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12
Merry Christmas!

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Page 1: Volume X Issue 3

Merry Christmas!

Page 2: Volume X Issue 3

News Cougarpolitan2

It stands a black polished reminder of the sacrifices service members gave to protect this country. On Novem-

ber 3, the Traveling Veterans Wall came to Crosby, bringing with it the 58,267 in-scribed names, of which eight are wom-en, of those who fell in the Vietnam War. The wall’s arrival was met by an commemorative parade participated in by the fire and medical assistance per-sonnel, the Crosby JROTC battalion and Color Guard, the Big Red Machine band, various veterans and Grand Marshal Col. Doug Wheelock, commander of the In-

ternational Space Station. Upon leaving sight of the parade and entering into the hallowed ground on which the wall sat re-spectful behavior was expected. No smoking, food and drinks, pets, horseplay, or cell phones were allowed. The tears of the visitors were open-ly displayed. Surrounded by tearful onlookers, the wall became a reminder of what had been—the sons, the daughters, the

fathers, the mothers, the husbands, the wives, all who sacrificed everything for the purpose of protecting this country. “The younger generation needs to understand what having one’s name on this wall means. They should learn more about it through sitting and talking with the older veterans if they are will-ing to speak about it, research online, or visit the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington D.C.”, said Veteran James Edward, employee of the directory tent.The public can learn more about the travel-ing wall by visiting http://virtualwall.org/.

Names of stone engraved on CrosbyMegan Morris

News Editor

Aaron Williams

Copy Editor

The Texas Children’s Hospital located in Houston, Texas has good news coming for

the metropolitan area: a hospital cre-ated by women, directed for wom-en, towards women will be opening up soon. Women will now have the best help available when it comes to specific gender-based diseases and when it comes to having children. The hospital, named “The Pavilion of Women”, is directed to-wards the care of expecting moth-ers, and their newborn child. Pa-tients and visitors will even have a say about how the hospital will be run and even decorated so that the patient’s stay will be welcoming. The Pavilion will be connect-ed to the ICU (Intensive Care Unit) of the Children’s Hospital by Sky Bridge (a bridge suspended that acts

like a tunnel to connect two different professional buildings) so that even the sickest child can be rushed to bet-ter care; even newborns, such as those who were born pre-maturely, who need immediate care are taken away to Newborn ICUs as soon as pos-sible, and are given their own private room, not sharing on amongst a group of newborns. This gives families the opportunity to be with the child. Only outpatients are be-ing treated as of November 12, but the hospital expects to start deliver-ing babies by spring 2012. The hos-pital expects to have competition from other centers that practice pe-diatrics. They also expect to deliver 5,000 babies a year. As the year goes on, the hospital is expecting to start developing their research towards the care and condition of women.

Hospital by women for women

New advances in women’s health

Located off of the 610 Loop, the Houston Food Bank is experiencing a ma-

jor dilemma: they have too much food. Around the holiday season, the Food Bank usually is willing to accept donations made by local charities to donate food to those in poverty and living on the streets; however, this year they are wish-ing that people would stop donating due to the large supply. The food bank is experiencing more imports than its exports, and is even reject-ing some food coming from others. Currently, they’re looking for more places to donate their food so that they can start receiving once again. “Primarily what we're seeing are households that never thought they would be seeking food assis-tance from a pantry, let alone a soup kitchen,” Greene said. “People who have been doing well their whole lives, and they're not doing so well right now. They need assistance.” Greene is the president of a pretty well-stocked Houston Food Bank, a private non-profit organization that works with 500 charities, pantries, and feeding pro-grams around the Greater Houston area, including the Star of Hope.

“We use two tons of food ev-ery month to take care of the de-mands of the people in our fa-cility,” said Marilyn Fountain, spokeswoman for the Star of Hope. The Star of Hope has one thing to look forward to during the holiday season, and that’s contrib-uting to the community and help-ing out those who cannot have a decent Thanksgiving or Christmas. Not only will they be getting rid of most of their supplies, but they’ll also be helping the lives of those who cannot fend for themselves.At 308,000 square feet, Houston has the nation’s largest food bank and right now; it has a million pounds of food that needs to be sorted. “We need volunteers in order to process the food to get it ready for distributions. So we are looking to recruit a whole lot of volunteers here in the fall,” Greene said. “We have the largest volunteer (group) in the city, but there is so much more food that we can access. We're looking to double the number of volunteers.” “I can tell [the people] we need the food so if there is any-body out there needing something to do, call the food bank,” Foun-tain said. “We can use [the] help.”

Aaron Williams

Copy Editor

H ouston food bank overload

The start of the school year means that students will begin to pile up on school

buses, and they are off at the care of the drivers. The school boards now want the parents to know that their children are in safe hands. School districts around the

nation are now required to provide their bus drivers with special training that consist of how to deal with a bul-ly. The training will consist of driv-ers learning how to promote a more positive atmosphere on school buses and be consistent in disciplining stu-dents who will cause harm to others. Aside from paying attention to what goes on off of the bus, such as crossing the roads or protection from incoming traffic, drivers are now required to start focusing on what

goes on inside the bus. The training consists of addressing the issues of:•What is bullying? •Why must it be addressed? •Why are some victims retaliating? •How often does it occur? •Where does it occur? •When does it occur?

•How is it different with boys and girls? •What are the typical characteristics of victims – warning signs? •What are the typical characteristics of bullies – warning signs? For the student who’s afraid to get on the bus because of that one “playground bully,” they now have nothing to fear. The drivers can guarantee to get their passengers to school or home safely and in one piece. This is a most welcome at-tempt to solve a bullying epidemic.

Bus drivers take control of bullying

Aaron Williams

Copy Editor

“School districts around the nation are now required to provide their bus drivers with special training

that consist of how to deal with a bully.”

