Football: Top Ranked Running Backs in the State

By Chance Hamilton

According to Max Preps, Hancock County High School has two of the top rushing leaders in the state of Kentucky.  Dylan Hubbard (jr.) and Eric Doyle (sr.) are two of the top leaders in the state for most rushing yards. This is a great accomplishment for Coach Morris and the other coaching staff to have, as well as the school. To have state leaders from such a small school shows how hard our team works and focuses on winning a district championship.

Eric Doyle has a total of 688 rushing yards on 56 attempts. He is ranked 3^rd in the state according to Max Preps. Eric says “I wish I could be able to beat my brother’s records, but it’s going to be hard.” His older brother Jordan Doyle holds the record for most yards in a season as well as a game. Eric averages 12.29 yards a carrier, and 114.7 yards a game. His longest TD run this season was an 86 yarder against Breck County.

Dylan Hubbard is ranked 2^nd in the state but is ranked the #1 Fullback in the great state of Kentucky.  He has run a total of 700 yards on 74 attempts.  Dylan averages 9.45 yards a carry. Josh Newton the fullback last year, rushed for over 1500 yards for the season. As a cousin of Newton, Dylan had this to say, “I wouldn’t mind to pass that up this year, but I’m just focused on getting wins and letting the yards just come to me.” Hubbard runs almost 120 yards per game, and ran his longest touchdown last Friday against Muhlenberg co. Dylan ran a blazing 94 yarder to the house on the first offensive play for the Hornets Friday.

There is more to come this season for these outstanding football players, and it all comes from the hard work in practice and the support of the fans. The Hornets have a bye week this week, which means they do not have a game this Friday night. So hopefully these two speedsters can get their legs into great shape.

XC:Girls Accomplish Three-Peat Goal; Boys Headed in Right Direction

By: Drema Johnson

On Saturday September 25, the Lady Hornet Cross Country team traveled to the Webster County Invitational with the goal of winning for the third consecutive year. The girls exceeded this goal by not only winning, but by cutting the second place team’s score in half. Drema Johnson, with her first varsity win ever, had a time of 20:54 (personal best), Sydney Young placed second with 21:06, Kirsten Johnson fourth with 21:40, Kensey Estes eleventh with 23:06, and Kelsey Rogers thirteenth with 23:15.

            “Overall I was very pleased with my girl’s team.” Coach Wes Meserve stated. “I still think some of my girls can go faster, and if we want to win region they’re going to have to give their all.”

            “I knew the girls would win on Wednesday,” Coach Gina Anderson stated, “but I didn’t expect that they would win by as much as they did. I was very pleased as well as a little surprised.”

The boy’s team also did extremely well at this invitational. Cody Roach took third with a time of 17:17, a new personal record for the young sophomore. Other finishers included Cody Schroader who placed thirtieth with 19:17, Austin Schadler thirty- third with 19:28, Cody Inman thirty- fourth with 19:31, Dylan Johnson sixty- fourth with 21:12, Bailey Terry eighty- second with 22:09, Wesley Nevitt ninety- second with 22:09, and Bo Powers ninety- seventh with 23:41.

            “I was very pleased with the boys,” Meserve stated, “they were favored to get tenth and they ended up getting fifth overall. I’m excited because the boys have finally created a pack that I can build on. I pretty much have the same boy’s team for the next three years, and I feel confident I can make them even stronger.”

            When asked if surprised by where the boys finished, Anderson replied, “I really didn’t know how the boys would finish, but when I saw that they had gotten fifth it seemed they’d finished where they should have.”

Book Review: "The Hunger Games"

Review by: Austin Pulliam

Through the past school year, I have overheard many people talking about the new action book, “The Hunger Games.” At first just thinking about the title, I really did not think this book sounded good or would really grab my attention like some books do. With me being a sports fanatic, I usually only like to read about sports, so I didn’t think anything of this novel. But after months of hearing great things about it, I finally decided to give it a chance and to be honest… I’m glad I did.

This story is told from the point of view of Katniss, a teenage girl who is selected to complete in the Hunger Games. During the Reaping her little sister’s name is drawn and she steps in to replace and save her. Throughout the book you learn that Katniss is a very reliable narrator who tells everything exactly the way she sees it. She has many fears brought on her by the conditions she lives in. Even though she is thrown into this arena and could be killed, this is the least of her worries. She is more worried with the fact that her family could be starving back at home. While Katniss, has always hunted and provided for her family, now that she is not there she worries that her mom and sister will not be taken care of.

