RAMS GET TESTED BY IMPROVING HAWKS (PREP NOTES)

Kelly High School and Scott City have waged some epic battles in the past and Tuesday night's clash was apparently no exception.

Scott City, ranked No. 1 in Class 2A, entered the game as a heavy favorite, but Kelly gave the Rams all they could handle.

Kelly was down by as many as 14 points in the third quarter, but had a chance to cut the lead to one with 1:30 left in the game. Kelly, though, missed the front end of a one-and-one and the Hawks were forced to foul.

Scott City made its free throws down the stretch and won the game 78-68.

For Kelly, Jeremy Skelton kept the Hawks within striking distance, nailing six threes and scoring a game-high 24 points. Jamie Essner, arguably the best offensive point guard in the region, scored 22 for Kelly.

"Skelton had a big game," said Kelly coach Kent Mangels. "He hit some big ones there in the fourth quarter."

The Hawks have perhaps improved as much as any basketball team in the region this year. Kelly was handed a 30-point loss to 1A Oran in the season opener.

"The biggest thing about our team is how far they've come," Mangels said. "I was real proud of their effort (Tuesday night). Our kids are playing hard."

Though Scott City will be the clear favorite to win its district, three other teams Notre Dame, Kelly and Woodland are dangerous teams capable of pulling off an upset.

Broken leg leads to broken heart

Speaking of epic battles, there was another one on the 2A level Thursday night when Notre Dame's boys fell to Portageville 80-73 in double overtime, a game where a referee's broken leg broke Notre Dame's momentum.

Referee John Jones collapsed after signaling a foul with Notre Dame up 57-49 with 3:25 to go in regulation. The Bulldogs had the momentum, but after a delay of about 40 minutes, Portageville regrouped.

"If John doesn't go down, we probably don't win this ballgame," Portageville coach Jim Bidewell said. "We weren't playing very well for a while and we were very fortunate to win. We got a much-needed breather from that situation. I hate to see John go down like that, but it was the difference in the ballgame."

Still, the loss gives Notre Dame credibility, considering Portageville has been ranked in the state most of the year.

"It was an emotional roller coaster all night long," said Notre Dame coach Chris Neff. "Part of you early in the game says do we belong?' then part of you early in the second half says keep it up,' and part of you late in the game says just hold the lead.' We played one heck of a ballgame, but we couldn't hold on. Portageville earned this win, we didn't give it to them."

In addition to Notre Dame's and Kelly's near upsets, Woodland nearly knocked off Advance, ranked second in 1A, but Hornet standout Garrett Broshuis hit some late free throws. Woodland led that game by seven points with six minutes to go in the game.

Kelly girls plugging along

While the area's state-ranked girls teams of Poplar Bluff, Notre Dame, Cape Central and Doniphan have rolled this season, Kelly has quietly put up an impressive 19-3 record.

Though the Lady Hawks haven't played quite the schedule that the others have, their 10-point win over 3A New Madrid on Thursday night was a big win for Kelly.

Cape Central No. 9 in 4A posted a similar score on New Madrid, beating the Lady Eagles 59-45. Kelly also has posted wins over Ellington and Sikeston.

The Lady Hawks lost a game to state-ranked Doniphan, a tough Twin Rivers squad and Scott Central, the top 1A squad in the area. The loss to the Bravettes came in the championship game of the Scott-Mississippi Tournament.

"We've been playing well since our loss in the championship game of the conference tournament," said Kelly coach Curtis Finley. "We had a good week. We've been winning the games we should win."

Though the team relies heavily on Marissa Essner (all three of Kelly's losses came when she was injured), the team has gotten big-time production from several other players lately, Audrey Burford in particular. Burford scored 27 points and was a steal and an assist shy of completing a quadruple-double against Charleston. She scored 23 Thursday against New Madrid and had 19 against East Carter on Friday night.

Kelly also got 19 points from freshman Dana Essner on Thursday night.

Marissa Essner, meanwhile, became only the fourth player in Kelly High School history to score 1,000 career points this past week. She is just a junior.

Rams roll up their sleeves

Remember how skeptics criticized the St. Louis Rams' schedule this past year?

Many doubters are questioning Scott City's Rams' schedule as well this season. But the Rams, ranked first in Class 2A, will have a chance to prove themselves this week.

After playing a tough Hayti squad last night, Scott City will play Kennett and Dexter this week.

Kennett and Dexter Class 3A's top-ranked team played an overtime game Friday night with Dexter improving to 23-0 on the year.

"It's gong to be a tough week, but it's going to be good for us heading into district," said Scott City coach Derek McCord. "That's why we picked up some tough teams to get ready. (Including Hayti on Saturday) we're playing at three of the toughest places to play in the area."

Though McCord is not looking past Tuesday's game against Kennett by any means, many have been anticipating the Dexter game on Friday which will pit two No. 1 teams.

"They have so many kids who can dribble and shoot," McCord said of Dexter. "Anytime they have that many weapons, they'll be lethal. But our kids won't back down. Our thing is we just try to guard night in and night out. That's our emphasis. You can't get sloppy on them because that's when they go on their runs.

"We've been in the top 10 the last four years so it won't be that big of a deal with the No. 1 rankings. We just want to go out and play some ball."

Scott City has defeated Dexter by at least 11 points each of the last three years, including a 72-61 win last season.

Leading scorers in the Southeast Missourian coverage area

Boys

Player School Games Points Avg.

1. Jreece Johnson (5-11) G Scott Co. Central 21 573 28.8

2. Garrett Broshuis (6-2) F Advance 20 442 22.1

3. Ronald Watson (6-3), G Scott City 21 400 19.1

4. Ryan Weatherspoon (6-6) C Scott City 21 392 18.7

5. Travis Friga (6-3) F Oran 11 204 18.4

6. Jamie Essner (5-9) G Kelly 17 311 18.3

7. Tory Meyr (5-10) G Jackson 21 355 16.9

8. Jason Greer (5-10) G Woodland 18 292 16.2

9. Todd Blissett (6-0) F Scott Co. Central 21 330 15.7

10. Ryan Wichern (6-4) F Perryville 19 293 15.4

Highest Game: Johnson, 49 vs. Kelly

Girls

1. Jennifer Vandeven (5-7) G Chaffee 18 315 17.5

2. Marissa Essner (5-8) G Kelly 18 295 16.3

3. Andrea Koeper (5-9) F Jackson 19 304 16.0

4. Rebecca Below (5-11) F Delta 16 255 15.9

5. Jessica Lakenan (5-9) F St. Vincent 19 289 15.2

6. Lisa Millham (5-10) G Notre Dame 20 269 13.5

7. Danielle Sutterer (5-9) C St. Vincent 19 254 13.4

8. Deana McCormick (5-11) CNotre Dame 20 266 13.3

9. Jamie Amberger (5-11) C Perryville 21 276 13.1

10. Amanda Schumer (5-6) G Perryville 20 241 12.1

Highest Game: Essner 38 vs. Scott Central

ATTENTION COACHES: If you have a player who deserves to be on this list, please contact the Southeast Missourian at 1-800-879-1210, ext. 127.

Note: Results based on box scores called in by coaches through Friday night's games.