October 31, 2008 Vol. 37 Issue 4
Season ends with hard-fought battle
By Bailey Myers, sr.
Editor-in-chief
Volleyball season came to an end as the Lady Cubs fell to St. Mary’s Colgan in a heartbreaking loss in the sub-state semi-finals. This year the sub-state tournament was played at Uniontown on Oct. 25.
“This group of seniors is going to be greatly missed,” head coach Staci Hudlin said. “I have truly enjoyed the opportunity to coach them. They have raised the bar for Humboldt volleyball, leaving big shoes to fill next year.”
Photo by Rachel Green
Sophomore Brandi Malloy sets the ball to a teammate during a sub-state match.
Humboldt’s fourth place seed in the tournament matched them up with Northeast Arma, fifth seed.
The teams played very closely, but the Cubs were able to pull off two wins, 25-20 and 25-19, moving them into the next round.
After waiting two hours to play again, Humboldt faced St. Mary’s Colgan. Earlier in the season, Colgan beat the Lady Cubs in the Humboldt tournament, preventing them from reaching bracket play. The Cubs went into the match looking for revenge.
Photo by Rachel Green
Head coach Staci Hudlin and sophomores Melissa Davidson and
Amanda Maxton stand up and clap while having a good laugh. The
Lady Cubs had a long day at Uniontown, where their season ended.
“[To prepare for this game] we worked on ‘Lisa coverage’,” said Megan Dillow, sr., who had 17 kills for the day. “She is Colgan’s strongest hitter, and we shut her down most of the game.”
The Cubs came out early and took the first game 25-19. However, the second game did not go as well, and the team lost 22-25.
Both teams were ready to fight and were determined to come out on top heading into the third game.
The Cubs gained an early three-point lead and maintained it throughout most of the game. Toward the end some questionable calls were made in favor of Colgan, causing Humboldt some crucial points.
In the end it was Colgan moving on to the championship round with a score of 22-25.
“The girls played with more intensity than I have ever seen against Colgan,” Hudlin said. “Every player that stepped on the court played with heart and put all they had into the match. It’s a tough loss to take, but they played great!”
Cubs fall against Jackets, Wildcats
By Crystal Crays, sr.
Advertising Editor
On Oct. 21, the Lady Cubs went head to head with the Burlington Lady Cats and the Fredonia Yellowjackets.
The night proved to be disappointing for the team which could not seem to get their momentum going. This could have been partly due to a line-up change with senior starter Randi Barnett sitting on the bench with a shoulder injury.
The Lady Cubs had previously beaten Burlington twice, and their expectations for the game were high. However, they soon fell as the team lost the match in two games.
The Cubs were defeated 14-25 in the first game, and then lost the second game with a score of 21-25.
Humboldt was led by Megan Dillow, sr., who had a total of nine points for the match.
Photo by Lauren Habiger
Lenzie Boring, sr., goes up for a kill against a Lady
Jacket on Oct. 21. Boring had a total of five kills.
In her first varsity game, Hannah McCall, fr., scored three points for the Lady Cubs against the Cats.
“I think we did okay,” McCall said. “Our communication could have been better, but for the most part we did alright.”
For their second match of the night the Lady Cubs faced the Fredonia Yellowjackets. Again, expectations were high as the Lady Cubs had already beaten the Jackets in two matches played earlier in the season.
The Lady Cubs played three hard-hitting games against Fredonia. The first game Humboldt won 25-14. They lost the next two games however with scores of 18-25 and 23-25.
“Our passing wasn’t very good, and there was a lack of communication,” Brandi Malloy, so., said. “We didn’t show up mentally prepared.”
Humboldt takes down Eureka, Cherryvale
By Callie Umholtz, sr.
Sports Editor
The Lady Cubs pulled out two wins Oct. 14 when Cherryvale and Eureka both traveled to Humboldt.
Humboldt took Eureka to three games winning the first game 25-18, but then losing the second game 19-25. In the third game the Cubs pulled it out barely winning 28-26. Lenzie Boring, sr., led with 13 kills followed by Kelci Owens, sr., with six.
