September 2013
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P ONDER H IG H R OAR Volume 11, Issue 1 September 2013 Kings of the Kill By Liz Branin he roar of the crowd’s conversation fills your ears as sweat drips down the sides of your face. You can smell the popcorn mixed with Tthe scents of both fear and anticipation. Teammates grunt fiercely as they line up on either side of you with bent knees while the players arrayed in front of you struggle for each breath. The whistle blows and all goes silent, except for the distant ringing noise that can only be labeled as “focus.” It all comes down to this moment. Will your team pull through for a victory, or fall out in submission to the opponent? Moments like these are what define a football player. It is not his record or yardage, but rather what goes through his mind in the single moment before a game-changing play that determines who he is in a uniform. For each and every varsity Lion on the field the night of September 6, the thought was simple – “I will not back down.” The Ponder High School football homecoming game was one brimming with tension. It was a close call in the second quarter when the Alvord Bulldogs marked Ponder’s nine-yard line before receding 20 yards back on multiple penalties. The scoreboard, however, had still not seen light by the end of the first half. While the crowd was on its tip-toes, the teams and coaches were anxiously awaiting the start of the second half. Christian Worthington grabbed a hold of the leash in the very first play of the second half when he ran the ball from the kickoff return for the first touchdown of the night. Jose DeLeon kicked for an extra point immediately afterward. In the next quarter, Worthington received the ball from J.J. Torres for another touchdown, making the score 13 to 0. Five minutes before the buzzer, the Bulldogs claimed 51 yards for a touchdown of their own, bringing the score to a mere seven-point difference. The Lions spent the majority of the fourth quarter on continued on pg. 2 The Queen Takes Her Throne By Sterling Stinson riday, September 6th, during the homecom- Spencer Waldo, were the ing halftime,members of the homecoming first of the seniors to join the court and their escorts lined up on the field. other classes’ nominees. TheF beautiful girls in their nice evening dresses Closely following them was and handsome young boys in their football jer- Sadie Neilson and her es- seys took their turns being introduced and mov- cort, Christian Worthington. ing to their spots on the field as the band played Finally, Meredith Vedral and in the background. The crowd, filled with spirit her escort Brandon Dodson and excitement, waited eagerly to hear which of took their places on the our three seniors would be this field. Once year’s Homecoming Queen. all of the nominees were on the The first to be announced were field and plenty of pictures had the freshmen- Bailey Beer, been taken, the moment came escorted by Jonathon Aguilar, to announce the Homecoming Jaycee Harwell, escorted by Queen. One long silence and a Seth Ferryman, and Morgan drum roll later, Meredith Vedral Melvin, escorted by Jacob was announced to be our 2013 Summerlin. Then the sopho- Football Homecoming Queen. mores- Kayla Carlton, escorted As the sash, flowers and crown by Austin Bennet, Josie Hun- were given to her, Meredith’s sucker, escorted by Danny face remained a picture of Rivera, and Lauren Pitman, pleasant surprise. She was escorted by Garret Johnson obviously elated to have been were introduced. The junior voted Homecoming Queen the court attendants were Leanna very first time she was even Brown, escorted by Chris Aivaliotis, Madison nominated. She got to enjoy her win with the Hunsucker, escorted by Ryder Perry, and Shel- other two nominees, two of her very best friends, by Greggerson, escorted who were just as proud as she was. “I was so by Dustin Ferguson. surprised. I did not expect to win but it was very As the three senior girls exciting,” Meredith commented. As hard as it and their escorts took the was to decide a winner this year, and as close field, hearts sped up, cam- as it was, it’s good that the girls are proud of eras flashed, and the air of each other and had a good time. Congratula- excitement grew so thick tions to all of this year’s nominees! you could touch it. An- die Beer and her escort, “Kings of the Kill”, continued from page 1 defense, sacking the Bulldog quarterback time and time again. In another very close call, Ponder intercepted