JH faces off with Lynnville-Sully

Aly Fahlenkamp guards a Lynnville-Sully player during the 7th grade basketball game on Jan. 16.

by Natalie Kirton

The junior high basketball teams faced Lynnville-Sully on Jan. 16 with mixed results. 

At Lynnville-Sully, the 7^th grade Braves quickly pulled ahead during their game to carry out a win of 52-13.

 Logan Price made the most points, bringing in 14 points, while Dakota Strong followed close behind with 11 points. Kaleb Kriegel helped by scoring eight points, while Matthew Baker made six rebounds and four blocks. In total, there were 17 steals and 34 rebounds.

The 8^th graders fought hard defensively during their game, but something was missing. The final score was 22-49 in the Hawks’ favor. 

While the boys played away, the girls played at home.  The 7^th grade girls played an intense, close game against Lynnville-Sully, losing 34-32. 

“It came down to a last second shot and it didn’t go our way. They showed great resilience and effort on the court. They continue to improve each game,” said Coach David Brondyke.

The 8^th grade girls played hard, scoring 36 points to the Hawks’ 31. High scores came from Katie Maschman and Cassidy Ely, who brought 12 and 10 points respectively. 

“The 8^th grade team has really turned this season around. I am so proud of all of them,” said Coach Brondyke.

JV Braves come out on top against Hawks

by Elizabeth Ostrem

On Monday, Jan. 16, the JV boys’ basketball team headed to Lynnville-Sully to battle it out with the Hawks in a tight, well-played match. The final score for the match was 39-33, with Montezuma  the victor.

“I thought our guys battled through some adversity and showed poise down the stretch,” said Coach John Bushong.

Siraj Thomasen led the Braves with 11 points, along with Bryant Sutfin with nine and Dillon Wilhelm and Bryan Gregson with eight points each.

The first period ended with 14 points for the Braves and 17 for Lynnville-Sully. Neither team scored during the second period. 

The Braves caught up in the third period with 26 points, tying with the rival team, and pulled in for the win in the final period with 13 additional points to Sully’s seven points.

Coach Bushong said, “We need to continue to work on our rebounding and blocking out a guy in our area. It has been fun being part of a group who is very unselfish. Our guys have found a lot of ways to win, and I think their unselfish attitude has been the reason for that. I look forward to seeing our guys continue to get better.”

The boys will go up against the Hawks again at home on Thursday, Jan. 26.

A string of disappointing losses for JV

by Kayla Werner 

The JV Bravettes played the Keota Eagles on Jan. 14. Sadly, the Bravettes lost with a score of 24-10. 

It was very slow scoring in the first half as the Eagles led 8-6 at break. 

“Our mental focus was not there in the press break early and throughout the game,” said Coach Stew Timm. 

The Eagles took off in the second half while the Bravettes still couldn’t get going.

Coach Timm said, “This was a frustrating day for the girls and myself. We just couldn’t get into an offensive flow, which was apparent by the score.”

Although the Bravettes weren’t playing their best, they still had some great shots. Clara Johnson scored six points, and Paige Snook and Mackenzie James each scored two.

“It is a game that I hope the girls learn from, and we will bounce back for a strong finish in our remaining games,” said Coach Timm.

On Jan. 16,  the JV Bravettes competed against Lynnville-Sully. It  was a disappointing score of 46-11, in Lynnville-Sully’s favor.

At halftime, the score was 24-6. Defense was the difference at both ends. Montezuma struggled with backdoor cuts and the Hawks’ defense prevented the Bravettes from getting good looks.

Coach Timm said, “I felt like we played better in the second half but still struggled to score.”

Even though the score was disappointing, there were many great moments. Alex Brenner scored six, Katelyn Gregory and Snook added two points each and Abbi Nelson scored one.

“This was a very good team we played and with no chance to practice or prepare a little for them, it was a tough night for the Bravettes,” said Coach Timm.

Turn of the Page: 'Of Mice and Men'

by Elizabeth Ostrem and Kayla Werner

“Of Mice and Men” is a John Steinbeck classic that follows two men, George and Lennie, who go to work at a ranch after being chased out of another town. The two share a vision of one day owning their own land and never having to work for anyone else again. Lennie in particular fantasizes about caring for rabbits and other animals, while George seems more drawn to the idea of answering only to himself.

