Seniors Yarbro, Simmons provide Red Devils with physical post presence

CHAFFEE — With Tuesday night's 58-57 home loss to St. Vincent, the Chaffee Red Devils' losing streak extended to five straight.

Simply glancing at Chaffee's 1-5 record may be a cause for concern to fans of the team, but the Red Devils have kept games close during the stretch largely due to the presence of senior post players Blake Yarbro and Shelton Simmons.

"Right now we're living through Blake," Chaffee coach Josh Govreau said. "He has been fabulous all year long. ... He's given us good production each game. Shelton is capable in any game of leading us in scoring, he had a 30-point game last year. We just make sure we have that consistency every day.

"It's been a while since we've had a true post that we can work through, so it's nice to have both of them."

Yarbro stands at an imposing 6-feet, 7-inches tall, which forces opponents to gameplan around him. While not quite as tall as Yarbro, what Simmons lacks in height he makes up for in strength and athleticism. According to Govreau, both players have improved significantly since their freshman year.

Chaffee senior Blake Yarbro makes a move to the basket during the Red Devils' 58-57 loss to St. Vincent on Tuesday at Chaffee High School.J.C. Reeves ~ Special to the Southeast Missourian

"(Yarbro's) whole demeanor about everything — not just basketball, but football, track, everything — has been a complete 180 from what it was his freshman and sophomore year," Govreau said. "I think he'd be the first to tell you that. When he was younger, he may have been classified as a little bit lazy. Now, he's far from it and is one of the hardest workers we have in our school.

"With Shelton, it's the same way. He's always been one of those kids that has potential and a motor, it's just been being able to consistently do it night in and night out. They've both grown and they've both got better."

In addition to their ability to compete on the floor, the two seniors aren't afraid to let their character shine. The pair has fun on the court, although there are times Govreau has to reel them back in.

"They both have great personalities and they're fun to be around," Govreau said. "There's a time to be serious and lock in, and the younger kids are going to behave how they behave in practice or whatever it is. Just getting those guys to understand that there's a time we all have to lock in and practice or whatever it is. Coach (Jack) Altermatt likes to call them cartoon characters sometimes, but it's important for them to be able to turn that off and be focused and serious so we can accomplish what we're trying to do."

The Red Devils (1-5) look to snap their losing streak against Scott County Central (3-2) at 7:30 p.m. Friday on the road.

"I'd like to think that we're an experienced group," Govreau said. "It's hard for anybody to lose five-straight games, especially when you're in all of them. ... We can hang our heads and it can be a struggle or we can we can learn from it, pick it up and hopefully start out with a win on Friday over Scott County and go from there."