Top 5 Plays of the Week — Week 35
JOPLIN, MO — After a week of high school & collegiate sports, we showed off our Top 5 Plays of the Week from around the Four States area.
Play #5: Carl Junction's Deacon Endicott (6.0 IP, 7 K's, & 1 hit allowed vs West Plains) —
Carl Junction's Deacon Endicott was just one inning away from going the distance. Through six innings pitched, Endicott allowed just one hit and struck out seven against West Plains.
Advertisement
Play #4: Mt. Vernon's Braden Dodson (catches runner on stolen base attempt) —
Mt. Vernon's Braden Dodson threw out a runner trying to advance to second base last week. With great pop time, Dodson showed off his versatility, catching the Neosho runner.
Play #3: Pitt State's Alex Rodgers (makes a phenomenal catch robbing a home run) —
Pitt State centerfielder Alex Rodgers took away a home run in the Gorillas game against Washburn last week. Rodgers leaped high above the wall to make the catch, as Pitt took two of three in the series with the Ichabods.
Play #2: Columbus's Kash Smith (hits two grand slams in one game) —
Columbus's Kash Smith completed a rare feat against Galena last week. In a record breaking day, the freshman hit two grand slams against the Bulldogs.
Advertisement
Play #1: MSSU's Abby DeSanto (hits home run in final career at bat) —
With her season cut short due to a medical condition, MSSU's Abby DeSanto hit a home run in her final at bat for the Lions. The senior came in the game as a pinch hitter for starter Emily Perry, hitting a solo shot to remember for a lifetime.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KSNF/KODE | FourStatesHomepage.com.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Indianapolis Star
3 days ago
- Indianapolis Star
Indiana All-Stars: Assessing juniors' effort, Luke Ertel shines again, 6 more who impressed
Thoughts, observations and analysis of Indiana All-Stars week as the attention turns to the rivalry games vs. the Kentucky All-Stars on Friday and Saturday. By the way, I'm still calling this 'Fourth and Long' even if all the topics this week are basketball: There are corners of the high school basketball Internet where the modus operandi seems to be complaining about how things used to be better than they are now … all the time. Nostalgia is a tricky thing. We tend to romanticize the past and forget the bad stuff. I do it. We all do. One thing I hear often in relation to the Indiana All-Stars is that 'people don't care anymore.' Or 'players don't care like they used to.' And I'm not here to tell you fans are going to pack Gainbridge Fieldhouse to the rafters for the Indiana All-Stars vs. Kentucky like they use to fill Market Square Arena or Freedom Hall like the good ol' days. We are not living in that world anymore. Indiana All-Stars boys history: Which schools have most? Players list by school But anyone who walked away after watching Wednesday night's Indiana All-Stars vs. the Juniors game would be lying if they said it looked like the result did not matter to the players. Sure, maybe some more than others. But the best players, and you can certainly put Junior All-Stars Luke Ertel (Mt. Vernon) and Dikembe Shaw (Crown Point) in that group, were battling to the finish in the Juniors' 117-114 victory. There were 40 fouls called. One technical. Basically, the opposite of the NBA All-Star game. 'That was a competitive, physical game,' said All-Stars coach Marc Urban (Chesterton). 'The juniors and the seniors, I felt like both teams really competed. The juniors gave us as good of a look as they possibly could. It will give us something to watch and hopefully we'll play a little bit harder and have a little bit more fight and find a way to get a win down there at Kentucky.' What else can you say about Luke Ertel? The Mt. Vernon guard scored 35 points (I received a message Thursday that the box score from last night, which had him with 36, was incorrect). But the Purdue recruit still broke the record for a Junior All-Star in the game vs. the seniors, which was previous held by Greg Oden and Eric Gordon. Pretty good company, huh? Ertel went for 35 points on just 13 field-goal attempts. He was 5-for-7 from the 3-point line and connected on all 14 of his free-throw attempts. Ertel also had nine rebounds, four assists and two steals and had just three of the team's 19 turnovers despite handling the ball the bulk of the game. This was after his 36-point, 13-assist, nine-rebound game in the Junior All-Stars win over the Kentucky Juniors on Sunday at Charlestown. I got a chuckle out of Crown Point's Shaw, who plays with Ertel with Indiana Elite, talking about how the point guard would go all-out even if he was 'going against first graders.' That pretty much sums it up. I don't think the effort is so much who he is playing against or bragging rights, necessarily. Ertel just loves to play. He is competitive and wants to win, regardless of the opponent. I know a lot of people want to compare him to Braden