Michaela Copeland
Assistant Editor-in-Chief
Bella Beems
News Editor
Laci Burnett
Reporters
Katlyn Boydston
Grayson Moore
Photographers
Lauraly Lane
Josephine Long
Designers
Ashlynn Bowen
Gunner Delp
Guest Writers
Cane Delp
Miley Phillips
By: Gunner Delp
This year’s annual Powderpuff game took place on Friday, September 19th After beating the Freshmen and Sophomore girls in the first rounds of the competition, the Seniors and Juniors, respectively, took to the final game and the score ended up being 16 - 8 with the Juniors taking the win.
Seniors played hard against the Juniors and put forth their best efforts Senior Grace Downing states, “We got beat, but it was still fun!” The game may have been a competitive game, but in the end it was all positive vibes and laughter
The Juniors played well and worked well together in order to accomplish their win against the Seniors “We were all working together and no one was really mad at each other,” says Junior Camry Hanshaw
The annual Powderpuff game was a blast, as always Make sure to show up and show out for your DeKalb High School girls next year The Powderpuff games take place on the afternoon of Homecoming every school year
By: Josie Long
On Friday, September 19th, the DeKalb Football Boys had their Homecoming game, where they played against Nodaway Valley Though it was a tough game and ultimate loss, the boys continued to play hard throughout the entire game, with a final score of 20-92 Kyle Funk, Blake Norton, and Nolan Huffman all got touchdowns during the game. The boys will continue to play in preparation for Districts on October 31st.
Coach Wardlow thought the boys did well, persevering through injuries and adjusting to different people being in different spots Easton Matthews suffered from a concussion on Homecoming night during the 3rd quarter “It was kind of tough relaxing at home since I'm used to being active I'm a little bummed that I have to sit out the game against South Holt, but I know the boys will do well.”
The Tigers play at home again tonight against South Holt with a kickoff time of 7:00 p.m. The Tiger Pride Band will be playing during halftime as well as playing some funky tunes in the stands The theme for the game is country, so make sure to show up in your best attire to come support your DeKalb Tigers!
This year's Homecoming was an eventful but good one. Preceding Friday’s football game, our Homecoming royalty were announced, with winners crowned by Freshmen Kaylee Chatman and Gage Hartman. Your 2025 Homecoming Prince and Princess were none other than Cooper Wachtel and Kyleigh Black. These Juniors have proven that those around them respect them as students, athletes, and classmates
Kyleigh Black is a Junior involved in Softball and Basketball, but is also very outgoing, shown by her going out for Softball for the first time this year. When Kyleigh was asked what was going through her head when her name was called on Friday night and she was announced as Homecoming Princess, she said all she could remember was being, “...excited and surprised.” Finally, when we asked why she believed people voted her to be our Homecoming Princess, Kyleigh said, “Because they have a good heart.” Kyleigh’s childhood dream of being a princess has come true, and we wish her the best of luck for the rest of her Junior year.
Junior Cooper Wachtel is a determined student as well as a committed athlete who has played Football and Baseball for his entire high school career. When he was a candidate, he, “ didn’t think [he] was going to win ” So, when his name rang across the speaker, announcing him our Homecoming Prince, he remembers, “I was excited.” With all the time he puts into sports in school, he believes himself to be “ ... a nice person, I guess,” which he reasons is why others voted for him Good luck with the rest of your year, Cooper
All Junior candidates were dressed up nicely, and it was amazing to see them show so much school spirit on our Homecoming night Thank you to all who participated, and congratulations to Cooper and Kyleigh.
By: Laci Burnett
Soon after our Homecoming Prince and Princess were announced, it was time to announce our King and Queen After candidates walked onto the field, the King and Queen were crowned by Sophomores Brinkley Frakes and Nolan Huffman Your 2025 Homecoming King and Queen are the famous Landon Crockett and Miley Phillips. These candidates have proven time and time again what disciplined students and athletes they are, and they are still kind and helpful to those around them
Miley Phillips is an incredibly busy senior, involved in Band, FFA, FBLA, Cheer, Softball, and NHS, not to mention the numerous activities she does after school, such as playing and learning multiple instruments, keeping up with friends, and being a motivated student. Still, she stays positive and can often be found helping out other students and teachers. She believes that people voted for her because “I put a lot of effort into all the activities I do, and I talk to everyone,” and remembers that she “ felt really good” when her name was called on Friday night. While she was a candidate for Homecoming Princess last year, this year she earned being called a Queen.