Against Eureka, Humboldt struggled with covering on defense throughout the match.
“We got comfortable and our intensity level dropped,” Boring said. “We still played as a team and never gave up when we were down.”
During the second match of the night the Cubs battled in two close games against the Chargers.
Humboldt started out by winning the first game 25-19. Although the girls struggled in the second, they started out ahead. However, they then let Cherryvale come back turning the game into a nail-biter.
Humboldt prevailed, however, and ended the match winning 29-27, not letting it go to three games. Leading in kills with nine was Boring, followed by Randi Barnett, sr., with six. Megan Dillow, sr., led in aces with three.
“We were having a hard time communicating and being enthusiastic,” Melissa Davidson, so., said, “But toward the end of the game we finally started picking it up.”
Humboldt places third at Neodesha
By Bret Hauser, jr.
Reporter
The Lady Cubs volleyball team traveled to Neodesha bright and early for the Neodesha tournament and brought home third place.
They started off the day against the Neodesha Bluestreaks, and they won the match in two games. They won the first game 33-31 and the second game 25-16.
Kelci Owens, sr., made 18 assists. Megan Dillow, sr., slammed down nine kills, and Randi Barnett, sr., made six.
After defeating Neodesha the Cubs went on to annihilate the Caney Bullpups 25-8 and 25-10.
Barnett led in points with 13, and Owens was close behind with 11.
After the Caney games the team faced the Pittsburg Purple Dragons. Humboldt did not play their best and lost both games with a score of 14-25.
Senior Bailey Myers dug up 13 hits from the Dragons.
Next the Lady Cubs fought Parsons and lost two games to one. The first game they lost 12-25, but won the second with a score of 25-19. The third game was close, but they were defeated 23-25.
Lenzie Boring, sr., led in digs with eight, and Myers was directly behind with seven.
“We played well, but we could not pull it out in the end.” Callie Umholtz, sr., said.
After the Parsons game Humboldt played Baxter Springs. They lost the first game 12-25. However, they retaliated and crushed Baxter Springs in the second game 25-11.
They played well in the third game, but Baxter was able to pull ahead with a final score of 23-25.
Owens helped the team out by serving four aces.
The Cubs’ last match of the day was against Fredonia. With a need to win, Humboldt dominated against the Yellowjackets and won 25-18 and 25-20.
Umholtz contributed four blocks for the Cubs.
After the last match, Humboldt found out that they played well enough to get third place.
“We didn’t communicate together, but we kind of pulled it together in the end,” Umholtz said. “We struggled all day, and our communication was not good at all.”
Offense surges in comeback against Patriots
By Scott Sollars, sr.
Reporter
The crowd that came to “Parents Night” on Oct. 24, watched a football game that was back and forth throughout the first half.
West Elk’s defense had nothing going for them as they allowed the Cubs to rush for 475 yards and pass for 147 yards.
Photo by Baylie Morris
Coach Travis Burk gives Scott Sollars, sr., pointers for the next
play in the game against the West Elk Patriots on Oct. 24.
With West Elk up 14-0, early in the first half, Humboldt had to make a comeback. Andrew Whitaker, sr., led the way with a 69-yard sprint for the end zone.
Whitaker then found Scott Sollars, sr., running free behind the defense for a 38-yard touchdown pass. With just seconds left in the quarter the Patriots scored on a 4-yard pass putting them in front of the Cubs 20-14.
“We were down 14-0, but we just had two bad breaks, and I knew that when we got the ball, we were going to make the best of our opportunity because all my teammates were ready to make it happen,” Whitaker said.
Photo by Chelsie Angleton
Christian Hicks, jr., runs past opposing players to get a touchdown.
Christian Hicks, jr., opened the second quarter with a 9-yard dash for a touchdown. West Elk then returned the kickoff for a touchdown to give them the lead 26-21. Whitaker then found the end zone from three yards out to give the lead back to the Cubs.
