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T 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 the 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 By Liz Branin P ONDER H IGH R OAR Volume 11, Issue 1 September 2013 Kings of the Kill

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The 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 the 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

By Liz Branin

Po n d e r Hi g H ro a rVolume 11, Issue 1 September 2013

Kings of the Kill

Friday, September 6th, during the homecom-ing halftime,members of the homecoming court and their escorts lined up on the field.

The beautiful girls in their nice evening dresses and handsome young boys in their football jer-seys took their turns being introduced and mov-ing to their spots on the field as the band played in the background. The crowd, filled with spirit and excitement, waited eagerly to hear which of our three seniors would be this year’s Homecoming Queen. The first to be announced were the freshmen- Bailey Beer, escorted by Jonathon Aguilar, Jaycee Harwell, escorted by Seth Ferryman, and Morgan Melvin, escorted by Jacob Summerlin. Then the sopho-mores- Kayla Carlton, escorted by Austin Bennet, Josie Hun-sucker, escorted by Danny Rivera, and Lauren Pitman, escorted by Garret Johnson were introduced. The junior court attendants were Leanna Brown, escorted by Chris Aivaliotis, Madison Hunsucker, escorted by Ryder Perry, and Shel-

by Greggerson, escorted by Dustin Ferguson.As the three senior girls and their escorts took the field, hearts sped up, cam-eras flashed, and the air of excitement grew so thick you could touch it. An-die Beer and her escort,

Spencer Waldo, were the first of the seniors to join the other classes’ nominees. Closely following them was Sadie Neilson and her es-cort, Christian Worthington. Finally, Meredith Vedral and her escort Brandon Dodson took their places on the

field. Once all of the nominees were on the field and plenty of pictures had been taken, the moment came to announce the Homecoming Queen. One long silence and a drum roll later, Meredith Vedral was announced to be our 2013 Football Homecoming Queen. As the sash, flowers and crown were given to her, Meredith’s face remained a picture of pleasant surprise. She was obviously elated to have been voted Homecoming Queen the very first time she was even

nominated. She got to enjoy her win with the other two nominees, two of her very best friends, who were just as proud as she was. “I was so surprised. I did not expect to win but it was very exciting,” Meredith commented. As hard as it was to decide a winner this year, and as close as it was, it’s good that the girls are proud of each other and had a good time. Congratula-tions to all of this year’s nominees!

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2The Queen Takes Her ThroneBy Sterling Stinson

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.”

“Kings of the Kill”, continued from page 1

Leading 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 around 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 ImpressThis 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.

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2013 Football Homecoming FestivitiesBy Oksana Bekh

Christian Worthington by Sterling Stinson

Whether 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 hiding. 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 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 the Regional Track Meet in 4x200 meter relay and 4x100 meter relay. He returned to Regionals his Junior year in the long jump, triple jump, 4x100 meter relay, 4x200 meter relay, and 4x400 meter relay. He was part of the district and area champion team in the 4x100 meter relay and 4x200 meter relay, and he broke all of the running records.

When Christian leaves Ponder High School after he walks the stage this spring, he plans to go on to college to study either Sports Medicine or Sports Psychology. He isn’t sure if he’ll continue to play sports, but he does want to play football and/or track. Until then, though, he plans to make the most of his senior year by making memories with his friends and teammates inside and outside of the classroom.

Spending her first two years of high school at Northwest, then switching to Ponder for her last two years was definitely a positive thing for senior Tori Alexander, who says the thing she will miss most when she graduates is being in such a small school where she

knows everyone. Starting at a new school did not discourage Tori from continuing to play her favorite sport, volleyball. Playing for eight years and dedicating up to 14 hours every week to volleyball has definitely made her good at what she does. It has shown not only in the games, but also in local newspapers, such as the Denton Record Chronicle, that have featured her great skills.

On the varsity team Tori is able to play all the way around, but her main position is middle hitter/blocker, making the competitive aspects of the sport her favorite. It is no surprise that most of Tori’s unforgettable memories are those at home games hanging out with her closest friends, which consists of all the girls on her team. Tori is also involved with the FFA. This year, she’s going to compete in Radio Broadcasting, Public Relations, and Dairy Cattle Judg-ing. Inside the classroom, she enjoys classes taught by her favorite teachers, Coach Espolt and Mr. Stover.

“Tori is a really good student who works hard in class,” says Coach Espolt. “She was also a lot of fun to have because she put up with my jokes. I believe she has the work ethic to do anything she wants to.”

Outside of school and extracurricular activities, Tori loves being outside, going fishing, and hanging out with her friends. “We have the most fun times together. From having girl talk in the car or blaring music, there is never a dull moment,” said sophomore Sage Stover. Ad-ditionally she enjoys spending time with her family. As an only child, she is very close to her mom and dad.

After graduating, Tori plans to attend Tarleton State University to study Agribusiness and play volleyball. Leaving high school, Tori hopes to be remembered for always being nice to people and for being on the first Ponder Volleyball Team to make playoffs.

