Now that another school year is in the history books, it is time to look back at what was the high school sports season in Gasconade County.

During the fall, Owensville and Hermann both had softball, football, volleyball and cross country with plenty of highlights for both schools.

On the gridiron, Dustin Howard’s Owensville Dutchmen endured their second consecutive winless season while the Bearcats coached by Jed Leeper won a pair of games against Highway 19 opponents in Owensville during the regular season and Cuba in the opening round of districts.

With Howard stepping down as head football coach, long time former Dutchmen head football coach Randy Crowe will return looking to right the ship looking to avoid a school record 26-game losing streak during the upcoming fall season.

This fall, OHS will be celebrating the 20th anniversary of their best season in program history where they made it all the way to the Missouri State High School Activities Association (MSHSAA) Class 3 Show-Me Bowl held back in 2006 inside the Edwards Jones Dome in downtown St. Louis.

Last year, the Show-Me Bowl made the move from Faurot Field in Columbia to Spratt Stadium up in St. Joseph which is home to the Missouri Western Griffins.

In cross country, both Owensville and Hermann qualified runners for the state meet with Nolan Kopp representing the Bearcats on the podium during the Missouri State High School Activities Association (MSHSAA) Class 2 Boys race at the MSHSAA Cross Country Championships held in Columbia on the Gans Creek Cross Country Course.

Dutchmen junior Zach Holtmeyer earned his third All-State medal tying Carter Brocato for the most in school history while Hannah Gehlert added individual All-State honors after helping the 2025 Dutchgirl Cross Country team place third as a team.

On the volleyball court, Tess (Schannuth) Yoggerst led Hermann’s Lady Bearcats to their 10th consecutive MSHSAA Volleyball Championships appearance at the St. Joseph Civic Arena in northwest Missouri.

Placing second to Fair Grove, Hermann added another piece of state hardware to an already crowded trophy case.

Jamie Ridenhour’s Dutchgirls picked up some quality wins in 2025 and will have the potential at an even better 2026 with the graduation of only two seniors and a solid junior class returning for the upcoming fall.

Early in softball season, Hermann defeated Owensville for the first time in over two decades and will have more numbers for the fall of 2026 as they entered into a cooperative agreement with New Haven to help Lady Shamrock athletes have an opportunity to compete in softball after not having enough to field a team for the past several years.