Coach Williams came to Leesville this year, transferring from East Wake where he was the head football and strength coach for fifteen years. “I was ready for a new chapter to begin, and a position at Leesville was available,” said Williams.

The success of the Pride is not entirely new to Williams. He worked with Coach Chad Smothers at East Wake for several years and was impressed and excited by everything that Leesville has accomplished over the past few seasons.

One of the factors that brought Williams to Leesville was the student body. “With the Grill Team and everything, the kids are more involved; they just get into it,” said the coach. “The students have been very supportive of me.”

Josh Stanley, quarterback, is one player on the team who appreciates the change. He said that Williams is “more personable” than his previous coaches. “It is evident that he loves his job,” said Stanley, “and that he cares about the team.”

It may be his first year, but Williams has clearly made his mark on the team. Ryan Mangum, running back, described the coach as someone who is actually fun to be around. Braxton Berrios, freshman phenom, referred to Williams as a coach who knows what he’s talking about.

With all of the positivity surrounding the program, Williams feels that the Pride has a genuine shot this year. “We’re working to win the conference, and then hopefully make it to the State Championship.”

The three leaders, carrying on the tradition that started with the class of 2008, faced difficulties as they worked to get this year’s Grill Team off and running. “We actually though it wasn’t going to happen this year,” said Jason Holtman. “We couldn’t find enough dedicated people to run Grill Team.” Luckily, the leaders found a few more seniors who were willing to take on the responsibility of helping Leesville students “pre-game hard.”

The  leaders have also had trouble finding the money needed to cover the cost of food and drinks. “A lot of people think we’re making money off of Grill Team, which isn’t the case at all,” said Kyle Holtman. “We don’t even sell enough burgers to break even, and most of our funds come out of Andrea’s pocket. People just aren’t buying as much food this year, so we’re losing money.”

The 2011 Grill Team is running much the same as it has in years’ past, but the Holtmans noticed a large difference between leading the team versus simply being a member. “You can’t just show up,” said Jason Holtman. “You have to make an effort and be committed.”

Leading the Grill Team also requires the confidence to lead the entire student section in cheers – and sometimes to yell at underclassmen for not cheering.

“One of our biggest problems is getting sophomores and freshmen to cheer,” said Jason Holtman. “They want to just stand there and socialize, but they need to realize that we’re here to support the football team.” In one of the Facebook messages that the leaders send out to inform Grill Team members about the games each week, Kyle Holtman urged everyone to cheer, saying, “Don’t worry, I’ll have you guys losing your voices every game by the end of the year.”

Despite problems and difficulties they have had to face, the Grill Team officers are loving their new found responsibilities.

“It’s a great tradition, and fun, no matter how good the football team is. I hope it stays with Leesville, even after we’re gone,” said Jason Holtman.  “We just need to get everyone to stand up and raise their voices.”

The Pride erupted for 30 points in the first half, thanks to Ryan Mangum, senior, who rushed for 3 touchdowns. Leesville forced 4 turnovers, one resulting in a safety by Bryan Ball, senior.

As time expired to end the first half, Brandon Pittman, senior, caught a pass from Josh Stanley, senior quarterback. Pittman sprinted towards the end zone but was stopped just short of the goal line.

When asked how the Pride was able to recover from their season opener loss at Panther Creek, Mangum said, “We switched the offensive scheme from a three yard pistol formation to a five yard shotgun.”

This new offensive scheme allows for more time in the pocket and more time for Stanley to look for open receivers.

“Coach told us we had to be more physical after Panther Creek,” said Mangum.
“We did a good job against Green Hope forcing turnovers, but we can still improve on playing physical.”

The Pride is now 1-1 and looks to improve their record on Thursday, September 2 when Apex comes to Marshall L Hamilton Stadium.

“I guarantee that Leesville will win a State Championship this year.  Otherwise I’m gonna quit school,” Joyner stated confidently after a 38 – 8 thrashing of Green Hope on August 27.

This is not the first time that #64 has made such announcements.  Two years ago Joyner guaranteed that the team would finish first in state, but the Pride fell to New Bern in the playoffs.  Last year he stated that Leesville would finish on top of the conference, but a rough second half of the season denied him this fulfillment.

Even after losing the first game of the season to Panther Creek, Joyner still believes this is the strongest the team has been in years.  “I know I’m 0 and 2 right now with my guarantees, but we will win this year.  As for Panther Creek, we could have also easily lost to them last year, so it doesn’t really make a difference.”

