All posts by Nick Kollar

Sports

Bulldogs lose to Comets in second overtime

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The Comets of Solon high school flew through James G. Tyree Gymnasium on Feb. 4, but were not able to leave without a fight.

In a game filled with large comebacks, lost teeth, and double overtime, it was certainly a night to remember for Stow and Solon fans alike.

The two teams have already met up once this year, resulting in a loss for Stow, leading to a Bulldog team looking for revenge on their home court.

That revenge seemed to be apparent the first quarter when the Bulldogs took control of the game, pulling ahead with a 15-2 lead. Senior Chrissie Vaughn was leading the way for Stow, scoring the first five points and more to follow. Stow’s defensive dynamics contained any sort of Solon offense, forcing turnovers and causing early frustration for the Comets.

Stow’s first quarter strengths carried over into the second quarter, but the Comets presence was beginning to felt. Solon’s shots began to fall, but they still could not stop the offensive game of seniors Morgan Thompson, Sam Shaver and Vaughn. The Bulldogs led 33-20 at the half.

The third quarter held a constant level of defensive and offensive aggression for both teams. Stow continued to hold off Solon and took the score to 50-35 lead in favor of Stow, going into the fourth quarter.

The fourth quarter started the collapse of Stow’s night, and the rise of Solon’s comeback. Stow began to settle for poor shots and gave up many turnovers which Solon took full advantage of. Cutting the deficit to one point with 1:54 left to go, Stow began to panic with the ball. With the scored tied 58-58 Solon scored a layup at the buzzer, but was quickly waved off by the referee, sending the game into its first overtime.

Solon showed signs of taking over the game in overtime, but a three-pointer from Thompson with 11 seconds left on the clock gave Stow a 62-60 lead. Lack of defense allowed Solon to drive right to the rim and tie the game at 62-62 sending it into its second overtime.

The second overtime held the most intensity of any other time during the night. Questionable calls from referees brought some parents to anger, and with both teams in the double bonus, free throws were very valuable for victory. Solon began taking control of the game, but the Bulldogs would keep them within reach. With seconds left on the clock,  a potential game tying three pointer by a Stow player was missed, and the clock ran out to zero, ending the long and exciting night with a score in favor of Solon 67-71.

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Sports

Girls basketball hits six-game winning steak with victory over Jackson

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The girls basketball team proved a bulldog can brave the cold of the winter better than any polar bear.

The Lady Bulldogs went up against the Jackson Polar Bears on Jan. 21, extending their winning streak to five games and an overall record of 9-5.

The now 10-7 Polar Bears could not keep up with the fast-paced style of play the Bulldogs brought to the court, and early turnovers allowed Stow to capitalize on their mistakes. The end of the first quarter was controlled by Stow, who claimed a 16-5 lead.

The second quarter revealed a more offensively aggressive, patient Jackson team. The momentum shifted as Jackson went on a run to tie the game with 2:30 left on the clock. Back to back three pointers from Stow’s senior Morgan Thompson, and Jackson players, led to a tied ballgame going into the half with a score of 24-24.

Jackson’s momentum carried over to the third quarter where Stow’s sloppy offense and poor shot selection allowed Jackson to pull ahead with a 36-43 lead going into the last quarter.

The fourth quarter started in favor of Jackson, as they used their lead and the clock to their advantage. The momentum took a turn in favor of Stow though, as they began to chop away at Jackson’s lead.

A floater by senior Sam Shaver followed by three pointers by sophomore Kelly Fenwick and Thompson cut the deficit to one with 3:36 left to go. Jackson began to fall apart, as a steal by Thompson followed by a layup by Shaver gave the Bulldogs the lead.

The score remained close and with under a minute left, Stow trailed behind.

With three seconds left in regulation, and the scored tied at 57-57, Stow fouled and sent a Jackson player to the free throw line, where she went on to miss both shots and sent the game into overtime.