Landon Crockett is a Senior who is occupied with Football, FFA, Track, and Baseball, as well as being a diligent student. Landon was a candidate for Homecoming 2024 Prince and got to live out his dream this year of being Homecoming King. Although he remembers thinking, “That’s cool, I guess,” when he was made King While Landon appears to be unconcerned with wearing the crown, he earned it When asked why he believes that people voted for him, he says, “I feel like I am somewhat of a likable guy; some people don’t like me, but I’m a nice guy ” Just as he went from a Prince Candidate to the Homecoming King, he will continue to grow from here.
The Seniors’ last Homecoming was definitely a good one, and one they will cherish when looking back at their last year of high school Thank you to all candidates who participated and showed up in their best clothes, and congratulations to Miley Phillips and Landon Crockett!
Four of the DeKalb FFA members are taking up the opportunity of going to Rushville Elementary School every Wednesday to teach the third-grade students about agriculture The program they are going through is called Agriculture Education on the Move
Every week, they present a different topic to the third graders. This week's topic was about soybeans. There is a lesson and then an activity. The activity was making soybean necklaces. Each student also put a soybean with a cotton ball in a bag, so that they can now watch the seed germinate over the next week
Ceci Sherlock, a Senior, took the lead in teaching this week. Her favorite part was “seeing how excited the kids were and sharing Ag with the younger generation.”
Their next trip down to the elementary school will be next Wednesday
See Mrs. King or any Band member for registration forms!
OHBy: Ashlynn Bowen
OLast Friday, September 19, all the High School students, separated by grades, created Homecoming signs to decorate the field for the game. The Seniors won 1 place, Juniors won 2nd, and the Sophomores and Freshman tied for 3rd. st
By: Gunner Delp
If you’ve been looking for a great zombie video game filled with violence, gore, and plenty of thrills, I’ve got the game for you! Check out the latest installment in the Dying Light series, Dying Light: The Beast
Kyle Crane (main character of Dying Light 1) makes a return. Kyle isn’t exactly a normal human, though; he is now a mix of a human and what is called a volatile. A volatile is a type of zombie that comes out only at night, making them stronger and faster
Kyle’s main goal is to escape captivity, swear revenge on his captor, the Baron, and to control his own transformation into a volatile. In order to achieve this goal, Kyle must push through waves and hordes of zombies, parkour across rooftops, and improve on his physical form
Released on September 18, the game is relatively new and retails at $59.99 for the standard edition and $69.99 for the digital deluxe edition. If you want to spice up your gameplay, I suggest purchasing the digital deluxe edition This version comes with a Castor Woods Prepper Bundle (outfit, vehicle, and upgradeable SMG blueprint), an official soundtrack, wallpapers, and a tourist map with hints to resources.
By: Cane Delp
Looking for something new to throw in your favorite playlist? Look no further! How To Save A Life by The Fray might just be the saving grace for your playlist. The album, while not very long, holds a great amount of emotion in the 12 songs.
The three most notable songs on the album are the single, “How to Save a Life,” “Over My Head (Cable Car),” and “Look After You.” The Fray has roughly 19 million monthly listeners on Spotify. Their most popular song, “How to Save a Life,” has a staggering 1.5 billion plays on Spotify
Praised by Rolling Stone for their “stick-inyour-head hooks and eloquent narratives” and by the Los Angeles Times for their “melodically rich” songwriting, The Fray’s 2005 debut album How To Save A Life is RIAA-certified 4x Platinum in the U S and remains one of the best-selling digital debuts of all time. If I had to rate the artist, I’d give them 4.1/5.
