Stories from Thursday, November 29, 2018

The family of Mr. Sherman E. Potter is saddened by the passing of their Father, Sherman on Nov. 27, 2018, at 4:47 p.m. Sherman was born on June 22, 1925, in Greensburg, Kan. A private family service will be held at Green Valley Cemetery. Memorials to one of the following would be appreciated by the family: Harry Hynes Hospice and City of Greensburg...

Pete Contla, age 79, resident of Fort Scott, Kan., formerly of Harbor City, Calif., passed away Monday, Nov. 26, 2018. There was cremation. Rev. Chuck Russell will conduct memorial services at 3 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 1, at the Cheney Witt Chapel. Memorials are suggested to the Pete Contla Memorial Fund and may be left in care of the Cheney Witt Chapel, P.O. Box 347, 201 S. Main St., Fort Scott, KS 66701. Words of remembrance may be submitted to the online guestbook at cheneywitt.com...

Early last season, Northeast High School’s boys got off to a rough start. But during that time, head coach Russ Cramer didn’t have the team he knew he’d finish the season with. “We started 0-4,” Cramer said. “But some kids who transferred became eligible second semester and we finished the season on a 13-3 run. When we played well together, we were tough to beat.”...

Uniontown head wrestling coach Cody Kramer has only one returning letterwinner among the 10 kids he has out for the team this season. But that one is returning two-time State Tournament qualifier Colt Eck, who will begin the season as the No. 2-ranked wrestler in Class 3-2-1A by the Kansas Wrestling Coaches Association...

A certain professional basketball team might say, “Trust the process.” Uniontown head girls’ coach Dustin Miller says, it’s about the “what” more than the “why” when it comes to building the Eagles’ program. “For me it has always been an ongoing lesson to concentrate on the ‘Why’ more than the ‘What,’” Miller says. ...

Describing Uniontown’s boys’ basketball team as “young” this season is probably an understatement. Of the 12 players out for basketball at Uniontown this season, five are sophmores and five are freshmen. There are no seniors. “We’ll just need to keep building and growing physically as well as mentally,” Eagle head coach Jeremy Neville says...

Fort Scott head wrestling coach Alvin Metcalf, Jr. has a very crowded wresting practice area. Not only are there 27 boys out, but there are also 16 girls who have chosen to participate this season. “Last year at the end of the year, when I have what’s called ‘reckoning,’ we talked about each kid’s thing we need to work on,’” Metcalf said. ...

What does a coach do when he has to replace his entire starting lineup? This is what Fort Scott High girls’ head coach Pechone Stepps faces this season, his fifth as head coach of the Tigers, faces. All five of his starters were seniors last season and he’s going to have to rely on some of last year’s reserves and role players to step into key roles...

Was it somewhat surprising to see Fort Scott High’s boys picked to finish sixth in the Southeast Kansas League coaches poll? Consider that it’s not because that the coaches don’t think the Tigers, 8-13 last season, don’t have the experience or the talent to compete in the always-tough SEK...

Northeast girls’ coach Scott Post has had success as a head coach but last season, injuries to key players caused the Vikings to take a step back from the top of the pack in the Three Rivers League. “Last year was my worst at Northeast,” Post said. “We went 5-16 after winning 58 games (total) the previous four. We had too many injuries to key seniors. We ended up mainly playing young kids. We lost four or five games by 5 points or less.”...