181002 Vol. 106 Edition 4

INSIDE THIS EDITION FOOTBALL-- Sophomore Dayne Aschenbrenner (far left) attempts a pass at the varsity homecoming game against Emporia. Photo by Hailey Eilert HOMECOMING-- Seniors Erin Stenberg and Gracyn Evans (left) announce the homecoming candidates. Photo by Mason Alberto

See Pages 3 and 5 for more

THE MENTOR VOLUME 106 - ISSUE 04 - OCT. 02, 2018

MHSMENTOR.COM

Kansas Supreme Court special session held at MHS Sophia Comas Sports Editor

Manhattan High welcomed the Supreme Court of Kansas to its halls on Sept. 24 for the first time ever. It was only the ninth time in the court’s 157 year history that it has held a session in the evening.

The special session followed a question and answer session that took place during seventh hour and featured oral arguments from two cases -- Kansas vs. Lee Edward Williams and Kansas vs. Julia Colleen Evans -- as part of the court’s new education outreach program.

“We try to maintain fairness, equality, and justice to all,” Chief Justice Lawton Nuss said. “It’s just as Thomas Jefferson said 200 years ago.”

The session began with Kansas vs. Williams, which opened with a three minute rebuttal on the behalf of Williams. Currently serving life in prison from charges of first degree murder and criminal possession of a firearm, he accused the court of trial error in the closing statement, the admission of autopsy photographs and denying him Batson challenge -an objection to the fairness of a

trial due to the selection of a jury based on race or sex.

The second case on the docket, Kansas vs. Evans, addressed the 4th Amendment and Americans’ right to a legal search with a warrant. Evans, who had been in a single vehicle collision, made an appeal to the court after an officer searched her purse and wallet without her consent, resulting in the officer finding drugs. She asked that the evidence be suppressed after the search, to which the appeal is whether or not the trial court erred in granting the motion.

Both cases are part of the Supreme Court’s efforts to be open to the public as well as give students insight on the proceedings of state law.

According to Tanya Singh, junior, witnessing a session of the Supreme Court gave an experience unlike any other, showing her the complexity of U.S. law and argumentation.

“I was here for the note taking,” Singh said. “I just wanted to know the arguments they were making because I’m in debate and these arguments interest me.”

Singh and her fellow AP U.S. See SUPREME COURT Page 4

Photo by Hailey Eilert

Dan Biles visited Manhattan High School to talk to students about the duty of the supreme court and explain elements of government. Biles corrected a common misconception: that the court rules based on bias and political opinions.

“What we do is not political,” Biles said.

West Campus safety week begins, drills to run through week MHS takes third at regional Eco-Meet Madison Ritz Staff Writer

This week, Manhattan High’s West Campus will be putting on an annual safety week.

“Our district makes a safety week for each school where they focus on emergency responses,” assistant principal, Michael Dorst said.

By practicing these drills, students can transport themselves and others to a safer, separate location where they can quickly respond to an event in the most appropriate matter.

These drills aren’t just made for students, but for Manhattan

High as a whole.

“The purpose of safety week isn’t just important to the students, really to our entire environment including all of the adults, and even to the parents of our students,” Dorst said.

Participating in safety week helps students respond to a particular event, such as if there was a short warning time for a tornado.

The school should know how to immediately transport to a safer and secure environment.

“It provides us a way to practice how we would respond in an event… We really are trying to shift it from practicing for a drill to actually if an event of a fire ac-

tually happened,” Dorst said. “If a real event actually happened, it’s the best way to ensure the safety of other people.”

As the school practices these safety drills, the school improves on their performance to ensure the safety of every student and staff.

“We are practicing so that everyone can handle it better. We can always improve,” Dorst said.

“When you look back to times in our nation’s history, when we did not practice drills like this, there is actually data on this, for loss of life.”

For more about safety week visit MHSMentor.com

Tara Wood Staff Writer

One of the two teams representing Manhattan High at the Eco-Meet at Milford Lake Nature Center last Wednesday took third place overall, automatically qualifying them for state.

Science teacher Noah Busch, who has been the team’s sponsor on and off for seven years, took two teams to the annual regional event. Juniors Alex Anderson and Payton Day and freshmen Sarah Phillips and Braden Sanneman were on the state-qualifying team, which had a skit where the students dressed up as their chosen

animals: a crayfish, a salamander, a bobcat and a snapping turtle.

“Basically [the theme] was Kansas’s Got Talent… we had three other animals as contestants. In the end I ate the winner,” said junior Alex Andreson.

“There was a bobcat and I was like ‘ugh get out of here [because] I eat... fish,’ and then there was a crayfish and that’s who I ate in the end.”

The skit the team performed wasn’t complete without some critter farce.

For more about the Eco-Meet visit MHSMentor.com

MHS homecoming court royalty crowned Aloera Ostermann Staff Writer

During halftime of the Varsity football game many students got to be announced as the top candidates for homecoming queen and king. Each couple came up with their own handshakes ranging from back handsprings to remaking handshakes from the television show “Zack and Cody.”

Students were nominated by the sport or school function they represent. During advisory, juniors were voted in as honorees and seniors voted upon for

Photo by Mason Alberto

Seniors Dylan Haar and Kia Wilson pose for photos at the homecoming court crowning. Homecoming crowning is a favored part of the Manhattan High School homecoming game. This year Wilson and Jaylynn Liggons won, however due to Liggons’s absence, Haar stepped in, retrieving the crown on his behalf.

See page

4 for extended Homecoming Week coverage

king and queen candidates to be crowned at halftime of the Varsity football game.

“You know it’s worth it,” junior Morgan Day, band representative, said. “It was just pretty humbling to think that everyone chose me.”

