Sports

By Jason Hoekema HARTVILLE – During a mild and sunny afternoon, a look beyond the fence at Hartville’s softball field revealed the beauty of the rolling hills that make up the Ozarks. The scenery, however, didn’t distract the Lady Bears from picking up another win on the road during last Wednesday’s makeup game.  Ava did…

Ava Middle School volleyball teams had three matches of play this past week.   On Monday, Ava was host to the Lady Bears of Willow Springs.  Ava 7th-grade defeated Willow in a two game match, 25-13 and 25-21. Hannah Forrest was 9/9 serving and 6/6 passing; Larkin Gamboa, 4/4 serving and 3/3 passing; Paris Henry,…

By Jason Hoekema Comeback wins are some of the best in any sport. The adversity, the uptick in emotion and momentum… The screaming. As coach Emily Petty opened the door to the girls’ locker room inside the Ava High School gym after Ava’s 2-1 comeback win, the deafening sound of girls screaming and celebrating their…

Submitted Photo The Skyline Girls team took third place in the tournament in Taneyville last week.  

AMS Lady Bears Volleyball Season Well Underway Ava Middle School Lady Bears Volleyball have started their season, playing their first matches on Sept. 12 with Willow Springs and two games with West Plains. The AMS Lady Bears started the season at home when they faced the West Plains Zizzers.   Ava 7th grade won in…

Teamwork tops Mountain Grove By Jason Hoekema The rhyme taught to young children rings true for teens and adults trying to work together as one cohesive unit.  Last Thursday coach Emily Petty spoke of some internal communication and teamwork issues, the kind which can break up cohesiveness and team success. Those issues may have led…

By Jason Hoekema MOUNTAIN VIEW – A couple of years ago, a 50-14 win over the Liberty Eagles may not have been possible. Regardless of the Ava win streak since 2016, the scores were much closer with no greater than a 21-point lead in 2017. Area football fans once thought of the Eagles as they…

  Lady Bears drop road game to Forsyth, 2-1 By Jason Hoekema FORSYTH – The Lady Bears kicked the beehive, or the Panthers’ den, after serving Forsyth two losses at their own tournament on September 14. Coach Emily Petty called it a couple of days earlier after the Lady Bears topped New Covenant Academy, 2-0.…

  The Skyline Lady Tigers, shown above, took first place during tournament play last week at Thornfield.