All posts by Joe Reitz

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Battle of the Bands introduces aspiring artists

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Nothing brings people from all walks of life together quite like music. Music is cathartic and takes people away from their problems and the real world if only for a little while.

On Wed. April 27, the annual Battle of the Bands took place and provided joy and unification for everyone involved. Each year, the high school holds Battle of the Bands under the condition that at least one member be in school at the time.

Anyone can sign up which brings people from all over the place together.

“What’s really great about this competition and music in general is the diversity. There are a lot of different genres here and many people who wouldn’t normally associate with one another,” junior and M.C. of the event Mitchell Norman said.

The night started off a little late, but the commons were packed full of people ready to listen to good music. Jack Dotson went first in the competition as a solo acoustic guitarist. He calls himself “Dack Jotson” and he does original comedic songs as well as covers.

“I absolutely love playing music and entertaining people as much as I can. There really is nothing else like captivating an eager audience,” Dotson said.

Following “Dack Jotson” was the band “Working Class Boys.” Working Class boys is composed of lead singer Charlie Blair, guitarist Jason Rozak and drummer Stefano Mariola. They play punk rock music and played a seven-song set that was very well received.

“Working Class Boys is by far my favorite band. I love the funky punk vibe they give off and they have an incredible stage presence,” sophomore Janae Droder said.

Working Class Boys had a special treat for the crowd as two tall men in pigeon and chicken masks danced along with the music. Many enjoyed this addition and saw its originality.

“I really loved the pigeon and chicken dancers. They danced really well and did not distract from the music,” sophomore Kayla Duckworth said.

Scarlet Promise followed Working Class Boys with a grungy hard rock sound that resonated throughout the audience. They played many original songs as well as a few covers of hard rock grunge songs. Many current students are in the band including Dane Gellner and James Brownridge..

“Scarlet Promise was great, I love Dane on the bass and James on the drums, they rocked it tonight,” senior Taylor Hostetler said.

The last band to play was “Incite the Riot,” a metal core band also containing Jack Dotson, lead singer of Dack Jotson.

    After the competition, contestants and patrons alike waited to hear who the winner would be. Fourth place went to “Incite the Riot,” third place to “Working Class Boys,” second place to “Dack Jotson,” making “Scarlet Promise” the winner of the 2016 Battle of the Bands.

    “The show was really great this year and all of the bands were fun to watch. We raised a lot of money, and I feel like we brought people together,” Norman said.

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Frankie Peck to play baseball at Hiram College

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High school sports infuse those involved with passion and lust for success. For many players in high school, the ultimate goal is to further their careers into college and eventually the professional levels. 

Senior Frank Peck plays baseball for the high school and was invited to play at Hiram College. Peck has been playing baseball ever since he could remember, and he has always been a pitcher.

“I love the game man. Ever since I can remember, I’ve been playing baseball. There is something truly special about the game that makes me really happy,” Peck said.

Peck made the freshmen baseball team in 2012 and was surrounded by great players and coaches. Freshman baseball in 2012 had the best record of any freshmen team ever at 21-5. Peck played an important role on that team and knew he was in for a great high school career.

Sophomore year, Frank played on the J.V. team in the last year of head coach Andrew Cap’s reign. Not only was it his last year, it was most of the staff’s as well, including varsity coach Selek. After a successful year of pitching, and some hitting, Peck was ready to play on the varsity team.

Hard work and training most days in the offseason were the norm for Peck as he strived to make the team. The program was under new coaching who had almost no knowledge of the players. Peck’s hard work paid off, and he made the varsity team his junior and senior years.

Not only did Peck make the varsity team, but he plays an important part as he is the team’s closing pitcher. Finally, Peck’s work and determination led him to the spotlight on the varsity team, and colleges started to take notice of Peck and give him offers.

Many different colleges approached Peck.

“It was a very long and stressful process. I would receive a call from a college coach to go down for a visit. We would talk about their baseball program and how successful of a team they are. I visited 8 division 3 schools; my top 5 included Hiram college, Baldwin Wallace, Heidelberg, Mount Union and Otterbein, they are the top in their divisions,” Peck said.

Peck also received offers from the division 2 schools Notre Dame College and Tiffin University. Peck weighed his options very carefully and decided to go with Hiram College.

“I decided Hiram College was actually my favorite school. One big thing about looking at Colleges is the fit. I decided I did not want to go to school for the offers or the hype of the name,” Peck said.

For Peck, his work paid off and he will continue playing the sport he loves in the next stage of his life.

Sports

Boys soccer falls short to Wadsworth

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    Kaleidoscope eyes sparkle at the world but Kaleidoscope Park sparkles at the Wadsworth Grizzlies as they down the Bulldogs 4-3.

    Early on in the first half it looked as though the Bulldogs were in command. They were controlling the ball well, playing great defense and getting multiple chances at goals.

    Their first chance was a corner kick in the first half that was called back due to penalty. This would prove to be a trend throughout the game. With 20 minutes left in the first half, another goal was called back due to a penalty. These two goals would be costly as the Bulldogs would have won if they were not called back.

    Twenty-five minutes into the game, the Bulldogs finally prevailed as senior Damon Jones scored their first goal on a penalty kick. The Bulldogs found themselves on top but not for long. With ten minutes left Wadsworth tied up the game on a corner kick that would be the last goal of the half.

    Coach Kyle Kosmala had a talk with his team during halftime, “We have to do better, we have to go and get the stinking ball.”

    The back and forth affair continued with a goal from junior Hayden Baer with 35 minutes left in the final half. Wadsworth soon tied it up yet again with a goal of their own not seven minutes later. Just over one minute later, Wadsworth scored again, taking the first lead and never letting go of it.

     Baer said about their poor defensive play, “We had some issues with our formation tonight that led to some crucial mistakes.”

    It looked as though the Bulldogs could still prevail as Jones scored his second goal of the night with 12 minutes left in the game. However, ten seconds later Wadsworth took a 4-3 lead with another goal. This would prove to be the final score of the match as the Bulldogs fall to 2-2 on the year.

    James Jennings, senior said about the loss, “The goalkeeper is one of the most important positions on the field and part of the backbone of our defense. Our starting keeper, Nathan Harris, has been out for four games but will be ready to return against Jackson which will be a huge help to our team.”