On the next offensive drive, the Patriots intercepted a pass and took it back for six points. Not wanting to go into halftime down, the Cubs managed to score again with a Whitaker 1-yard touchdown run. Humboldt went into halftime up 35-32.
“Going into halftime we had a slight lead over West Elk; I knew we had to get things going and start scoring, and we did just that,” Micah Poovey, sr., said.
After halftime it was all Humboldt as they scored 21 points to West Elk’s six. Midway through the third quarter Hicks found the end zone again on a 4-yard run.
Thad Wells, sr., then ran it in from 18 yards out to put the Cubs up 49-32. The Patriots found the end zone for the last time through the air. Wells capped off the scoring by running his second touchdown from nine yards out.
Humboldt played Olpe last night, but no results were available at press time.
Junior Varsity Sports
Communication, mental mistakes derail JV team
By Tyler Gean, jr.
Reporter
The junior varsity Lady Cubs had a difficult time against Cherryvale and Eureka at home on Oct. 14. They won one game out of the two matches played.
In the first match, the girls played Eureka. They lost both games with scores of 15-25 and 25-27. Against Cherryvale they lost in the first game 19-25, but in the second they came back with an impressive 25-19 win. In the third, however, they lost 10-15.
“We played pretty well,” Emily Durand, fr., said. “We needed to talk more and fix the mental mistakes.”
Photo by Lauren Habiger
Freshman Kylee Carson goes up for a block in a
match against Cherryvale. Humboldt took Cherryvale
to three games but was not able to pull out a win.
Humboldt hit the floor again on Oct. 21 in Fredonia. However the young Cubs were unable to come away with a win for the night.
In the first match the Cubs played Burlington and lost both games with scores of 9-25 and 15-25. In the second match against Fredonia, the team dropped both games 7-25 and 10-25.
“We did not do as well on passing as we needed to,” Taylyn Wells, fr., said. “If we could have made our serves over, it would have helped us out more.”
Hill siblings qualify for State
By Valerie Weilert, so.
Opinion Editor
On Oct. 25, the Humboldt High School cross country team attended the regional cross country meet at Mound City. Five students attended the meet, and two had times that qualified them for state competition.
Andy Hill, sr., Cody Wright, jr., Tylar Heidrick, fr., and Matt Smith, sr., ran in the boys’ 5k. Hill’s time was 17:31.56 and he placed 10th out of 55 runners, qualifying him for state. Wright’s time was 18:43.80, and he placed 24th. Heidrick, who had a time of 19:39.39, placed 40th , and Smith, with a time of 19:49.15, took 42nd place.
“I felt we ran very well,” Eric Carlson, cross country coach, said. “Andy had the best time by any Humboldt runner ever. Cody ran very well, as did Tylar. Both Tylar and Matt had their best times of the year. For those runners that didn’t make it to state this year, they can continue to work on improving so that they can put themselves in a better position to qualify for state next year.”
Photo courtesy of Eric Carlson
Raquel Hill, so., keeps her pace when running and
comes in eighth to qualify for state competition.
Raquel Hill, so., ran in the girls’ 4k. Her time was 17:16.34. She placed eighth out of 33 runners and qualified for state.
“I’m very happy and excited that I qualified for state,” R. Hill said. “I feel very accomplished. Achieving this is a pretty big deal.”
The Hill siblings will be competing in state competition tomorrow, Nov. 1, at Wamego.
Runners place at League meet
By Tyler Gean, jr.
Reporter
Cross country took part in an invitational meet in Burlington on Oct. 16. The meet also contributed to league results.
In the 5k boys varsity race there were 68 runners. Andy Hill, sr., led the team with a time of 19:05 to place fifth. Cody Wright, jr., received 15th with a time of 19:28.
The 4k-varsity girls race was led by Raquel Hill, so., for ninth place with a time of 17:26. Alexis Hosack, jr., was 56th with a time of 24:20. There were a total of 57 runners in the race.
Runners placing for league were A. Hill fourth, Wright eighth, Heidrick 25th, and Smith 29th. For the girls, R. Hill second and Hosack 18th.
