THE BLACK AND GOLD
By: Laci Burnett
On Monday, October 5, the High School Softball Team had their Senior Night and last home game all in one. Facing off against Maryville, the girls claimed another win and were able to end the game in just five innings. The game itself was very good, and the girls worked hard to get themselves a win. The only thing Coach H wishes to continue working on is “keeping the energy up and having a positive attitude to get some confidence rolling into the post-season.” Following the hard-fought game was the tear-filled Senior Night. At this year’s Senior Night, we said goodbye to Seniors Bella Beems, Kyleigh Black, Kelsey Chatman, and Maggie Hall. Coach H had many kind words to say about this group, but shared that this “was the first group that [she] was head coach for, so [she] kind of [feels] a little close to this group specifically.” She loved being able to see their growth in the years she shared with them, “not just softball-wise, but as a student, as a player, [and] as a young woman.” We will dearly miss this group’s Seniors, but we are so glad we got so many good years and memories with this group.
yo u m is s W e
DeKalb Softball Girls Hit Last Home Game Out of the Park
M C
Volume 6 Issue 6 Oct. 9, 2026
MC hates Christmas
Newspaper Staff Editors-in-Chief Laci Burnett Bella Beems Assistant Editor Katlyn Boydston
Reporters Ivan Bowen Layla Griffin Lauraly Lane
Photographers Kiera Kuse Alyssa Rogers
Designer Gunner Delp
Guest Staff Analeesa Busby
EXTRA! EXTRA! READ ALL ABOUT IT! Kickoff Bonfire Raging Success Learn how the Homecoming Kickoff and Bonfire went last Sunday, and some fun facts from the many activities! pg. 6-9
Students of the Month
Read to find out who our Student of the Month and Gold Card winners are this month! pg. 5
MS Football Closes Season
Find out how the Middle School Football boys did in their final games of the year this week. pg. 6
Oct. 9, 2026
Following the amazing game on Monday, the Softball Team had a double-header against Northeast Nodaway. While they lost their first game 0-5, they picked their spirit back up and beat them in the second 9-6. Come out and watch their game against Platte Valley on Monday, and cheer our Softball girls on!
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Oct. 9, 2026
DeKalb Ignites Excitement for Homecoming with Splash and Ash By: Bella Beems
Photo Credit: Mrs. Cagle Pictured: All seniors after being drenched
Photo Credit: Mrs. Cagle Pictured: Senior Cole Kovac getting dunked with a Gatorade bucket Photo Credit: Mrs. Black Pictured: Bonfire blazing away
On Sunday Oct. 4, DeKalb High School’s Student Council had a bonfire to get everyone in the spirit for tonight's Homecoming game against Stewartsville/Osborn and to raise money for the Student Council. At the bonfire, of course there was a bonfire, but there was also a jersey auction, Soak a Senior, and a raffle to win many sorts of prizes, such as gift cards, Tiger apparel, and Tiger slap bracelets. The jersey auction was announced by Hailey Horr and the jerseys that were auctioned off were the Football jerseys. We do this because it gives the chance for families to support STUCO funds while also giving the audience the chance to wear the jerseys at the upcoming Homecoming dance to support the team. The Football player with the highest bid was Junior Aidon Standiford with an astounding $100 put towards his jersey. The next event was Soak a Senior, which was put in purely to torture the elder group. All DeKalb High School Seniors were seated in a line, and people could pay $1 fora cup of water, $5 for a gallon of water, and $8 for a 10 gallon Gatorade bucket to drench their Senior of choice. The most soaked Seniors were yours truly, Bella Beems, and Cole Kovac. Thank you to everyone who showed up to support and get in the attitude for tonight’s Homecoming game. Go Tigers!
HOCO Dress-Up Winners
#1
Brinkley Frakes
Runner-up Aiden Bramble
#2
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Oct. 9, 2026
September Students of the Month By: Alyssa Rogers
Jackson Wachtel 9th grade
Easton Matthews 10th grade
Brinkley Frakes 11th Grade
Harper Dewey 7th Grade
Favorite Subject: Math
Favorite Subject: History
Favorite Subject: Math
Favorite Subject: Reading
On being a good student: Turn all your work in on time.
On being a good student: Be quiet and don’t make your teachers mad in class.
On being a good student: Work hard and strive for greatness.
On being a good student: Turn in all your work on time. It’s really easy.
September Gold Card Winners
Name: Grayson Matthews 7th grade
Name: Cooper Wachtel 12th Grade
Why Citizenship Matters: To help kids learn from you and make better choices.
Why Citizenship Matters: It matters because its always nice to be a good person,
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Oct. 9, 2026
MS Football Closes Season This Week
Tigers Fall to Blue Jays By: Lauraly Lane
By: Ivan Bowen
Photo Credit: Unknown Pictured: Middle School Tigers battle their way through another game
This week the Middle School Football team faced off against the South Holt Knights on Oct. 5 with a close score of 28-34 and the Rock Port Blue Jays on Thursday, Oct. 8. According to Coach Roberts the highlight of Monday’s game was, “probably the running backs and kickoffs and coming back from the first quarter.” 8th grader Jayse Jones thought the highlight was "Definitely at the end when we got the kickoff.” Jayse thinks his greatest moment in the game was the catch that helped the team get the field. 8th grade Eli Wagner thought the highlight of the game was, “when Grayson Matthews ran a field touchdown.” Eli thinks his greatest moment in the game was the amount of passes that he completed. Thursday’s season closer ended with a score of 032, but the MS Tigers look forward to next season.