The Hunger Games is set in an unspecified future time when things have gone really bad for humanity. The world, or the bit of it we can see, is dominated by a ruling group of people who live in luxury in a city called the Capitol. The rest of the inhabitants live like peasants in 12 districts that are strictly cordoned off from the Capitol and one another. Life in the districts is awful: it's mostly hard labor, mining coal and farming, and working in factories, in dismal conditions.

To make things even worse for the people in the districts, once a year they hold a town meeting called the reaping. In this special meeting two candidates, a boy and girl are chosen from each district through a process called the lottery. From all the districts a total of 24 kids, aged 12-18 are trained and thrown into an arena in which they are unfamiliar, and are made to fight until there is only one person remaining.

Like I said earlier, when I first heard of this book I didn’t think it sounded very good. It didn’t sound like my type of book. But finally when I gave in and gave it a try, I realized that this book is great and is appealing to the large majority of readers. Everyone I have asked has loved this book. Ranging from teens to older adults, everyone seems to be attracted to Suzanne Collins, and all the adventures that go on inside this fictional story.

Suzanne Collins makes this book interesting to all readers in many ways. She tries to tie in girls, mostly teenage, by writing about love and all that Katniss goes through. She also relates to guy readers by making Katniss seem as almost a “female Rambo,” fighting and hunting all through the book to overcome all obstacles. Also this book produces lots of controversy, by talking about the Capital, and all the horror that the kids face in the arena. This keeps readers tuned in the whole time and keeps the suspense going. I can promise you this book never gets to a boring spot. Another great way that Collins keeps the book moving along is her sense of humor. For example every time there is a need in the novel it is taken care of in some miraculous way.

After all the hype about this novel, I am very glad that I decided to read it. It was a great book that kept me totally tuned in the whole time. I would highly recommend this book to anyone who wants a great book to read, or if you just want a few A.R. points. This is a book that will have you on the edge of your seat the whole way. With this book being the lead way for a trilogy, I can’t wait to pick up the next two books. The “Hunger Games” definitely left me with a hunger for more of Suzanne Collin’s novels.

Varsity Football: Hornets Sting Tigers

By: Colin Tindle

On Friday, September 17^th, the Hancock County Hornet football team defeated the Breckinridge County Tigers by a score of 48-17 at Tiger Stadium in Harned, Ky. The Hornets were looking for revenge against the arch-rival Tigers after a heartbreaking 28-20 defeat at home last season. It was the first loss to Breck County in 13 years.

Once again, the Hornet rushing attack was the main source of offensive yards against the Tigers. The Hornets rushed for a combined total of 474 yards.  Eric Doyle led the way with 222 yards on 8 carries with 4 touchdowns. Dylan Hubbard had 7 rushes for 126 yards and 1 touchdown. Justin Hamilton had 5 rushes for 56 yards, 1 touchdown, and a 2 point conversion. Karl Kreisle had 7 rushes for 47 yards. Chance Hamilton rushed for 24 yards on 1 carry, and Tyler Morris had 2 rushes for 1 yard. Hornet quarterback, Matt Rapp, had 1 completion to Chance Hamilton for 20 yards.

Junior linebackers Brady Morris and Austin Pulliam led the way for the Hornet defense with 11 tackles each. Chance Hamilton and Tyler Marvel each had 7 tackles. Justin Hamilton had 5 tackles and Steven Renfrow 4 tackles.  Tyler Morris, Logan Brown, Kreisle, and Hubbard had 3 tackles apiece. Troy Lasley had 2 tackles and 1 fumble recovery for a touchdown. Doyle, Jon Payne, Logan Bryant, Jon Bivins, and Tyler Burden each had 1 tackle. Brady Morris and Troy Lasley each had 1 sack. Chance and Justin Hamilton each had 1 interception.

The Hornets are looking to build on this year’s win and start another winning streak against their arch-rivals to keep the tradition of beating the Tigers going.

The Hornets take on the Muhlenberg County Mustangs Friday, September 24^th at Schafer-Glover field. The Mustangs come into the game 0-3, and the Hornets are looking to build on their 4-1 record.

