Kennett, Dexter prepare for closely-matched contest

KENNETT – Friday's battle under the boards between home team Kennett High School head coach Fred Garmon's Indians (5-15) and visiting Dexter High School head coach Chad Allen's Bearcats (6-15) might prove interesting.

Consider these illuminating stats that predict a very close Indians-Bearcats matchup:

The Missouri State High School Activities Association (MSHSAA) reports the Indians average scoring 49.3 points per game; the Bearcats 49.6.

Kennett surrenders 62.6 points on average while Dexter gives up 57.9 per outing.

The Bearcats' season record is 1-5 at home, 2-5 away and 3-5 neutral. The Indians are 0-3 at home, 1-6 away and 4-5 neutral.

Garmon, in his debut season as head coach, is stoic, stands by his coaching decisions soundly regarding starters, and stands up for his players when necessary.

“We've had some highs,” Garmon said Tuesday, “and, we've had plenty of lows. I can appreciate the guys who continue to show up every day and give me everything they have.”

Dexter's success was evident last year when the team took home a district championship.

This season the Bearcats struggle to bring home the bacon.

And the Bearcats bowed to Kennett 56-41 last December.

“We're just really young overall, compared to what we have been during the last several years,” Allen said Thursday. “We only have three upperclassmen.

“Starting out the year was a little more challenging,” he continued. “But the guys have progressed throughout the year. We've definitely gotten better and we hope we can give Kennett a better game this time around, compared to the beginning of the year.”

Kennett's last winning season before 2020's 20-8 success story was in 2014, going 15-11, and a decade prior when the Indians went 22-8 and brought home a trophy.

The Bearcats posted a 21-7 season in 2021; 16-12 in 2022; 20-9 in 2023; and are 7-15 in 2024.

The Indians went 11-13 in 2021; 5-20 in 2022; 8-18 in 2023; and so far are 5-15 about midway through the 2024 season.

“The record speaks for itself,” Garmon said Tuesday. “Those were the finals of those contests.”

Both programs experienced their fair shares of obvious challenges and closely-guarded personnel difficulties unique to their programs.

These are issues both coaches address daily.

And it shows.

Dexter's shooting ace, junior Tucker Temples, was out of rotation for a few weeks recuperating from a concussion while Kennett's starting lineup continues to change and fluctuates from game to game.

“We definitely had some injuries over the course of the year,” Allen said. “But we got everybody back now and everybody's healthy.”

Two organizations fielding teams playing whole and injury-free is a blessing for both coaches, both schools, and all the fans who share in the excitement of high school basketball.

That might offer a bit more spice and competition Friday.

“We hope to come in and just do what we do,” Allen said. “We love our one-two-two defense and offensively, the main thing is just trying to execute better.

“We didn't do too good of a job at that the beginning of the year,” he added, nodding to this season's loss to the Indians. “But it's understandable when you got a new crop of kids coming in that are pretty young and are gaining experience. Coach Garmon does a really good job with his players.

They're really good guarding you and they play really good man defense. That's why I'm saying we definitely got to try to execute offensively because Coach Garmon does such a great job with his team.”

Garmon knows his team has its work cut out for it against Dexter, and like Allen, he's cognizant of both squads' strengths, and both team's past limitations.

“We just plan to compete to the best of our ability, from who we have out there on the floor,” Garmon said. “I know Dexter will be physical.

“They're super well-coached and they're gonna run their stuff,” he added. “So, we're just gonna try to give them as much resistance as we can.”

The Indians welcome the Bearcats to their stomping grounds, JV tip-off at 6 p.m., varsity tip at 7:30 p.m., Friday at Kennett.