How many times have you voted for the pretti-est or most popular girl for homecoming court? Plenty of times, I know. Popularity contests con-trol almost all school events and functions. West Forsyth is gearing up for their second homecoming with quite a large court. The school’s court consists of both boys and girls, like last year’s, from all of the school’s organiza-tions as well as two stu-dents from each grade level. Some of these organizations are: French and Green Club; football and softball teams; and the newspa-per and band. The court is so large that many students who wouldn’t have expected to be on homecoming court were this year. These students now have the chance to walk across the field with their escort and know that they represent the bigger picture of West Forsyth. In other schools though, home-coming courts are

mainly female based and princesses and a queen are chose from all of the nominees. At WFHS, all students are equal with this method of nominat-

ing.

The students who were nominated for each class were most often the prettiest, most popular, play sports, or are just all around good people. Each Instructional Focus class nominated one female and one male to have their names put on a large ballot to be voted for. Some students voted for random people, but most voted for popular or pretty girls and ath-letic guys; that is how popularity contests in schools begin. When asked how she felt about homecoming court be-coming a popularity contest, Amelia Hays said, “I feel like its true.” In the brisk reality of things, high school social networking works around the clock and is firmly based on popular-ity.

Luckily at WFHS, there are two courts, one for representatives, and the other for a popularity contest. Both Amelia Hays and Valerie Godwin said that West should keep both home-coming courts instead of converting to a single, traditional court. Both courts allow representa-tives from all over the school to dress up nicely and show their Wolver-ine Pride. The students at West are very fortunate to have the chance to be on homecoming court to represent their commu-nity, school, and the organization in which they belong. But, should West convert to the tra-ditional court or remain the way the court system is now? That will only

be answered in time.

ISSUE 9

Popular Girls

THE WEST

Editorials 1

Personal Interest 2

Clubs 4

Politics 5

Fashion 6

Travel 8

Sports 9

Inside The West:

Keep it out of the high school’s homecoming court

By: Sarah Myers

Since 1999, Plato’s Closet has been all about being “fashion savvy and shopping smart”. The whole idea of Plato’s Closet is for you to bring in your gently used trendy clothing, sell them, and get cash! All you have to do is drop off the clothing you want to sell, they will give you a form to fill out and a time frame to come back and pick up your cash! It’s that easy! Plato’s Closet is looking for clothing, accessories, room dé-cor, footwear, and outerwear! So go ahead and bring in your jeans that don’t fit anymore, skirts that are too short now, purses you don’t use anymore, sneakers you’ve never worn, or even books CD’s and DVDs! Plato’s Closet is known for hav-ing trendy yet cheap clothing. They want to buy the most

wanted brands of teens from you. According to plato-scloset.com, some of these brands are: Abercrombie & Fitch, American Eagle, Hollis-ter, Old Navy, Steve Madden, Baby Phat, Forever 21, Roxy, and many more. For a full list visit the website. After selling all your clothes you don’t wear, you’ve got all this extra cash! So… What should you do? Go shopping of course! What everyone else sold, you can buy! A pair of jeans from Hollister, which are normally around 50 dollars, you could get them for around 20! Don’t think it’s only casual wear to. In their stores they have plenty of dressy clothes too! From date night dresses to outfits for a night out with the girls, they’ve got you covered. Still haven’t gotten that home-

coming dress? Go now and check out their variety and even find accessories and shoes to go with it! Either way if you’re looking for some extra cash or the lat-est trends, make your way over to Plato’s closet to see what all the talks about. For locations and more info, go to

platoscloset.com.

