THE BLACK AND GOLD Volume 6 Issue 3 Sept. 18, 2026
Middle School Football Takes the Win By: Kiera Kuse
MC hates Christmas
Newspaper Staff
MC beats me
Editors-in-Chief Laci Burnett Bella Beems Assistant Editor Katlyn Boydston
Photo Credit: Kelsey Chatman Pictured: Levi Frakes and Kale Zabel
Reporters
On Sept. 14, DeKalb Middle School Football had their first home game of the season. Coach Roberts said that, “They ended up winning. They had some big plays throughout the game, some forced fumbles. [But,] they were really good.”
Ivan Bowen Layla Griffin Lauraly Lane
The end score was as impressive 47-16. “We messed up a little bit, and we can fix a few things but overall did pretty good. Our best moment was when we played defense,” says Eli Wagner.
Kiera Kuse Alyssa Rogers
This next Monday, Sept. 21, the team will travel to play against Stewartsville at 5 p.m. Please go support our Middle School Tigers.
Photographers
Designers Gunner Delp
Guest Staff Analeesa Busby
EXTRA! EXTRA! READ ALL ABOUT IT! DeKalb Football Scores
CJ Memorial Walk
Read about Football’s game against Platte Valley, where they scored big points! pg. 6
Read aboujt the life of CJ and her impact on the entirety of the DeKalb community. pgs. 4-5
Buy a Student Shoutout Let your student know how much they mean to you! pg. 8
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Sept. 18, 2026
AG Students Receive Teacher Training By: Bella Beems
Photo Credit: Aaron Medskier Pictured: Camry Hanshaw, Kylee Dexter, and Alivia Hall being taught and trained
This Wednesday, Sept. 16, a handful of students from the Agriculture program traveled to Maryville, Mo. to begin their AG ED on The Move training at the Maryville AG Learning Center. AG ED on The Move is a very important part of learning and teaching. This program involves students going down to the elementary school every Wednesday for ten months. Here, AG students teach the kids that their food doesn’t just come from the grocery store, but instead it actually comes from farms or from animals. “I think it’s very important for kids to know where their food comes from” says senior Camry Hanshaw Training is important because this actually teaches our high school group how to help kids understand.
What to Listen To By: Alyssa Rogers
Photo Credit: Pinterest.com Pictured: Green Day Album Cover
On Sept. 20, 2004, a punk/rock band called Green Day released an album called “American Idiot.” This album explores themes of identity, frustration, and finding meaning in life. The album features one of their hit songs, “Wake Me Up When September Ends.” This song was written by frontman Billie Joe Armstrong as a personal tribute to his father’s passing in 1982, when Billie was only 10 years old. This record won them a Grammy Award for Best Rock Album in 2005 and was nominated for Album of the Year. Their song “Boulevard of Broken Dreams” won Record of the Year in 2006. The 22nd anniversary of this album is on Sept. 20 of this year, but Green Day already celebrated in August by making the full, uncut version of the music video for American Idiot available. I like the band because they are all very unique and comical. I also like the guitar riffs Billie Joe Armstrong performs.
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Sept. 18, 2026
Softball Practices through the Trials By: Laci Burnett
Photo Credit: The Black and Gold Pictured: Softball Team working hard to get ready for Monday’s game
Our DeKalb High School Softball Team’s season is in full swing, and after the Maysville Tournament on Saturday, they were supposed to have two games, but both were unfortunately canceled. Coach H commented, “Mother Nature decided to give us an extra couple of days to work on things.” During the team’s tournament on Saturday, September 12, the DeKalb Tigers played against first East Buchanan and then Maysville. When up against the East Buchanan Bulldogs, Coach H says they were able to “put up a lot of runs, [...] able to run a lot, and not just in the physical sense, but like pushing [them]selves, stealing some bases.” After some good, hard work from these girls, they won the East Buchanan game 17-4. Following the East Buchanan game, the DeKalb girls played Maysville. They began the game strong, but after the first few innings, they sadly fell behind. The game unfortunately ended with us losing 1-13. Although they fell short in this game, they played hard until the very last pitch. While the girls were supposed to have two other games, one Tuesday and one on Thursday, they both ended up canceled due to our sudden blessing of rain. Although they couldn’t play, they were able to work on some things before their game on Monday. During their practices this week, they focused on “doing the small things right every single time, [...] keeping the ball out in front of [them], and keeping things from snowballing, which would be one error turning into two.” These extra practices the girls earned will help them in the long run, and hopefully against their opponents on Monday. Make sure to come support our girls this Monday, September 21, when they battle it out against Pattonsburg on our home field.