Page 3: Volume X Issue 3

Cougar Clubbin’Cougarpolitan 3

Student Council

English Department

Fellowship Christian Athletes

Cougarpolitan Staff

Advisor...................................... Michelle Courrege

Editor-in-Chief............................Caley FryeAssistant Editor.......................... Maesen Ash Copy Editors................... Rachel Cessna & Aaron WilliamsPhoto Editor................................... Maria Huerta Ad Sales Manager............................... Brent Matula

Reporters.................................Josh Akins, William Anderson, Jessica Curtis, Kaila Gueary, Casey Johns, Megan Morris, Katie Pavlu, Kenneth Rucker, Kristina Sanchez, Anita Stuebe, Madison Whitman, Victoria Wukash

CougarpolitanThe Cougarpolitan is a student-run newspaper serving Crosby High School. All students are encouraged to participate. The Cougarpolitan staff reserves the right to edit submitted material for accuracy, grammar, and length. The Cougarpolitan will not publish any material that falls under the Supreme Court’s definition of

unprotected speech. Anonymous letters will not be published. Letters to the editor, suggestions, critiques, and complaints are welcome and encouraged. The staff

editorial(s) represent that of the writer, not that of Crosby High School.

Debate

Athletics Trainers

National Art Honor Society

Anime Club

The Crosby Debate team has done very well this season. They have won the last four tournaments. Debate will go against West Field after Christmas break.

They will participate in UIL district January 21, at Crosby. If Debate wins this year it will be their win 18 years in a row!

Rodeo Art

Many athletes huddle together in Coach Grover Smith’s room to attend their morning bible studies. Fellowship of Christian Athletes is an organization of

Crosby High School where competitors in any high school sport can go sit learn more about their faith and grow in Christianity.

FCA is all about young people coming together to focus on bible studies, instead of athletic contests. The focus for the bible stud- ies is to touch the kids that are in the room and help them be- come spiritually sound.

To keep FCA as an interac-tion between the members of the club, they elect a leader to read and present the lessons each morning. This year, the members

chose senior Chase Wells to lead them each morning. The students are empowerment which strengthens the bonds between their peers. “When you have a group of students teaching each other about the bible, and sharing their interpretations and beliefs about the text, it unites them and allows them to become closer with their peers.” Coach Smith, head sponsor of the FCA. It also strengthens the bonding of team mates; which leads to better and more efficient working power on the field, at home, and in the classrooms.

FCA invites not only athletes, but any and all students who are interested in learning about the Christian faith. “I want every student to feel comfortable in com-ing in and learning about Fellowship of Christian Athletes. It’s a great way to keep in touch and remember your faith, and it is a very positive experience,” says Smith.The English department is preparing

for the annual inductions into their society. The se-lected students from Pre-AP, AP, and Dual credit English classes will be inaugurated in the February ceremony.

The art society is finalizing work on the members’,

as well as art students’ rodeo art pieces and prepar-ing paperwork to submit them to the Houston Live-stock Show and Rodeo to be judged.

Our student council has worked diligently so far this year. From

helping with pep rallies to decorat-ing the hallways for homecoming, student council has not stopped showing their dedication. They also helped raised money for the Miss Crosby pageant.

The band played Christmas music at the Galleria in Houston for all the

children and their parents who attened. Band is also participating in the solo and ensemble competition next semester.

Band

As the semester comes to a con-clusion, social clubs are begin-

ning to look for new people who want to become a part of something for the upcoming semester. Anime Club, sponsored by Mr. Burroughs, is a popular social club that fo-cuses on fans who are fascinated by Japanese pop culture and cartoons. Brought together by their love of the culture, the Anime Club wants to welcome others to join their group. Currently, the club is working on posters to recruit others into their group, so keep a look out coming next semester.

National Honor Society

National Honor Society, sponsored by Mrs. Van Horn, has been busy this holiday season. Currently, NHS is working on the Food and Toy Drive

(a.k.a. “Share Your Christmas”) where they’ll bring the donations to local churches, organizations, and those less fortunate; NHS has also asked the kindergarten to donate some of their old toys to the cause. Once January ar-rives, an inauguration will take place where new recruits will take the honor of joining one of the most prestigious organizations that you can achieve as a student. New and returning members will then be challenged to take on Habitat for Humanity, where the organization will take part of an interna-tional project that helps the homeless by providing them with food, necessi-ties, and even homes.

Being an athletic trainer comes with a lot of responsibility. Dur-

ing the football season the trainers are on call. They go to every prac-tice, and attend every game. They start by pre game warm-up. They wrap the athlete’s ankles, wrists, and patch up any boo-boo’s that may need to be protected.

Wrap-ping the athlete’s trouble joints helps them perform better on the field by allowing them to have extra sup- port while there on the field. While there on the field the trainers help keep the players hydrated by giving them water. When the game is over and won the trainers stay after the game to give the players treatments for their injuries. Once football season is over they have to work with soccer, baseball, softball, and basketball. When one season ends another begins, a trainer’s job is never done.

The

atre

Page 4: Volume X Issue 3

Opinion Cougarpolitan4

When there is global warming; there is also global cooling. Before the Ice Age, the world cooled down and BAM! you have global cooling. After, the Ice Age the world heated up and then there you have it, global warming. The Earth con-stantly goes through cycles of change such as weather, temperature, and population changes. All of these changes contribute to global cooling and global warming. “Globalwarming‘isthebiggestscientifichoaxbeingperpetratedonhu-manity. There is no global warming due to human anthropogenic activities. The atmosphere hasn’t changed much in 280 million years, and there have always been cycles of warming and cooling. The Cretaceous period was the warmest on Earth. You could have grown tomatoes at the North Pole,’” said oceanographer Tad Murty. Some people don’t believe in global warming because there are cycles of climate changes and temperature fashions. Over time the temperature would slowly rise,climax,andthendrop.Mostofglobalwarmingiscausedbynature,butsomeof it is caused by us. "Ifthelandsurfacerecordsweresystematicallyflawedandtheglobehadnotreallywarmed,thenitwouldbealmostimpossibletoexplaintheconcurrentchanges in this wide range of indicators produced by many independent groups," from the report of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. "The warming of the climate system is unequivocal. The gases most likely responsible forthatwarming,suchascarbondioxide,continuetoaccumulate.” Sometimes, the government jumps in and says that global warming is real just to gather more money for agencies and politicians. So when they say that we are the cause of global warming, more people get concerned and they give money out or donate and listen to lectures and politicians. "Climate change is real, is occurring due to emissions of greenhouse gases from human activities and threatens human health and environment,” says the Environmental Protection Agency. “As with much climate-change skepticism, the petitionswerebasedonselectivelyedited,out-of-contextdataandamanufacturedcontroversy.’”