PAGE 2

Time For an Update

THE WEST

By: Madison Smith

ISSUE 9

It’s that time of year again, time for vampires, living dead, chainsaws, clowns, werewolves, and creatures that will leave you bringing out that old night light. It’s Hallow-een. Sound gory enough? Well that is exactly what Netherworld Haunted House is going for. It is a walk through a horrifying warehouse that will leave you screaming and gasp-ing for air. Every monster that haunted you as a child is present there, as well as creatures that seem unimaginable. You will be racing to the end of this terrifying place, but not without a chain-saw or psycho clown hot on your heels. This year Netherworlds has added many new ad-ditions! One is called the CARNIVORE which is a pack of savage were-wolves fighting to the death. There are also other features in the main house such as the bottom-less pit, the time/space ripper, the slime pit, the 17 foot tall pumpkin king, and many others not released. You will have to encounter them on your own. Once you have made it to the end of the

main house, alive, you have the choice to con-tinue to the lower tunnels behind the warehouse to conquer nightmares that live among us everyday such as bugs, snakes, and mental fears. Once again, Netherworld has added some new additions to keep its victims scream-ing for their lives. A man known as the Mangler has gotten lose in the tunnels of Netherworld. He is a disgusting and disfigured serial killer. You have to walk through the tunnels hoping you don’t become his next victim. Other extras that have just been added are the skull crusher, live roaches, snakes, rats, hogzilla, the twisted den-tist, and the heart stop-ping pile driver. All these are just a few new addi-tions along with all of the horrifying ones from last year. Can you handle this and make it to the end? Every nightmare, every fear is brought to life with real actors and actresses and Hollywood special effects in the #1 haunted house in the USA. So gather your courage and go to Netherworld if you can.

High schoolers love a good scare and most teen-agers say that they loved it and plan to go back again and again. Don’t forget that the horror doesn’t begin when you step in the house. It be-gins once you step in line, even waiting in the park-ing lot. So be ready to relive those childhood horrors and experience Netherworld. For directions, ticket prices, and any questions you might have visit the same website. You might want to turn down the volume though because the sounds will chill your spine and rattle your teeth. http://www.fearworld.com/

index.php

PAGE 3

Netherworld Haunted House

Can you handle it?

By: Alex Shook

Of the variety of clubs West Forsyth offers, one of the most popular is Y Club. It’s a Christian ser-vice group comparable to the youth group at your Church. Their goal is to show leadership through community activities. Just as groups like the Key Club, they get to-gether every month to service the community in some way—whether through school or not. Y Club also comes with several perks; one in-cludes the trips they plan. The members of this group attend conferences, also known as retreats, filled with fun and educa-tion. One of the trips in-cluded “Summer BLAST.” BLAST stands for Building Leaders And Servant Teens. These conferences are not re-quired, but are recom-mended since it is always a lot of fun. Other activi-ties include Christian Life Conference, the Basket-ball Tournament, and Youth Assembly. One event that the Y Club participated in a

couple of weeks ago was one to show support for the troops. They put care packages together and sent them off to Iraq. Non-perishable food items, magazines, batter-ies, DVDs, and phone cards were only some of the items that were put in the packages. All of these activities are made possible by, not only the advisors, but by student officers. It is their responsibility to organize meetings, plan events, and create fun activities for the group to perform. These students are elected at the beginning of the year. Contacting them would be a great way to get started as a new member to the club. However, you could also find out more about the club by attending their meetings. You could find specific dates on posters hung around the school, but generally the Y Club meetings are held on the second Wednesday of every month. Make sure you get a pass from either Ms. Griffin in room 1302

or Ms. Waddell in room 1813 because the meet-ings are held during the second half of your In-structional Focus class. Club dues are collected. It is only twenty dollars. To learn more about State Y Clubs in general, you can visit the site, http://ymcaga.org, to learn more information. Not only does the Y Club hold fun events, they help the community by build-ing leaders out of high school students. This club provides you the opportu-nity to make friends and have fun at the same time. Consider all you have read about the Y Club, make joining a top

priority.