JV Football Beats Breck

By Chance Hamilton

The JV Football team beat the Tigers of Breckinridge County 30 to 0 on September 21.  Tyler Morris and Karl Kreisle both had 2 touchdowns apiece, and each rushed for over 100 yards. Desmond Clarkson nailed two PAT’s to give the Hornets a final score of 30. On defense Troy Lasley led the team with 10 tackles and two sacks. Derrick Haycraft and Tyler Morris each had 5 tackles, and Troy Lasley had an interception to seal the win.   

Hornets JV Football Team Looking to Regroup

By Chance Hamilton


The Hancock County JV football team is looking forward to getting back on track with a “W” after losing their first game to Grayson County 48 to 0. The JV team is struggling with barely enough players; they had only 5 freshmen come out this year. Freshmen and sophomores usually make up the JV team, but because of their lack in players a few juniors must play as well. When asked about how the JV team is expected to do the rest of the season JV coach Michael White said “If we have enough players we will do just fine.”


 The Hornets play the Tigers of Breckinridge County this week. After the Varsity team pulled off a great victory last Friday night against the Breck County Varsity team, everyone is hoping for the same outcome.

XC: Young Battles to Victory; Roach Takes Third

By Drema Johnson


            The Hancock County Hornet Cross Country Invitational took place on Saturday September 18. The varsity girls, though they didn’t have a team, did very well. Sydney Young led the race with a new personal best of 21:02, Drema Johnson placed 6^th with 22:12, and Kensey Estes placed 11^th with 22:47.

            When asked about her win, Sydney had this to say, “I was dying, but I was not about to let Olivia Cason pass me after I’d worked so hard.”

            It wasn’t the fact that Sydney won that impressed me,” Coach Wes Meserve stated, “it’s the fact that she led the race from start to finish. She ran a sub 5 minute mile which broke anyone and everyone that tried to stay with her on the first mile.”

            The varsity guys had a good race as well. Cody Roach got third with a time of 17:49, Cody Inman took twenty second with 20:48, Josh Daugherty twenty sixth with 21:53, Bert Kellems twenty seventh with 21:59, and Chris Bertke thirty third with 22:31.

            Cody Roach stated, “This was a hard race full of good runners, so I’m pretty happy with where I finished.”

“The guy’s team placed fourth overall,” Coach Wes Meserve stated, “and if my other varsity/middle school runners had not run in the middle school race, then I feel very confident that the guys would have gotten third.”

            In the boy’s middle school race, Cody Schroader took third with a time of 12:10, Dylan Johnson twenty fifth with 13:37, Wesley Nevvitt twenty eighth with 13:49, Bailey Terry thirty second with 14:25, and Bo Powers thirty eighth with 15:07. The girls were led by Kelsey Rodgers   who got fifth with a time of 14:21 and Selena Wethington placed twenty fifth with 16:34.

In the elementary race Kirsten Johnson took first out of the girls and fourth overall, and the elementary guys had a second place team finish.

XC Girls Slaughter Breck, Guys Pull Through

By Drema Johnson


On Tuesday September 14, the Lady Hornet Cross Country team started the first home meet of the season off by defeating the Breckenridge Girls team. The goal for the girls, was to get the lowest score possible, (1, 2, 3, 4, 5), and if Breck’s top runner, Susan Bailey, hadn’t slipped into fifth, they would have had it. Sydney Young led the race with a time of 22:15. Drema Johnson came in second with 22:41, Kensey Estes third with 23:10, Kirsten Johnson fourth with 23:40, Kelsey Rodgers sixth with 25:16, and Selena Wethington thirteenth with 30:18.

 “The girls packed together really well,” co-captain Johnson stated, “and we ran a smart race. Not to mention our younger girls stepped up to the challenge and pulled through for us as well.” The final score was Hancock with 16 points and Breck with 39 points.

Head Coach, Wes Meserve, was pleased with his girls’ performances. “I really expected Breck to beat my girls. I knew my top two runners would be in front of Breck’s top girl, but I really didn’t know what to expect from Kensey, Kirsten, and Kelsey. My 3, 4, and 5 girls really surprised me by finishing where they did.”

