Farmington doubles team wins two matches at state

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. — The Farmington doubles team of Courtney Jensen and Alicia Murray reached the second day of competition at the Class 1 state tennis tournament with two victories in the consolation bracket on Friday.

The Knightettes’ senior tandem quickly ousted Abby Craighead and Kristen Fisher of Fulton 6-2, 6-3 before advancing past the Richland duo of Couri Braithwait and Lacy Curtman in straight sets 6-4, 6-4.

Jensen and Murray seized the early upper hand during their consolation quarterfinal match on Saturday morning, but were outlasted and eliminated by Laura Faulkner and Rebecca Mayus in three 5-7, 6-2, 6-4.

Farmington dropped its first-round contest on Friday 6-1, 6-1 to Christine Schlafly and Lauren DeRousse of Westminster, who went on to finish third overall. The state tournament was helped at Cooper Tennis Complex in Springfield.

MAC VOLLEYBALL

EAST PEORIA, Ill. — The Mineral Area College volleyball team salvaged a victory during its last of three matches at the Illinois Central Tournament this weekend, defeating SW Illinois 26-24, 25-20, 19-25, 25-16 on Saturday.

Mineral Area (32-12) lost in straight games to the nationally-ranked host club 17-25, 20-25, 20-25 earlier Saturday morning, and fell to Parkland College 25-18, 25-17, 31-29 on Friday night.

Bailey Stanley slammed a team-high 22 kills, while Milica Balandzic knocked down 19 and Brittany Sinclair added 18 on Saturday for the Lady Cardinals. Balandzic served five aces and Chelsea Pinson led the defense with 73 digs.

MAC will host region power West Plains in the regular-season finale on Friday night.

FOOTBALL

Valle 42, Van-Far 0

VANDALIA, Mo. — Quarterback Michael Greminger threw a pair of scoring passes and also ran for two touchdowns on Friday night, as the Valle football team clinched a Class 1 playoff berth with a 42-0 road victory over Van-Far.

Valle (7-2) allowed just one first down while notching its fourth defensive shutout of the season, and built a 36-0 lead by halftime.

Two runs by Greminger of five and two yards by Greminger bookended a 1-yard touchdown plunge by Nathan Geile during the opening quarter. Three successful two-point conversions quickly made it 24-0. Geile added a second rushing TD from five yards out.

Jason Blum caught a 10-yard pass from Greminger just before intermission, and Geile capped the scoring with a 42-yard reception in the third quarter. The Warriors will play for a district championship Friday night at Paris with both clubs assured of advancing to the regional round.

De Soto 28, North County 0

DE SOTO — The De Soto Dragons continued their breakout football season behind a disciplined rushing attack, and eliminated struggling North County from Class 4 playoff contention with 28-0 shutout on Friday night.

Landon Anderson compiled 219 yards on 30 carries, including a 71-yard scoring jaunt in the first quarter. His second touchdown run occurred with 1:11 remaining in the first half, giving the Dragons a 21-0 lead.

De Soto (8-1) capped the scoring early in the third quarter with a 6-yard pass from quarterback Neal Finch to Donald Hoss. The Dragons will play Festus for the Class 4, District 2 championship on Thursday.

North County (2-7) finished with two turnovers on fumbles, and saw four other drives stall on downs. Quarterback Derek Gibson finished 7-of-12 passing for 53 yards.

Senior Will Swofford rushed 12 times for 80 yards, and Mike Miller added 42 yards on the ground to lead the Raiders, who will conclude their season at home against Windsor on Thursday. Joel Simon made five receptions.