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Sept. 18, 2026
CJ Donaldson Memorial Walk Tomorrow In Loving Memory Of Cassandra Jo Donaldson, Sept. 9, 2002 - Feb. 1, 2021
By: Bella Beems
Photo Credit: Haley Horr Pictured: Cassandra Jo Donaldson
This Saturday morning on Sept. 19, at the DeKalb Community Hall, the Donaldson family will be hosting the CJ Walk in memory of Cassandra Jo Donaldson. Cassandra Jo Donaldson or “CJ” was a former student at DeKalb High School. Not only was she an amazing student with a high GPA and good reputation, CJ was also very active in many different activities throughout the school. She was in cheer, softball (#27), track, FFA, FBLA, and NHS. CJ is a very creative person and who could tell you about her ideas like her Corpus Crispy Chicken Shack she wanted to start on the beach of Corpus Cristi, TX. CJ is also an insanely goofy person at heart.
“Never knew what was going to come out of her mouth, but she was always positive,” says her older sister, Haley Horr. CJ used to be the #1 babysitter for many families around the area because of her love for kids and the energy and positivity she was packed with that continues to inspire people to do the same. CJ was accepted into the University of Missouri for their Agriculture program, and with her being such an animal lover she was going to be a veterinarian after college. Tragically, CJ never got to attend college because in her senior year of high school she was killed in a car accident on Feb. 1, 2021.
Every year since the accident, CJ’s family has hosted a memorial in honor of CJ’s life to spread awareness and raise money for the Cassandra Jo Donaldson Scholarship that gets given out to graduating seniors every year not only in our community but across the area. But most of all the memorial is to celebrate CJ’s life. The true love and pride of a small town is the ones that leave the deepest impressions, even through death and how a community comes together in times of tragedy. Even if you didn’t know CJ, like myself, you can still feel the love and hurt the small towns of DeKalb and Rushville still holds for such an amazing young woman. So please show your support for CJ’s memory and the wonderful 18 years she spent as a Lady Tiger this Saturday.
Photo Credit: Haley Horr Pictured: CJ Walk partisipants from a former year
Registration for the walk starts at 8:00am, the walk will start at 9:00am, and a silent auction will be held from 8-11:00am online via the Facebook page and in person at the DeKalb Community Hall. CJ made and continues to make an impression on the community not by her death, but by the life she lived and the impact she continues to leave on everyone she loves and the infinite amount of people who continue to love her.
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Sept. 18, 2026
Tigers Score Multiple Touchdowns By: Katlyn Boydston
Photo Credit: Kiera Kuse Pictured: Cooper Wachtel and Garrett Marriott getting ready for a play
Last week, on Friday, Sept. 11, the High School Football team played against Platte Valley. The end score was 52-22, with a DeKalb loss. Coach Wardlow said, “The game was better than the last two first games we played. I think we executed a little bit better on certain things, which was nice, but overall it was a better game than the two previous games.” Senior Cooper Wachtel said, “It went ok; we had confidence, we just made little mistakes that we have to fix.” His best moment was when he celebrated the touchdown with Kaiden. In addition to little mistakes, injuries also had an impact. Sophomore Jacob Pyles said the game “was alright; my foot was kind of broken,” which made the game much more difficult. During practice this week, the Tigers will continue working on fixing mistakes, making sure they are in the right spots, and preparing for their next game.
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Sept. 18, 2026
DeKalb Welcomes Another New Tiger
What to Watch By: Ivan Bowen
By: Layla Griffin
Photo Credit: Pinterest Pictured: Marvel Studios Loki
As of lately, I've been re-watching the whole MCU (Marvel Cinematic Universe) in chronological order. The reason for this is that I want to get ready for Avengers: Doomsday when it comes out on Dec. 18.
Photo Credit: Alyssa Rogers Pictured: Landen Brookshier
DeKalb welcomed our new Junior Landen Brookshier this week. He moved up from Richmond, Missouri. He moved up here because his mom decided to move them up here. He wants to play basketball, and hopes it will be better here because other kids at his old school always got the team punished. His plans are to graduate here in 2028.
The show I liked the most in the franchise is the Loki series, and it's probably the most important show in the entire Marvel franchise. The most important movie is most likely Avengers: Endgame. I would recommend watching the Loki series because Loki is a sci-fi time-travel thriller about identity, free will, and holding reality together. It has an amazing story, great character development for not just Loki but other characters too, lots of drama, and mystery. If you wanted to watch the whole MCU, it would take roughly 76 to 77 hours if you just watched the movies and roughly 330 hours if you included the shows and movies.
