The Rider Chronicle » Sports

Powerlifting Goes For Gold This Saturday

adviser — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 19:47:09 +0000

Rider Raider powerlifting is going for gold this Saturday at their first meet of the season. The lifters see this as not only their first meet, but also as their first step toward regionals.
“We are very confident this season,” Head Powerlifting Coach Bill Davison said. “We have four girls and one boy who were regional qualifiers last year returning.”
The team consists of mostly veteran lifters but there are newcomers who show just as much potential. Every one of them has his or her own unique strengths and abilities that they bring to the table, but they all have one thing in common.
“Dedication, man,” first year lifter Colton Baley said. “Lifters are unique, a breed of their own.”
No one on the team plans on achieving less than their best. For many of them, that’s what it’s all about, being the best they can be.
“I’m really looking forward to getting the season started and seeing how far our athletes will go,” Davison said. “They all have goals they want to accomplish and they push themselves very hard to reach those goals.”
But of course it wouldn’t be a sport if lifters only competed with themselves. To the judges, it’s all about how one does compared to the competition.
“Last year we had nine lifters that qualified for regionals,” Davison said. “This year I would like to have more than that qualify.”
With five regional qualifiers returning to the team this season lifting in combination with the new comers, that’s definitely a possibility. Especially with the drive shared by every member of the team. Not one of them will accept less than their best.
“The lifters are always trying to get heavier weights or new personal bests,” Davison said. “Each competitor in power lifting has a strong desire to compete and a willingness to push beyond where they started.”

Lady Raiders ready for season after winning Fantasy of Lights

adviser — Thu, 15 Dec 2011 14:59:27 +0000

One year ago, the Lady Raiders made their first playoff appearance in 21 years. Today they’re ranked 12th in the state. “I’m looking forward to see how this team gels and comes together,” Ghazal said. “They have worked extremely hard in the off season, and we are excited to see how that pays off.”
The Lady Raiders say their goals include making playoffs, winning district and winning playoff games.
“This team is very talented, so the sky’s the limit,” Ghazal said. “I don’t want to tie us down or for us to become satisfied after accomplishing just one of our goals. Last year’s team did a great job of going above and beyond expectations.”
Ghazal is happy about the team’s strength.
“We are so deep,”Ghazal said. “We have a lot of excellent players. Taliyah Brooks and Jennifer Sissel will get a lot of attention and rightfully so. They work really hard and are very talented.”
Ghazal had been at small town schools his entire life before moving to Rider last year.
“I loved the community aspect of those schools,” Ghazal said. “I thought Rider would be much more fragmented, but it has been the complete opposite. We have an extremely close coaching staff and faculty that really support one another and their student athletes. One Family, One Team is not just a slogan!”
Already this year, the team became the first Lady Raider basketball team since 1989 to win first place in the Fantasy of Lights tournament held over Thanksgiving break.

Tennis goes far, returns champs

adviser — Thu, 15 Dec 2011 14:58:13 +0000

The tennis team really showed the meaning of One Family, One Team after making it to the state finals.
“It was really an amazing feeling. We were the underdogs so it felt good to come back and prove to everyone we were able to win it for all the Regional title we felt belonged to us,” junior tennis player Melinda Johnson said.
Though proving people wrong felt good to Johnson, it wasn’t all about that.
“Whenever you’re on the court it’s all you,” she said. “You really have to believe in yourself when you’re out there.”
Johnson said it took a lot of hard work and dedication for the tennis team to make it this far, and they are proud of themselves and everything they do for their team.
Out on the court the focus is winning, but for the team, the bigger picture was about being a family and overcoming the challenges that were in front of them. That challenge for them was making it to state, despite not winning.
“It’s not about winning,” Johnson said. “It’s about being there, in the moment, and having pride in your teams.”

Tennis Headed to State

adviser — Fri, 04 Nov 2011 18:08:34 +0000

The tennis team will be shooting for a state championship today, and if they win, tomorrow in Austin, Texas.
When they found out that they were going to state, they said that it was such a blurry moment because there was so much excitement. Everyone was screaming and no one was expecting it.
“To get to state it took a lot of dedication and we all had to just believe in ourselves at that moment because we thought we were the underdog’s,” Melinda Johnson said.
Johnson thinks that making it to state brought them closer together. She says they really are like a family.
“But, whenever you’re on the court it’s all you,” she said. “You really have to believe in yourself when you’re out there.”
Johnson said it took a lot of hard work and dedication to the tennis team to make it this far, and they are proud of themselves and everything that they do for their team.
After state, she said she hopes the student body will show some support next season, and try to go to a tennis match. Next season starts next semester.

