Bearcats get defensive in strong jamboree performance

DEXTER – Second-year Dexter High School football coach Chad Jamerson recently spoke regarding the off-season that his Bearcat athletes had put in and he could hardly contain his excitement.

“Oh man,” Jamerson said, “we’ve grown all over the place.”

That improvement was put on full display from the opening snap of the Bearcats’ jamboree on Friday at Charles Bland Stadium.

Dexter opened the event against Fredericktown and dominated the Blackcats offensively, but initially, it was with physicality on defense.

“I thought that we had (about) 14 guys because we brought some subs in,” Jamerson said of the impressive start, “play as a unit and play as a defensive team.”

Fredericktown struggled to move the ball, as each offense began at the opponents’ 40-yard line.

The Blackcats couldn’t run on the Bearcat defensive line, so the Fredericktown coaches tried to go deep on Dexter, which didn’t work either.

On a long throw into the end zone, Bearcat sophomore defensive back Devin Turnbo leaped into the air and brought down a drive-ending (in a real game) interception.

“There was a lot of good communication,” Jamerson said. “There was a lot of hustling and flying to the football.

“Our guys were executing their assignments.”

The Bearcats later battled with Poplar Bluff, before closing the jamboree with a series of plays against Caruthersville, which will visit Dexter again on Sept. 29.

“There were not a lot of hiccups for us defensively,” Jamerson said, “especially against Fredericktown. We maybe had a hiccup or two versus Bluff, but I still thought that they did a good job of standing strong in that one, as well.

“I’m really happy with that unit. They played 11 strong on defense.”

Dexter has 53 players out for the 2023 season, including 24 athletes who are juniors or seniors.

A year ago, an inexperienced and injury-riddled defense allowed over 31 points per game, which was the most in three seasons.

Jamerson expects improvement this fall, particularly because his defensive line is physically stronger and more athletic than a year ago.

“You just can’t say enough about (seniors) Landon Weathers, Garrett Coons, and (junior) Caleb Gott,” Jamerson said of his front three. “Those three, right now, are the guys starting on the defensive line. “They had a great off-season and I thought they did a really good job of anchoring down the line of scrimmage and doing their job, which is what we preach.”

Dexter will open its regular season on Friday against Scott City in Dexter at 7 p.m.