Seneca’s Gabriel Commons signs to NEO wrestling

SENECA, Mo. – Seneca High School senior Gabriel Commons signed on Thursday afternoon to continue his wrestling career at NEO.

Commons is a 3X state qualifier for the Indians and a 2X state medalist. He finished 2nd at state as a junior and 3rd as a senior.

He helped Seneca finish top-5 in the state all three seasons – so he’s going from one program with high expectations, to another one at NEO.

“I’m going to meet their expectations with workouts and practices, and I’m going to try to exceed that bar to where I meet my goal of being an All-American,” Commons says, “NEO stood out to me the most because…I just know if I’m going to go anywhere to wrestle, I’m going to get better at NEO.”

Seneca’s Grotjohn signs to Cottey College basketball

WATCH: Seneca High School senior Aliya Grotjohn signs a letter of intent today to continue her basketball career at Cottey College.

“It means a lot,” Grotjohn says. “I’ve worked for this and this is what I’ve wanted to do and I’ve finally reached it. I’m really happy I’ve reached this.”

Grotjohn averaged 21 points and 7 rebounds per game this season and helped lead Seneca to a district title. She’s a 3x 1st-team all-Big 8 player, was the conference player of the year in 2021 and the district player of the year this season. She leaves Seneca as the program’s all-time leading scorer with 1,950 points.

“She’s hard to replace. She scores 20 points a game. Sometimes even thirty or even forty. That’s hard to replace,” says Seneca’s girls basketball coach Drew Schulte. “She’s a special player, a special kid and I wish her all the best.”

Seneca’s King honored prior to retirement from coaching basketball

SENECA, Mo. – The Seneca boys head basketball coach is being honored today in the Indians final home game of the season. Will King is retiring at the end of the season after 18 years as the Indians head coach.

“It’s tough. I’ve been an emotional rollercoaster this year,” King says. “It’s what I’ve done my whole career is be a part of coaching basketball. But it’s bigger than that. I hope I can still make an  impact in different areas.”

In his time at Seneca, King has lead the Indians to three conference championships and three district championships.

“There’s several of my past assistants here tonight and lots of great past players,” King says. “I’m a firm believer that life is about relationships and that’s the biggest blessing through all my  eighteen years of coaching here. I’ve been blessed with a lot of great relationships and a lot of great young men that have been huge to me. It’s so great to see their faces tonight.”

 

 

Seneca, McDonald County roll on opening night of Seneca tournament

SENECA, Mo. – (WATCH) Seneca and McDonald County roll to blowout wins Monday night in the opening night of the Seneca girls tournament.

McDonald County beats Purdy 64-14 in the first game of the evening, with Samara Smith leading the way with 21 points.

Aliya Grotjohn scores 26 for Seneca in the second game of the night, leading the Indians to a 66-32 win over Monett.

2021 PIGSKIN PREVIEW: Where we were right and wrong

We put out our annual pigskin preview every August – and in that, we have our predictions for the season.

This year was a tough year for predictions with COVID, schedule changes, new coaches and good teams all over the place.

Like every year, we got some right and we got some wrong – and we have no problem admitting we whiffed hard on a few this season.

WRONG: COC standings

We got the top four teams in the COC right, but we messed up the order big time.

I thought Nixa would win it and they finished third. I thought Carthage would finish third and they won it, going 9-0 in the regular season.

We had Joplin 4th and they finished 2nd behind the Tigers.

We had Webb City 2nd and they finished 4th. I don’t regret it or feel bad about it. They went on to win it all. It is what it is.

RIGHT: Lamar Tigers

I almost feel bad taking credit for this because it was a no-brainer, but we had the Lamar tigers going 9-0 and that’s what they did.

Not only that, but it wasn’t really close.

Lamar won their regular season games by an average of 38 points-per-game. The Tigers finished as the Missouri Class 2 state runner-up.

They’re 25-2 with a state title in their first two years under head coach Jared Beshore.

WRONG: Girard Trojans

This team has been bouncing around .500 for years.

We had them picked to go 5-3 and they blew that out of the water.

Girard finished the regular season with a perfect 8-0 record – their first undefeated season since 1999. The Trojans won a district title and a regional title, finishing the year with a 10-1 overall record.

RIGHT: Aurora Houn’Dawgs

I thought the Aurora Houn’Dawgs would take another step forward – and that’s what they did this season.

We had them at 7-2 in our magazine and they finished 7-2.

After losing their season opener, the Houn’Dawgs ripped off 7 straight wins before falling to Nevada in the regular season finale. After that great regular season, their playoff run didn’t last long because….