Raiders Hold Their Own Against Top Ranked Ryan

adviser — Fri, 07 Oct 2011 21:33:13 +0000

Thursday Oct. 6, Rider lost to Denton Ryan 20-17. Driving home from Memorial Stadium that night, my friend texted me and asked how the game went. I told him we lost, and he promptly responded saying, “I knew y’all would get creamed.”

I’m so happy my car is still intact, because I was so mad at his ignorance that I wanted to drive to his house and run my Grand Am through his front door. What happened on the field on Thursday might be the farthest thing from, “getting creamed,” possible. If anything, it showed how incredible of a team we have this year.

Allow me to share some statistics about Denton Ryan: 5 state championship appearances in the past 10 years, 2 championships in that span, currently ranked No. 2 in the entire state, numerous players already committed to D1 football programs like Texas, Texas A&M, Baylor and Florida State. They’ve beaten us by a combined 52 points the last two seasons, and had two weeks to prepare for the game after a by week.

Seems like a true David and Goliath situation right? Every newspaper in the state predicted Ryan would slaughter us.

In the first 15 minutes, Ryan got up 17-0, and it seemed like those papers were right. At this point in the game, I along with some of the people next to me on the rail of the student section couldn’t help but remember the 21-point fourth quarter comeback against Abilene Cooper, which Coach Gar described as, “one of the best wins in Rider history.” We knew Rider had the capacity to win this game, and right one cue, we started on an incredible comeback.

Over the next 33 minutes, the defense held the red hot Ryan Raiders scoreless. The Ryan Raiders attempted a total of five passes the entire game, and so the defense needed to stop the run. In the first quarter, Ryan ran a 72-yard touchdown, so stopping the run might seem like a tall order. But if you were at the game, it seemed like every player on the defense morphed into an NFL player, or maybe a Greek god. It felt like every play there were players in the backfield hassling the running back. Considering that the average weight of Ryan’s starting offensive lineman is upwards of 280 pounds, and we were pushing them around wherever we pleased, I’d say something extraordinary possessed those players after the first 15 minutes.

And then there’s the offense. This is where we ran into our biggest problem, and his name is Mario Edwards. He is a 6’4 285-pound senior defensive end for Denton Ryan, who has already committed to the Florida State. In the August edition of ESPN the magazine, he was ranked as the No. 3 player in every division of high school football and by far the best defensive end. You could recognize him before the game incredibly easily. He was the one who was casually walking around while his team warmed up. He also wore a chain wrapped around his body while he warmed up. Oh yeah, and he was also one of the biggest human beings I’ve ever seen, and I’m the same age as him!

But, I’d say we have the perfect solution to this problem. During the comeback, the offense was still able to conduct itself nicely. JT Barrett had plenty of time to let his pass plays develop. Our plethora of running backs (especially Dominic Thrasher and Anthony Wagner) had holes to burst through. All of this largely due to 6’4 283-pound junior offensive lineman Harrison Sorge, who was matched up against Mario Edwards.

During the comeback, Sorge went toe to toe with Edwards every down of those 33 minutes, and basically shut him down. Sorge held Edwards to two tackles the entire game, which is a monumental accomplishment considering Edwards averaged that many sacks a game last season. If Sorge would not have played as lights out as he did, we never would have come back.

We tied the Ryan Raiders 17-17 in the fourth quarter. Barrett threw a perfect 49-yard touchdown pass to junior Brandon Williams, who beat two defenders by about 1 step. Anthony Wagner capped a 14 play, 63-yard drive with a 3-yard touchdown run and Cal Johnson hit a 46-yard field goal.

The Ryan Raiders had 1st and goal on our 4-yard line. This is where we made an incredible goal line stand, which was punctuated by senior Cody O’Donnell forcing a fumble on 4th and goal from the one yard line, and giving us the ball back on our own 3-yard line.

We were forced to punt, but once again, the resurgent Raider defense took the field and held the Ryan offense, forcing them to attempt a 31-yard field goal with about one and a half minutes left. This is where senior Blake Brom came storming around the blockers, and blocked the kick, giving us the ball back, and an overflowing amount of momentum and drive.

Barrett ran for 12 yards, completed a pass to junior Brylan McCoy for another first down, and then threw an interception to Denton Ryan, which eventually led to them kicking the game winning field goal.

A heartbreak to say the least, but there is no way we would have comeback to tie Ryan without his passing, tough running, and overall leadership on the field. I heard nobody at school blaming JT for the loss. That’s one of the things I love about being a student at Rider: we stay united.