Lennie, a kind giant, seems to attract trouble wherever he goes, partly  because he doesn’t know his own strength but also because he isn’t very bright. Although they both help each other, George, the smarter of the two, usually makes the decisions for dim-witted Lennie and handles all their affairs.

Liz:

What I appreciated most about “Of Mice and Men” was Steinbeck’s ability to pack so much into such a short novel; the version I read had little over 100 pages. I’ve only read one other book by him, “The Grapes of Wrath.” Out of the two I preferred this one mainly because it kept my attention better and the characters were more memorable. The two make for an interesting duo. Lennie is tall, obedient, simple-minded and innocent; George, on the other hand, is short, authoritative and intelligent, thereby more conscious of the evils in the world they come across.

Like George and Lennie’s friendship, I believe that this is a book that will endure for years to come.

Kayla:

While I was reading “Of Mice and Men,” I found that the characters had personalities that were completely different from what I had thought at the very beginning. Lennie was very childlike and George is more like the older brother type. George gets frustrated with Lennie quite a bit, but he is still very protective of him. Lennie likes animals because they are soft and fluffy, but he doesn’t know his own strengths and usually end up killing them without realizing that he is handling them too hard. George always tells Lennie that he can’t have animals because he always kills them, but feels bad afterwards.

The ending was not what I expected it to be. I thought that the outcome would have been way different, but it was an interesting turn of events. Overall, it was an awesome book with an interesting ending.

Winter Sports Week fills students with school spirit

Alexis Ferguson and Brady Losure are crowned as Winter Sports Week Queen and King after the varsity basketball games on Jan. 13.

by Morgan Sanders 

Winter Sports Week this year began on Wednesday, Jan. 11. “Can’t Break This Chain” was the theme for the week. Down the halls, a paper chain created by students connected the elementary to the high school. 

The week started on Wednesday with dress up days. The first day was held on Wednesday  since students were unable to dress up Monday and Tuesday due to semester tests.  After two days of testing, students were encouraged to come to school in their pajamas on Wednesday. Thursday, students showed their true nerds for Nerd Day by dressing in items such as suspenders and fake glasses. Friday was Blue and White Day. 

During advisor time on Friday, high school students voted for Winter Sports King and Queen. This year, candidates were any seniors participating in an activity that takes place during the winter. These groups included basketball, wrestling, cheerleading, band, vocal,  yearbook and journalism, Speech and Drama, and FFA.

Before dismissal at 1:30 on Friday, the school gathered in the high school gym for a pep assembly at 1:00. The cheerleaders and band started the assembly with the school song and a cheer. 

Student council and cheerleadering sponsors then led seniors in a game of Name that Tune. 

After the cheerleaders led two more cheers, there was a surprise announcement. This year, students voted for a king, queen, prince and princess of the teachers.  Cheerleaders Morgan Sanders, Makayla Slings, Megan Facile and Tailor Snook then crowned the king and queen as Dale DeJong and Roxanne Goudy and prince and princess as David Brondyke and Leah Farrington. 

To finish the assembly, the cheerleaders led one last cheer, performed the school song and students and teachers were dismissed. 

The final event for the week took place after the basketball games on Friday night. Cheerleaders Arly Labahn and Makayla Slings and  crowned Brady Losure and Alexis Ferguson as Winter Sports King and Queen.

Teacher Talk: Abby Clark

by Rachel Ranfeld

Abby Clark brought her fun and creative personality to MHS in the fall of 2010. Since she was a senior in high school, she knew she wanted to be a teacher. She loved to learn, and she believed that school was the best place for that.

Clark enjoys getting to know all her students, creating interesting ways for them to learn and helping them shape their futures. She enjoys the students the most because “we have some very bright students with a lot of potential.”

Each semester, her classes are slightly different as she continuously discovers and shares new ideas with her students.

She graduated from Newton High School in Newton, Iowa in 2006, where she participated in swimming, golf, Speech improvisation, Big Brothers Big Sisters (pairing up with a younger student in need), marching band and the international club (a club that explores foreign languages).

She then advanced to Wartburg College to major in elementary education and student taught in second and fifth grades in Waverly, Iowa. At Wartburg College, she participated in Best Buddies (partnering with an adult with a disability), Wartburg Association of Student Educators, Adopt-A-Grandparent and Empty Bowls (a program she introduced to MHS last spring). In addition, she tutored other students and was a family’s nanny for four years. 