Photo Credit: Unknown Pictured: The Football team lining up to play defense
Last week, the Football faced off against Rock Port. Unfortunately, the Tigers lost to the Blue Jays 66 - 0, but Rock Port is one of the top-ranked 8-man Football teams in the state. The Tigers have been working very hard during their practices and games, and Coach Wildhaber found the positives in the midst of the loss: “Defensively, we were able to be in the right spots and give ourselves opportunities for success. We even made a few noteworthy plays, like tackles for loss and intercepting their two-point try,” about last week's game. The Tigers will take the field for tonight’s Homecoming game against the Stewartsville/Osborn Wildcards. Please come out and support the Tigers!
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Oct. 9, 2026
What to Watch
By: Katlyn Boydston
What to Listen to By: Layla Griffin
Photo Credit: Pinterest Pictured: Happy Halloween movie cover
Photo Credit: Pinterest Pictured: Band members of Lovejoy
If you’re looking for a scary movie to watch, then I recommend Happy Halloween, written and directed by Brittney Greer. The Happy Halloween movie was released on digital platforms on April 14, 2026.
Lately I've been finding myself listening to more Indie-pop/rock. An artist I've been listening to a lot more is Lovejoy. Lovejoy formed on May 10th, 2021.
The movie takes place in a small Midwestern town that was founded on October 31st and is celebrating its 300th birthday (tricentennial) alongside its annual Halloween festivities. The movie is about a traumatized teenager named Hadley Briggs (played by Emma Reinagel) who returns to her small Midwestern hometown. This is one of the movies I like because it’s interesting to watch and it gives a lot of details about what happens and who they think is the killer. My favorite part is finding out that Dacey Carter (Cameron Mabie) is the killer at the end of the movie. At the end of the movie, watch the credits for the name Kiera Kuse.
I really enjoy indie-pop/rock music like Lovejoy because I find the beats, lyrics, and voices really cool. I have been listening to Lovejoy since the end of last year, and my favorite song by them is One Day. This song is about the regret of returning to a toxic relationship, and I really like this song because I deeply relate to it, and I feel like a lot of high schoolers could also relate to it. Their most-played album is Are You Alright? This album also features the songs Taunt and Cause for Concern. This album is about wild nights out and the realities of toxic relationships. If you enjoy indie-pop/rock, I think you'd enjoy LoveJoy.
Oct. 9, 2026
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Stay Tuned for Challenge Details
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Oct. 9, 2026
What to Read
_ ._. ._ ... ....
By: Alyssa Rogers
What to Play By: Kiera Kuse
Photo Credit: Pinterest Pictured: Apex Legends
Photo Credit: Penguin Random House Pictured: The Fault in Our Stars Book Cover
This past week, I have been reading The Fault in Our Stars by John Green. This book is a very good mixture of tragedy and romance. In this book, the main character is Hazel Grace Lancaster. She was diagnosed with terminal thyroid cancer that spread to her lungs. Augustus Waters is a survivor of osteosarcoma and had to get surgery, which left him without a leg. He is a very happy person. Augustus and Hazel fall in love and travel to Amsterdam to meet Hazel’s favorite author. I really enjoyed reading the book and watching the movie. In my opinion, the book is better than the movie because it includes more insight into Hazel and Augustus’s story, more details, makes the characters feel more realistic, and helps me understand their emotions better. The movie was also very good, but the book creates a stronger connection. If you like romance mixed with humor and tragedy, then I highly recommend this book.
Do you like playing action and battle games? Then you will love Apex Legends. Apex is a multiplayer game that came out on Feb 4, 2019. The last major update was Sept 22, 2026, which is a crossover event with Street Fighter 6. You can play Apex on PC, PlayStation, Xbox, and Nintendo. You can find it on Steam for free. Apex Legends is a multiplayer battle royale game where you can choose any character that you have unlocked. You can pick between duos or trios. Trios have 19 other squads, which make up to 60 players in a single match. In duos, there are 15 squads, which make up to 30 players in a single match. While playing duo, you can see the map is a lot smaller than the trios map since there are fewer people in the match. This game is one of my favorites to play with friends because it's fun to stay together and fight other players. My favorite characters are Lifeline and Vantage because I like healing others, and I also like sniping, so I think those two characters will be my favorites forever.
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Oct. 9, 2026
Cross Country’s Farrell Earns More Hardware By: Gunner Delp
Photo Credit: Coach Taylor Pictured: Ruby Farell running in the Rock Port meet
The DeKalb Tiger Cross Country team has been rather busy. The team attended a meet on Saturday at Savannah High School. They also attended a meet this Tuesday at Mound City. “I stayed running the entire time,” states 8th-grader AJ Larabee when asked what went well at Tuesday’s meet. The team has performed well this year. With that being said,he Cross Country team, would love to give a big shoutout to 8th grader Ruby Farrell for medaling in all of the three races that she has participated in for the team. Coach Taylor states, “She deserves a pat on the back because she gives everything her all.” The 275 Conference will be held on Oct. 19 at Northwest Missouri State University. Furthermore, Districts will be held on Oct. 31. When asked about how well he feels he will perform, Freshman Zylar Helton stated, “I’m pretty confident in my ability to perform well.” The team’s next meet will be held at Cameron on Oct. 13. Show up and support our Cross Country team to show your appreciation for all of their hard work.
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Oct. 9, 2026
Don’t Miss This! 12 13
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XC @ Tarkio-make up Softball @ Platte Valley Cameron Cross Country Meet BOARD MEETING Jostens meet with Seniors End of the first quarter HS FB vs Mound City (Senior night) West Platte Cross Country Meet
Week in the
Life