Smith, which I completely understand with both being Purdue point guards from local high schools. Smith, the 2022 Mr. Basketball out of Westfield, was an incredible passer even early in high school and obviously could shoot the lights out. He was maybe a little more bouncy than the lefty Ertel, who is great using angles and seeing plays develop before the rest of us. The common trait: They are both killer competitors. I'm not sure anyone can top Smith's ability to find every shred of motivation possible to get himself going. But Ertel is at least on the same branch of the family tree in that regard. I would guard against putting too much pressure on Ertel to be 'the next Smith.' Keep in mind Braden Smith is the reigning Big Ten Player of the Year, after all. But Purdue fans should be excited. This is the non-Luke Ertel category, FYI. ∎ Dikembe Shaw, Crown Point: The 6-7 Shaw was outstanding in the Juniors' victory over the Indiana All-Stars, going for 24 points on 5-for-6 shooting from the 3-point line. He took just nine shots. Shaw fouled out with about seven minutes left in the game and the Juniors down by seven. His recruitment will be interesting. He has offers from Indiana State, IU Indy, Miami (Ohio) and Toledo, but there are high-major programs like DePaul, Indiana, Northwestern and Purdue interested. ∎ Kai McGrew, Fishers: The 6-9 McGrew, who transferred from Lawrence North to Fishers for his senior year, is always making plays around the basket — on offense and defense. He had a big blocked shot of Tre Singleton in the final seconds on what could have been the go-ahead basket. He also scored the go-ahead basket on the previous possession on an alley-oop from Terrence Hayes Jr. of Gary 21st Century with an athletic play that he made look easier than it was. McGrew is more than a post player. He can step out and shoot (1-for-2 from 3) and makes free throws. McGrew finished with 11 points, five rebounds and two blocked shots. ∎ Brennan Miller, Lawrence North: The 6-9 Miller did most of his damage in the second half, finishing with 12 points on 5-for-12 shooting with seven rebounds and three assists. Miller was on the court during the finishing flurry, making a basket to bring the Junior All-Stars within one point in the final minute and making two clutch free throws to put his team up three. ∎ Justin Curry, Noblesville: The 6-3 Curry made a pair of 3s early in the game and finished with 12 points, three rebounds and two assists. He was 3-for-5 from the 3-point line for the night. ∎ Noah Smith, Plainfield: I thought the 6-8 Smith played really well and was a little surprised he was not out there a little more, though in these all-star games it can be tough to manage all the minutes. Smith finished 4-for-5 from the field, missing his only 3-point attempt, to put up eight points and three rebounds. ∎ Terrence Hayes Jr., Gary 21st Century: The 6-1 Hayes did not have numbers that blow you away (five points, four rebounds, three assists), but he was on the court down the stretch and making plays His alley-oop lob to McGrew for go-ahead bucket was a little risky, but it was on the mark and worked. Hayes makes things happen. Fort Wayne native and former Purdue guard Rapheal Davis posted a line on social media Tuesday that seemed to pick up a bit of traction and made its way to my texts. Davis wrote this on Twitter: 'Indiana High School Basketball has taken a step back.' Davis, who works as an analyst for the Big Ten Network, played at Fort Wayne South Side and La Lumiere before going to Purdue out of the 2012 graduating class. I'm old enough to have watched him play in high school and, of course, at Purdue, where he was a team leader and outstanding defense player. So, Davis has played at a high level and is certainly entitled to his opinion. That nine-word tweet is vague, though I take it to mean the talent level has fallen off. If that is his opinion, that is his opinion. But I will say this: I don't think we can judge a class on the front end anymore. The scholarship offers from college programs for the 2012 class is an altogether different world from the 2025 class. The transfer portal has changed things dramatically. I look at a player like Junior All-Star Dikembe Shaw of Crown Point (6-7, can shoot from the perimeter) and wonder how many offers he would have if this was 6, 7, 10 years ago. There is no way to know, of course, but my guess is he would have more than Indiana State, IU Indy, Miami (Ohio) and Toledo. I think Jeffersonville's Michael Cooper, a Wright State commit, is a high-major guard. These are anecdotal opinions but a better assessment of the 2025 class as a whole will come in four or five years, when we see how these players progress in college and, potentially, use the transfer portal to work their way up. Saying 'the 2012 class had X number of high-major recruits compared to the 2025 class' is apples and oranges coming out of high school now. Check back in four or five years.