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Sept. 18, 2026
DeKalb Alumni Take On Exciting New Ventures By: Laci Burnett
Photo Credit: Michaela Copeland Pictured: Left- Miley Phillips and Michaela Copeland, Right- NWMSU Field
As a small school, it is extra special to see all the hard work students put into their high school careers pay off after graduation. Two of our many talented alumni who graduated this past year are going to Northwest Missouri State University and have been toiling away on their marching band show. For NWMSU’s marching show, their image is to honor America, and it’s musical talent in different forms, such as jazz, rock and roll, and anthems. Their songs for this show consist of Hey Pachuco, Johnny B. Goode, America the Beautiful, and a Dolly Parton medley in memory of our loved Dolly Parton. Between marching and playing these songs, along with keeping up with college work, these two DeKalb alumni have their work cut out for them. Michaela Copeland and Miley Phillips, who have been extremely talented performers since even their middle school years, have taken this challenge head-on. Michaela Copeland reported the experience as feeling “weird without the same people from high school,” but followed her statement up with “sometimes different is good.” Miley Phillips thought the experience was nerve-wracking, but fun, and is “currently working on memorizing music so that [she] can be on time for every move and be more precise.” These talented young artists have so much farther to go and will do amazing things with their lives. We can’t wait to see what they will achieve. If possible, show up and support our Tiger alumni at their next game this Saturday, September 19!
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Sept. 18, 2026
Cross Country Rained Out Again
What to Read By: Lauraly Lane
By: Gunner Delp
Photo Credit: Pinterest Pictured: Cover of Dumplin’ Photo Credit: Kiera Kuse Pictured: Andrew Giddens
Unfortunately, the Cross Country team’s meet on Tuesday was canceled, making this the second meet of the seasonto be canceled. However, their next meet will be held on Tues. Sept. 22 at Benton. Coach Taylor notes that this week’s meet was canceled due to “Tarkio being under a flash flood warning.” With this being the second meet to be canceled, it has given the team quite some time to practice and maintain shape in preparation for the upcoming meet. When asked about what he is doing to stay in shape for the season, 8th grader Andrew Giddens stated, “I’ve been keeping up with practices.”
Dumplin’ by Julie Murphy is about a plus-size teenage girl who joins her mother’s beauty pageant. This book follows Willowdean Dickson and her journey in Clover City, Texas, home of the Miss Teen Bluebonnet pageant. Willowdean goes through this with her then-best friend who left her for the pageant. When she gets her first job at Harpy’s, she meets Bo Larson, her love interest. She then starts getting insecure about herself, so she joins the beauty pageant to help. Many of her friends join her to show body positivity. She is also very inspired by Dolly Parton. This is really dear to me and has a Netflix adaptation to it which I also recommended.
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Sept. 18, 2026
What to Play By: Gunner Delp
Photo Credit: PlayStation Pictured: Isomniac’s Marvel Wolverine
The long-awaited Marvel Wolverine game was released this Monday, and I can proudly say that the poor reviews that so many left were entirely wrong. Many people that I have read or watched a review from have said many horrible things about it, such as: “the water graphics are terrible,” “the game is really short,” or “the combat is just a bunch of button mashing.” However, I could not disagree more. Sure, the water graphics aren't amazing, but it was not the development team’s main focus. Their main focus was set upon diving into a story that has meaning and combat gameplay that really makes you feel like “The Wolverine” himself. I have put up to 10 hours so far into the game, and I can happily say that I have not found anything to complain about. I will say that, for the length that the game is, it should have been set at a lower retail price. All in all, I feel as though everyone immediately rushed to the assumption that the game was bad due to its overpricing and its length. However, if you are willing to overlook those factors, then I can assure you that you will have a joyous time with this game.
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Sept. 18, 2026
Trapshoot Starts Season off with a Bang By: Layla Griffin
Photo Credit: Aaron Medsker Pictured: Left-Emma Pitts, Middle- Kylee Dexter, Gary Griffin, Right-Michael Pitts
Photo Credit: Aaron Medsker Pictured: Left- Parker Pierce, Middle Gage Hartman, Kale Cassity, RightGarrett Marriott
The DeKalb Trapshoot Team shot for the first time on Saturday, Sept. 12. The teacher, Aaron Medsker, said, “The trapshoot went excellently. A lot of shooters shot very well for the first shoot of the month; a lot of them also hit a personal record.” He also said the top shooters were tied, with Kale Cassity and Garret Marriot shooting 46 out of 50 for the boys, and Emma Pitts hitting the high score for the girls. Junior Kale Cassity said, “It went pretty well; I had the highest score of 46.” He also mentioned his goal for next time was to “shoot a .5 for .5.” Junior Garret Marriot said, “It feels pretty good having the highest score next to Kale,” and also mentioned he would like to hit all 50 targets. Senior Emma Pitts said, “I feel pretty good about having the score I have.” She hopes to get into at least the 40s for next time. The next Trapshoot will be on Saturday, Oct. 3, in Falls City, Nebraska.
Photo Credit: Aaron Medsker Pictured: Garrett Marriott with a patch
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Sept. 18, 2026
Don’t Miss This! 19
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Cassandra Jo Donaldson Walk @ DeKalb Comminity Hall High School Softball vs Pattonsburg/Winston (V, JV) MS Football @OSHS Cross Country @ Benton
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MWSU Visiting During 4 Hour Softball @ OSHS (V)-Double header High School Football @ South Holt DeKalb (Town) Homecoming & Parade
Week Week in in the the Life Life