Truth about global warmingVictoria Wukasch

Page Editor

Fireworks are used to celebrate independence on the Fourth of July, and our New Year.TheysymbolizetheresolutionsmadeandthemanycannonsfiredduringtheRevolutionaryWar.Excitementinspiringandcolorful,manypeoplelovefire-works.100studentswereasked,“Whatisyourfavoritetypeoffirework?”

Anita StuebeReporter

2012Katie Pavlu & Casey Johns

ReporterArethepredictionsfor2012accurate?Whichonesshouldwebelieve?Isthehumanraceindanger?Theseareques-tions that have been asked for several years. Some people are even convinced oftheexactdatedevastationwilloccur(December 21, 2012) and how civiliza-tionwillbedestroyed.Forexample,some believe that humans will create a Holy War, or a religious war, with nuclear weapons that will cause us to destroy our world and kill most of its population. Some even believe this will be the apocalypse. An apocalypse is a Greek word meaning “revelation” named after the book of revelations in the Bible. This book foretells judgment day and the end of man’s rule on Earth. However, for those who place their faith more in science than religion, other pos-sibilities include large sun storms, the Atom Smasher, the Book of Quatranes, and viral diffusion. The apocalypse claims that Je-sus will return to Earth and bring all the truefollowerstoHeaven.Thenforfivemonths, the people left will be tortured and Jesus will end the battle with the devil in victory. After that, Jesus will return to Heaven and God will de-stroy Earth. Revelations 3:10 from the Bible states, “because you have kept my com-mand to persevere, I also will keep you from the hour of trial which shall come upon the whole world to test those who dwell on the earth.” For some Chris-tians, this is evidence for the events that may occur in 2012. It may have also been discov-ered that the sun is in a heated situa-tion. The energy output of the sun has a predictable cycle, and it is supposed to be in the middle of a period of relative stability. However, recent solar storms have been bombarding the Earth with so much radiation energy, it’s been knock-ing out power grinds and destroying satellites. Scientists predict these storms will get worse and calculations suggest it will reach a deadly peak sometime in 2012. Another possible tragedy could becausedbyascientificexperimentreferred to as the Atom Smasher. This is a process in which subatomic particles areplacedinanoxygensealedtubeandmoved faster that the speed of light. Thisexperimentissaidtoreachitsbestpotential in December 2012. This has caused panic for those who believe the world will end in 2012, because one significantreasonforconductingthisexperimentistocreatemoreadvancednuclear weapons for war. The book of Quatranes was

written by a famous French apothecary, Michel de Nostradamus, in the mid-1500s. This book contained several predictions of events that may occur in the future, and was written in a rhythmic way with various symbols and meta-phors to avoid being tried as a magician. It is said that he even predicted his own death. To this day, there is still contro-versy over whether or not some of his predictions have already come true. For example,oneofhispredictionsissaidtobe related to the terrorist attack on 9-11. In one of his quatrains, he predicts that “in the year 1000, in the seventh month, from the sky will come the great King of Terror, bringing back to life the great king of the Mongols. Before and after, Mars to reign by good fortune.” Many people predicted this was a comet- “King of Terror” would hit Earth in July 1999. When this did not occur, many people lost faith in his predictions. However, when his previous quatrain was added, it was said to pre-dict the 9-11 attack. “Earth-shaking fore from the center of the earth will cause

the towers around the New City to shake, two great rocks for a long time will make war, and then Arethusae (a ship) will col-or a new river red,” Many believed if you switch the

“9”s and the “1” from the year 1999 you get 9-11-1, the date of a major terrorist attack, and the “towers around the new city” would represent the twin towers in New York. It is also believed the refer-ence to war could predict that the shake of the towers would have caused the Iraqi war. Nostradamus made many pre-dictions in his life; some believed them to have come true and others believed them to be inaccurate. His works warn us of a very dark future where comets hittheEarth,thesun’sheatcooksfishinthe water, and gravity acts unnaturally. Are Nostradamus’s quatrains general enough that some historical event could be interpreted from a couple of them or are they highly accurate buthardtointerpret?Whetherornotone should worry depends on how you would answer this question. Everyone has their own reasons for beliefs of events that will happen in the future; however, no one can say the exactdatetheworldmaycometoanend. It could be tomorrow or thousands of years from now. People have been predicting the end of the world since the beginning of time, and so far every pre-diction has been proven inaccurate. Is it possible that the 2012 prediction will be justlikealltheothers,orhavewefinallygottenitright?Again,theanswertothis

Page 5: Volume X Issue 3

EntertainmentCougarpolitan 5

Bob’s Christmas Tale

Guess the

LyricsKenneth Rucker

Reporter

Deck the halls with boughs of holly, Fa la la la la la la la! ‘Tis the season to be jolly, Fa la la la la la la la! Don we now our gay apparel, Fa la la la la la la la! Troll the ancient Yuletide carol, Fa la la la la la la la!

Frosty the Snowman, was a jolly happy soul, With a corn cob pipe and a button nose, and two eyes made of coal. Frosty the Snowman, is a fairytale, they say. He was made of snow, but the children know he came to life one day.