Yahoo
6 days ago
- Yahoo
Vote now for the Detroit Free Press Girls Prep Athlete of the Week for May 25-31
It's time to vote for the Detroit Free Press Girls Prep Athlete of the Week for May 25-31. This week's poll features four players, one state champion from track and field and three tennis champions. Advertisement Voting will be open until 11:59 a.m. Thursday, June 5. We'll announce the winner here shortly after the poll closes. Here are the nominees (listed in alphabetical order by last name): Nicole Fu, Rochester Adams, tennis: After finishing as the No. 1 singles runner-up for the past three seasons, Fu claimed the No. 1 Division 1 singles state championship. She defeated last season's champion Gabby Sadowski of Eisenhower in two sets, in a rematch of the 2024 championship match. Jada Josifovski, Birmingham Seaholm, tennis: Josifovski clinched the Division 2 No. 2 singles state title defeating Keira Kirkland of Farmington Hills Mercy. The junior never dropped a set on her way to the championship, contributed to the Maples winning in their first title in two seasons. Advertisement Samantha Karoub, North Farmington, tennis: Karoub completed an undefeated season, earning a Division 3 state championship. Karoub, like Josifovski, never dropped a set in her tournament appearance. Carrie VanNoy, Oak Park, track and field: The senior runner earned two state championships for her performances in the 110m and 300m hurdles. She also contributed in the 4x100 and 4x200m relays to help Oak Park clinch the Division 1 title. Come back to every Tuesday morning to vote for Athlete of the Week. Miss the deadline to nominate an athlete? We take nominations through 10 a.m. Monday for the previous week's games. Nominate for the week of June 1-7 at Note: Don't use the nomination link to vote. You can vote in the poll above. Advertisement TO YOUR INBOX: Sign up for our weekly Michigan Preps newsletter to get high school sports and news sent directly to you! This week's nominations include reporting from Jared Ramsey. Eric Guzmán covers youth sports culture at the Free Press as a corps member for Report for America, an initiative of The GroundTruth Project. Make a tax-deductible contribution to support this work. Contact Eric Guzmán: eguzman@ 313-222-1850. Follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter: @EricGuzman90. This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit Free Press Girls Prep Athlete of the Week: May 25-31
Yahoo
20-05-2025
- Yahoo
A look at the Southwest Missouri high school football, athletic indoor facilities
Southwest Missouri has seen a boom in indoor athletics facilities over the last decade, and more are scheduled to open over the next few years. The Joplin area got a head start, but the Springfield area is catching up. Strafford opened its 50-yard indoor football field in 2022, which was followed by Ozark's in 2024. Nixa and Logan-Rogersville will open theirs this summer, while Republic will break ground on its $22 million facility in the coming months. Advertisement Administrators believe more will be built across the state over the next decade. Springfield Public Schools plans to build one in the next few years for its five high schools. Here's a look at the indoor facilities across the region. Vote now: Who in Southwest Missouri has the best high school football stadium? Carl Junction Opened: 2016 Cost: Part of a $13.5 million project Carl Junction built a storm shelter that doubles as a multi-purpose indoor practice facility with artificial turf and batting cages. Carthage Opened: 2019 Cost: $2.2 million The Tiger Activity Center (TAC) opened in Fall 2019 with a 40-yard indoor football field, plus a 10-yard endzone. About $1.5 million came from the Kent D. & Mary L. Steadley Memorial Trust, with $500,000 coming from the McCune-Brooks Regional Hospital Trust. Another $300,000 was raised by local patrons. Cassville Opened: Unclear Cost: Unclear Advertisement Messages to Cassville regarding its indoor facility went unreturned. The Wildcats have had one on campus since at least 2009. Logan-Rogersville Opening: 2025 Cost: Part of a $32 million bond Voters approved a no-tax-increase bond in April 2022, which provided the Rogersville school district $32 million to construct and renovate classrooms at its schools, build and renovate libraries, construct a storm shelter, improve athletic facilities, and develop its indoor athletics facility. The indoor facility includes a 50-yard football field, a new weight room, coaches' offices, batting cages, locker rooms, a sky bridge connecting it to the high school and several other additions. A full turfed football practice field will reside right outside the building. Marshfield Opened: 2025 Cost: Part of a $10 million bond issue Advertisement Marshfield recently opened a multi-purpose building that was part of a 2023 bond issue with no tax increase. The issue also included constructing a storm shelter and expanding the agriculture department shop. The storm shelter was built with the idea of also using it as a multi-purpose building, which includes space for athletic practices. Neosho Opened: 2021 Cost: Part of a $22 million bond issue Neosho opened the La-Z-Boy End Zone Facility in 2021. It features a 40-yard football field plus a 10-yard endzone, batting cages, locker rooms, a weight room and coaches' offices. The facility was approved by Neosho's "Next Step Ballot Measure" in June 2020 and received an additional $400,000 from La-Z-Boy Midwest. The $22 million bond issue also included the creation of a performing arts center among other projects. Opening: 2025 Cost: $18 million Advertisement Nixa is in the final stages of completing its indoor facility after a $47 million bond issue with no tax increase was approved in April 2023. The building cost $18 million, and the school is also looking to update its technology, renovate classrooms, and build storm shelters. Dubbed "The Apex," the indoor facility will feature a full-sized football field and additional space for soccer. It will also house the football locker rooms, community spaces, film rooms, golf simulators, and more. The facility also includes concession stands that will be used when Nixa hopes to build baseball and softball facilities on campus in the near future. Inside the new Ozark High School activities center on Thursday, Aug. 22, 2024. Opened: August 2024 Cost: Part of a $19 million bond issue Advertisement Voters approved a no-tax-increase bond issue in April 2022, allowing Ozark to open its indoor athletics facility. The bond issue also allowed the district to build storm shelters at Ozark Middle School and Tiger Pay, an early childhood center. Republic Scheduled opening: August 2026 Cost: $22 million Republic will soon break ground on its indoor athletics facility after a no-tax-increase bond issue was approved last month. The building, which will cost around $22 million, will be located behind the high school. The Tigers will have a full indoor football field that includes drop-down batting cages. It will be part of a brick building that also houses classrooms, a band room, a weight room and coaching offices. There will also be a room dedicated to JROTC. Strafford Opened: 2022 Cost: Part of a $7.5 million bond issue Advertisement Strafford's "HPER Building" (for health, physical education, and recreation) was voted on as part of a $7.5 million bond issue passed in 2019. The building features a 50-yard football field and a 10-yard endzone. It also includes additional classrooms, batting cages and other features for other sports. This article originally appeared on Springfield News-Leader: Springfield area indoor high school football, athletic facilities
