of three all-league players – seniors Jordan Mertens, Nick Krodinger and Levi Fischer – the Dragons have as much talent as any other team in the division.
“In the past, Hillsboro has been on top of the mountain and we’re trying to get up there with them,” Hammond said. “Most of our kids have been here for three years and we want to compete every single night.”
Last season, De Soto finished with a record of 8-18 after being dumped by Farmington for the second straight season in the Class 4 District 2 tournament. The Dragons were 1-3 in the JCAA, their only win against Perryville (0-4).
The good news for De Soto fans is Mertens (6-8) has grown another inch and has more confidence this year. Mertens was selected to the conference’s first team after he led the Dragons with 13.4 points per game and 45 blocked shots. Mertens didn’t attempt a 3-point shot and made just 64 of 118 (54.2 percent) of his free throws.
He hasn’t committed to a college, but Hammond said his center has drawn plenty of interest from area junior colleges and NAIA and Division III schools.
“We’re trying to stretch him out a bit and make him a threat anywhere on the court,” Hammond said. “I’d like to see him continue expanding his game. I’ve talked to some (college) coaches and they’re not looking at playing a whole lot of games, nor might we play a whole lot of games.”
Fischer (who made the second team) plays forward and takes a lot of the rebounding load off of Mertens. Fischer averaged 8.7 points and 4.8 rebounds and had 25 steals last season. He was just named to the MAFC Red Division second team at wide receiver.
“Levi crashes the boards extremely hard,” Hammond said. “He’s grown exponentially. His athleticism and knowledge of the game are great. He was more of a role player last year but once he got comfortable with his team, he was a force to handle.”
Krodinger has put on muscle mass in the offseason and will be tougher to knock off the ball. He was second on the team in scoring last year with 11.9 points and led the Dragons with 36 3-point baskets.
“He’s a good spot-up shooter, team leader and someone you can trust late in the game,” Hammond said.
Senior guard Aidan Blair has been learning to shoot farther from the basket after he scored 8.4 points per game and led the team with three assists per contest. Hammond said all Blair needed to work on was his confidence when he shoots.
“If he hits his first shot, he keeps shooting, but if he misses it, he just wants to drive to the basket,” Hammond said. “He’s been a tremendous player who does a lot of good things.”
Junior Cody Petty is the starting point guard for the second straight year. He averaged 4.7 points and 2.6 assists per game in 2019-2020.
“He did a great job last year and was a pass-first point guard every coach loves,” Hammond said. “I want him to be more confident in his shot because he’s a great scorer.”
Junior Jack Hooper can play guard or forward and comes off the bench as one of De Soto’s best shooters.
“He gets the sixth-man role really well,” Hammond said.
Senior Adam Copeland can play as many as four positions. Junior Michael Schmitt (6-6) is a backup forward whom Hammond said is one of the more athletic players on the team. Junior Drake Turnbo plays forward and is also a top shooter.
Hammond said he wouldn’t be surprised if Turnbo, who only played two quarters of varsity last year, was starting by the end of the season. Senior guard Hunter Dill and junior guard Gavin Dunn are newcomers to the varsity. Dill is the Dragons’ quickest player and will be strong defensively, while Dunn works hard for the open shot, the coach said.
Rebuilding Hawks ready to defend their turf
A lot will look different this season for the Hillsboro boys basketball team.
Because of COVID-19 restrictions, fewer fans will be allowed to attend home games. Traditionally, the Hawks pack the house and have a strong home-court advantage, especially on Friday nights when a conference opponent is in town.
Last year, Hillsboro rolled to a 22-6 record and swept its four league games.
The roster has turned over completely from the heady days of the Pinkleys, Worleys, Mark Moore, Michael Brewer and a supporting cast that produced a record of 115-27 (.810) and won three straight Class 4 district championships since the end of the 2015-2016 season under head coach Dan Johnson.
Another change for the Hawks could be the class they compete in. The Missouri State High School Activities Association announced it was modifying its classification and district assignments for boys and girls basketball from Nov. 13 to Dec. 11.
MSHSAA also added a sixth class for basketball, and that means that Hillsboro could move to Class 5 from Class 4.
“It’s a coaches cliche, but we’re focusing on what we can control – wear a mask, wash your hands and stay out of large groups,” Johnson said. “You never know what’s going to happen from day to day but you’ve got to keep trying. The thing I worry about is if a team you play gets a positive test and puts you out for 14 days, you quarantine and then get back at it. The alternative is to quit and nobody wants that. Everybody owes it to the seniors to give it their best effort.”
Every team loses its best players to graduation, but what the Hawks lost in 2020 was substantial. Virtually all of their offense departed with diplomas as Moore, Evan and Ethan Worley and Garrett Pinkley were all first- or second-team all-JCAA performers last season. Logan Smith, who’s a senior this year, would have been Hillsboro’s top returning scorer (9.4 points per game) but he moved out of the district.
“Last year we had a balanced attack,” Johnson said. “Everybody has a new role. We’ll rely on three guards for most of our scoring.”
Seniors Eric Schneider and Zach Whaley and sophomore Noah Holland will form the backcourt.
Whaley is 6-3, long and lanky and Johnson said he’s improved his ball handling drastically and his shooting is top-notch. Whaley was second to Moore in assists (3.42) and part of a deadly 3-point brigade with 23 field goals from downtown.
