Sporting WCA

Spirit Week Day Three: Junior Games Preview and Recap

Every Spirit Week assembly features trivial games that are played with the highest intensity. Wednesday’s assembly will feature a lighter slate because film projects have to be presented. The afternoon will head straight into action with the finals of Ultimate Chicken, Tug O’War, and finally, for the first time this week, the Half-Court Shot.

If you thought Monday was a fluke, you were wrong. The Juniors took a quick nap while they waited for the Seniors to walk in so that they could get rested up for a busy day of winning. They placed second in Dress Up and went 2-for-3 in games on Tuesday, losing their first game of the week in the Mattress Surfing competition, and winning handily in Junk Relay and Tag Royale.  

Junk Relay: In the Junk Relay, the Juniors took home the gold with breakout performances from both the boys and the girls on the squad. The relay began with a false start by the Seniors, but the referees in the match had their eyes focused elsewhere. After Kyleigh Peer started it off, remaining close behind the Seniors despite the infraction, Cody Smith came next, quickly knocking them out of the lead. The gap only got bigger as Alex Daiber and Brennan Orf secured the bag and the no-doubt victory.

Tag Royale: In the Tag Royale, there could not have been a better roster for the Juniors. The quartet of Cody Smith, Alex Daiber, Isabella Francois, and Ava Hollman got the win. The match was steady all game, as Cody Smith aggressively pulled flags left and right. Ava Hollman unfortunately fell early in the match. Alex Daiber, perhaps the favorite in the game, got out midway in the game due to a sneak attack by a seventh grader. The Seniors had their full four person team for a large portion of the match, but this was only due to the fact that they stood in the corner of the playing arena and did not move. As the game reached the final minutes, it was a two on two face off between Cody Smith and Isabella Francois vs. Grace Gevers and Kalei Layton. As Cody Smith viciously grabbed one flag, Isabella grabbed the other. Ball game.

Ultimate Chicken: The Juniors, also known as the 2018 Spirit Week Ultimate Chicken Champions, took on the Freshmen in yesterday’s affair. In the end, the Juniors came out on top after the game saving deflection by Ben Straub, who dove into the Senior student section to knock the chicken away from EJ Williams. The game was somewhat close due to the effort of Sam Vestal on the Freshmen end of the court, but it was simply no match for Super Orf. Next, the Seniors will take on the Juniors in the Championship, which will certainly be one of the most hyped games in all of Spirit Week.

Boys Tug O’War: After a surprisingly close match, the Juniors came out on top against the Freshmen in Tug O’War. The matchup was a bit too close for comfort, making it hard to call the win a proud victory. However, the Junior team was missing the unit Ben Chereji, who went home midway through the school day. The squad, without Cherry, grabbed the win, so we’re left to wonder what the team is capable of with the unit. I guess we will find this out when the Junior Boys take on the Senior Boys in the championship matchup.

Girls Tug O’War: Not much to say for this one. After it looked in the beginning like the Juniors might get the win, the Freshmen came back. The game was neck and neck, but in the end, the Junior girls took a bad loss against the Freshmen.

Mattress Surfing: As I said yesterday, game takes no skill. Juniors finish second.

What did we learn from yesterday?: Well, we learned that both the Seniors and the Juniors were willing to do whatever it took to get the win for their team. However, it was also clearly shown that the Seniors tried to take the easy way out quite a few times, one instance being the false start in the Junk Relay and another being the huddled up group in Tag Royale. However, the best part is that even when the Seniors tried these tactics, they still lost. The Seniors were no match for the raw talent that the Juniors had to offer. Perhaps for the remainder of Spirit Week, the Juniors will see some competition from the Seniors, rather than this performance that they are displaying right now. Thank you, next.