Joyner follows the footsteps of many famous athletes.  Former Detroit Pistons basketball player Rasheed Wallace wrongfully guaranteed multiple wins against the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2006.  Jon Kitna declared that the Detroit Lions would win ten games in 2007.  The Lions finished 7 – 9.  Jerramy Stevens guaranteed a Super Bowl XL win for Detroit; Stevens ended up dropping four passes and miserably losing the trophy.

Despite the past outcomes for his personal sports heroes, Joyner believes his guarantees are different.  “Those guys have nothing on me.  Leesville is gonna win the State Championship this year.”

The Leesville Pride dominated the eighth ranked Pinecrest Patriots on August 31 to improve their overall record to 3-0-1. This win comes just days after consecutive victories over seventh ranked Laney and number the second ranked Green Hope Falcons.

Will Bowers and Fernando Castellanos each scored, and keeper Cody Beckett gave a stalwart effort to pitch the Pride’s first shutout of the season.

“Our forwards are working well together, we have the potential to be very good this season,” said Connor McNally, senior.

The Pride has won three consecutive games since stumbling against Panther Creek for the season opener.

Coach Raymond Stone believes the team has a chance to be excellent this season. “We have a chance to be a very good team. We have really good offensive skills and should become a formidable defensive team as the season progresses. [I] have high hopes for the team, but we have a very tough schedule,” Stone said via email interview.

Leesville hosts the Enloe Eagles on September 7 for their first home game of the season, where they expect the Loonies to cheer them on in full force.

Green hope was ranked number two in the state before this game, according to eurosportscoreboard.com, a site dedicated to the rankings of high school soccer teams.

Leesville Road High School is not ranked.

“It was pretty nice to beat them, because they were number two in the state,” said Monjue Campbell, junior forward.

“They underestimated us,” said Adam Subasic, sophomore, “which definitely helped us out.”

The game began with a score from Fernando Castellanos, junior. “My first goal was from outside the box. I took the ball away, took on two defenders, saw the goalkeeper outside the box and shot it in the right corner.”

The second goal was by Campbell. “The shot was headed [toward me], and then I finished it,” said Campbell simply.

The final goal was scored by Castellanos, in the early minutes of the second half.  He made a breakaway and found the back of the onion bag.

Green Hope then came back, scoring two goals late in the second half.

The game could not have been won without the rest of the team, though.  “Cody Beckett [goalie] played the game of his life,” said Kayvon Ezami, responding to Beckett’s various saves and skilled method of soccer playing.

The win boosted of moral of the men’s soccer team.

“This win is definitely a view of what is yet to come,” said Beckett, optimistic toward their the CAP 7 season.

“The prank definitely made the first day more exciting,” said Michael Laverty, junior. “It had alot of people confused, including myself.”

The class of 2011 was immediately identified as the culprit. Every spot in the junior lot was covered by a shield of chalk, and “Class of 11” was scrawled across the pavement.

“What’s a better way to start our senior year that watch the juniors struggle to find their spots?” joked one senior who helped to chalk the lot. “It was really fun to do also. We thought it’d take forever to get every spot, but once we got there it only took about thirty minutes.”

“They were very careful not to miss any spots,” said George Hill, who monitors the parking lot. “When they ran out of chalk to cover spots, they used duct tape to cover the rest. Once I pulled up all the tape i had a ball this big!” George told me as he spread his arms wide.

Seniors looked on and laughed as the juniors circled the lot, attempting to keep their composure as they struggled to park appropriately. “It was a pretty innocent prank,” said George. “I think it was kind of funny, actually.”

Because of the concealed numbers, the security guards did not bother to give out tickets to misplaced cars. “Many students were parked in the wrong spots, but they had a good excuse,” George said.

“It’s a good thing they only used chalk and not paint,” said George. “If they had used paint instead of chalk, then it would be a serious issue, and we would have to get Wake County involved. The rain washed away the chalk before lunch was even over.”

The senior class started the year with a bang; one can only wonder what other pranks will take place this school year.

This year’s wall is a representation of the many sides of Leesville:  sports teams, the arts department, and school spirit – the lion.  In contrast to last year’s brightly colored wall, this year’s mural consists a calmer color scheme, featuring only blue, green, black, gray, and white.