WRONG: Seneca Indians

The Seneca Indians beat them in the first round.

Seneca is one of our biggest whiffs of the fall. We had them in our magazine at 2-7. They dunked on us and went 5-4 in their first season under head coach Cody Hilburn. Not only that, but these guys turned it on in the playoffs, going on to win a district title and finish with an 8-5 overall record.

Seneca. Guys. We blew it. Sorry.

RIGHT: Galena Bulldogs

Galena finished 7-1 this year and that’s right where we had them.

They lost their season opener at Commerce, Oklahoma – then went on a 7-game winning streak to end the regular season.

The Bulldogs did fall in the first round of the post-season, but they’re one of the best and most consistent programs in the area, going 41-10 the last five seasons.

WRONG: Parsons Vikings

I knew the Parsons Vikings were going to be better in year two under Jeff Schibi. I just didn’t know they would be that much better.

They were 3-6 last season. We picked them to go 4-4. They ended with a 6-2 record in the regular season.

Parsons went on to win a playoff game and finish 7-3 overall.

RIGHT: Missouri Southern Lions

I know you’re thinking “you’re going to take credit for picking them to go 3-8?”

Short answer: yes

In their first season under head coach Atiba Bradley, the Lions went 3-8 as we predicted.

That is significant, because the last time they won three games was all the way back in 2014 when I couldn’t even rent a car.

Southern is headed in the right direction, they’re fun to watch again and they’re going to continue to get better.

WRONG: McDonald County Mustangs

We had the McDonald County Mustangs in our magazine at 6-3. They went 8-1 in the regular season – their best finish since the 60’s.

This team was fun to watch. Their only loss in the regular season was to Lamar, who would go on to finish as the Missouri Class 2 state runner-up, and they finished the regular season on a six-game winning streak.

The Mustangs ended up playing for a district title and finishing 10-2. We were wrong there.

WRAPPING UP

There are more we got right and wrong. Some by a little, some by a lot. These are just the ones that stood out to me.

Seneca’s Grotjohn sisters shine in lone season as teammates

SENECA, Mo. – A pair of Seneca sisters get the chance to play high school basketball together this winter.

“They bring a lot of energy to the basketball team,” says head coach Drew Schulte.

The Grotjohn sisters share the court this season for the first and only time in their high school careers.

“This is probably one of the most fun seasons I’ve ever had,” says freshman Hazley Grotjohn. “We’ve got really close this year and it just makes it more fun to play out on the court with her and we work really well together too.”

“It’s a lot of fun being able to win with her in my last season before going off to college,” says senior Aliya Grotjohn.

Aliya and Hazley provide a daunting one-two punch for the Indians.

“One’s more of a slasher, the other one kind of picks her time, but they’re both very fun to watch and very fun to coach,” Schulte says.

The Grotjohn sisters average a combined 43.5 points per game. Earlier this month, Aliya broke Seneca’s single game scoring record with 40 points.

“It was a lot of fun being out there with the team helping me get all my points,” Aliya says. “They were all very excited for me and it was just a fun experience to get my 40 points with them.”

Aliya and Hazley share a special chemistry on the floor, and it makes sense. They’ve been playing side by side for many years.

“We have a little basketball goal where we’d go outside and play,” Aliya says. “We’ve played a lot together.”

They work hard too.

“In the offseason they’re always playing on different travel teams. They’re always putting the time in the gym. They’ll always give me a call and say, ‘Hey can you open the gym,’” Schulte says. “That speaks volumes to a coach. I know both of them want to move on and play at the next level and I believe both of them can do that.”

Seneca standout Hunter Beard signs to Cottey College

Seneca High School senior, Hunter Beard, signs today to continue her softball career at the college level. Beard is staying in Southwest Missouri, signing to join the softball program at Cottey College in Nevada.

“I love the coach and I think it’s going to be a really great environment,” says Beard. “Cottey is full of traditions. When I signed they gave me a duck call. It’s cool that there’s so much tradition.”

Beard is a four-time varsity letter winner for Seneca. She has earned all-conference, all-district and all-region honors.

“I knew I wanted to play softball at 10, maybe nine years old,” Bears says. “I started playing travel ball and that’s when I really started getting serious about it.”

The unique part is that Beard is signing today at just 16 years old.

“I skipped a grade when I was in first grade and then I started playing at the same age as everybody and I guess I just kind of kept going,” Beard says, “It’s definitely scary too. I know that going to college there’s going to be 20, 21-year-olds and I’m going to be sixteen. That’s kind of scary but I think it will be fun.”