The Pleasant Grove Hawks took on Gladewater Bears Friday, September 21st at the Hawks stadium. Both teams started their football season with a winning record of 3-0. After facing the Hawks, Gladewater Bears continued their season remaining undefeated as they brought a well fought end to the Pleasant Grove’s 19-game winning streak.
With 2:44 remaining on the clock, Pleasant Grove Hawks, Kicker D. Williams tied the
game, 37-37 with a 40-yard field goal kick. In the last 27 seconds, Gladewater Bears Z. Tyieske returned a 25-yard fumble for a touchdown and sent Gladewater 44-37 with the win over the 4a Division II State Champions.
Pleasant Grove ended the first half with 158 rushing and 19 passing yards, with three fumbles, two recovered by the bears, four penalties, and no punts. The Hawks were led by Senior James Wiggins, scoring two touchdowns with 191 yards on 23 carries. Teammate sophomore Bruce Garrett added 144 yards on 18 carries with two touchdowns.
Gladewater ended the first half with 156 rushing and 25 passing yards, with one fumble recovered by Pleasant Grove, two penalties, and three punts.
The Bears closed out the game with one safety and two defensive touchdowns.
Dallas Cowboys team and owner lock arms in moment of silent protest on Monday September 25. Photo from ESPN.
In 2016, Colin Kaepernick drew nationwide attention for not standing during the national anthem before games. His silent protest was against the oppression of people of color in light of events of police brutality. This form of protest has gained more attention since Sunday, when more players were shown with arms linked, kneeling on the field, sparking a debate over what the players are protesting and whether they should be able to protest at all.
On Monday September 25, the Dallas Cowboys team and its owner, Jerry Jones, linked arms and knelt on the field before the national anthem was played amidst jeers from the crowded arena. Jason Garret, Dallas Cowboys head coach, said in an interview with NFL Total Access they chose that moment to demonstrate for a reason.
“The biggest thing for us was to show support and to demonstrate, but do it in a way that didn’t involve the American flag and the national anthem, and everybody was behind that,” said Garret.
“The reason that I’m particularly proud of this team and the coaches that coached them, is because we all agreed that our players wanted to make a statement about unity and we wanted to make a statement about equality,” said Jerry Jones.
Jones is not the only owner to kneel with his team. Arthur Blank of the Atlanta Falcons and Dan Snyder of the Washington Redskins also kneeled with their teams. Donald Trump has spoken out against the NFL, urging for a rule that forces the players to stand for the anthem and sees kneeling as a sign of disrespect on the United States rather than a silent protest for social equality. He shared his opinion through a series of tweets.
Many Americans agreed with his statements. Taya Kyle, widow of ‘American Sniper’, Chris Kyle, shared her thoughts about the issue in a letter to the NFL on Facebook. In the letter, she claims the NFL’s job was to “bring people together and heal the world” and feels that their recent protests go against that.
“You are asking us to abandon what we loved about togetherness and make choices of division,” Kyle said.
While many Americans believe the protests are disrespectful to the country, others do not. There are many Americans that understand there is a meaning behind the protests, but feel the field is not the right platform.
Zane Watson, freshman, was on the fence about the issue.
“It’s their right as human beings to represent their opinions, but those opinions can reflect badly on the organization,” he said.
Cameron Frieden, University of Iowa student, does not believe the protests are disrespectful to veterans or the flag.
“These players make millions of dollars a year to play one game on Sunday, Monday, or Thursday. It’s a distraction to the sport of football. I think they should do it on their own time and not involve the game.”
“I personally don’t see why they shouldn’t be allowed to kneel. I also feel like if there are etiquette rules about the national anthem, they should consider that, too,” said Kayla Biegler.
Other Americans support the protests and feel the players are within their constitutional right to protest an injustice on the field.
Olivia Okoye, freshman, supports the players kneeling. “It’s their right to kneel. If they feel that they should do it, it’s their right.”
“I think they are standing as a team no matter what race they are because it affects all races. There are all races in the NFL,” said Arlena Lightsey, freshman.
Cassie Underwood, United States Army service member, believes the players have the right to kneel because they are using their right to a nonviolent protest.
“There are many people who don’t take off a hat or stand during the national anthem, but since the football players are televised, they are scrutinized for every movement they make.”
United States Navy service member, Kevin Marshall, agrees that the players should be allowed to kneel. However, he thinks the reason for it has changed.
“The protest is no longer about social injustice. Now it’s a protest against the President,” he said. “It started with protesting the social injustices that we as people of color face every day. Now, it’s more superficial with some protesting the cause mixed in with some showing unity after disrespect.”
United States Navy veteran, Willie Black, said, “Colin Kaepernick wanted to bring attention to racial inequality and police brutality toward African Americans. After Trump’s tweets this past weekend targeting the NFL, players, coaches, and managers and owners responded peacefully.”
Becoming district champs is a good feeling to have for the local high school, Liberty-Eylau. Friday night, November 6, 2015, LE took on the Princeton football team and won the title district champs as well as having the honor of carrying the traveling trophy for the city.
This last Friday night, LE hosted Princeton at Harris field. For the first half, the crowd was afraid the leopards were going to lose the title, but maybe they realized what was at stake and the team put themselves into overdrive, and pull through and able to take the win. On one of the last plays, a leopard runs the ball all the way to the end zone and flips to make the last touchdown good.
LE is one of the local high schools that have had a rough time over the years to gain the respect of rest of the town. Lately, the community has come together to support one of the local high schools.
