Notre Dame girls, Bell City boys win first titles

It was a year to remember for a couple of area high school basketball teams.

Notre Dame's girls and Bell City's boys pulled off firsts by winning state championships.

In winning the Class 2 title, Notre Dame hoisted its first girls state championship banner of any kind in its gymnasium.

The Bulldogs, led by all-state seniors Deana McCormick and Lisa Millham, made their fourth final-four trip their most successful. After losing to Stockton in the championship game a year earlier, Notre Dame finally wrapped its arms around its first championship trophy with a 63-57 victory over Elsberry. Notre Dame was previously 0-3 in state championship games.

Bell City, making its first final-four appearance since 1981, took a less heart-stopping route to the Class 1 title.

Bell City defeated Stewartsville 65-55 in the semifinals and Santa Fe 88-68 in the final. The Cubs' unstoppable all-state trio combined for 129 of the team's 153 points in those games. Bell City finished 28-5.

Eagle Ridge Christian School's girls basketball team won its first Class 2A Missouri Christian Schools Athletic Association girls basketball state title with a win over conference rival New Salem Baptist Academy of Marble Hill, Mo.

Saxony Lutheran, which gained membership in the Missouri High School Activities Association in July, played its first official athletic event Nov. 27. Saxony, fielding a junior varsity team, defeated Notre Dame's freshmen 56-46.

Soccer

Notre Dame's first boys soccer championship came in dramatic fashion.

The Bulldogs needed four overtimes to claim the Class 2 title, edging St. Francis Borgia 1-0.

Track

Jackson senior Mario Whitney established himself among the fastest athletes in the state when he rushed for 2,782 yards and scored 43 touchdowns in the 2001 football season.

Whitney made it official in the spring of 2002 before departing for Missouri on a football scholarship. Whitney had track coaches double-checking their stop-watches all season when he blazed in the 100- and 200-meter runs. Whitney was unbeatable and proved it in the state meet, where he was crowned state champion in both events.

The Jackson flash won the state title in the 100 in 10.4 seconds and ran a state-meet record 20.9 in winning the 200.

Scott City sophomore Loren Groves made it 8-for-8 in her track career. That meant Groves, a combination of speed, agility and power, finished all-state in four events for the second straight year in Class 2. Groves finished second in the discus and 100-meter hurdles, third in the shot put and fourth in the 300 hurdles. She accounted for all 27 team points as Scott City finished seventh in the final standings.

Kelly sophomore Nathan Lewer finished second in the high jump at the Missouri Class 2 State Track & Field Championships. Lewer, who cleared 6-7 in winning district, cleared 6-2 at the state meet. Two-time defending state champion Adam Daughhetee placed fourth in the 1,600.

Adam Prasanphanich placed fourth in the Class 2 100 and fifth in the 200 to lead a list of seven all-staters for Notre Dame, which fielded a track and field team for the first time.

Chris Smith took second in the shot put to lead Central at the Class 4 state meet.

Baseball

Oran made its fifth trip to the state tournament in Class 1 but came up empty in its quest for its first state title.

Oran defeated Advance 11-1 in the quarterfinals, but lost 8-4 to Marion C. Early in the semifinals. Oran (20-5) placed third.

Notre Dame reached the Class 2 final four for the third time in four years with a 9-6 victory over West County.

The Bulldogs fell 5-2 to John Burroughs in the semifinals. Notre Dame (19-6) placed third.

Football

Central reached the Class 4 quarterfinals for the third straight year in posting its best record -- 10-2 --since 1978. It served stark contrast to a 1-9 season suffered just three years earlier in Lawrence Brookins' first year as coach.

The Tigers went 7-4 in their previous two seasons under Brookins but went to new heights in 2002. A highlight along the way was a 34-7 thumping of Cape Girardeau County rival Jackson in Week 6. The Tigers breezed past district opponents Sikeston, Perryville and Poplar Bluff by a combined 106-34 score before crushing Windsor 36-0 in the sectional round. The Tigers, a balanced offensive team, were ranked fifth in the state and played host to the power running style of third-ranked Eureka in the quarterfinals at Houck Stadium. The teams were deadlocked 21-21 when Eureka's Ashton Lake kicked the game-winning field goal with 2:48 left in the game.

While Central was enjoying one of its best seasons, Jackson endured one of its worst. Facing a beefed-up schedule a year after going 12-1 and making their first Class 5 semifinal appearance, the Indians finished 2-8.

Tennis

Jackson senior Kim Anderson made an unlikely return to the state tournament in Class 2 doubles when she teamed with Kelly Mitchell. Anderson nearly died in an car accident less than two years earlier, suffering extensive injuries to her legs that required multiple surgeries.

Wrestling

Jackson senior James Love fell one win short in his bid to claim the 152-pound state title at the Class 4 state wrestling tournament, losing to undefeated Tom Doerr of Hazelwood Central in the championship match at the Hearnes Center in Columbia, Mo.

Doerr, the state champion at 145 a year earlier, picked up his 38th victory of the season by pinning Love (29-4).

Love was among three all-state wrestlers for Jackson. Senior Ricky Feiner (39-9) placed fourth at 140 pounds while 112-pound sophomore Brock Howard (41-4) finished fifth.

jbreer@semissourian.com

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