The mural was designed by seniors Stephanie Livesay, Konnor Grant, and Emily Trapani, who also assisted in the outlining and actual painting of the wall.

“We wanted to do something completely different this year,” said Trapani.  “We wanted the lion to really stand out, and keep the rest of the colors more muted.”

Even though there were only six or seven consistent volunteers painting throughout the week, around three hundred students stopped by to leave their mark on the wall.

“I couldn’t stay for long, but I wanted to help out a little and put my hand print on the wall,” said Layla Shayesteh, senior.  “Even though it will be gone next year, I like the idea of people having something individual on the wall.”

After almost two weeks of daily work, the Wall was completed, dry and ready for public viewing on August 23.

Called “Drive for Perfection,” the contest awards a 2011 Chevrolet Cruze to a senior with 98% school attendance and zero unexcused absences. Any senior who meets these requirements will enter their name into a drawing, and one will win a new car at the end of the year. This means a senior can miss up to three days of school before they are ineligible to enter.

A local Chevrolet dealer sponsors this program for two area high schools. The students who are eligible for the contest on the 180th day of school will go to the “end of year event,” where all of the prizes are awarded. The event will employ a “reverse drawing,” in which names will be called out until the last student standing wins.

Other prizes awarded at the end of year event include, but are not limited to, a Wii, Mac Notebook, iPod, TomTom GPS, gift cards and more. This part of the drawing is also “reverse;” students that attend the event will write their names on index cards, and, when their name is chosen, they choose another index card that is either blank or awards a prize.

Leesville offers seniors another incentive to attend school. Exemption from exams has always been a successful motivator for seniors to miss no more than three days. This privilege on top of the opportunity to win a brand new car will most likely ensure spotless attendance from the class of 2011.

This is the hope of Scott Lyons, principal of LRHS. “I hope that with these programs, seniors will attend school more often. Plus, the underclassmen will see that the seniors are going to school, which will make them more likely to attend school too.”

Several seniors were already planning on going to school as often as possible, with or without the opportunity to win a new car. Most students are more concerned with exam exemption than a car contest. “I really don’t want to take exams,” said Jordan Olson, senior. “Winning a car is way less important to me.”

Chevy’s “Drive for Perfection” facebook page can be seen here.

On May 8, the former Golden Girl’s guest star appearance on Saturday Night Light (SNL) managed to not only validate her talent but also prove that SNL hasn’t quite lost its touch after all.

“All it took to reinvigorate a 35-year-old comedy show was the presence of an 88-year-old woman,” wrote Dave Itzoff of the New York Times. “The only real disappointment of the night was when the clock struck 1 a.m. and Ms. White and the cast had to step on stage to wave their goodbyes.”

As a matter of fact, numerous critics have not only declared White’s performance as “worth the wait” but several have expressed their hopes for White’s return on SNL .  The veteran comedian’s SNL stint was in the works for months before her debut, thanks in large part to an online campaign launched over Facebook.

 Over 3750,000 Facebook members signed a petition to have White host the late night comedy hour after seeing White appear in a Snickers commercial during this year’s SuperBowl.  In fact, the ad was such a big hit that by the next night, the Facebook campaign had already recruited 85,000 members

“It took on a groundswell,” said Lorne Michaels, the creator of SNL, in an interview with USA Today. “It isn’t something we would have said no to. [But the Internet buzz] validated that, ‘Oh, that’d be fun.’… It was the outpouring of affection from fans, and we feel the same way.”

If SNL’s ratings for the night are any indication, then Michaels made a wise choice.  On top of giving SNL the No. 1 ratings of the night, White’s appearance simultaneously brought in the highest ratings that SNL’s seen in 18 months.

Of course, White wasn’t the sole reason behind SNL’s ratings boost. 

The episode, which aired the day before Mother’s Day, paid homage to the women of comedy by welcoming back many of its female greats, including Tina Fey, Molly Shannon, Amy Poehler, Maya Rudolph, and Rachel Dratch.

But it wasn’t the return of so many familiar faces that earned the show its Saturday success, though I’m sure they played their part.  The truth is that the real appeal of SNL’s Mother’s Day special was that it was genuinely funny. 

Frankly, it’s been a long time since I’ve managed to sit through an episode of SNL without finding myself falling asleep, waiting for the punch line, or finally giving up and turning off the set.