PAGE 4

Y Club

THE WEST

By: Taylor Hartshorn

ISSUE 9

In middle and elementary school there was the Ora-torical Contest. Here at West Forsyth High the tradition still goes on. The Optimist club is where you’ll find volun-teer work for our commu-nity and have the option of submitting to the Ora-torical Contest. The teacher sponsors for this Club are Mrs. Whittaker and Mr. Bush. The Club meets every 1st and 3rd Wednesday dur-ing Instructional Focus. These meeting determine where and when volun-teering takes place with outside organizations. They also help students write a speech for the Oratorical contest. Both Mrs. Whittaker and Mr. Bush teach some sort of

Literature. Mr. Bush also does our school’s literary magazine (Likewise) and teaches Honors Litera-ture. Our other sponsor, Mrs. Whittaker teaches Freshman Honors Litera-ture. Combined, both have had over 20 years of Literature teaching ex-perience. Part of their job is to help students write speeches. The Optimist Club goes way back into educa-tional systems. The first Oratorical Contest took place in 1928. Every year the Oratorical topic changes. For people that are interested in submit-ting speeches, the topic for this year is "For Me, Optimism is ...”. Require-ments for the speech and guidelines are located on

the organizations website (www.optimist.org) or can be found out in one of the future meetings. The contest winners re-ceive scholarships once past the school level of the competition. Having the opportunity to speak your mind and still win something is found through the Optimist club. It isn’t too late to join this club. As long as you come to the meetings that are twice a month during Instructional Focus and have a passion for volun-teering and for writing, this club will help you exceed and help out the

community.

PAGE 5

Optimist Club

By: Sandy Salvatierra

Presidential Debates Count

But Who is Winning?

By: Emily Garmon

In the 1960 Presidential Election, John F. Kennedy and Richard Nixon went head to head on the first televised presidential de-bate. Prior to the debate, Nixon had recently over-come a horrific cold and refused to tolerate the make up artist to touch him. As a result, Nixon appeared as drained and perspiring. However, John F. Kennedy

was sporting a gilded tan and allowed the make up artist to beautify him. The people who listened to the debate on the radio deter-mined Richard Nixon out-performed his opposing candidate, while those who watched the debate on tele-vision proclaimed John F. Kennedy as the winner. Some argue this may have

been a pure coincidence.

However, hnn.article.com claims that, “History proves that Presidential Debates matter.” For 44 consecu-tive years, the deter-mined winning candidate became President in the same year. Among these Presidents include Ken-nedy, Carter, Reagan, Bush I, Clinton, and

Bush II. But an

important question arises for this election: who is the winner? John McCain has made numerous strategic moves in the election. One of which is that he chose a fresh, young, attractive female as his running mate. Another is that he realizes America thrives on conflict and conspiracy theories. During the debates, he has dropped witty lines that criticize Barack Obama’s political views. On timesonline.com, an ex-cerpt from the debate that was held at Mississippi University can be read. In order to take a shot at his lack of experience, he said, “"In his short career, he does not understand our national security chal-lenges. We don't have time for on-the-job training, my friend." Unlike Barack

Obama, John McCain has given the media and the people something to talk about. Roger Simon, a politician columnist, said, “Sometimes McCain at-tacked directly, and sometimes he attacked sarcastically, but he never stopped attacking. And he never rattled Obama. Obama answered every attack and kept his cool.” John McCain did behave in a cynical manner while Barack Obama behaved in a professional manner. Throughout the course of the election, John McCain and his running mate Sarah Palin have been exasperating the drama while Barack Obama is only interested in discussing business. His casual reactions to conflict is comforting to

America because this communicates to the peo-ple that his concern is the middle class, rather than engaging in a cat fight. America seems to agree with the columnist. Ac-cording to upi.com, a poll says that out of 524, 51 percent said that Barack Obama won the debate, 38 percent of people said John McCain won the debate and the remaining 11 percent is undecided. Both candidates have a fair shot at becoming President. It has been an acutely close election. However, if history keeps proving that the debates matter, it looks like Barack Obama will be in office in less than a

month.