On Wednesday, September 24, the Rushville Christian Church hosted its annual “See You at the Pole” event. This year, there was a higher number of participants than in previous years. “See You at the Pole” is an international event that takes place on the fourth Wednesday of September every year, where primarily the students, but also the staff and community, take part in prayer, worship, and sometimes a scripture reading or sermon
This year’s “See You at the Pole” was hosted by Andrew Johnson, George Baugh, Coach Roberts, and Mr Chisam “It was a great opportunity to get to be with everybody and just pray with everybody,” says Sophomore Delaney Frakes when asked about how “See You at the Pole” went that morning.
Coach Roberts also hosts Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA) with Delaney Frakes leading the worship sermon. FCA is for all students, not just athletes, and is held in the Library every Wednesday morning at 7:00a.m. They have breakfast each morning. Last week, they also had doughnuts.
Emmie Kirschner Maggie Hall
Reason: She got that positive attitude.
Reason: She loves her TikTok quotes.
What is Diva of the Week? Diva of the Week is similar to last year's Tiger Look Alikes, which does a little shout-out to students around the Middle/High school.
How do you get to be Diva of the Week? Make sure you are always putting your best foot forward and using integrity. (Not asking if you can be Diva of the Week.)
What makes a DIVA? A diva is an absolute and downright icon who stands out from the crowd.
By: Ashlynn Bowen
By: Laci Burnett
The new school year brought a few new faces to our school. One of the many new staff members that we get to welcome to our school this year is High School Science teacher, Mr Newsted
If you’re looking for a good book that will have you questioning everything constantly, then I recommend to you A Good Girls Guide To Murder
This book is a thrilling murder mystery written by Holly Jackson.
It starts off with a girl named Pippa, who chooses to prove the innocence of a suspect for her History project, but as Pippa digs deeper and starts interviewing people, she starts getting anonymous notes threatening her. That only pushes her more until Pippa finally finds out the truth, but after all she has lost, is it really worth it?
This book is a part of a series with two more books The first book came out on May 2nd, 2019 and a show also came out on August 1, 2024.
Mr. Newsted has “been a teacher for 33 years.” He is thankfully spending this year with us, and while being the current Physical Science, Biology, Chemistry, and Anatomy teacher, at previous schools, he took over Health, PE, and Weights classes.
The Science teacher didn’t only teach, though; he has also “coached every single year except for this year,” and has coached Football, Track, Girls' Basketball, and Wrestling.
Mr. Newsted, welcome to the Tiger family!
By: Katlyn Boydston
This Thursday’s game was also the 10-year anniversary of the 2015 Lady Tigers Softball team going to State and winning 2nd place Some members of the team showed up for a reunion.
It was nice to see the ladies talk and reminisce about their historic victory. Many of them didn’t end up playing in college, but they all are happy and healthy, doing well in their careers, and most have kids or a kid on the way.
On Monday, September 22nd, our High School Softball team played against Pattonsburg/Winston and lost 10-11. On Tuesday, the game against West Platte was cancelled due to the weather Thursday’s game ended in another win for the Lady Tigers 16-2
Monday’s game against Pattonsburg/Winston, “Was kind of rough, but once we finally got some good hits after the first inning, we kind of picked up the pace and caught up to them until the very last inning, and then they scored a run," said Sophomore Lilly Wagner.
Thursday’s game against Stewartsville/Osborn was pretty good, and the DeKalb softball girls won the game, with a final score of 16-2. According to Coach H. “The game was much better. We hit the ball hard, played some clean defense, and returned to being aggressive on the bases This was a great team win because everybody was able to be a part of it Any time that happens, it makes me extremely proud”
All the girls miss not just playing Softball, but the team itself But, it is safe to say they still go out and throw around a softball every once in a while It seems the love of Softball, as for any sport, never truly dies.
As for the present, the Lady Tigers play again next Monday at home against Plattsburg, if you want to come out and support the team!