The boy’s team, on the other hand, had a closer call. Cody Roach led the race with an 18:35, beating Breck’s top guy by about a minute and forty seconds, Cody Schroader was third with 20:42, Josh Daugherty sixth with 21:53, Cody Inman eighth with 22:27, Dylan Johnson ninth with 23:19, Bailey Terry eleventh with 23:29, Bo Powers fourteenth with 27:55, Wesley Nevitt fifteenth with 29:34, and Jacob Young sixteenth with 30:23. The final score was Hancock 27 points and Breck 28 points.

“We beat a larger team from a larger school with 30% of my team out with injuries. The scores were so close because my varsity guys really stepped up,” Coach Wes Meserve stated, “we could have very easily lost if they hadn’t. I was really shocked by the win, not because my guys don’t have potential, but because three of the runners that are normally in my top 7 were injured.”

The Hornets will be at home again on Thursday, September 30 against Ohio County. 

Football: They’re More Than a Team, They’re a Family

 

By: Sabrina Whitaker and

Morgan Powers

 

“I think that the football team is more like a family,” Football captains Luke Case and Jon McCormick agreed. Coming together, they practiced all summer to become the best of the best. When the team comes together, they come together as a unit and represent Hancock County.

The Hornets have set challenging but attainable goals this season and started off early working to achieve their goals. “Practicing over the summer is a huge help.  We would be nowhere as a team if we didn’t come together and practice. It takes a lot more than skill to be a good team; everyone needs to be on the same page.” Beating Breckinridge County is the first major goal the team has set for the season.  Along the way, the team hopes to maintain a winning record and make it to the Regional Championship game.

Luke and Jon agree that the players are on the right track but will have to continue working as a team to reach their goals. “Yes, I am very proud of them. There isn’t much better you could ask for, I’ve been playing with most these guys since youth football and it’s great to still have them here.” Luke Case compliments his team with full heart, you can tell that Luke and Jon love to be out there on the field with their brothers.

 With Hancock County High School and the community supporting our young hornets, there is always a lot of pressure to live up to expectations.  Things are no different going into the 2010 season.  With the high goals the team has already set, nobody has higher expectations then they have for themselves. 

The New School Year: School Headed in the Right Direction

By: Sabrina Whitaker and Morgan Powers

There hasn’t been a school year that HCHS principal, Mr.  Lasley hasn’t been excited about. New students, new graduates, and a new year, are all the things that make Mr. Lasley enjoy the summer ending and the school beginning.

Mr. Lasley has been principal of Hancock County High School for six years, and couldn’t imagine being at any other school. “I, the staff and all the administration are blessed with such great students. Sure, we may have our issues, but compared to schools nationwide, we are blessed.” Mr. Lasley really does put his full heart into his job.

Every year is like the previous; the only difference is making new rules and discarding some of the old. The main goal is to prepare students for college and get them ready for adult life outside of the school walls. “Yes, I admit, this year the rules are more strict, but we gave a little back, like the cell phone policy.” Said Mr. Lasley, “We didn’t just look at this school’s problems, we looked at many other schools too, because, this isn’t just about Hancock County, it’s nationwide. One school lets their students use their phones during lunch and we don’t mind students using their cell phones during lunch; we just want them out of the classroom. See, we’re just trying to meet you guys half way, but you guys have try and meet the other half. If this rule doesn’t hold up, then we can just go back to our old ways and take phones at lunch away.”

           The staff is working hard and the students are working equally as hard. Mr. Lasley is impressed by how well this school year has kicked off. Saying that we are ahead of schedule and love how the students have already adapted to the new schedule change. “One day, I took a trip around the school, during third period. It seemed as though everyone was participating with what they were doing. As visitors walk through they were astonished at how quiet the halls were, as though you could hear a pencil drop. I believe we are headed into the right direction, keeping things going.”

Hornet Cross Country Teams Taking it One Race at a Time

By:
Kayla Macy, Cody Beaver, and Kayla Carrico

The Cross Country team is shooting for big things this year, but just don’t have the numbers. They are eager to entice other runners to join and better their numbers because they barley have enough girls to field a team. They are focusing on one race at a time, but hope to be the best they can at regionals and qualify for the state meet. Many of them are hoping to better their individual times and to improve their team. Another goal is to beat the rival schools.