During her last semester there in 2010, she found MHS’s job listing online. Since it was close to her family, she didn’t hesitate in applying for the job.

While adapting into MHS’s atmosphere, she has brought new experiences to share with her students. First of all, she made a SPRINT class for the junior high and high school students to take for credit. 

Last spring, she orchestrated the Empty Bowls event where students glazed bowls to be sold for donations. The donation money was then given to the Montezuma Food Pantry. Clark plans to hold this event again this spring, and she predicts that the donation money will go another hunger organization. 

Also last spring, she took some of her junior and sophomore students on a visit to Wartburg College. 

Last fall, she had the entire student body participate in the Start Somewhere Walk with help from her SPRINT class students. 

In her free time, Clark likes to make beaded jewelry and hand out her masterpieces as gifts to her friends. She also loves to spend time with her family, visit her college friends, instruct Zumba fitness, travel, read interesting books and watch movies. 

One of the movies she likes watching is “When Harry Met Sally.” “It’s the ultimate romantic comedy,” Clark responded when asked why this was her favorite. Her students, however, would guess her favorite film is “2001: A Space Odyssey” since she talks to them about it all the time.

Montezuma holds annual JV basketball tournament

by Vincent Bushong

Montezuma hosted its annual JV basketball tournament on Saturday, Jan. 8. The tournament consisted of a girls’ and boys’ bracket, with each team playing two games. 

The Montezuma girls’ team won the first game versus Belle Plaine but lost the championship game to BGM. The boys’ JV team came out on top against Belle Plaine and HLV, winning their own tournament for the second year in a row.

The first boys’ game was clearly the Braves’ game in the first half, ending with a 16-point lead. In the second half, Belle Plaine outscored the Braves but not enough to close the gap. The Braves’ held their lead for a victory of 58-49. Bryant Sutfin led Montezuma for scoring with 17 points with Bryan Gregson taking second with nine points.

The second Braves’ game was a small victory every quarter. Per quarter, the Braves’ either scored more than or the same as HLV. This brought the game to a final score of 41-24 in the Braves’ favor. 

For scoring, Joseph Peck was on top with 10 points. Kane Barker and Siraj Thomasen followed with eight and six points, respectively. 

The first girls’ game was close the whole time. The Bravettes were behind at halftime with a deficit of four points, but they came out and outscored Belle Plaine in the second half for a close victory of 36-35. 

Leading the Bravettes for scoring was Abbi Nelson, with 10 points, followed by Clara Johnson with seven points and Paige Snook with six points.

In the second game, BGM’s defense gave enough pressure to strangle out many of Montezuma’s offensive opportunities. This gave BGM many good scoring opportunities, leading to a loss and a final score of 44-23.

Courtney Petersen led the Bravette’s scoring the second game with a total of eight points. Next was Katelyn Gregory with six points and Dakota Norris and Nelson, each with three points.

JH dominate North Mahaska

by Natalie Kirton

On Monday, Jan. 9, each junior high basketball team, both girls and boys, had very successful plays that resulted in wins against the North Mahaska Warriors. The Bravettes played at North Mahaska while the Braves played at home. 

The 7^th grade girls worked well as a team, completing a lot of passes that contributed to their final score of 18-6. 

The 8^th grade Bravettes stepped up their defense to beat the Warriors 25-13. 

“I was very proud of how well both teams played,” said Coach David Brondyke. “They came out focused and played with great vision and determination throughout the whole game.”

As for the boys, the 7^th graders got an early lead to the game. Carson Losure scored a total of 13 of the team’s points, with Grant Johnson pitching in six points. The 7^th grade boys defeated the Warriors 44-23.

“We got tons of steals and dominated the rebounds. It was a solid effort and everyone contributed,” said Coach Clayton Hjelmeland on the 7^th grader’s performance. 

The 8^th grade Braves won against the Warriors with a score of 44-12. Bobby McCulley and Brody McKeag brought the most points to the board, scoring 12 and 11 points respectively. Tyler Geiger contributed six steals as well as five points. 

“We got a quality production out of both the starters and backups, just about everyone scored. It was a very good team effort,” said Hjelmeland.