“He’s a good leader, too,” Johnson said. “His first two years he was mostly a defender first. He rebounds well from the guard position. He’s a next-level player.”
Schneider (6-2) played in 21 games last year and averaged 2.6 points. Johnson called him a weapon off the bench last season and he’s used the weight room to become one of the strongest players on the team.
“He can now put it on the floor and drive it and post up on smaller guards,” Johnson said.
Holland (6-1) gives the Hawks a trio of starting guards taller than 6-0. Ethan Worley was ahead of Holland last season as a starter, but Johnson said that’s the only reason Holland didn’t play more. Holland is the starting point guard this season.
Senior guard Werner Finder returns to the varsity and provides depth. Finder had a goal and an assist for the Hawks in the Class 3 District 2 soccer playoffs last month. Johnson said Finders’ court time will increase this year. Junior guard Kyle Phipps returns in a more expanded role as well.
Seniors Kyle Besand (6-3) and Ryan Cox (6-4) both return at forward. Besand had 13 rebounds and three blocks in 15 games last year. They’re joined up front by junior Jasiah Tullock and sophomore Kieren Jones (6-5), both up from the JV.
“(Jones) has pretty impressive size and athleticism,” Johnson said. “Gaven (Pinkley), Michael Brewer and Evan Worley, those were all scorers, guys we had to get touches for. We’re going to play pretty fast and we won’t be scoring from the inside as much.
“We don’t have a consistent threat at the rim right now.”
Since 2015-2016, the Hawks are 21-0 against the other large-school teams in the JCAA, winning every conference title in that time. But Festus returns all three of its first- and second-team JCAA players and De Soto has perhaps the best big man in senior Jordan Mertens, a first-teamer.
“We don’t bring back as much as anybody else in the conference,” Johnson said. “Everyone else is bringing back a ton of experience. We have the experience of tradition and we’ve got guys who know what Hillsboro basketball is all about. It’s going to be tough to win the conference.”
Owls need Amabile’s A game
Windsor’s boys basketball team has its third head coach in as many years, but this season the Owls can look on the Sonny side of life.
Ryan McArthy replaced Jason Gillman as Windsor’s head coach this season after Gillman coached the Owls for one year. Gillman, who replaced Todd Dutton in 2019, is now the activities director at Herculaneum.
Senior guard Sonny Amabile is the player McArthy needs to assume the leadership role after Amabile earned honorable mention honors on the all-Jefferson County Activities Association team in 2020. Amabile was one of three Owls to average double-figure scoring (10.8 points per game) and is the only one who didn’t graduate in the spring.
“What I really want him to focus on this year is leadership,” McArthy said. “I’ve told him I’m going to coach him harder than anyone else and how he responds to that is how the team will play.
“He’s improved on things to get to the basket and he has the freedom to make plays and be aggressive. That’s what I want. In those terms, it’s on him to make the right decisions. I’m going to be challenging him defensively.”
What Windsor needs is Amabile to play like he did in a 72-71 win against Park Hills Central in the third-place game of the Gene Steighorst Tournament last year when he poured in a season-high 27 points. It was the biggest win of the year for the Owls, who finished 13-13 (and 2-2 in league play), falling to Gateway in the Class 4 District 3 semifinals.
Windsor would have been bolstered offensively and defensively with the return of senior Derek Williams, who played half of last season after he returned from an injury suffered playing quarterback for the Owls in 2019. Williams was named the all-Mississippi Area Football Conference Red Division’s first team QB this fall, but chose not to play on the hardwood.
Despite the loss of Williams, Windsor does have a newcomer with starting potential in freshman guard Brenton Shirk (6-0).
“What makes him so valuable is the maturity he has,” McArthy said. “Since we got started in the summer, he came in with complete dedication to get better and ultimately compete for a varsity spot. He’s going to make our team better.”
Another first-year varsity player is 6-1 wing A.J. Patrick, whom McArthy said might be the team’s most athletic player.
“He’s very raw and learning, but his upside is really big. He’s improving a ton each day,” McArthy said.
Junior Logan Chaney (6-4) plays forward and is the closest thing Windsor has to a true center. McArthy will be expecting a lot from him this season.
Sophomore forward Logan Thomas, junior guard Nathan Beerman, sophomore guard Nolan Hirth, senior swing player Gavin Kinworthy and sophomore guard-wing Max Hartmann all are competing for starting roles.
“One through 14 are really competing and have something to prove,” McArthy said of his varsity squad. “There’s a couple different ways to look at it, seeing what we have and what we have to work with. When JV games start, we’ll see which ones will be there or on the varsity.”
When Hartmann becomes an upperclassman, McArthy said his expectations for him will be high.
“I’m challenging him in practice because he has a lot of potential,” McArthy said.
The Owls begin their season on Nov. 30 in the Southside Classic, where they finished fourth last year. With COVID-19 cases as high as they are right now in St. Louis County, like all other coaches, McArthy is aware all scheduling is not only subject to change, but most likely will be modified on the fly.
“I told our guys when we make it a week, it’s a good thing,” he said. “The possibility of playing other teams that have it is going to be there. You learn as you go on and do your best to have separation. At the end of the day, my team is a close-knit group and they do hang out with each other on the weekends, but it will come down to what they do in their off time.”