Sikeston hoops already making impact - on the pitch

SIKESTON – There is no shortage of euphoria leading into the 2023-24 varsity boy’s basketball season at Sikeston High School. Ask anyone at Jay’s Krispy Fried Chicken or the regulars at Bo’s Breakfast and Bar-B-Q and they’ll tell you that this year’s team could be special.

What many sports fans throughout Southeast Missouri don’t realize is that Bulldog hoops is already making an impact, but instead of it being on the hardwood, it is on the soccer pitch.

The Bulldog soccer squad has won 6 of its 15 matches this season, which may not “Wow” anyone, but this statistic will, with (at least) eight matches remaining on the 2023 schedule, Sikeston has already topped last season’s goal total, and a pair of basketball-playing Bulldogs are playing a seismic role in that.

“What we are doing well is scoring,” 11th-year Sikeston head coach Gabe Dement said following a 5-2 loss to tradition-rich Perryville on Tuesday at the Sikeston Sports Complex.

The Bulldogs fell to the Pirates (8-6) for the second time this season, however, the match was 2-1 at the intermission, which showed Sikeston’s defensive potential.

Dement lost nine seniors to graduation from the 2022 squad, including a very strong center-back, who was the anchor of the Bulldog defense, and the goalkeeper. To compound matters, Sikeston’s starting center-back this fall, broke his collarbone in the season-opening match.

“It’s been a steep learning curve on the defensive end,” Dement explained. “It’s been a tough thing to fix.”

So, Dement has had to figure out what skills his athletes have, and it turns out, that first-year players Tristan Wiggins and PJ Farmer, both basketball athletes, have ability on grass, as well.

Against Perryville, Farmer, and Wiggins teamed up (and Sikeston hoop fans can already envision this happening all winter) for both of the Bulldog goals.

Just minutes into the match, Farmer won possession of the ball near mid-field and streaked a pass ahead to a charging Wiggins, who outmaneuvered Pirate sophomore goalie Waylon Huber for a 1-0 Sikeston lead.

“They’re good buddies,” Dement said of the Wiggins-Farmer duo.

In the second half, they reversed roles, as Wiggins tossed a long throw-in to Farmer, who seized possession of it in front of Huber and scored on a nice kick.

“I wasn’t expecting Tristan to play,” Dement said. “And I wasn’t expecting PJ to play.”

Farmer became eligible in early September after transferring from Charleston High School, and he and Wiggins have helped Sikeston score 45 goals in 15 matches after tallying 29 in 23 matches a year ago.

The Bulldogs are averaging three goals per game, which is the most since the 2011 squad (3.9 goals per match), which won 20 games and advanced to the MSHSAA Class 2 Quarterfinals before falling 1-0 to state runner-up Trinity Catholic.

Another scoring threat for Sikeston is freshman forward Jaden Johnson, who has racked up 10 goals and seven assists in his first year of high school competition.

“Jaden has spent his whole life playing this game,” Dement said. “This is his game. This is his main sport.”

To shore up the backline defense, Dement got another first-year soccer player out of the basketball program in junior Chris Artis, who teams with senior defenders Levi Douglas, Connor Wicker, and Rush Ault, as well as junior Barrett Stokes.

“Perryville is a more organized team and is full of soccer players,” Dement said. “(But) I think if we could stay focused for a full 80 minutes, we could surprise a team like that.”

Sikeston’s nine wins last season was the 11-win 2018 season, and Dement’s guys have an opportunity to win match number seven today at the Sports Complex when the Bulldogs host North County (1-7) at 6:30 p.m.

Interstate win

The Bulldogs recently got past Anna-Jonesboro (Ill.) 7-5 courtesy of three goals by Wiggins.

Adding to the scoring total was Johnson, Farmer, and Kaleb Hubbard while Carter Grimes chipped in a pair of assists and Farmer had one scoring pass.