the ball at the 40-yard line with only 11 seconds to spare – a move that could have cost them the game were it not successful. The Lions held their line for the remaining time, claiming a vic- tory at 13 to six and proving that we are, indubitably, kings of the kill. “It was our commitment to each other [as teammates] that led us to victory,” sophomore Brady Ander- son said. Trey Dunlap attributed their win to the love and support of the Ponder faculty, parents, students, and alumni of our town. “The boys played hard, knowing we needed a win,” varsity senior Brandon Dodson said. “Our effort was unmatched and, with all of the coaches getting us on the same page, we pulled it off.” Ponder High Roar - page 2 Ponder 2013 Football Homecoming Festivities page 3 High Roar, Ponder By Oksana Bekh eading up to the all-important homecoming game is the homecoming week, full of dress-up days, compe- titions, and, most importantly, spirit. So whether you go all out, or sit back and enjoy watching everyone Laround you, you know you like it. Here’s a recap in case you missed out on even one day of this spirited week. Dressed to Impress This year’s dress-up days brought out the nerds, Hawaiian shirts, red, blue, and white, stripes, and stars. Spen- cer Waldo, Craig Reames, Tori Alexander, Sterling Stinson, and Hannah Crandall were the nerdiest kids in school on Tuesday. Looking island-cool on Wednesday were: Leanna Brown, Erica Duran, Colton Cassidy, Glenda Wright, and Teryana Sledge. Chase Austin, Gala Valenzuela, Cody Garner, and T.J. Pullen rocked flag colors the best on Patriotic Day. The sounds of bells, chains, and ribbons all colliding into each other on mums and garters rang through the halls of PHS all Friday long as the week of dress-up days came to a close with Spirit Day. Deck the Halls Each class had to tap into their decorating skills for this year’s hall decorating contest, which has to incorpo- rate our team, the rivals, and/or both. The seniors shined the brightest in this contest with a Hollywood themed hallway, complete with a red carpet, a skyline view, and a Hollywood walk of fame, which displayed the pictures of the shining stars of our football team. Up for a game of Pac-Man? Then the junior hallway, decked out to look like an arcade, was the perfect place to go. The sophomore hallway was disguised as a superhero layer for the week, and the freshman hallway was a circus, literally. Fired Up! Everyone got fired-up for the big game on Friday at the annual bonfire on Wednesday. The night started out with the PHS cheerleaders getting the crowed pumped up for a speech by the head football coach, Coach Schulke, who promised a “W” at Friday night’s game. Afterward, the cheerleaders returned to perform for the crowd again, and then summoned the seniors to lead the crowd in singing the school’s Alma Mater. The night also included plenty of music, a big, bright fire, courtesy of the football team and their parents, and, of course, spirit! A big thanks goes to the Ponder Fire Department for allowing us to have this bonfire and ensuring that everything was safe. hether you’ve seen him in the halls or sprinting up and down the basketball courts, foot- ball fields, or track, you’ve probably noticed Christian around Ponder. He certainly isn’t Whiding. Loud, funny and talkative, this guy is hard to miss. When he’s not causing trouble in the halls, though, he’s causing trouble for the other teams in his sports. As a football captain, a bas- ketball star, and a phenomenal sprinter, he is very well known by the sports fans in our school district. Christian first came to our small town from Denton in 5th grade and almost immediately fell into a group of friends. One of which is his long time best friend, Austin Spiker. “Christian is an inspi- ration on and off the field,” Spiker commented on Christian’s influence on his peers. Isn’t that the truth! Christian is known for his joking nature, and often brightens the days of those around. “Chris- tian was one of the first people I met when I moved here. He’s always upbeat and trying to have fun Christian and he really helped make moving here easier”, Spencer Waldo, another close friend of his, added. As a track star, Christian has made many accomplishments. His sophomore year, he made it to Worthington the Regional Track Meet in 4x200 meter relay and 4x100 meter relay. He returned to Regionals his by Sterling Stinson Junior year in the long jump, triple jump, 4x100 meter relay, 4x200 meter relay, and 4x400 meter relay.