PAGE 6

Looking Your Best for Homecoming

Presidential Debates Count cont’d.

is comfortable, for it makes dancing all night much more enjoyable! For a guy, homecoming is the chance to dress in nice casual clothes for this big night out. Nor-mally the guys’ attire consists of a perfect Ralph Lauren polo paired with khaki pants with nice dress shoes. But keeping up with the Las Vegas theme, most boys love the Elvis look with the Aviators and the sparkly suit; however, there are some that can’t stand looking like a star. For there are rarely any

boys that go to homecom-ing wearing suit; instead they try to find something plain and simple to just throw on and party. Just don’t forget a squirt of cologne that just might attract someone special. Since the theme this year for our homecoming dance is Las Vegas, you may even want to find a flashier outfit to go with the theme. Maybe a se-quence dress, shoes, or even a necklace that will stick out and catch your

peers’ attention.

Viva Las Vegas, here we come! Homecoming is finally here, which means it’s time to look your best. If you are a girl, homecoming night is your chance to find that perfect dress that will make everyone want to be you. After all, the highlight of the night is looking your best, which is why it takes girls hours to do their make-up, hair, nails and finding a fancy outfit to wear. All girls know that choosing the right dress is the most important factor, so just make sure that it fits and

THE WEST

By: Ashley Kraus

ISSUE 9

If you open the glossy pages of a magazine such as Seventeen or Teen Vogue, it’s almost a sure thing that you will see the smiling faces of the “It” fashion girls in young Hollywood. Everybody wants to be them, with their designer apparel and envelope of beauty, but the thing is most of us aren’t rolling in cash from our dream acting jobs. Just because you are a normal teenager doesn’t mean you can’t feel glamorous, without spending every cent of your hard earned cash. One essential every girl must have in her closet is a go-to outfit. Your go-to outfit is what you run for when your girlfriends call you last minute for a night out. A go-to can be anything that you feel fabulous in, like a killer skirt that will match any tee, or a pretty ruffled blouse that can be paired with a shrunken blazer or boot-cut jeans and a clutch. A great place to find these pretty items (for less) is Forever 21. This store is famous for being super cheap, but still looking designer. They keep up with the latest trends and put their own twists on them. Even better, the stores only carry seven of each piece, so you can be almost sure you won’t be wearing the

same as anyone else. A second key element to feeling like a celeb is an outstanding fragrance. The way you smell is your signature, and it tells who you are before any-body sees you. This part of your ensemble is one thing you should have no matter what. A bottle of your yummy scent usu-ally lasts a year or more, if you use it properly. For all-day results, squirt once on your shirt and once in your hair or be-hind your ear. These spots are the best place to apply the fragrance be-cause they absorb and hold it there all day. If you want extra delicious aroma about your body, opt for yummy hair care! A favorite of many is the Herbal Essences line of shampoos, conditioners, and styling products. There is a product for every hair type with the best scents in a huge vari-ety. This, along with your perfume, will be right in the face of anybody that hugs you. A third key step to having an ever-chic appearance is having an awesome carry-all bag. A carry all, or a huge purse, can tie any outfit together. Pick bags in neutral colors like black or gray if that’s your style, or be daring with a candy pink, fire-engine red or sunny yel-

low. The best bags can be found at TJ Maxx, for they come crazy cheap there. This store is awe-some for bargain hunters and even carry designer items, with prices knocked way off. To match your fabulous new tote, snag a pair of match-ing flats. Charlotte Russe carries every color patent leather flats and pumps, prices ranging from $15 to $30. A final accessory to add to your outfit that will make you feel fabulous is killer jewels. When done in moderation, gold can look flawless with nearly any color. A great pur-chase is a pair of large gold earrings. These will instantly turn your outfit from boring to boho the second you put them on. Another jamming jewel is a small necklace in silver, gold or copper. These tiny duds are cute, classy, and very feminine. They are very easy to wear and match nearly anything. So if you think that just because you aren’t rolling in cash doesn’t mean you can’t look your best. You can make your image better than a celeb and only with a few items. There are so many stores where you can find your desired cheap-and-chic elements to make you feel as fabulous as you

are.