Tori AlexanderBy Haley Chasteen

Senior Class of 2014

by Oksana Bekh

Ashley Reames

Ashley Reames is a born and bred Texas girl with an aptitude for volleyball and academics and a love for all things country. After living in Ponder for nine years, Ashley admits that she is ready to move on but knows there are many things she will miss about this small country town.

Volleyball has been a big part of Ashley’s life since junior high, where she was already recognized for her skills on the court, which have grown to be stronger being in high school. All of the time spent on the volleyball courts has led to some solid friendships, including those with fellow senior teammates Emily Summerlin and Meredith Vedral. “She is very hardworking, and that is inspiring; she supplies energy for the team,” Vedral said of Ashley. Reames says that time with her teammates is her favorite thing about being on the team, and that she will miss her coaches and her teammates very much when she graduates. Even though her volleyball family may be enough for this senior, she is still proud of the honors she has received over the years, including the title of First Team Middle Hitter/Blocker in district.

Even though Ashley is quiet the jockette, she still challenges herself academically by undertaking courses such as Dual Credit, Pre-AP, and even taking a math class during the summer to get into a pre-AP Pre-Cal class her junior year. She has also taken numerous agriculture classes offered at Ponder because they pertain to her dream career in Veterinary Science. Agriculture teacher Mr. Lankford has nothing but good things to say about Ashley. “She is a very hardworking and goal-oriented. She will make something of herself in life.” Ashley does all this to help herself secure a spot at A&M, her dream school.

In her down time, Ashley takes her role as a cowgirl seriously, and enjoys riding and barrel-racing her horse, Pistol. The horse, a gift from long-time friend and fellow senior and cowgirl Mary Cage, is one of Ashley’s most prized possessions in part because she trained him on her own, which was no small feat.

There is little doubt that this senior was made for A&M, and we expect to see her leave her (cowboy boot) print on A&M, as she has on Ponder, after she walks the stage this spring.

Tall, smart, and handsome is what every girl dreams for in any guy, right? Okay, that’s not quite the saying, but it’s no surprise that senior Spencer Waldo takes the ballot as Mr. Right-Minded. With honest goals and a successful start, he’s sure to do more-

than-well in this crazy world.In his spare time, Spencer enjoys watching “Friends” reruns and hanging out with best

friends Christian Worthington and Josh Peterson. In just a year since arriving to Ponder, Mr. Right-Minded has made the varsity football

team and become a regional qualifier in the 4x100m and 4x200m relays. This accomplish-ment even resulted with the entire regional varsity boys’ track team coming to school with bleached hair, an event to be remembered by over 300 individuals forever. In his time here, Spencer has also maintained an “A” average in all of his classes.

Spencer’s favorite teacher is Coach Pitman, for whom he plays football. He says playing sports with his friends is what he’ll miss most about Ponder and that his favorite memory is never losing to Alvord, which is where he attended school before moving here. Spencer is most proud of being on the school’s record-breaking relay teams and the time he beat Chris-tian Worthington, one of Ponder’s fastest runners, in the 40-yard Dash.

After high school, Spencer plans to attend college and try to be successful in life. His only word of advice about high school in general is to do everything you can. When asked if he had any parting words for his loved ones here in Ponder, he said, “Don’t take yourself too seriously.”

There is no doubt that Spencer will continue to be successful throughout life, being un-officially dubbed Mr. Right-Minded by many of the students at PHS. We wish him the best of luck in all of his endeavors. Good luck out there, Spencer!

by Liz Branin

Spencer Waldo

Senior Class of 2014

I bet you know about these kids at school, but I also bet you didn’t know that they had a name. S.T.E.P. is an alternative program for those who learn at a different pace. S.T.E.P stands for Students To Employment Program. Don’t feel bad for not knowing it--I didn’t either! Mr. Easterling,

the S.T.E.P teacher had to tell me, and when he did, he added, “And now we are the only two in the district that know what it stands for!” Well, now you all do as well! In our school’s S.T.E.P program, the teachers’ goal is to get the stu-dentsready to be as independent as possible and to be a job-holding member of our community. The students study normal things like lan-guage arts, math, and science, but they also learn something called occupational prep, where they are taught how to get a job and how to act and dress for a job. Our school takes S.T.E.P stu-dents from nearby places such as Sanger and Krum, but we also have students who come from as far away as Aubrey, Pilot Point and Argyle.

Thanks to our school’s program, and Mr. Easterling, a good num-ber of S.T.E.P students have gone on to have and hold jobs. Some have been holding them for over a year, and one of his students has

even gone on to junior college to work on getting a degree. Obvi-ously, this program is a blessing to its students, who are given renewed confidence and ability to live and function on their own. The best part of working with this group of kids, Mr. Easterling commented, is “seeing them through to the end, when they fit in and realize they can do things on their own.”