In overtime, Stow’s defensive game was forcing turnovers by Jackson, for which Stow’s offensive game benefited from.

Stow became patient with the ball, and with the clock on their side, were able to run the time down until Jackson had no option but to foul.

The Lady Bulldogs went on to defeat the Jackson Polar Bears in overtime 66-65. Thompson led all scorers on the night with 19 points followed by senior Chrissie Vaughn with 13 points of her own.

The girls basketball team will try to extend their winning streak to six games as they take on the Twinsburg Tigers at home Jan. 24 at 7 p.m.

Editorials

Face paint in school causes distraction

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Zombie-like faces flood the halls as Halloween approaches.

Some Students feel the need to paint themselves  as zombies or monsters for the school day; however, with the strictly enforced rules of the dress code, many students believe this is a violation of the school rules.

Multiple students at school have received jobs working at haunted houses as a great way to earn money around Halloween time. Many of these jobs include dressing up as the living-dead and doing their best to scare the paying customers. The detailed zombie costumes and elaborate face paint allow for a frightening effect, but these zombies may want to leave their scaring back at the haunted houses.

Section “K” of the student code of  conduct states that, “A student shall not dress in an obscene or suggestive manner or in any fashion that, in the judgment of the staff and/or administration, disrupts the educational process. See-through or mesh garments, midriff  blouses or shirts, tank tops, spaghetti straps, exposure of undergarments of any type, spiked jewelry, chains, cleavage, low riding pants, hats and clothing with obscene or suggestive statements or symbols are prohibited is any apparel that advertises or promotes sex, drugs or alcohol. Shoes must be worn at all times. Coats and hats should be placed in lockers and not worn/carried during the school day.”

The painting of students’ faces violates the code of conduct as it, “disrupts the educational process.” If the motive of the zombie students is to promote their haunted houses, the face painting poses as an educational distraction because the purpose of promoting something is to draw attention to it.

“I have no problem with the kids who paint their faces,” junior Katarina Odak said. “Even if it isn’t  a promotion for an event, they can do what they want. My problem is that it isn’t considered a ‘distraction to anyone’s learning’. I don’t understand how that is not a distraction, yet when I wore a strapless shirt and showed my shoulders, it apparently prohibited the learning of any male students, for which I deeply apologize.”

To think that girls wearing comfortable tank-tops hold more of a distraction than students who paint themselves as living corpses is absurd.

“I understand and agree that you shouldn’t be allowed to wear shorts that show 70% of your butt or anything ridiculous like that because we are in school and not a strip club, but some of the rules are body shaming and unfair because they ‘distract boys from their learning’,” Odak said. “All that does is preach to not be victimized instead of to not victimize. This is a far stretch from the kids painting their faces, but they shouldn’t have been allowed to ‘distract’ everyone from learning if everyone else wasn’t allowed to either. Besides, my strapless shirt didn’t make one of my teachers stop teaching multiple times because they lost their train of thought. The same cannot be said for the face paint.”

With the makeup covering all of their faces, some students cannot even be identified without deeper analyzation.

“I don’t see a very big difference between a student hiding their face with paint and a student hiding their face with a ski mask,” junior David Slusser said. “Both are relatively the same thing, except wearing a ski mask would be absolutely unacceptable in the school.”

The face painters claim the action to be one of advertisement for the haunted houses, but there are many other ways they could get their message across rather than being a disturbance to others throughout the day.

If students want to promote their haunted houses, then they should go about so in a way that does not disturb others from learning. If administration is going to let students completely cover their faces in makeup, in a disturbing manner, then they also need to let students wear ball caps and not be forced to wear clothes that completely cover every part their bodies.

“The fact that the majority of the people were scared and uncomfortable about the face paint probably shouldn’t be ignored either; although,  I’m no expert on what should or should not be done in the school,” Odak said. “That would fall under the rule of Mrs. Murray, and I don’t encourage nor promote any actions as a result of what I had to say, but I think it’s necessary to question authority when it deserves to be questioned.