By JASON VIOX\Daily Journal Sports Writer

Published: Saturday, November 20, 2004
Updated: Friday, November 19, 2004 11:21 PM CST

FREDERICKTOWN - The Fredericktown Blackcats have a lot to be proud of this past season. Not only did they finish their season with a 20-8 record, they were also conference co-champions with North County. Fredericktown's season ended when they fell to Dexter at district finals.

This season, there will be a balanced mix of experienced players and fresh faces for the Blackcats. Senior D.J. Hinkle returns to play either forward or post. Hinkle not only took home all-conference and all-region honors, he was also on the Dream Team for the 2003-2004 basketball season. Junior Mike Francis will fill in for point guard and senior Kevin Foster will play as guard. The remaining positions are still up for grabs.

Fredericktown's coach Brett Reutzel plans on having his team being competitive day in and day out. "I would hope we have a chance to be in every game we're in," commented Reutzel. "We would like to be able to compete for a district and conference championship, but at the same time we have a lot of work to do."

Coach Reutzel has a pretty good feeling about his team and the upcoming season, yet knows there are some areas that still need a little bit of work. "We got pretty good size," Reutzel said. "I'm very pleased with the effort and the attitude we've had. Hopefully, we'll be able to compete on the boards a bit and that should help our ball handling as well."

The Blackcats open their season when they travel to Herculaneum Tuesday.

The Fredericktown Lady Cats will also have a blend of experienced and young players for the upcoming basketball season. After finishing their last season with a record of 10-15, the Lady Cats have high hopes to surpass last season's record.

Both guard positions will be taken by freshman Courtney Kemp and sophomore Amy Hendrix. Seniors Michelle Matthews and Mallory Bess will fill in the forward positions. 6'0 sophomore Betsy Royer is expected to play center for the Lady Cats. Hendrix and Matthews were both named all-conference last season.

Coach Lonny Sheldon is very pleased with the effort his team has brought to the table. "We seem to be playing offensively," Sheldon said. "Our attitudes have been super. They have high expectations for themselves."

Defense is very important to every team and the Lady Cats will need to work on protecting their net to stay in every game. Fredericktown will need to pull down rebounds and attack the board if the Lady Cats are to be successful this season.

"Every season we want to be able to be competitive in our conference and in our district tournament," comments coach Sheldon about the upcoming season. "We're just looking forward to getting started. We've been working very hard at practice."

The Lady Cats will start their season when they host Woodland Monday.