Grandma got run over by a reindeer walking home from our house Christmas eve. You can say there’s no such thing as Santa, but as for me and Grandpa, we believe

Sleigh bells ring, are you listening, in the lane snow is glistening. A beautiful sight, we’re hap-py tonight, walking in a winter wonderland

Answers: Deck the Halls, Frosty the Snowman, Grandma got run over by a Reindeer, Winter Wonderland

Animals gone wildKristina Sanchez

Reporter

Many things in this world are weird beyond belief. From the underwater volca-noes that line the sea to the aurora lights in the north, the marvels of this world are strange and bountiful. Nature’s most creative artwork is the animals that dwell in all corners of the earth, each with their own unique characteristics.

After some research, here are the top 9 most mesmerizingly creepy creatures found on earth.

I wonder if Mr. Crabs from Sponge-Bob would be jealous of the claws on this crab! Giant coconut crabs can be found

crawling around in Guam and other Pa-cific islands. With one tight clamp, this tough seafood can crush a coconut with one swipe. Due to habitat destruction, unfortunately the crabs are near endan-germent.

Giant Coconut Crab Climbing FishThis is a crea-ture straight out of a Sci-Fi thriller! A FISH WITH HANDS! Sur-prisingly, it is a very skilled rock climber too. It uses

those goofy looking fins to climb difficult terrain in search for food. Scientists are still baffled by this fish and are research-ing further into its whereabouts.

CandiruDon’t go skinny dip-ping in the A m a z o n ! This small fish likes to lodge itself in large fish and eat away

at them until they die then move on to its next victim…it could be you!

HagfishSlime- ma-chine should be this c r e a t u r e ’ s n i c k n a m e . The Pacific Ocean hag-fish defends itself by se-

creting ooze that suffocates fish trying to attack it. Consequently, the ooze can be so thick it kills the hagfish itself.

Katie PavluReporter

The theatre department’s Christ-mas show, Bob’s Christmas Tale, which was performed on December 8, 9, and 10 was

written by Raymond Blanchard the di-rector of the theatre department. This tale is about a group of worker elves in a high tech workshop at the North Pole. Among these elves is a brainy nerd, Nessa Rose, played by Taylor Carfield, sophomore, an energetic elf by the name of Tisasa, played by Cody Hargrave, sophomore, a foreign hard working elf named Dor-forneck, played by Devin Aulds, senior, a sarcastic elf named Peep, played by Kimberly Butkiewicz, a freshman, an air head named Maddy who is always

injured, played by Kaitlin Pavlu, sopho-more, a hard working elf named Spencer, played by Douglas Hollon, sophomore, and finally, a creative elf by the name of Bob, played by Nick Swanson, senior. As the play progresses, we see that Bob has grown tired of building toys, and wants to try something new. He buys a camera to create a 20 minute epic in or-der to enter a contest and have his movie screened in Hollywood. Amongst build-ing toys, the elves take several breaks to create movie scenes and show off their range of acting ability. While acting out a war scene, thought of by Spencer, Bob breaks the Processor 5,000, a million dol-lar machine given to the worker elves by

Santa to help deliver more presents and spread Christmas joy. After the machine is broken, the worker elves work fran-ticly to try and fix the machine before Santa’s surprise visit; however they are continually interrupted by an elf band, choir, and motivational speaker Petra Vanquest, played by Hannah Thomas, freshman. At the end of the play when it is finally discovered that Bob has bro-ken the machine, he goes to Santa’s of-fice to confess what he has done. To his surprise, Santa finds his movie ideas ge-nius, and Bob is immediately reassigned to video consultant. With this job title he is now able to make the movies that he loves, go to Hollywood, and still work at the North Pole.

Page 6: Volume X Issue 3

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nd fi

lled

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tock

ings

, the

n tu

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jerk

.A

nd la

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this

tle.

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laim

, ‘er

e he

dro

ve o

ut o

f sig

ht,

Page 7: Volume X Issue 3

Twas

th

e ni

ght

befo

re

Ch

rist

mas

, w

hen

all

thro

ugh

the

hous

eN

ot a

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hop

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t Nic

hola

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r bed

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ms

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ma

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my

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rain

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ay! D

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ry le

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wild

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y,W

hen

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mee

t with

an

obst

acle

, mou

nt to

the

sky.

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p to

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e co

urse

rs th

ey fl

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the

slei

gh fu

ll of

Toy

s, an

d St

Nic

hola

s too

.

And

then

, in

a tw

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I he

ard

on th

e ro

ofTh

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anci

ng a

nd p

awin

g of

eac

h lit

tle h

oof.

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dre

w in

my

head

, and

was

turn

ing

arou

nd,

Dow

n th

e ch

imne

y St

Nic

hola

s cam

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ith a

bou

nd.

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was

dre

ssed

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in fu

r, fr

om h

is h

ead

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ot,

And

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clot

hes w

ere a

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rnis

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oys h

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n hi

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k,A

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a p

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ust o

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ack.

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eye

s-ho

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erry

!H

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s wer

e lik

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erry

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is d

roll

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mou

th w

as d

raw

n up

like

a b

ow,

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the

bear

d of

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chi

n w

as a

s whi

te a

s the

snow

.

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stum

p of

a p

ipe

he h

eld

tight

in h

is te

eth,

And

the

smok

e it

enci

rcle

d hi

s hea

d lik

e a

wre

ath.

He

had

a br

oad

face

and

a li

ttle

roun

d be

lly,

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shoo

k w

hen

he la

ughe

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ke a

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lly!

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as ch

ubby

and

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p, a

right

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old

elf,

And

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ughe

d w

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I sa

w h

im, i

n sp

ite o

f m

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f!A

win

k of

his

eye

and

a tw

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f his

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d,So

on g

ave

me

to k

now

I ha

d no

thin

g to

dre

ad.