“I wish I could have gotten first in league, but I am still happy about being second,” R. Hill said.
Cubs dominate Wildcats on road
By Randi Barnett, sr.
News Editor
Yates Center was no challenge for the Cubs as they brought home their fifth win of the season with a score of 40-7.
The Cubs started out the first quarter well, scoring 21 points. Andrew Whitaker, sr., ran the ball one yard for the first touchdown of the night. Whitaker passed the ball 54 yards to Troy Davis, sr., for the second touchdown of the night. Then Thad Wells, sr., caught a 45-yard lob from Whitaker, scoring again.
Photo by Chelsie Angleton
Senior Thad Wells kicks off during the Yates Center game. Wells had
seven kickoffs for the game and piled up a total of 357 kickoff yards. "I
thought the team played well against Yates Center," Wells said. "Everyone was
doing their part and was on the same page; we wanted to beat the Wildcats."
Whitaker had a long-run touchdown in the second quarter for six points, and Scott Sollars, sr., had a 67-yard punt return into the end zone.
“Through the first few games of the season our secondary has struggled and allowed too many yards, but against Yates Center we did a very good job by allowing only 22 yards through the air,” Sollars said.
During the third quarter, Wells ran the ball in for the Cubs’ sixth touchdown of the game.
Humboldt had a total of 350 offensive yards, including 131 passing yards.
“I felt our kids played good at times,” head coach Travis Burk said. “Thad Wells and Andrew Whitaker ran the ball well. I felt our line improved in the second half.”
With a large Cubs’ lead, junior varsity players were able to get some playing time during the fourth quarter. Sophomores Chris Headley and Reece Criger both had rushing yards gained while helping their team.
Focused Humboldt team shuts out Neodesha Bluestreaks
By Alexis Hosack, jr.
Feature Editor
In a game against the Neodesha Bluestreaks, the Cubs dominated with a score of 47-0.
The Cubs took charge of the game early, gaining 26 points in the first quarter. The first half ended with Humboldt ahead 47-0.
“Our defense was explosive,” Christian Hicks, jr., said. “Everybody did a great job of pulling together.”
Hicks led in rushing yards with 111, running in one touchdown. Andrew Whitaker, sr., ran in three touchdowns, while Thad Wells, sr., ran in two touchdowns. Reece Criger, so., gained the Cubs 26 rushing yards.
“I was pleased with our focus,” Travis Burk, head coach, said. “Neodesha is a young team that will be pretty good in a couple of years.”
Parents, athletes recognized at Parent's Night
The following senior athletes and their parents were honored at the football game on Oct. 24:
Volleyball
Randi Barnett - daughter of Lorence & Sandy Barnett
Lenzie Boring - daughter of Alan & Marcie Boring
Megan Dillow - daughter of David & Penny Taylor and Steve Dillow
Bailey Myers - daughter of Tish & Jeremy Bulk and Norma & Clint Myers
Kelci Owens - daughter of Tim & Virginia Wools and Dave Owens
Callie Umholtz - daughter of Steve & Michelle Umholtz
Photo by Chelsie Angleton
Seniors Scott Sollars, Thad Wells, and Andrew Whitaker
stand with their parents before the football game on
Friday Oct. 24. Each senior gave their mother an
orange carnation as a thank you for the support given.
Cross Country
Nate Bartlett - son of Rick & Yolanda Bartlett
Andy Hill - son of Shari Hill
Chris Kolb - grandson of John & Hazel Robb
Malachi Melton - son of John & Michelle Hole and Mark & Jennifer Melton
Matt Smith - son of Jon & Sheri Smith
Football
Troy Davis - son of Shelli Davis and Kim Houdashelt
Devin Onnen - son of Dan & Laura Onnen
Micah Poovey - son of Beth Cave and Ted & Darice Poovey
Scott Sollars - son of Tom & Alicia Schomaker
Thad Wells - son of David & Soni Wells
Andrew Whitaker - son of Curt & Sandy Whitaker
Scoreboard
Click on image to download scoreboard as a PDF file.
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