“The girls will be up against a strong Green County group that won region the last several years,” Coach Meserve said. According to Coach Meserve, “The boys will have their work cut out for them also. Owensboro Catholic placed second in the state last season and didn’t lose any of their top runners.”

The Cross Country team has been working hard in preparation of the upcoming season. Drema Johnson says “It takes a lot of determination and self discipline to stay focused and keep moving forward. Some runners do 3-5 miles each day with a total of about 50 hours over the summer.”

They all have to work very diligently Monday thru Thursday at after school practices. Not many teams this early in the season can start out doing 10 mile runs, but the varsity Cross Country runners do a ten mile run nearly every Monday. While most kids are on their way home to watch TV or sit on the couch and relax they are out in the heat practicing to be the best.

According to Kensey Estes, “It takes a lot of determination to stay focused even when your mind is telling you to stop.”

You have to encourage your teammates to keep going and to keep their spirits up. This is just one of the reasons that teamwork is so important to the cross country team. Your teammates push you to work harder and to be a better runner.

The girls and boys teams have many talented runners this year. They are coached by Mr. Meserve and Mrs. Anderson. With all of the determination and teamwork that they have, the HCHS Cross Country team looks to have a great season ahead of them.

High Hopes for HCHS Volleyball

By Carli Mosby

             

The opening of the 2010 Fall sports season recently kicked off and the HCHS volleyball team has been hard at work.  The Varsity team is once again coached by Health/P.E. teacher, Ms. Danielle Peter, and the freshmen team has a new coach in Ms. Jessie Baker.

The Lady Hornets hit a few bumps as the season opened.  Despite a rough 1-8 start, the Varsity team has high hopes for a successful season. The Lady Hornets have been practicing since the beginning of summer break with conditioning and extensive drills to prepare for the season to come.  According to Coach Peter, “We have the best passers, diggers, hitters, setters, and servers I have ever had, but we are presently struggling to get together to be a truly talented and competitive team.”

            The Varsity team will have major offensive contributions from seniors Tanisha Johnson and Felicia Wilson.  The brunt of the defense is expected to come from Abbey Marsch, Shayla Pierrard, Nikki Wilhite, and Kristen Ogle. 

            “We have the potential to do some great things this season.  Hopefully we’ll pull it together.” says Team-Captain and Setter Nakaya McManaway.

            Despite the rocky start, the team has its coach and its fans to back them up.  “I believe in this team, as do their parents in the stands,” said Ms. Peter.  “Winning takes patience, dedication, coachability, team work and chemistry.  When this team decides to fire on all cylinders and gets it together, no one will touch them.”

Hornet Golf Team Off to Good Start

Sending Two Golfers to All “A” State

By: Colin Tindle

The Hancock County Hornet Boy’s Golf team started the 2010 season off heading in the right direction. Two members, Will Cooper and team captain Russell Haycraft, qualified for the All “A” State tournament held at Gibson Bay Golf Course in Richmond on September, 11^th.                     

When asked about preparation for the season, Haycraft responded, “I tried to play as much as possible this past summer to improve my game and had weightlifting sessions to improve my strength, which have both paid off.” Haycraft’s individual goals are to shoot in the low 40’s for matches and 80’s in tournaments. When asked about team goals, Haycraft responded, “Coach Cowden says he wants our players to shoot a certain score for each match and to place as high as possible.”

The Hornet Boys Golf team members are Russell Haycraft, Will Cooper, Tristan Bozarth, Logan Boling, Logan Cheek, Matt Allard, Aaron Haycraft, Justin Kurz, Andrew Bloom, Tanner Staples, Lathan LaMar, Baine Powers, Zayne Boling, Garrett Crabtree, Kolton Cheek, Seth Alexander, and Ike Tongate. The Hornet Boy’s are coached by Mr. Dave Cowden. “Our most significant challenge as a team this year is our youth. We only have one senior. After that we are all freshman or younger,” said Haycraft.

Cheerleaders Stepping Up Game This Year

By: Tabitha Scott and Chance Hamilton

 

 

           Candace and Dylan both are expecting to see improvement in the team this year. With several new members participating this year, the team expects significant improvements and hopes to step up their game. With new members of the team they hope to improve. Freshman Madison Roberts is one of the new members that stand out to Candace. “She really is giving her all.” She said.