He

spok

e no

t a w

ord,

but

wen

t stra

ight

to

his

wor

k,A

nd fi

lled

all t

he s

tock

ings

, the

n tu

rned

w

ith a

jerk

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nd la

ying

his

fing

er a

side

of h

is n

ose,

And

giv

ing

a no

d, u

p th

e ch

imne

y he

ro

se!

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spra

ng to

his

slei

gh, t

o hi

s tea

m g

ave

a w

hist

le,

And

aw

ay th

ey a

ll fle

w li

ke th

e do

wn

of a

this

tle.

But

I he

ard

him

exc

laim

, ‘er

e he

dro

ve o

ut o

f sig

ht,

“Hap

py C

hrist

mas

to a

ll, a

nd to

all

a go

od-n

ight

!”

Page 8: Volume X Issue 3

Features Cougarpolitan8

Aaron Williams This season who wouldn’t want the gift of a game in their stocking? If a little short on cash may seem like a problem then fear no more, fun affordable games are out there on the shelves.

Bioshock (Xbox 360, PC, and, PS3) $14.99-$19.99-Graphics that will make people say, “Whoa”, and the abnormality of the set-ting, Bioshock is a game that you cannot afford to miss this season if you do not have it already.

Big Brain Academy (Nintendo DS) $9.99-$19.99-Puzzling how much our brain truly knows, in this brain-teasing game of Big Brain Academy exercising your brain never felt such fun.

Elite Beat Agents (Nintendo DS) $9.99-$19.99-Rhythm, quirky humor, and dance moves makes Elite Beat Agents a can’t miss on your list.

No More Heroes (Wii) $19.99-Ten thousand gallons of blood and a light-ning beam katana sounds like a wonderful way to begin a very Merry Christmas play-ing No More Heroes.

Okami (PlayStation 2) $14.99-$19.99-Enough color to make a rainbow look dull, Okami is a game that deserves to be bought if not already.

Resident Evil 4 (PlayStation 2 or Nin-tendo Gamecube) $9.99-$19.99-Possibly the best Resident Evil game in the franchise, Resident Evil 4 is filled with tons of fun killing villagers and cult group members.

Dead or Alive (Xbox) $4.99-$14.99-Fighting games come with different characters and arenas as far as the eye can see, Dead or Alive is no different ranging from ninjas to pro-wrestler superstars and a burning opera house players can fight in.

Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker (Nintendo Gamecube) $19.99-A fairly simple and easy Legend of Zelda game that is colorful and appealing to the eyes of twelve year old child.

Fairytale Fights (Xbox 360) $9.99-$19.99-Little Red Riding Hood, Snow White, Jack, and the Naked Emperor murder all things cute and cuddly in this spin off the perfect fairytales you’ve heard of.

Grand Theft Auto San Andreas (Play-Station 2) $9.99-$14.99-The king of all Grand Theft Auto games so far, nothing says “Merry Christmas!” like running over civilians and committing crimes.

Kaila Gueary

10 Games for $20 (or Less)

former where players will take con-trol of Arkwright, an inventor who is on the brink of finishing his next

achievement: The Device. Being the well-known creator of Fluro, mech-anized-fluid automaton that can alter the world in multiple ways, he uses his creation to assemble The Device so that he may achieve his dream of altering existence in unimaginable ways. During his experiment, his Fluros begin running amok, evolving in strange ways that Arkwright can-not understand, and then start to run out into the world to cause mischie-vous havoc. Arkwright then ventures

off into the world to recapture his Fluros, and exploit the reasoning behind their weird behavior.

Players will control Ark-wright through a physics based world where they’ll have to use the power of the Fluros with fluid-based mechanisms to navigate through the ter-rain. The concept of using the multiple types of liquid in a mechanical world is a heavy focus the player must have in order to be able to capture all of the Fluros and understand

their power more as they venture further into the world. If one is thinking about taking a break from the shooter or action/adventure genre and relaxing to the mind-bending indie franchise, “Vessel” is a game that can help introduce the hardcore gamer into the other side of the video game world. “Vessel” is rated E and is safe to play for all ages and will be released sometime around Christ-mas.

With Christmas time around the corner, it’s time to start thinking of what kind of games we want to give as gifts, or spend all of our stocking money on. With games like “Modern Warfare 3” or” El-der Scrolls: Skyrim” coming out this holiday season, many games are being overlooked for these popular franchises. Around the holiday season, independent companies who make the unique indie genre products start releas-ing many games onto the con-soles’ marketplace, waiting for open-minded gamers to try out their product. “Vessel”, created by Strange Loop Games, is an example of an indie game anxiously waiting to be played. “Vessel” is a puzzle solving-plat-

It’s a Weird, Wacky, World!

Is Pikachu a cute, loveable cartoon character…or a demon trying to lure you away from your bible? According to Henry Lewis, this is the secret aim of Nintendo’s highly successful series. On Club 36, viewer Dorothy Spaulding submitted the question: “Is Pokémon demonic?” Henry Lewis replied “The answer to that is

yes. They are all oriental demons. And as you read in the Pokémon, in order for Pokémon to advance in power, it has to evolve to another level. And each, y’know,

evolution it becomes more demonic in appearance. And eventually he gets to a point where he’s totally demonic. And these are all oriental demons. The names

are actually names of demons.” It’s understandable that some older folks might not understand the concept of Pokémon, but come on!

Rachel CessnaCopy Editor

Pokedemon

Armadillo on the Rocks

On September 29, 2011, a man in Dallas, Texas beat a woman with a frozen armadillo. According to investigators, the incident occurred when the suspect

was selling the carcass to the victim, who planned to eat it. The pair was arguing over the price of the poor creature when the man threw the armadillo twice at the woman, hitting her once on the leg and once on her chest; the woman was report-

edly bruised by the attack. Detectives have been unable to find the man, who could face assault charges.

