Risco Tigers beat Southland for first district title since 2019

GIDEON, Mo. - The Class 1 District 1 Championship game featured a Tri-County Conference rematch between Risco and Southland.

The Risco Tigers would once again come out as champions over the Southland Rebels with a 79-40 win.

For head coach Branden Blankenship, after having their season end at the District finals last year, they are glad to be back on top.

“I’m just proud,” Blankenship said. “Proud of our guys, proud of the way they’ve battled all year. We worked hard to try and be consistent. If we play consistent in our practices and games, we’ll see consistent outcomes. It’s been pretty consistent for us this year in our effort, execution and love for each other.”

This win granted the Tigers their first District title since 2019 and an overall 26-2 record. According to the MSHSAA database, which dates back to 2009, this is the best record for Risco in recent history.

They managed an entire season, only losing to Bernie and Dexter. Even still, both of those games were close as they only lost to Bernie by five points and lost to Dexter by two.

As they fought to avoid another heartbreak at the District finals, as they suffered last season, the Tigers were firing on all cylinders.

They got off to a 20-9 advantage over Southland in the first quarter. This gave the Tigers a lead the Rebels were never able to overcome.

Soutland’s Braylen Cox did everything he could to keep the Rebels in the game as he scored all nine of his team’s points in the first quarter.

Risco was led in scoring by junior Eli Rodgers and senior Landon Baker. Rodgers had 12 points in the first half, leading the Tigers to a 35-18 halftime score.

The third quarter would solidify their victory as Baker and Rodgers both got hot from three-point range. They nearly matched their first-half score, putting up 32 points in the third quarter.

Baker had 11 points in the third quarter alone. He would finish with 20 total points.

Meanwhile, Rodgers would capture a game high 24 points.

“This feels great,” Rodgers said after his 24-point performance. “Everything finally lined up for us and it feels great to finally get this. I’m thankful for my teammates and our coaches. We’ve worked hard every day. I know that’s cliche, but we really do. We’ve been working to be consistent all year and it finally paid off.”

Following the Tri-County Championship game against Southland, where the Tigers were only allowed to compete with five players, Risco fans came to this game with signs reading ‘Pick and Five”.

For the team, this is a testament to how they have faith in any player they put on the court to carry out their goal.

“Our eight guys that play Varsity are all juniors and seniors,” Blankenship said. “This is not a process that started this year. This is a process carried over from last year, and the year before that and the year before that one. This has been at least three years in the making, to get these guys to this point. They work hard, they listen and they do the right thing when we ask them to do it.”

As Baker and Rodgers led the Tigers, Senior Sammy Smith also finished with 14 points.

Southland’s Cox would help lead his team with 13 points.

Despite their loss, this has been the Rebels’ highest finish since 2016 and only the second time in history where the Rebels finished as District runner-ups.

Head coach Tyre Washington wanted to thank his seniors, Lonnie (Trace) Gibson, Jeremiah McMinn and Kainan Baugus, for leading the team to a historical feat and the city of Cardwell for its support throughout this season.

“I’m happy for the city of Cardwell, for the players, the community and our coaching staff,” Washington said. “We started the year with a goal of 10 wins, and we’ve far exceeded that.”

As Risco advances to the Class 1 state tournament, they will face Richland (Essex) with extra motivation as this team ended their season last year.

“The jobs not done,” Blankenship said. “We want to enjoy this moment for sure, anytime we win a District Championship, but we have State Championship aspirations. That’s hard work, of course, because every team that has made it to this point has State Championship aspirations. We aren’t unique in that anymore, so we have to grind it out and take it one game at a time.”

The Sectionals game against Richland will be held at Gideon on March 3 with a 6:30 p.m. tip-off.