As you all know, homecoming week wasn’t too long ago. The school was decorated with posters and banners and, of

course, the themed hallways. In all of this, you may have noticed some handmade, excellent, brightly colored posters. The students in S.T.E.P made these for our school, not to mention the fact that it was the students’ idea to make the posters, too Each student brainstormed separately. To no one’s surprise, everyone got compliments! People would request to have their picture taken in front of these posters. Though of course, it’s very obvious why. I talked to one of the students of S.T.E.P, Brianna Johnson, who said, “Everyone had a lot of fun designing their posters.” Some

students used paper they cut into shapes, while others printed some photos off the Internet. They would help one another and share opin-ions or ideas until they each had them perfected. All-in-all, it took them about two weeks to complete all of them. These posters helped brighten up our hallways this homecoming season. So, next time you come across one of the S.T.E.P students be sure to congratulate them on their good work and thank them for helping us decorate!

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Students STEP Up to HelpBy Katie Dickens

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Triple Threat for a Winning Season By Haley Chasteen

The school year has begun and every-thing has fallen into the normal routine here at Ponder, including the sports.

Football, being a new sport to Ponder has not exactly done the best in the past, but has seemed to improve since the begin-ning of the new season. Our varsity and JV football boys have played in four games, each team winning two of the four, but have overcome every assumption made about them throughout these games. This sud-den improvement of athleticism may have something to do with the recent hiring of three new coaches; Thomas Kent, Greg Lane, and Glen Shuelke.

The new assistant football coach is Thomas Kent from Baton Rouge, Louisi-ana. It’s no surprise that when Coach Kent attended high school his favorite sport was football , but nowadays when he’s not involved in the sport he enjoys spending quality time with his family, rock climbing, and pretty much anything outdoors. When it comes to coaching, his philosophy is very encourag-ing, “The pace of the leader determines the pace of the pack,” said Coach Kent. Going right along with his optimistic attitude Coach Kent expressed that the thing he enjoyed most about his work is, instilling belief in those that don’t believe they can. These positive and supportive views surely will prove to be valuable as the season contin-ues on.

Greg Lane, the new defensive coordina-tor has played a major role in the teams’ improvement of blocking the opposing team from scoring and other areas of the game. “Coach Lane has helped the Ponder defense incredibly and he will improve us more as the season goes on. It is obvious that with his knowledge we will win many games to come.” said varsity football line-backer Jacob Whited. Relating to his coach-ing values Coach Lane believes you must, ‘Work to enable each and every athlete with the ability and strength to achieve success in life, no matter what the challenges they may face!’ Coach Lane also conveyed that

the part of his job he takes most joy in is, “being around kids and sharing in their lives.” Aside from coaching he enjoys spending time with his family, traveling, hunting, and playing golf. When he retires, Coach Lane plans to travel throughout Europe with his wife, settle down somewhere in the country, and occasionally play golf, but while he’s still coaching here at Ponder he hopes to make an impression of being a person who would do anything for you at any time.

The last, but certainly nowhere close to least, new football coach is head coach, Glen Schelke. Schelke and his wife both work here in Ponder ISD. While he works

as the Head Coach of our football team his wife, Carrie, works at the Ju-nior High teaching reading, where their daughter Peyton is currently go-ing through eighth

grade. When he is not working he enjoys watching all sports, exercising, and being around his family. Being happiest when the team is winning on Friday nights Coach Schuelke believes you should always “play like it’s your last game every night.” Being a coach is a job that comes with many ups and downs, but there are moments that I imagine make the job worthwhile, includ-ing Coach Shuelke’s favorite moments of watching kids grow up and mature into young adults. As Coach Shuelke spends his time here at Ponder he plans to be known as a winner that values more than just wins and losses.

With the remaining games of the football season and any years they spend with Pon-der after this one each new coach; Kent, Lane, and Shuelke will surely prove to be a great addition to the athletic department. With many views and ideas being contrib-uted throughout the football team and the collaboration with the fantastic coaches that have been here for years we all can count on seeing many improvements throughout both teams. The improvement is already evident and can only increase from here on out.

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Do you want your own copy of the Print Roar? See Mrs. Crider in RM 221 or your “ROAR” Staff.

Faces Behind the Roar

WACKY WORDIES

1. Miss Understanding 2.Wake Up in a Good Mood 3.Step on the gas Sterling

1. She’s 5’11. 2. She loves writing. 3. She wears size 11 shoes.

Katie1. She is obsessive.2. She loves horror books.3. She is peladophobic.

Teryana 1. She loves chocolate. 2. She’s obsessed with babies. 3. Her favorite author is Stephen King.

Haley 1. She loves acting. 2. She likes politics. 3. She hopes to change the world.

Liz1. She wants to debate for UNT.2. She was born in Tyler, TX.3. She enjoys baking and cake-decorating.

Oksana 1. She loves sewing. 2. She loves rock music. 3. She’s a bookworm.