PAGE 7

How To Be a Fashion Icon (In Real Life)

By: Toby Tyler

Whether your style is defined as the free sprit boho, the tough rocker chick or even the cute classic sweetheart update your look with great new accessories for the colder weather that’s coming. Peace, paisley print and pheasant blouses are just everyday staples for a boho chick, but by spic-ing them up with new trends it gives your re-laxed look a whole new vibe. Try adding an inter-esting printed scarf for fall that can either be rapped around your neck or tied on to your bag for a splash of fun color. Or go all out and wear a flo-ral print dress draped with layers of necklaces

paired with a worn jean jacket and a fringed over-sized bag. Black is the essence of rocker chic, but to stand out in the crowd its all about how to wear it with the right accessories. Pair your black leggings and stiletto boots with edgy oversized cuffs, neck-laces, and earrings. Dare to add a little color to this monochromatic style with a statement scarf paired with that black leather jacket of yours. Top a black vest and white tee combo with a fedora hat to really complete this edgy style. Put a new spin on the cute classic style by branching out and wear-

ing cream winter whites and warm tans. Update your pea coat with an oversized ribbed wool scarf or hat to add instant drama and warmth. Pair your everyday looks with new sweater boots to transform last seasons outfits into new stylish looks. Make sure you do remember to create a balance between these huge over sized scarves and boots with fitted sweaters or skinny long-sleeved tees. Just remember that style is all about expressing who you are through your clothes, so have fun with

it and just be you.

PAGE 8

Update Your Style

THE WEST

“Life After Life”

By: Jacklyn Drummond

By: Emma West

Below the surface of The Atlantic Ocean, at a mere five miles from the beach, is the world’s largest resting place for those dearly departed. Artificial reefs and Roman-themed decorative designs have been set up about fifty miles below the sea level, giving the idea that it is a lost Roman world. But held in these Styrofoam-bounded structures are the cre-mations of bodies, creating an underwater city filled with

beautiful souls that want to rest in peace.

The mind behind this plan is Gary Levine, along with the sculpting help of Kim Brandell. Together, they spent four years of constructive planning, having over $1,000,000 stacked in the bank, and acquired an “okay” from twelve regulatory agencies- some including The National Wildlife Foundation and The Oceanography Organization. Plus hav-ing the government breathing down their necks at all times isn’t that easy. But with a thirty year story of working to-gether, their first phase included over 2,000 structures, in

only a 16-acre lot!

ISSUE 9 PAGE 9

“Life After Life” cont’d

Finally, in May 2007, this Gulf of Mexico portion became known as Neptune, with dreams that many people will one day spend eternity as a living eco-system, or exemplifying a “life after life” ordeal. With the idea buzzing around the air, many eco-friendly organizations got involved. But, one idea easily convinced these agencies: coral reef duplication. This caused major foundations to immediately slam the submit stamp on ap-proval papers. With natural coral reef populations dropping, and the ocean covering 75% of our world, marine biologists are having a tough time keeping their eyes on the fish popula-tion. However, with the idea of a duplicated reef, fish species around the world will be at-tracted to this area, swimming through pillars and “Atlantian” fences. This will entirely boost fish population, and help us discover the natural habitats of these marine animals. The Neptune Reef is also a grand tourist attraction- with boat tours and scuba diving ven-tures already taking place. This will bring a boastful amount of tourists’ money to Florida coast cities- and how could they deny a profit? Jerry Norma, President and CEO of this project, states that, “I met Gary at a convention where he introduced his concept for the reef project. I saw the beautiful sketches and drawings,” he continued, “Gary and I discussed the project and I was interested in the idea of giving something back after we pass, rather than taking up space on earth in a cemetery. Gary didn’t have anything on the ocean floor at the time, it was just a dream but we became friends kept in touch over the years.” Then, after the establishment of the first phase, Norman happily articulated, “We are enthusiastic about this project and sincerely appreciate the opportunity to become involved with ocean-oriented environmental issues. We’re proud to be part of this innovative project.” And he’s right; I’d much rather be swimming with the fishes (in a

non-mafia orientation) then have people drive over me while cutting their grass in lawn-mowers.