          With 2010-2011 as Candace’s and Dylan’s last year they hope to see more school spirit. “Overall the team hopes to get more people involved in pep rallies and sport events.” She said. Dylan also hopes to get the school more involved.

           The team captains did disagree on the impact of having young team members this year. “We have better work ethic and more motivation this year.” Candace said while smiling. She defiantly thinks the team is in a lot better standing than last year. She said the team attended cheer camp at WKU this summer and had continuous practices throughout the break to maintain the team’s skills. Dylan felt the experience of last year’s team will be hard to replace. “Losing the seniors pretty much messed up everything.” He said. Dylan hopes that they can recover from such a loss.

        Candace and Dylan have big goals this year because it’s their last opportunity to represent HCHS. They both hope to make it to the state meet. The cheerleading team has never made it beyond region and they both hope that this year’s team is the first to make it above region.

  With this football season coming up Dylan and Candace both agree that there is a lot of work to do. Candace said, “I always give 110% but, it being my last year I’m defiantly going to give my all.”

New Athletic Director is a Familiar Face

By: Austin Pulliam

With a new school year starting HCHS is proud to welcome a very familiar face back to the school. As the new Athletic Director at HCHS, Hobbs is very excited to be back in this position. In a recent interview Hobbs was asked how it feels to be back here at Hancock County as the Athletic Director. “It feels funny,” Hobbs told reporters. “I never thought I would be back in this position.” Even though this is his first time in this type of position everyone seems to have the utmost confidence is him and his work ethic. “I love challenges and this seems like a great one to try,” Hobbs stated.

After retiring nearly 5 years ago after serving the HCHS band for 17 years, Hobbs came back to HCHS for one school year filling in as the intern Assistant Principle. Since then, Hobbs has been back at the school on many occasions serving as

a substitute teacher. Even though this is his first time in this type of position everyone seems to have the utmost confidence is him and his work ethic. “I love challenges and this seems like a great one to try,” Hobbs stated. HCHS is very proud to have a True Hornet back in the halls once again on a regular basis. As the new A.D., Hobbs was asked what things he could contribute to the athletic program at HCHS. “I know that I can really help the coaches,” he replied. “I want to help them out as much as possible so they can fully focus on the game.”

With different athletics events every night we really need someone to make sure everything runs very smoothly. Many things have to be taken care of before any of the great HC sports teams can compete. When asked what duties he is responsible for, Hobbs replied, “As A.D. you have to make sure that all coaches have gone through the proper First Aid training, which is very important.” Also you have to attend rules clinics, schedule games, schedule officials, and make sure everything is abiding by the KHSAA Rules.”

In addition Hobbs said, “It’s hard to make sure you cover every base. But since this is my first time in a position like this I have had lots of help so far. Coaches and other past A.D.’s have really helped in this learning experience.”

Everyone at the high school is very excited to see Mr. David Hobbs back here again.

Young Team with Talent: Lady Hornet Golf

By: Drema Johnson

The Hancock County Lady Hornet Golf team, though young, has many talented and dedicated players this year. Coach Schneider, who is entering her 12^th year as the girl’s golf coach, anticipates her top girls this year will be high schoolers Krystale Bradley, Megan Kurz, Lindsey Bloom, and seventh graders Lindsey Hagman, and Lexi Lamar.

The girls started practicing by participating in several Greater Owensboro T-time tournaments over the summer. Krystale Bradley, the girl’s team captain, prepared for her senior season by working one on one with Harold Hagman, playing golf with Brescia’s golf coach, and by practicing on her own. When asked why she works so hard at golf, Krystale said, “I’m dedicated because my Grandpa taught me how to play when I was little and I want to keep playing for him, as well as try to get a scholarship for my education.”

The ladies’ golf team has many goals that they’d like to accomplish this year as well. Coach Schneider stated, “One of our goals for this year is to lower our team score. This is important because we have such a young team, and if we can get all of the girls to get a low score then it will really help the team out.”Another main goal is to beat rivals Breckinridge County and Owensboro Catholic. These teams are major competition because they both have several seniors with a lot of golfing experience. The teams have been major rivals of the school for several years and it is a goal for all of our athletic programs to beat them.