By: Lauraly Lane
The month of September is known as Suicide Awareness Month. I know many people who have considered taking their own lives. There are many reasons contributing to suicide, but it is sometimes related to the effects of their relationships with others
Many people who have taken their own lives were bullied. Bullying causes many other issues in a person's life, such as eating disorders, sleep disorders, distancing yourself from others, and many other problems
Suicidal thoughts aren't always seen by other people unless you express how you are feeling. Many people who are about to take their lives often give things they love or need to people they love, or they donate these things.
It becomes even more noticeable when they give or donate prized possessions, like collections, favorite things, or things they wear all the time, including CDs/records, gemstones, hoodies, pictures, autographs, things they made, etc.
Oftentimes, when people are feeling this way, they don't seek mental help or anything like that If you or a friend, family member, or acquaintance needs help, don't be afraid to tell someone. Tell someone you and the other person trust, a certified counselor, or a family member, or contact the National Suicide Hotline number shown above.
By: Grayson Moore
On Tuesday, September 23rd, our Cross Country team traveled to Benton, with Freshman Zylar Helton being the only runner from DeKalb.
During this meet, Zylar set a personal record with a time of 27.27. If he continues running varsity races, he will likely get a letter Coach Taylor adds, “It was cold, rainy, and miserable.”
In practice, the team is primarily working on improving their speed as well as pacing themselves throughout each race.
The Cross Country team’s next meet will be at Rock Port at 2:30 on Monday, September 29th, so make sure you come out and support our runners!
By: Grayson Moore
A movie that I watched recently and recommend is The Batman(2022), starring Robert Pattinson, and directed by Matt Reeves I like this movie because of the dark and brooding, almost ominous kind of aesthetic and the plot The plot is well-paced, the actors portray the characters well, and they keep everything interesting.
I like this take on the Batman story because it is more grounded and realistic than other Batman movies, in the sense that some of the conflicts such as a big business CEO guy going to court for drug related issues and someone with an explosive vest having to be saved, could exist outside of a Batman story.
If I had to rate this movie out of 10 I would give it an 8 8 I would give it a 10 if it wasn’t three hours long
By: Miley Phillips
On Wednesday, September 24th, a group of students from Dekalb High School and Middle School traveled to the DeKalb community center to help with the Golden Oldies lunch program.
While they were there, they helped serve and plate food, serve drinks, and talk to people in the community.
The students introduced themselves and what sport or activity they were there to represent The meal for the day was spaghetti
Sophomore Alivia Hall said that “It was fun and the guests were sweet and talkative.”
The school takes a different group of people every month to help out
By: Bella Beems
After many mornings of hard work and training, the Cheer Team time shows they have been working hard to prepare for the Fall season.
The DeKalb Tiger Pride Band is under the direction of Angie King. The band is under the leadership of our two amazing Drum Majors, Seniors Michaela Copeland and Miley Phillips The band played two of their three songs, ‘Shut Up and Dance’ and ‘Viva La Vida ’ “I think the Band played very well We got to add a second song, ‘Viva La Vida ’ It felt good to get all of the drill for the opening song. I am excited to add drill for the second song this week,” said Mrs. King.
“I believe our halftime performance went well this year, even though we had only two out of our three songs on the field, I still think that our new members did a really nice job with it being their first homecoming game, and I’m proud of our returners who took things we learned in previous years and applied it to the performance on Friday,” said Michaela Copeland.
The DeKalb Cheerleaders are coached by Erica Phillips and have three captains, Seniors Presli Punzo, Miley Phillips, and Ava Donaldson. The Cheerleaders performed to the songs ‘We R Who We R’ and ‘Blah Blah Blah’ by Kesha
“Considering the fact that one of the main parts of one of the stunt groups got hurt before the performance, we improvised well,” says Presli Punzo
“Our performance went well with people having to step into new roles minutes before because of injuries,” says Miley Phillips
Both performances were a great show of hard work, determination, and spirit These two groups show the importance of music and entertainment in all schools, working just as hard as anyone else in any other sport, often without as much attention or credit
The Band and Cheerleaders perform at every home Football game, so please come and enjoy the music and cheer our boys on.
WEEK IN THE LIFE SEP 23 - SEP 26