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Four individuals, two teams are 2018 inductees into Sikeston Hall of Fame
SIKESTON — Two teams and four individuals will be inducted into the Sikeston R-6 Hall of Fame at Friday’s football game between the Sikeston Bulldogs and the Jackson Indians.
The names of the 2018 inductees will be featured on the recognition board in the Field House. There are no 2018 Honor Wall inductees.
Individual inductees include former SHS Bulldogs Blake Flannigan, Josh Hampton, Nick Nichols and Vashawn Ruffin. Teams being inducted into this year’s Hall of Fame are the 2012-2013 varsity cheerleading team and the 2012-2013 boys basketball team.
Flannigan was selected to the SEMO North’s First-Team Offense and First-Team Defense. He was named to the Southeast Missouri Area Football Coaches Association All Region First-Team Defense and Second-Team Offense, and he was also honored as the Most Valuable Player on Defense.
After his team completed their season 9-2, Flannigan received more recognition: SEMO Media All-Region First-Team Defense, Missouri Football Coaches All-District First-Team, Derland Moore SEMO Defensive Player of the Year and Missouri Football Coaches All-State First-Team.
A member of the class of 2013, in his junior year Hampton helped the team win a sectional championship—the only one in school history—and finish the season 20-5 with a sixth-place state ranking.
At the request of head coach Doyle Noe, Hampton switched to the goalkeeper position his senior year, and Hampton never regretted the move. Individually, Hampton set two school records: He allowed only 22 goals the entire season and recorded 15 shutouts, two accomplishments that still stand today.Selected to First-Team All-Conference, First-Team All-Region, and First-Team All-State, Hampton was also named Missouri’s Class 2 Goalkeeper of the Year. Hampton contributed to the team’s 19-5 season record, the Bulldog soccer team’s only conference championship.
Nichols was the 2013 team captain for the Bulldogs football team. Leading the team in tackles for a loss (36) and sacks (9), Nichols was honored with many awards: SEMO North’s First-Team All-Conference Defense, SEMO Area Football Coaches’ Association All-Region First-Team Defense, SEMO Media All-Region First-Team Defense, Missouri Football Coaches All-District First-Team, Missouri Football Coaches’ All-State Third-Team and Associated Press All-State Team Defensive Lineman. He also was named the SEMO North Lineman of the Year and the SEMO Area Football Coaches’ Association All-Region Lineman of the Year.
Ruffin, a 2013 graduate, served as the Bulldog point guard. The four-year varsity player helped his team win four district championships, three conference championships, four sectional championships, four quarterfinal appearances and two final four appearances.
In his senior year, Ruffin averaged 16.5 points per game, made 39 percent of his three-point attempts and shot 81 percent from the free-throw line. Accolades included: First-Team All-Conference, First-Team All-District, First-Team All-Region, First-Team All-State. and he was named the SEMO Area Player of the Year, SEMO Area Offensive Player of the Year, SEMO Conference MVP and Class 4 Player of the Year for Missouri. Scoring over 1,000 points in his high school career, Ruffin was a part of Bulldog teams that compiled a record of 101-12.
After winning second place in Missouri’s 4A Cheerleading Competition two years in a row, the Sikeston 2012-2013 cheerleading team, led by head cheerleader Kyleigh Branch, was determined to bring home a state title. Coaches Wanda Throop and Tricia Keefer along with the cheerleaders practiced five times a week, and the girls perfected basket tosses, stuntin, and tumbling. The team performed all skills perfectly and pulled out a 10x15-foot Bulldog flag to end their routine, and the team won the 4A Missouri Championship.
Led by the 2013 SEMO Conference Coach of the Year Gregg Holifield, the Bulldog basketball team defeated Cape Central, 77-61, in districts; Park Hills Central, 84-50, in sectionals; and Gateway Tech, 62-52, in quarterfinals to advance to the State High School Basketball Tournament held at the University of Missouri.
On their rode to the Final Four, the Bulldogs won the regular season SEMO Conference title, SEMO Conference Tournament and St. Dominic Christmas Tournament. In the state semifinals, the Bulldogs lost to Normandy in overtime, 74-72. The Bulldogs went on to defeate Liberty North, 55-54, claiming third place in Class 4 and finishing 27-3 for the year.