Baseball wins State, ready for new year, training new players

adviser — Thu, 06 Oct 2011 16:00:42 +0000

The adrenalin-filled celebration after the miraculous victory may have been the most rewarding part of the state championship journey.
“There was lot of pandemonium and excitement,” Coach Scot Green said. “We were celebrating with our fans and jumping on each others’ backs.”
After the game, the celebration the baseball players experienced was worth it.
With emotion building at the end of the game of 6 outs or 3 outs, the Raiders stayed focused and didn’t take their minds off of the ultimate goal.
“We probably didn’t sleep much anyway just cause we were so excited,” Green said.
After the championship game, the players were both mentally and physically exhausted.
“Someone asked me if I had got off the high of winning the state championship and I said I don’t know if I ever did,” Green said.
Now that last year’s season is over, the Raiders have high expectations to fulfill for the upcoming season.
“You know we lost a lot of our players, but we had a lot that got to experience a part of it [a state championship],” Green said. Last years seniors had a prominent contribution in the victorious attainment of the championship. Especially Cameron Allen who got after the Corpus Christi Calallen player he was facing and made a heck of a catch.
From the transition of the seniors leaving, this year’s starters have much to contribute to the upcoming season.
“We had a good group,” Green said. “We have a great tradition here so each year something more is learned by some of our players, and that knowledge is passed down to newer players.”
That knowledge is passed down each year to guide the new players in the right direction to achieve goals that last year’s players could not achieve. This custom is a vital characteristic of the Raider team that ensures new players achieve goals that the previous year’s players could not achieve. That’s not so easy when the team before wins state, but Green says that championship will help this year’s team.
“The expectations are just to play hard,” Green said. “They know what it takes to get there, and they know what work they have to put into it.”
The expectations enable players to look at what they must achieve throughout the season to work on their flaws to ensure the team’s maximum progression.
“These guys have taken on the challenge of just sharing the tradition of just going out there and giving a hundred percent,” Green said.

One family, all teams: Cross country reaches out

adviser — Thu, 06 Oct 2011 15:59:22 +0000

You hear or see it every day. Our school stresses the concept. We are supposed to be “one family, one team,” but what does that mean? Go to just one cross country meet and you’ll find out immediately, just like I did.
In order to photograph the meet, I had to ride the bus with the team. The day started early, 6:45 to be exact. Everyone was very welcoming and very kind considering most everyone had just rolled out of bed.
We drove down a road that seemed fit for about one car, much less a bus, but we made it to the meet at Camp Perkins and set up our site under a large shady tree. Camp Perkins was beautiful and the weather was perfect.
The teams started warming up and pretty soon our varsity girls were preparing for their race. The gun went off, and the girls began their 2.3 mile run. The rest of the cross country team began walking up discreet paths to cheer on the Lady Raiders.
Everyone was really enthusiastic and encouraging, but at the same time they were all enjoying themselves. We would cheer on the runners or take a break and grab a popsicle to eat under the big shade tree we had claimed as our own for the day.
Pretty soon the guys were running. During their race a few of the girls and I began our trek up a hill to help out the boys. We were all laughing and having a great time, but suddenly one of our girls fell silent.
We all turned the way she was looking and sprung into action. We began running back down the hill towards the boy from Hirschi who was as pale as a ghost and collapsed on the ground gasping for breath. He was helpless, but our girls changed that. They immediately gave him their water and ice to cool him down until a trainer came to his aid.
In that moment, I saw the reality of “one family, one team,” and that reality goes beyond the walls of Rider.
After helping the boy, we all returned to the race and finished the day with quite the victory, on the scoreboard and not. Not only was this team kind and helpful, but they were good at what they did. The varsity girls ended up in fourth and junior varsity finished first with a perfect score of fifteen, and together both teams had eight girls in the top ten.
All day I could tell they were enjoying themselves and their time with their peers. The team was constantly laughing between seeing deer on the edge of the meet, to the bus ride, to bonding in Chicken Express before heading back to school. Everyone was happy and having a blast.
That day made me realize how lucky we all are to be surrounded by the peers whom we have. Be a Raider with pride; you might be surprised at the incredible effect you’ll have on others.

Track team makes it to state after successful year

DaniAdams — Thu, 26 May 2011 14:31:37 +0000

Both the girls and boys track teams both had successful seasons that for some athletes is still going.
Six girls and five boys advanced to regionals with both Taylor Stolt and Dylan McDorman advancing to the State Track Meet in Austin on May 13.
“The Boys Track Team had a really successful 2011 track season,”Boys Track Team Coach Bill Mercer said. “The Team won three meets that included the Burk Medaly Relays, The Mustang Relays in City View and The Hawk relays in Iowa Park. The team had an overall 4th place finish at The District Meet.”
The girls track team also had a very successful season, resulting in them placing 3rd in district.
“Advancing 6 kids to regionals is a highlight to me,” Girls Track Coach Lounette Decker said. “Anytime in the season a kid has a personal best, it means they meet goals they’ve set.”
With one member per team going to the State Track Meet both coaches have high hopes for the outcome.
“Taylor advanced to state,” Coach Decker said. “Hopefully she will bring home a medal.”