Bowden is no more at Clemson

By: Patrick Scarazzo

The former head football coach at Clemson Univer-sity, Tommy Bowden, son of Florida State’s Bobby Bowden, was excused from his position on Mon-day by Clemson athletic

director Terry Philips.

One of the main reasons Bowden was let go was due to the fact that he could not get Clemson to an ACC championship game, yet he won 42 out of the 74 ACC games in his career at Clemson. The deciding factor for Bowden was the Wake Forest game last Thursday night. Although Wake Forest had ugly offense, Wake’s defense held Clemson to only one touchdown. The final score was 12-7, Demon

Deacons.

After the Wake game, Clemson was (3-3). After almost 11 seasons with Bowden, that is the worst Clemson has ever done. Another factor that contrib-uted to Bowden’s dismissal was the fact that Clemson lost to then #24 Alabama – and the Tigers were 7th, picked to win the ACC Atlantic Division. After a .500 start to the season, the Tigers have slim hope

to just go to a bowl game.

Although Bowden never coached Clemson to an ACC championship, he is not a coach to sneeze at. His overall record at Clem-son was 72-45 (.615). His overall record in his whole career is (90-49), (.647).

One of Tommy’s goals was to have as many wins as his dad, Bobby Bowden of Florida State, who had, at the beginning of this sea-son, 377 wins in his

whole career.

The firing of Tommy Bowden could have looked good for right now, but how is this going to affect the rest of Clemson’s season? Right now, Clemson is led by their assistant coach, Dabo Swinney. Even though Tommy Bowden couldn’t win a championship, is one man’s reputation and life worth it for the

game of football?

As the sixth week of the football season has just ended, the Falcons got to celebrate another victory. That puts the team at 4-2. (Four wins and two losses). For the first time in years, there is hope for fans across Georgia. As of right now, the Falcons are third in their division and eighth in their league. This is a major accom-plishment considering last year, the team went 4-12. This has all been possible thanks to a few major changes in the team’s coaches and play-

ers.

After coming out of a 4-12 season, the Falcons decided they need a new head coach. That’s when they announced that Mike Smith, the former defen-sive coordinator for the Jacksonville Jaguars, would step up to the plate. Under his com-mand, the team has made necessary changes to keep the Falcons alive and heading towards the Super Bowl. Of course, he wasn’t the only change for the Falcons. They also decided to bring in a new

offensive line coach (Paul Boudreau), a new defen-sive backs coach, (Alvin Reynolds, and a new de-fensive quality coach (Joe Danna) to help bring this

team up from the ashes.

When Michael Vick was taken to jail last year, the team started to crumble. The quarterback and the receivers just weren’t connecting which caused mass confusion through-out all of the team. But finally after several years, The Falcons are able to make the big plays the team needs to win more games. Matt Ryan has become the new quarter-back for the Falcons. He was a first round pick on April 26 and ever since then, he has skyrocketed. So far, he has thrown for 1161 yards and has com-pleted 57.8% of his

passes.

Michael Turner was an-other player to come out on top. Turner was signed by the Falcons on March 2nd. Michael Turner has run for 597 yards and

made 6 touchdowns.

The last major player of this Falcons team is

Roddy White who was signed on back in the 2005 season, but he has-n’t lost his ability yet. This year, he has 35 catches for 566 yards and 3 touchdowns. With these three offensive players on the team, the Falcons can plow through almost any

defense.

After five weeks of play-ing, the Falcons took on the Bears. The Falcons took the lead early in the game and kept it that way until about three and a half minutes left in the game. Chicago got the ball and scored, putting them in the lead 20-19 with only fourteen sec-onds to play. The Falcons got the ball on their own forty five yard line and Ryan made a quick pass to Michael Jenkins to get the ball within field goal range. With one second left, Jason Elam kicked the ball through the up-rights, winning 22-20. After that game you can expect great things out of

this Falcon team.