After a big win for a school district, everyone says that is takes a good five years to build the team back up to where they are a good solid group. I believe that this is their year. The players work as a team and the coaches are guiding them to victory.
The LE leopards will be traveling to Pine Tree to battle Van for the next stop in playoffs. All local schools are actually made it to the first round of the playoffs this year.
If you can, make your way to Pine Tree to support a local school fighting to make it to the next round.
Nothing is better than enjoying Friday night lights with family and friends. The excitement everyone encounters makes staying late in the stadium worthwhile. Sitting in the bleachers physically watching brings someone a completely new feeling rather than watching it on the television.
Rivalries are a part of every sport and sometimes even among people. The biggest in Texarkana is the Texas versus Arkansas football game. To some, the rivalry between Liberty- Eylau and Arkansas is even bigger and Friday night showed that it was.
There was not an empty seat in sight. The overflow of people in the stadium to watch the game was out of control. Most rival schools try to keep the schools separated at events. The abundance of Arkansas fans made the way to the LE side was not good. Crowds were rolling in around 6:30 for a 7:30 game. Even though these two districts do not have too much history in the public eye, behind the doors the history is unbelievable. LE and Arkansas only recently started playing each other in football. Before 2012, the two schools had not played each other for a while.
I attended the game as LE alumni. I was in the concession stand for a long of time, or I was in the stand by the LE band, which played part of the “fight song” every time LE scored a touchdown. The band played the song twice and I was not by them long. Amanda Baker, LE alumni since 2008, explains, “We have seen this team battle for a few years now and honestly if you watch them actually play, LE is the better team. I hope tonight proves that too. We deserve recognition for the hard work these boys do every day.” Many expressed about the same feelings. I asked people how they felt about the two teams and they said that it is LE’s time this year.
While I was helping, the other workers could feel the tension between the two schools as well. The customer’s attitude was completely different. We gave the same respect to everyone but it was difficult at times. We did not just assume the customers with horrible attitudes were from Arkansas, but they were wearing the team’s shirt. I realized no matter how nice one is to another, if one is unhappy from the beginning, and then someone most likely could not change a mood in five minutes waiting for an order of fries. The lines never ended. The concession stands were still helping people when it was over. The game lasted from 7:30 to around 10:20. We did not think the game was ever going to end because we felt we were there for longer than little more than three hours.
After the game, I asked one of the customers, Ariana Hines, the final score and she said, “66 to 21, we fried some bacon tonight.” That made us all laugh. I was happy that LE won. All week Arkansas was talking down to the LE school district and it was a good feeling when LE was able to prove them wrong.
Football is a family game. Fridays is a time when many teenagers think they can go party, but being at a football game prevents them from doing dangerous activities. I saw many families out there that night, whether there for someone on the football team, in the band, a cheerleader, a member of the dazzlers, or just there for a good family event. There is nothing like a good night Friday nights light.
Traditionally in the National Football League, the previous season’s Super Bowl Champion gets the forthcoming season’s kickoff party and a primetime game on Thursday night complete with ring ceremony and championship banner.
This season should be no different, right? Wrong. The Baltimore Orioles have something to say about that.
The Baltimore Ravens will start the season on the road during the first week of the season (They still get the primetime Thursday night game). The Orioles start a 4-game home series against the Chicago White Sox that night.
In most cities this wouldn’t be a major problem. In fact, it would be well received. It would be a major party in most cities.
The problem here is that M&T Bank Stadium and Camden Yards, home to the Ravens and Orioles respectively, share a parking lot.
Why can’t the Orioles say they will postpone the game until the next day and play a day/night doubleheader? What is so important about that one particular game that they MUST play it that night and the World Champion Ravens must start their championship defense on the road?
The answer to that question is nothing. There is nothing important about that game that it absolutely must be played that night.
This is a completely selfish move by the Orioles to not give up the night to allow the Ravens to celebrate with their fans.
The Ravens will return home the next week and will host the primetime Thanksgiving game this season. But that does not replace the selfishness and shameful decision making that has been shown by the Orioles management.
The upcoming college football playoff system, which begins next season, now has a name. College Football Playoff.
Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Tex. won the bid for the first National Championship game under the four-team playoff format, just nine months after hosting the NCAA Final Four in March, 2014.
“We decided to call the playoff what it is — the College Football Playoff,” BCS Director Bill Hancock said. “We think the new playoff will be the most dynamic improvement to college football in a generation. Certainly, it’s what the fans want. We also invite everyone to vote online to select the logo and help us kick off the new College Football Playoff.”
The committee is expected to unveil the logo for the playoff next month, but there will not be a title sponsor attached to it.
“It won’t be ‘The Vizio Championship Tournament,'” Hancock said, alluding to the Rose Bowl title sponsor. “The Final Four doesn’t have one. The Masters doesn’t. The Super Bowl. That’s the kind of event we have.”
Hancock also added that the semifinals will maintain their original sponsors, explaining that it will be “something to the effect of” the College Football Semifinals at the Discover Orange Bowl.
The first set of semifinals in the rotation will be The Rose Bowl Game in Pasadena, Calif. and the Sugar Bowl in New Orleans. These games will both be played on Jan. 1, 2015.
Other bowl semifinals in the 12 year rotation will be: the Orange, Fiesta, Chic-Fil-A, and Cotton Bowls.
The National Championship Game will be played on Jan. 12, 2015.