Boy’s soccer playoff run cut short

admin — Mon, 18 Apr 2011 18:21:05 +0000

Rider soccer has always been the best of the best the cream of the crop, the head honchos, and this season has not been different from any of the previous seasons. Despite the loss to Northside High, the varsity team says they had a great season that was filled with excitement and that bonds that formed during this season.
“We started the season with a bunch of talented individuals, but as the season progressed we ending up forming a competitive team,” Head Soccer Coach Joshua Hill said. “We had a great season. We went to went to regional quarter finals and placed 4th in it.”
Players say there were plenty of memories throughout the season.
“The most memorable and exciting moment was the win against Denton, It was the most intense game we played that year,” Mario Morales said.
With some slots being left open this year, some of the juniors had to step up there game
“The juniors weren’t treated like ‘next year’s group’ because we needed them but the fact that we had to rely on them made up all closer together because they meant as much to us as the seniors did,” senior Travis Penney said.
Plenty of highlights filled the season.
“Some of our high lights during the season were going 10-0 in the district and going on a 12-game winning streak,” Hill said.
And, of course, one of the team’s biggest high light was beating Old High not once but twice in their season.
But players say fans should remember key players that made those highlights for the year.
“I think the key players on the team had to have been the seniors,” Hill said.
The seniors were a big part of the Rider soccer boy’s wins.
Losing the last game was a real disappointment to us,” Hill said. “The whole team took it really hard.”
Some of the players were disappointed that the loss kept them from a chance at State.
“What made it worse is we played better teams then them,” Penney said about Northside, the team that beat The Raiders 2-1, knocking them out of the playoffs. But the players have come to face the facts.
“In soccer if you’re not meant to win that game, you will not win it,” Morales said.
The last game with Northside High was not what they expected. With this season over and the seniors leaving, it will have a big impact on next year’s team.
“I would say the seniors were the key players in our success,” Hill said.
But don’t count out the Juniors for next year. Hill said they are going to come out strong and on top.
“Next year look forward to a team that has a chip on their shoulder,” Hill said.
Some of the seniors are optimistic about the juniors and sophomores who are moving up.
“Next year’s team will be pretty good due to all the experiences they got from this year,” Penney said. “Next year will most likely be full of wins and upsets, but we have a strong offense with Ruben Flores, and with Minsung Park leading the team, anything is possible.”

The Road to Victory: Football’s playoff run started with early wins

adviser — Mon, 29 Nov 2010 20:26:39 +0000

“If we win, we’re in!” he yelled out to the field house, his voice stretching way back to the very last row of the stands, through several teens. His heart raced as he looked around the massive gym. In the stands, students were filled with Rider Spirit as they cupped their hands around their mouths, shouting words of praises into the air. To his left, his boys stood with excitement, adrenaline pumping.
They were ready.
Just four hours later at Memorial Stadium, the football game has been postponed. The stands have been partially evacuated, and in the main walkway of the Stadium stand many students and adults stand, all anxiously waiting for the game delay to be over. Murmurs of anticipation for what would become one of Rider’s biggest games of the year floated around the walkway.
It’s thundering, the rays of electricity lighting up the sky almost as brightly as the sun does. Accompanying the lightning is thunder. It shakes the earth and rattles eardrums as the lightning blazes the sky.
The boys can’t play if it’s lightning, but Rider head coach James Garfield “was not worried at all about the weather.”
“I knew the boys would respond no matter what the situation would be,” said Garfield. “We have a plan in place for weather-type situations.”
They didn’t need a plan as the game delay ran out, only setting the kickoff 30 minutes back from its normally scheduled time. Now that it was game time, the boys and fans couldn’t wait to get their heads into the game.
Rider came out with a strong win, beating The Colony with a final score of 24-21. The win, which solidified a playoff slot, thrilled Coach Garfield.
“I was as excited as a kid on Christmas day,” Garfield said. As his first year as head coach, the opportunity to bring a team to the playoffs speaks volumes about his talent as a coach.
“Coach always tells us, ‘Take it one play at a time, one series at a time, one quarter at a time, one half at a time, and one game at a time,’” Junior and linebacker Eddie Speight said. Adding that Garfield is great at inspiring the boys to work hard.
The boys on the football team were also overjoyed when they won the game. They played a hard game, and worked harder to pull a win.
“I felt great. I knew all the hard work and dedication the team put in would pay off,” Speight said.
A strong strategy is in place for the playoff games.
“The team strategy is to maintain the ball on offense and play with a fast tempo,” said Garfield when speaking about Rider football offense. “[With] defense, we want to play fast and physical without breakdowns.”