PAGE 10

Free Flying

THE WEST

The Falcons’ season thus far

By: Blake McGrath

ISSUE 9

The matchup between number five Texas and number one Oklahoma, the Red River Rivalry, was a great game to watch. Oklahoma struck in the first three minutes into the game with a five yard touchdown catch by Manuel Johnson. Texas answered with a field goal through Hunter Lawrence to end the first quarter with a score of 7-3. Oklahoma took a 14-3 lead with an eight yard touchdown catch by Ryan Broyles two minutes into the second quarter. Texas answered on the follow-ing kickoff with a ninety six yard return for a touchdown by Jordan Shipley. Oklahoma came up with a huge play three minutes later with a fifty two yard touchdown pass to Jermaine Gresham. Texas cut Oklahoma’s lead to four points through a one yard touch-down run by Cody John-son. Texas made it an even closer game with a thirty three yard field goal by Hunter Lawrence as time expired in the

first half. Manuel Johnson had an-other touchdown recep-tion, this time for four-teen yards, to push Okla-homa’s lead to 28-20. Jordan Shipley scored again on a two yard touchdown catch with five and a half minutes left in the third quarter to trim Oklahoma’s lead to one point. Texas took the lead for the first time in the game with Hunter Lawrence’s third field goal of the game to make the score 30-28. Oklahoma quickly took the lead back through Manuel Johnson for the third time. With twelve minutes left in the game, Oklahoma had the lead 35-30. Texas took the lead through Cody John-son’s second rushing touchdown with only seven minutes left. Texas padded their lead through yet another touchdown by Cody Johnson to increase their lead to ten points. Oklahoma wasn’t able to answer Texas’ two scores and the game finished 45-35. Even though Sam Brad-

ford, Oklahoma’s quar-terback threw for five touchdowns, Oklahoma was not able to top Texas. Texas was lead by the excellent wide receiver play by Jordan Shipley and Quan Cosby, who each had over 100 yards receiving. The eighty combined points was the most ever scored in the 103 games of this rivalry. Texas and Oklahoma were nearly equal in total yards with 438 for Texas and 435 for Oklahoma. Texas’ defense held Oklahoma to only forty eight yards rushing. Okla-homa lost their defensive captain linebacker Ryan Reynolds with an ACL injury early in the game. Oklahoma was not able to contain Texas’ rushing attack after Reynolds left the game. Texas had over 150 yards rushing. Texas’ head coach, Mack Brown said, "It was a game when every time some-body made a play, the other team would get more excited. It was one of the greatest football

games I've ever seen."

PAGE 11

Red River Rivalry

By: Kyle Murphy

The 2nd Annual Best of West Golf Tour-nament was held on Mon-day, October 13, at the Polo Golf and Country Club. Last year, the bas-ketball cheerleaders set up this golf tournament in order to raise money. This year, the event was held as a fundraiser for the entire athletic depart-ment. Business partners, boosters, and other friends of the school helped, and the school received much facilitation from sponsors including: TC Innovations, All American Specialties, Mr. Mike’s, Chick-fil-A, and RBM of Atlanta. In addition to the golf tour-nament, a silent auction was also held. Altogether, the golf tournament and silent auction both raised a total combined amount of almost fifteen thou-sand dollars for the ath-

letic department.

Seventy-six peo-ple showed up to partici-pate in this tournament, which was in a Texas

Scramble format, which is a competition system that uses a variation of a basic scramble (where a four-person team plays four balls and each shot is hit from the same loca-tion). The difference be-tween a regular scramble and a Texas Scramble is that in a Texas Scramble, a minimum of four drives by each member of the team are required to be used throughout the

course of the round.