Crocodile Tears

Costa Rica’s only celebrity crocodile, Pocho, died on October 17, 2011. Pocho was the larger half of a double act with

54-year-old Gilberto Shedden, who performed daring stunts with the 15-foot

crocodile. For almost ten years, Shed-den dazzled the audience by pretending to wrestle with Pocho and even cuddle and kiss him. Online videos of the pair

went viral, making the fisherman and his 60-year-old scaly friend stars. People

lined the streets of Pocho’s home town to pay their respects to the funeral cor-

tege of the famous reptile; Shedden said he will miss Pocho terribly.

Copy Editor

Reporter

Page 9: Volume X Issue 3

FeaturesCougarpolitan 9

Horoscopes

Porkchop’s CuisineChristmas is here and it is one

of my favorite times of the year. Not just because of

the presents or decorating the Christmas tree, but because of the food. There are so many things to choose from. There is the glazed ham, the big turkey, Christmas cookies, and candy canes. After my big Christmas lunch with my family, I always get a bad stomach ache, but it is completely worth it. I’ve got to say, my all-time favorite food is the different variety of pies. At my Christmas family get-togethers there are always at least five pies. There is the pumpkin, pecan, cherry, apple, and chocolate. So I fig-ured I would do a Pie Pie Chart on these

five pies and see which ones are liked the most. I walked around the school and asked 200 students and teachers which one was their favorite.

I really can’t believe apple and pump-kin tied with a total of 48 peoples

votes. I was also really surprised when choco-

late got 40 votes. My

personal favorite is cherry and apple which

was disapoint-ing when I added all the votes up

and realized cherry only got 16 votes. I was shocked when I had to

add a “None” category to my list, but I guess

some people just don’t know how good pie is.

Josh Akins

Reporter

Annie Anonymous

Reporter

Dear Annie,“I dated this boy for eleven months, in that time a lot of

things happened. We had a lot of argu-ments but also made a lot of good mem-ories. Well we broke up because of dra-ma, and ,in less than a day he had another girlfriend ,he is been jumping from girl to girl and says he hates me and never loved me. It’s been two months, and my heart is still breaking. What do I do?” - Heartbroken

He’s probably lying about never loving you. Maybe him being mean to you is his way of moving on. That isn’t fair to you. I know moving on can be hard, but he isn’t worth your time. If he’s going to be cru-el, there’s no point in hurting over him.

Dear Annie,“I feel like I don’t fit in anywhere. I have friends from all social groups but when it comes down to it I don’t really have close friends. I’m tired of feeling alone .I just want someone that will always be there for me. This is a weird situation, so I’m not really sure what to do.” –Loner

I would suggest trying to build a stronger relationship with one of your friends. In-vite some friends over, throw a little get together, go crazy! Well maybe don’t go “crazy”, but have a little fun. If you get to know people, you’d be surprised by who they really are.

Dear Annie,“This is nothing new but I’m a sixteen year old girl and I have issues with my body. I’m always obsessing about my weight. I eat right and work out con-stantly. I’m trying so hard to not care, but I’m losing this battle. Please help!” - Depressed

Your right; teenage girls obsessing about their bodies is nothing new. I know it seems impossible, but if you want to stop obsessing, you have to force yourself to stop thinking about it. If you feel like you need help ,try talking to a counselor or family and friends.

Dear Annie,“My dad is pushing me to try out for football next year but it isn’t really my thing. I don’t want to disappoint him though. My mom thinks I should do it just to please him but I’m not interested in the least bit. How can I let my dad down easy!?” –Artsy guy

Honesty is the best policy. You have to be straight forward with him. He’s your dad, and he’ll love you regardless. Don’t do something you don’t like just to please others.

Aquarius : Jan. 20 - Feb. 18You’ll have a positive outlook and the desire

to pursue some personal goals. You may be thinking of taking a course related to an artistic hobby or mastering a new skill in music or writing. If you know what you want, nothing can stop you from getting it. You have all the de-termination and enthusiasm you need.

Pisces: Feb. 19 - March 20Your mind may be playing tricks on you. Consider other methods of solving problems that confront you. If you have fun with a situation, the solution will find its way into your hands easily. You shouldn’t have to work especially hard to make things happen for you this month.

Aries: March 21 - April 19December might mark a mile-stone for you in the form of pub-lic recognition. Your clear, quick thinking and powers of observation h a v e impressed others, and you could reap the benefits of your hard work. These events might encourage you to seek other meth-ods of advancing yourself, perhaps by taking a few courses or moving where there are more opportunities in your field.

Taurus: April 20- May 20Your relationships are not al-ways exclusive, you have to share the people you love. You should h a v e plenty of confidence in how much your closest friends value you. If you get too possessive about your relationships, you

send a message that the assurance you need is more important than the other person’s independence.

\Gemini: May 21 - June 20Invitations to social events could come your way. Your rela-tionship with your some of your friends might begin to fade away. You could be introduced to new friends. This could prove an exciting opportunity for you.

Cancer: June 21 - July 22With passion, you can go far. There’s nothing you can’t achieve if you have a desire to succeed. You may start taking on a new project, use your creativity to show people your true talents that make you unique.

Leo: July 23- Aug. 22The more you express your thoughts to the group, the more physical support you’ll receive for your work. You’ll find that your ac-tions are diplomatic and you’re able to see both sides of issues. Your decisions are fair and honest.

Virgo: Aug. 23 - Sept. 22No matter how many maps you look at and how many times you stop and ask for directions, you’ll still be unsure with which road to take. All routes have appeal, and you don’t want to miss any sights along the way to your destination. Remember that this isn’t the last time that you’ll be traveling. You can always try a different

route next time.

Libra: Sept. 23 - Oct. 22It is possible that you’ll be a little misguided over school or work related matters. If you pay attention to incoming advice and guidance, you’ll find it won’t take much to get yourself on the right track again.

Scorpio: Oct. 23 - Nov. 21A project or work you began three or four years ago will accel-erate slightly. Do not be tempted t o overdo yourself on anything you might be stressing about. Make sure to relax and take your time with things that you might be rushing.

