By Anvil Welch
awelch@joplinglobe.com
Bowling Green High School apparently gained a standout football player with the transfer of Geoff Correnti from Joplin after his seventh-grade year.
Correnti, a 6-foot, 230-pound senior center-linebacker, has helped the Bobcats reach the MSHSAA Show-Me Bowl for the first time.
Bowling Green (14-0) challenges defending champion Cassville (13-1) at 3:15 p.m. on Saturday for the Class 3 title at St. Louis in the Edward Jones Dome.
“Geoff is a good football player,” Bowling Green coach Jimmy Tucker said Tuesday. “In fact, he’s a good baseball player, too.”
Correnti, who bats left and throws right, fills the role of pitcher-utilityman in baseball and hopes to play one of the sports in college, according to his dad Sam.
The name Sam Correnti Jr. and wife Judi will jog the memory of several Joplin area residents.
Sons Nick and Matt graduated from McAuley Catholic High School. Daughter Laura is a junior at Missouri State University.
Sam was involved in youth baseball and football and coached the Tri-County American Legion baseball team for three summers. He still coaches American Legion (Clarksville Post 349).
Nick, an outfielder at Missouri-Rolla, is a civil engineer and works for the Missouri Department of Transportation. Matt also is an engineer with an oil company in Indonesia. Laura plans to become a veterinarian.
The family moved to Bowling Green in September 2005, Sam Correnti said, after changing jobs from ICI Explosives to Dyno Nobel.
A transfer from Pennsylvania originally placed the Villanova graduate in Joplin.
“I’m stuck in the middle of Cardinal Nation (about 11/2 hours from Busch Stadium),” he said with a laugh. “I go when the Phillies are visiting.”
Bowling Green athletic director Matt Chance said the win in the first round this year was a first for the Bobcats. They were 8-3 last season with a loss to Berkeley McCluer South in the first round.
Said Tucker: “We started just three seniors last season. We start only juniors and seniors this year ... no sophomores.”
Bowling Green traveled to nearby Hannibal for Tuesday’s practice on an artificial surface.
“Our practice field also has a little water standing on it,” Tucker said.
Tucker is a graduate of Lepanto (Ark.) East Poinsett County High School and Arkansas State University of Jonesboro. He’s in his fifth season as head coach at Bowling Green after assisting five years at Palmyra.
