The Hancock-Henderson Quill, Inc.


Illini West Takes 1st In FFA Shoot at D& E Archery

by Steve Wood, Special For The Quill

Carthage had their own sport competition going on last week as the Winter Olympic 2010 in Canada came to an end. It wasn't on ice and snow but inside D & E Archery, a 20 year old family owned and operated business in Carthage.

Dennis Tubbs is the owner and has been conducting the FFA shoot for 5 years.

"There were a couple of FFA kids in the shop one day and we got to talking about FFA and how the FFA has an Archery program, but the kids had no where to shoot, so I just thought I would offer my shop," Dennis explained.

This year 48 students from six schools participated: Bushnell Prairie City, Illini West, Liberty, North Fulton, Warsaw, and West Prairie, with West Prairie having two teams for a total of 7 teams.

The Winning Team this year was Illini West FFA: Eric Belshaw, Ryan Bolen, Jessie Holtsclaw, Trey Orth, Kyle Tate, and Jay Williams. They won by 2 points. It was the closest competition in the 5 years of this shoot.

First place with the Individual Highest Score was Curt Ferguson of BPC with 340 points out of a possible 360.

"With the numerous interest this year we are planning on at least one more shoot before the outdoor 3D season starts," stated Dennis.

Dennis said the 2010 FFA Shoot was the largest shoot they have had with 30 targets in place including a flying Armadillo and an ice fishing bobber.

Dennis added, "Another reason why I thought this FFA shoot was a great idea is there's a lot of girls and boys who may not be the big jock type, but still love competition. This archery shoot brings out that competition. Not only school against school, but individual against individual as well."

The Winning Team from Illini West FFA in Carthage is from left: Trey Orth, Jessie Holtsclaw, Kyle Tate, Eric Belshaw, Ryan Bolen, and Jay Williams.

The Tubbs named their shop D & E for their names Dennis and Ellie. Their two children (daughter Andrea and son Matt) also help with the shop. He moved from his home to his current location 9 years ago.

"I used to purchase at other locations, but I had such a passion for the craft that I started my own business. I also didn't like the way others fixed my things so I wanted to learn, and do it myself."

D & E Archery is an authorized Hoyt, PSE, Parker, Elite, and Limbsaver Dealer. Dennis is the only certified Hoyt and PSE tech as well as Shooter Instructor in the area and went to certification school for both. He offers one-on-one lessons. You can visit his shop along Hwy 94, Tuesday through Friday Noon to 6 p.m. and Saturday 10-3. His contact information is: D & E Archery "your Bow and Fixins shop"

Shop 217-357-2485

1489 N Hwy 94 South Carthage. Their Email is-dearchery90@yahoo.com.

2010 FFA Shoot Results

Carthage - 1ST PLACE

Ryan Bolan (2nd) 332/332

Eric Belshaw (3rd) 327/327

Jesse Holtsclaw 316/316

Kyle Tate 314/314

Trey Ourth 276/

Jordan Cadwell 270/270

TOTAL 1559

BUSHNELL

Curt Ferguson (1st) 340/340

Zach Boden 320/320

Matt Bartlett 311/311

Chance Downey 296/296

Hannah Cortez 290/290

Cooper 262/

Spencer Mast 231/

TOTAL 1557

WEST PRAIRIE TEAM #1

Bret Philips 293/293

Nick Shelley 291/291

Chase Taylor 287/287

Zach Shoemaker 278/278

Caleb Shoemaker 273/273

TOTAL 1422

LIBERTY

Evan Crawford 306/306

Cody Johnston 275/275

Ryan Walton 248/248

Mason Peter 220/220

Shawn Johnston 216/216

Alex Johnston 115/115

TOTAL 1380

WARSAW

Rhett Nason 314/314

Doug Althide 278/278

Matt Martin 265/265

Phillip DeWald 241/241

Greg Hoener 238/238

Mikeal Akers 221

TOTAL 1336

North Fulton

Dylan Yocum 312/312

Jade Foster 294/294

Drew Moss 273/273

Darrick Burkhead 256/256

Jim M. 246/246

TOTAL 1087

WEST PRAIRIE TEAM #2

Taylor Thompson 264/264

Brian Moore 244/244

Hunter Aten 230/230

Ben Broadhead 210/210

Ethan B. 89/89

TOTAL 1037

Curt Ferguson, Bushnell

Top Individual in shoot.

Dennis Tubbs and daughter Andrea