Sagittarius: Nov. 22 - Dec. 21The month ahead should be fairly positive. You’ll begin to feel the faintest hint of a ma-jor change beginning. You can ex-pect to shift into high gear on subjects you used to avoid in the past. Some fric-tion with siblings may arise in the next few months, so watch out.

Capricorn: Dec. 22 - Jan. 19If you’ve been reading about health and fitness and putting what you read into action, you might suddenly feel the results of your efforts. You feel physically and mentally strong, healthy, and energetic. This could put you in just the right mood to give some extra attention to what you really may need.

Kaila Gueary

Reporter

Page 10: Volume X Issue 3

Features Cougarpolitan10

Apple pie: The cliché say-ing “you are

as sweet as apple pie” isn’t just said, it’s true. You are warm at heart and enjoy doing good deeds for others. You enjoy being at home and spending time with your family. When it comes to volunteering, you are the first one to speak up. Even though some people may take advantage of your good nature, you never let it affect you or your actions.Key Lime Pie: Having originated from the Key West, Florida, you love spending your time outdoors, especially on the beach. You enjoy tangy and sour foods and are very out spoken. Even though it can be bad at times, you use your words to express good judgment. Every moment you can, you play in after school sports or in any extracurricular activities. You don’t care what people say or think and that’s what makes you such a strong person.Chocolate pie: Every little kid loves chocolate, with that being said it shows you like to feel young and have a sweet tooth for everything loaded with sugar. When your friends are down, you cheer them up with a funny joke or saying. You love hanging out with your close friends and showing them your positive personality. You are very adventurous, love exploring, and experiencing new things life has to offer. Pecan Pie: The thought of jumping in a huge pile of leaves brings a smile to your face. You love the windy cool weather fall has to offer. At first you can be shy, but once you get to know some-one you show them your fun side. You enjoy home cooked meals and spending your free days watching movies snug-gled in a blanket. Even though you are very relaxed, when you set your mind to something you really commit to it with determination. Cherry Pie: Out of all your friends, you have the most sass. You love going to the mall or being under the sun. You have a great sense of humor and love making people see the brighter things life has to offer. Watching television and catching up on the latest news is one of your favorite afterschool hobbies. Even though people think you can be mean, once they know you they realize you just love having fun and living life to the fullest.

Casey Johns

Reporter

Aside from the annual anticipation of the Christmas festivities—the repetitive holiday music replacing the usual radio playlists, t h e army of family incoming from every corner of the world, and the

weight-gain-inducing masses of cakes, candies, and other goodies—is the idea of what will be awaiting us under the Christmas tree. Presents—forget the paper; it will be in shreds in point five seconds anyway. The gifts inside are what beckons us. We crave the new toys, the new clothes, the new jewelry, the new shoes, and whatever else we may have thumbed through reading the catalogs or drooled over at the mall. But, perhaps the old every day gifts are a little redundant, both being given and re-ceived. For something really out of this world, one could log onto the UK based Out-ofthisWorldGifts.com, sister company of MoonEstates.com. With its stock are gifts for anybody and everybody from him to her to our children. Some of the most unique gifts can be found for animal lovers such as the Adopt a Pony and the Adopt a Reindeer packs. These official adoptions for certain select time periods will allow their select charities to care for the 150 wild reindeer and the Flicka Foundation to live healthy existences under observant care. Other gifts more aired towards adults, are the “Name a…” gifts. The Name a Box of Chocolate gift allow the receiver to choose a name for their hand-picked selected chocolate with full information of how they are made and how they taste, before receiving their own box now registered in the “Chocolate Foundation” database. Also is the possibility to adopt a grape vine at the Carr Taylor Vineyard in Sussex for a period of one year. This entitles the receiver to a free tour of the vineyard and a 10 percent discount on purchases made from the vineyard. Among its supply are truly unique gifts concerning property ownership. Case in point—the possibility to own one acre of the Moon, Mars, or Venus. But above all and perhaps qualifying as a double gift, is the possibility to buy part of the Kincavel Estate in Scottland and thereby legally obtaining the title of “Laird” or “Lady”This website possesses many matchless gifts for the public at a reasonable price and is highly recommended.

News Editor

Megan Morris

Mistletoe:Kissing under the mistle-toe comes from the Norse

myth of Baldur, the god of vegetation and son of Frig. Frig went around the world, asking a promise from every creature and object not to harm Bal-dur; mistletoe somehow was overlooked and made no promise. Upon realizing this, Loki, god of mischief and the father of lies, tricked another god into killing Baldur with a spear made of mistletoe. After Baldur’s death, Frig pronounced mistletoe a sacred plant; she said that it would be a plant of peace, bringing love rather than death. So even when enemies passed under mistletoe, they had to lay down their arms for at least a day; now people kiss under mistletoe to celebrate Baldur’s resurrec-tion.

Christmas trees and wreaths:At one time, evergreens were believed to keep away witches, ghosts, evil spirits, and illnesses. The sinter solstice was believed to mean that the Sun was sick, and evergreens were viewed as a symbol of life, a sign that the Sun would recover. The tradition spread in the 19th century.

Stockings, Reindeer, and Santa:Among Scandinavian and

early Germanic tribes, one of the major dei-ties was Odin, the ruler of Asgard (the sky citadel). Odin

was often depicted as leading a hunting party across the night sky,

riding his eight-legged horse, Sleipnir. During the winter, children placed their boots near the chimney and filled them with carrots or straw for Sleipnir; when Odin flew by, he rewarded the little ones by leaving gifts in their boots. In many countries, the practice survived despite the rising of Christianity--only nowadays, we hang stockings rather than leaving boots by the chimney. Also, when Dutch settlers arrived in New Amsterdam, they brought the practice of leaving shoes out for St. Nicholas to fill with gifts, along with the name Sinter-klaas, which later became Santa Claus. In 1924, the figure of Santa as we know it today was introduced in the form of a narrative poem, Twas the Night Before Christmas, by Clement C. Moore.

