Seniors
Homecoming is a week where students and staff can show pride for their school and show spirit in creative ways. This past week, from September 29 to October 4, Janesville-Waldorf-Pemberton held its homecoming, starting with the coronation on Monday, Sept. 29. If you didn’t see the write-up on the coronation from last week’s paper, Brielle James was crowned homecoming queen and Caleb Quast was chosen as king.
We had the chance to interview the homecoming court, which will be featured in this week’s paper. Following the coronation was powderpuff football.
Following the JWP homecoming coronation on Monday, September 29, was the powderpuff football games. It was flag football with a couple of different rules. The teams played a fifteen-minute game with a running clock, quarterbacks couldn’t run against the defense blitzed, and the older team earned one point more than their opponent when scoring a touchdown; for example, when if the juniors a touchdown on the sophomores, they had seven points, while the sophomores only earned six.
Since many of the team members for the seniors were on the homecoming court, their game against the freshmen was delayed. Instead, the juniors faced the sophomores. The sophomores stopped the juniors’ first drive, and MaKenzie Westphal ran it in for the touchdown. On defense, Haylee Appel returned an interception for a touchdown. Annie Fuerstenberg tried to will the juniors back into the game with a catch for a touchdown, but the sophomores ran out the clock for the 12-7 victory.
Admittedly, the seniors were a bit cocky, and it nearly cost them against a scrappy freshman team. They tried to act confused on the first play, with Nevaeh Weimert getting the ball and trying to fly past the freshmen, but it didn’t work. Lilly Ewert made a clutch pass to Lily Quast to set up a nice run by Victoria Blomstrom for the touchdown; Ewert connected with Weimert for the two-point conversion for a 9-0 start. The freshmen responded quickly, with MaKaela Westphal catching the ball for a touchdown. The freshmen then returned an interception for a touchdown to make it a sudden 12-9 disadvantage for the seniors.
Weimert found space on the seniors’ next possession and ran for nearly 20 yards on a carry along the sidelines. Ewert regained her composure and found Aubrey Adams for the touchdown to regain the lead. The freshmen took back the contest with another touchdown, making it 18-16 and leaving the seniors with very little time to come back.
Ellie Morsching, who may have arguably been the MVP of the night, ran along the sidelines, slipping past a defender who just missed grabbing a flag, and she ran it in for the game-winning score, getting the seniors out of a high-scoring affair with the 23-18 win.
The championship game between the seniors and sophomores started with a bang, as Morsching provided the spark once again off a pass from Ewert for the touchdown. The seniors tried another bit of trickery by bunching up. From what this reporter saw, I believe James or Morsching initially had the ball, but Weimert ended up with it. However, the sophomores were all over them and stopped the play.
It didn’t matter, though, as Ewert found Adams for the touchdown. Many were trying to dispute the catch, including one of the officials. But it looked like a catch to the head referee, and the play rolled on. The sophomores responded with a touchdown throw from Claire to Clare (Loeffler to Groh) for the touchdown, with Westphal running it in for the two-point conversion. However, a run by Kwynn Krause sealed it, with Abby Balzotti catching the tipped ball for a two-point conversion. The final score was 22-8 in favor of the seniors.
For their efforts, the seniors earned ten points toward the spirit cup. It will be a great help in their quest to win the much-coveted cup during homecoming week.
JWP continued with dress-up days during the week, from dressing up in bright colors for Neon Day on Tuesday, September 30, to Camo on Wednesday, and representing their class colors on Thursday. During the week, the students had the opportunity to showcase their entertainment skills through lunchtime karaoke while also playing some bingo.
Friday, though, was the day everyone was waiting for: Bulldog Spirit Day. Things started with the elementary school enjoying their version of a pep fest dubbed “Pup Fest.” They got to meet the homecoming court, enjoy some entertainment from the cheerleaders and band, and play a game called “speedball.” The objective of the game was to grab the tennis ball between you and your opponent. The announcer would tell you to place your hands on your head, shoulder, knees, or ears until they yelled the word “ball.”
Many homecoming court members participated, and in the end, an elementary student went up against homecoming court member Nevaeh Weimert. The senior proved that her athleticism (and perhaps being older) paid off, as she became champion. Everyone displayed good sportsmanship throughout the activity. Afterwards, many of the classes took the opportunity to pose with a court for a photo.
With the conclusion of Pup Fest, it didn’t take long for the energy in the air to intensify. Later that afternoon, the high school had its own pep fest, starting with the tradition of musical chairs. The twist was that everyone who participated had to make a shot with the basketball. This gave the basketball players an obvious advantage.
As the participants were eliminated, the three remaining were Daulton Bauer, his younger brother, Gavin, and junior high student Victoria Appel. Appel did well throughout the contest, but it ultimately came down to the Bauer brothers, with the younger of the two emerging victorious.
While the net was being set up for volleyball, there was a contest called “pizza knockout.” The objective was simple: hold the pizza box like a delivery driver and be the last one holding it. After several funny moments of students smacking pizza boxes out of each other’s hands, Daulton Bauer found himself as one of the last students standing again with fellow senior Lilly Ewert and junior Jaxon Wolff. With Ewert out, Bauer and Wolff decided to settle it with a game of rock, paper, scissors. Daulton redeemed himself after a tough loss in musical chairs, and his prize was a pepperoni pizza, which he shared with his classmates.
It was time for volleyball between the boys, starting with the freshmen against the seniors. The freshmen held an early lead, but the ace serving between D. Bauer and Zander Terbeest was too much for the 9th-graders to handle. The seniors won 16-6. The juniors faced off against the sophomores. Gavin Bauer’s ability to send rockets of spikes in front of the net helped the sophomores take an early 5-0 lead, but the juniors didn’t go down without a fight. The 10th grade held on for a 14-11 victory.
It seemed like an upset was about to take place as the sophomores, led by G. Bauer, nearly took the seniors to the brink. But a late push by the seniors, featuring great blocking up front by students like Michael Walker, neutralized G. Bauer’s attacks, leading to a narrow 14-12 victory.
It was seniors against the staff, and teacher Toryn Richards – who also coaches the varsity volleyball team – showed everyone how it was done as she had some well-placed spikes. JV coach Jolene Hauger also displayed excellent volleyball skills. Even high school principal Dave Rysdam showed off some serving prowess as the staff easily dispatched the seniors 13-5. Perhaps looking to prove they were better than the seniors in some way, the sophomores had a game against the staff, making it a much closer contest. Still, they lost to their teachers 9-6.
After announcing Sarah Mueller as the best-dressed staff member, the final event of the pep fest was the pie-eating contest. Senior Aiden Cummins had won in the past two years, making him the clear favorite. Despite nearly being upset by a few underclassmen, he secured his spot as the pie-eating champion for the third year in a row, ending homecoming on top in that contest.
The parade followed, featuring the homecoming court, the volleyball, football, and cross country teams, and the band. The elementary and middle school students watched as they marched along Main Street.
It was a fantastic way to sign off the school festivities. Although the volleyball team lost its homecoming game to Randolph 3-0, the football team ensured a high note for the end of homecoming with a 53-8 win against Medford on Friday night. Between that great game, the beautiful weather, the events, and the happy faces of students, it could hardly have been a better homecoming for JWP.
