Sports

ST. JOSEPH, Mo. — With the Benton Cardinals boys and girls basketball teams both heading to the state tournament on Friday, the southside community came together Wednesday night to celebrate a historic moment. The hour-long pep rally, held in Springer Gymnasium, was designed to bring excitement and recognition to the student-athletes before they travel to

The Benton Cardinals boys basketball team is once again taking the spotlight of the Class 4 state tournament, as they will face Center in the quarterfinal round. It’ll be another road test for the Cardinals, but after handling St. Pius X 67-38, the team is feeling confident and ready to bring back some hardware to

Benton girls basketball is headed back to the Class 4 quarterfinals following a 77-32 thrashing of Excelsior Springs on Tuesday night. It was a sluggish start for the Cardinals on Tuesday, as they had trouble finding the bottom of the net early in the ball game. But those struggles wouldn’t follow them long. Benton would

Two Bishop LeBlond football players will take the leap to the next level after signing their National Letters of Intent on Monday. Seniors Trey Icke and Jacob Winkelbauer are taking separate paths to play college football at the Division II level, while still staying close to home. Icke signed his NLI to play football at

ST. JOSEPH, Mo. — A cross-town rivalry took center stage once again Saturday as Benton and Lafayette met for the Class 4 District 16 girls’ basketball championship, one night after their boys’ teams squared off for the same title. In a hard-fought battle, the Cardinals pulled away in the fourth quarter, outscoring the Fighting Irish

After weather-related postponements to the Class 4 District 16 boys basketball tournament on Wednesday, play resumed Thursday inside Springer Gymnasium on the campus of Benton High School. Two semifinal matchups set the stage for a highly anticipated championship rematch at 6 p.m. Friday. In the opener, No. 3 seed Lafayette rolled past No. 2 Chillicothe,

FAUCETT, Mo — A roster of only eight players is now one of only eight teams remaining in the MSHSAA Girls Basketball Class 3 State Tournament.  Mid-Buchanan carries one senior, one junior, two sophomores and four freshmen. Yet, the moments for these players don’t become too big for them even when the stage gets bigger

ROSENDALE, Mo. — The Class 1 Missouri State High School Basketball postseason tipped off Tuesday night, and North Andrew hoped its home crowd could help fuel a playoff run. Instead, it was Rock Port that took control early and never let go, defeating the Cardinals 61-40 to advance past the sectional round. The Blue Jays

Classes 1-3 continued district tournament play this week, and in Class 3 District 15, the girls’ bracket came down to a showdown between the top two seeds. Six teams entered the tournament in Lathrop, but by Saturday afternoon, only two remained. No.1-seeded Mid-Buchanan and No. 2-seeded Lathrop battled for a spot in sectionals, and despite

High school basketball district play continues this week for Classes 1-3, and Thursday evening was no exception in Rosendale, where North Andrew hosted the Class 1 District 15 Tournament. The girls took center stage in the opening semifinal, featuring the top-seeded North Andrew Cardinals against the No. 4 seed Faith Christian Academy Knights. Despite a

Mid-Buchanan senior Ian Wegenka’s go-ahead basket with seconds on the clock punches Mid-Buchanan’s ticket to a district championship bout with a long-time rival. Mid-Buchanan and Bishop LeBlond went the distance in Wednesday’s Class 3 District 15 semifinals, trading baskets in the final quarter that could have gone either way. Bishop LeBlond senior Jacob Winkelbauer capitalized

It’s that special time of year in high school basketball, as Class 1-3 teams have begun district play, including the Class 3 District 15 Tournament, hosted at Lathrop High School. The opening-round matchup featured No. 4 seed Bishop LeBlond against No. 5 seed East Buchanan. In a low-scoring battle, East Buchanan staged a late comeback

A strong second half performance led to North Platte boys basketball ending West Platte’s season 66-53 in the Class 3 District 15 Tournament on Monday night. Heading into Monday night’s contest in the Gower, the two schools had faced threes times prior. North Platte had won the two most recent matchups, but West Platte was

Local high school boys basketball teams are making their mark this season, with multiple programs gaining recognition across the state. Thursday night featured a marquee matchup between two of the area’s best, as Class 3’s third-ranked Bishop LeBlond Golden Eagles made the short trip to the South Side to face Class 4’s third-ranked Benton Cardinals.

Central Indians’ wrestler Ashley Slade prepares to practice ahead of state inside Central High School.

Excelsior Springs High School is making a move that will shake up the Midland Empire Conference (MEC). After a decisive 5-1 vote by the Excelsior Springs School Board, the Tigers will officially leave the Suburban Conference and join the MEC for athletics and activities, beginning with the 2026-27 school year. All parties didn’t support the