Copy Editor

Rachel Cessna

It’s been a classic tradition for years for people to create a New Year’s Resolution. Here are what the stu-dents have to say about achieving

their goals and benefiting themselves:

“Yes, to pass all my classes and TAKS so I can be ready for senior year.

–Brandy Jennings, 11th

“I have the same resolution every year: to accomplish something I’ve

always wanted to do.- Judea Childress, 9th

“To be less shy singing in front of people.

–Hannah Gill, 10th

“My resolution is to keep up my grades and to keep on being myself,

because your opinion of yourself is what matters.

–Brittinie McGee, 11th

“Not miss school and pay attention.- Guille Martinez, 11th

“By being diligent and working hard. –Zebedee Underwood, 12th

“I will start by forgiving all my en-emies.

- McKayla Frank, 11th

“I don’t know. I guess I’m just gonna wing it.

-Rachel Forrest, 10th

“Yeah, it was to be a better friend.–Lisa Finley, 9th

“Yes. I wanted to become a better person.

- Sierra Sanders, 10th

“Yes, my resolution was to get more friends and I did!

- Katelynn Dowdell, 9th

Resolving resolutions

Flavor of life

Aaron WilliamsCopy Editor

””

Pagan

Christmasparts of

Do you have a resolution

set next year? What is it?

How do you plan on achieving your

resolution?

Did you fulfill your resolution

this year? What was it?

Page 11: Volume X Issue 3

SportsCougarpolitan 11

The Red Army barges into its destination, mentally and physically prepared for the most important game of the season. On Friday, November 4, the Cougars traveled to Barbers-Hill for the last game on the District 19 –AAAA football schedule. Their fate rests in the outcome of the game. The team’s chances at winning District Champs all depend on the way they play. Tension builds in the air as the soldiers strut onto the turf of Barbers-Hill stadium. The visitor’s side teems with red and white colored shirts. Fans climb into the bleachers, ready to support the army that is about to go to war on the field that stretches before their eyes. Hoots and chants fumble out from the stands as the whistle blows for the starting kick off. From the first play, whistle to whistle, to the last seconds on the clock, the soldiers on the field worked ex-ponentially hard to out fight the Barbers-Hill Eagles. As the warriors on the field clash, the fans scream and cheer to encourage the Red Army to keep up the good work. The sound of pads smashing, fans roaring, and soldiers grunting fill the field as the offensive players turn to Couch Douglas as he signals the plays. Every down, is a yard closer to the end zone. As the Red Army progresses up the field, it is able to score a total of 34 points. Defensively, the soldiers shatter the Eagle’s defense. The front line constantly penetrates their enemy’s offense. Though their efforts were able to crush the offense, they weren’t able to prevent the 28 points. The Red Army makes its departure from the stadium with a victory with a close, but dominating score of 34 to 28. Not only did they march out of Barbers-Hill with a win, but now they are in the first round of playoffs. Now the soldiers have to exert all of their efforts into practice so they can play fast and hard to advance throughout the playoffs. The Red Army marched through the gates of Lamar University’s stadium, ready to fight and terminate Vidor High School in the first round of the Texas playoffs. On Thursday, November 10, the Cougars journeyed to Beaumont Texas for the annual Texas Football Playoffs. After defeating Barbers-Hill High School, the Red Army advanced to the first round of the playoff games. Red and White sprout throughout the stadium; fans yell and cheer for the soldiers on the battlefield and sidelines as the referee blows the kick-off whistle. The soldiers on the field push and shove as they ascend towards the end zone. Within the trenches, are the quarter backs protection. The whole offensive line lay down all of their effort to keep the defense from ambushing their commander. With a human shield in front of him, Aston Walter #7, shuffles inside of the quarter back pocket, waiting for an opportunity to throw one of his trusty receivers the ball. With persistent fighting, the Cougars were able to put up 20 points on the score board.

As their opponents wait for the play on offense, the soldiers of Crosby file into formation, determined to prevent Vidor from scoring. As the de-fensive linemen go to war on the front line, the safeties and corner backs scan the field to make sure they can stop any ball being passed. The strength of the team, the defensive leaders, the linebackers maintain the middle of the field. The main goal of the linebacker this game was to terminate any enemy running passed their field of vision. Though it fought tits hardest, ran its fastest, and played its heart out, the Red army wasn’t able to stop Vidor from scoring.

Will Anderson

Reporter

Aston and Austin Walter, The twins, celebrat-ing.

Crosby Cougars

Who inspires you the most?Jessica Curtis & Will Anderson

Reporters

Inspiration Will Anderson

Reporter

Mark Farrish(n.)-a safety Aston Walter(n.)- a quarterback sam Fowler(n.)- a Kicker Donnie Starks(n.)- a safety Austin walter9n.)- a runningback

While crowding on the sidelines, the football players yell, holler, and wave their arms in the air to pump up their teammates on the field and the fans in the bleachers. Hearing their fans and on-lookers in the stands screaming, pushes the players to fight harder and strive to satisfy their needs. Their needs are for the Cougars to win. Almost every player attempts to bring cheers from the crowd with flailing arms, but big hits and big runs get the most excitement out of the crowd. Donnie Starks #5, brings out the most cheers from the fans because of his big plays including his interceptions, big hits, and pass blocks. All season Donnie Starks worked hard to achieve success every friday night. From pushing his team mates at practice to studying plays in his free time, Donnie Starks strives to be the best Safety in the District. Each game, this athletic safety smashes helmets and tackles players to keep the other teams points from rising. With each hit, the fans scream and stomp like a raging stampede of elephants. Cheers fill the whole field and push Donnie Starks to fight harder. With all his hard work, Starks was able to pump up the crowd the most out of any player.

Vidor Pirates

46%38%

30%25%11%

requires motivation

Vs.

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