Out of the sev-enty-six participants, the 2008 champions in-cluded: Billy Bartlett, Harold Earls, Will Jones, and Chris Roy. Chris Roy also was the longest drive champion, and Jimmy McWhorter’s ball was closest to the hole. Mr. Mitch Young—World History Teacher, Coordi-nator of the Advanced Placement Program, and Administrative Assis-tant—also managed to beat Dr. Tom Fowler—Assistant Principal—in

the putting competition. “It was a beautiful day, we had a great turn out, and a lot of fun was had by everyone,” said Mr. Mitch Young. “Next year should be bigger and bet-

ter.”

Mrs. Jennifer Schuster, varsity basket-ball cheerleading coach and girl’s golf coach, took photos at the Golf Tournament. Two of these photos are featured here. The first photo shows as (from left to right) Steven Schuster, Koan, Dennis Stromie, and Andrew Dickman are active in the tournament; the second photo shows (from left to right) Billy Bartlett, Mitch Young, Richard Gill, Harold

Earls, and Chris Roy.

PAGE 12

A Texas Scramble

“It was a beautiful day,

we had a great turn out,

and a lot of fun was had

by everyone,” said Mr.

Mitch Young. “Next

year should be bigger

and better.”

THE WEST

By: Starlett Jenkins

ISSUE 9

Last Saturday, October 11th, there was a fight that took place in Gainesville, Florida. The fight was between the number four LSU Tigers and the number eleven Florida Gators. Florida was coming in to the game with a 4-1 record with their only loss com-ing to Ole Miss. The Ti-gers had won all of their games so far in pretty impressive fashion. This game was going to be a great one for the South

Eastern Conference.

To start the game, the Gators got the ball on their own thirty-two yard line. After just one minute and thirty-eight seconds they punched it in. It was a seventy yard bomb from Tim Tebow to Percy Har-vin. After the kickoff, LSU made three plays and had to punt the ball. Florida got the ball on their own twenty yard line. Tim Tebow must have came out on to the field looking to pass be-cause he tallied four com-pletions on this drive from six attempts, and Florida managed to add a field goal to their lead. Next came another LSU punt and another touch-down pass from the duo of Tebow and Harvin. On LSU's next drive their sophomore quarterback, Jarrett Lee threw an inter-ception, and after one

Florida rushing attempt the first quarter was over. The Gators were winning

seventeen to zero.

The second quarter opened up with a Gator punt, a Tiger fum-ble, another Gator punt, and then an LSU punt. The second quarter was moving along kind of slow until Florida's next drive where the added a field goal from Jonathan Phillips from thirty-four yards out. Then, after four passes and no runs, Jarrett Lee threw one for a touchdown. It was to junior, Chris Mitchell, and that was it for the first half with the score

twenty to seven.

The second half began with the Tigers coming out wanting to catch up. They started by completing six passes and having Andrew Hatch scramble in for the touch-down to make it twenty to fourteen. Florida's next drive belonged to Tim Tebow. He wound up scrambling in from two yards out for the touch-down. LSU's next drive was a three and out, and Florida made them pay when tailback Jeffrey Demps ran forty-two yards for the touchdown. Then, after four plays from the Tiger offense the third quarter was over Florida thirty-four, LSU

fourteen.

On the first play of the fourth quarter, the Gators were in business when Brandon Spikes picked off the Jarrett Lee pass and returned it for fifty-two yards and the Gator touchdown. Then after an LSU turn over on downs, Tim Tebow got the ball and fumbled on the first play of the drive and it was recovered by the Tigers. After four plays, Jarrett Lee con-nected with Richard Dickson for the touch-down. LSU then tried an onside kick, but it was sniffed out by the Gators, and they got the ball. On Florida's next drive, they had five rushes and one pass and managed to add a field goal to their al-ready huge lead. Then after another LSU turn-over on downs, Florida's Keshan Moore ran it in from three yards out. The score was now fifty-one to twenty-one and that

was how it ended.

The Gators man-aged to pull off the upset by beating the number four LSU Tigers. They did it with Heisman tro-phy winner Tim Tebow and speedster Percy Har-vin. That's just another shake-up to add to our already big list from the 2008-2009 college foot-

ball season.

PAGE 13

The Battle in the Swamp

By: Petey Powers