The junior and senior candidates get dressed up for the game and walk the field upon the announcement of their names during halftime.

When the juniors are done it’s time for the seniors to shine.

Many of the girls sported blankets and sweats prior to being announced due to the low tem-

peratures.

This year’s candidates had fun being part of the group.

“It’s just a good group of girls and guys,” senior Camryn McAtee, golf representative, said.

“We’re just having fun with it.”

For candidates who are football players, their partners each chose a boy to stand-in for them during the crowning.

“Since the guys are in the locker room at halftime the girls have to pick their escort and [senior] Analiese Jones chose me,” senior K.J. Williams said.

See HOCO CROWNING Page 5

Students flip places for annual PowderPuff game Aloera Ostermann Staff Writer

While football players are mostly boys and cheerleaders are most often girls, Manhattan High reversed these roles Wednesday for the PowderPuff football game.

Senior girls paired up with sophomores to face the juniors and freshmen in the annual Homecoming event. The teams practiced about eight times to learn a few plays and grasp the

concept of the game.

This year the participation from the junior class was very minimal, so the junior-freshman team consisted of nearly all freshman.

“We had a lot more freshmen.” freshman Bentley Murrell said.

“We had like five juniors.”

This put the team at a slight disadvantage and resulted in the senior-sophomore team beating the junior-freshman team 14-0, but to most people that didn’t matter because they weren’t there

just to win.

“We lost big time but I still had fun doing it,“ Murrell said.

“I thought it’d be a great experience to do football… I wanted to try something new and since I’m a freshman and all I got to try something fun.”

The game brings together so many different types of people to do something that is unfamiliar to all of them.

“It’s super fun and it’s not as See POWDERPUFF Page 5

OPINIONS

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The Mentor Oct. 02, 2018 MHSMentor.com

Student voices must be heard regarding education funding This editorial is a compilation from a discussion held by the editorial board. To listen to the conversation that led to this piece, visit MHSMentor.com

As students, parents and teachers of the Kansas public education system, we all -through observation and government-confirmed fact -- are aware of the disastrous state of education funding in the sunflower state.

This isn’t a new topic, not for The Mentor, not for our readers. However, due to the ongoing case that has reached the Kansas Supreme Court, and the wild gubernatorial, political discussions and debates on the matter, we find it is time again to remind the community and our respected lawmakers that we, the students, have a voice in the matter too. Warning: it’s not small, nor is it insignificant.

It is the agreement of The Mentor editorial board that’s

it’s time we -- the students -spoke up for our education. It’s time to be heard.

The dismality surrounding education has lingered in Kansas since the catastrophic taxcuts of 2013 -- an economic experiment lead by then-governor Sam Brownback -- that left an extensive gap in Kansas’ finances, resulting in the pulling of $45 million in the state’s public education funding. This forced schools of all sizes and academic excellence throughout all of Kansas to drastically change their academic standards, to change and cut teachers’ wages, etc., effectively leaving the schools and those within them in a dire state of disarray.

In weak counterargument is the 2015 block grants for school funding. According to an education budget analysis from the Kansas Legislative Research Department, these grants repealed what was then

the current school finance formula -- the School District Finance and Quality Performance Act -- replacing it with the Classroom Learning Ensuring Student Success Act, or CLASS Act. The CLASS Act, containing the block grants, allowed school districts more versatility on how to spend state funds.

At first glance, the freedom to decide what to do with funds may sound like a dream.

However, because CLASS set the funds at those of the 20142015 school year, CLASS also reduced funding for later school years. Later, in 2016, the Kansas Supreme Court found these block funds to be unconstitutional under Article 6 of the Kansas Constitution.

In an ongoing case since June of 2018, the court still finds school funding and the plans since proposed to the court to be inadequate under Article 6.

However, the fact that funding is unconstitutional is not even the result truly felt by those within the educational system of Kansas. Rather, it’s the effect on the inner workings of individual schools themselves. Many schools throughout Kansas have been forced to cut advanced level classes, offering only collegelevel, Advanced Placement or regular-level classes. There is no longer a middle ground for students who may find themselves in the middle of academic ability.

Not to mention, the state of teachers’ salaries. According to the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics, teachers in Kansas earn an average salary of $44,620 -- below the national average.

These points all get major attention when the argument comes to its height, but rarely do those actually suffering the

effects of this funding get the chance to have a say.

It’s time that we -- students, parents of students, teachers, administrators, etc. -- make our voices regarding our education heard. It’s high time the lawmakers and members of our community listen to them.

On Sept. 24, Manhattan High had the honor of hosting a Kansas Supreme Court special session, and while the judges could not speak on the education case as it is ongoing, they could speak to those wishing to be heard.

“You can’t be a friend of the court, it won’t get you anywhere,” Justice Dan Biles said.

“Students have been influential in making law, take Tinker v. Des Moines for example… you have to be active and voice your opinions and get in the faces a little bit of our lawmakers, of those who introduce controversy into the courts.”

Impact, importance of ‘Crazy Rich Asians’

Crazy Rich Asians by Warner Bros. Studio, is the name of the first Hollywood movie in over 25 years to be centered around an all Asian cast. The movie that has sparked debate across an internet that, at this point, thought they were used to powerful movements. The movie has inspired so many Asian-Americans simply because they now have a voice in media. Its representation and authenticity has been groundbreaking for a largely neglected audience in our country.

“It’s extremely emotional for me and more impactful than I ever thought it would be,” Awkwafina, who plays Peick Lin, said when interviewed by CBS on her feelings on the movie. “On set, I knew this would be bigger than myself, bigger than the cast.”

The main character in the book-to-movie adaptation by author Kevin Kwan, Rachel Chu, is asked by her boyfriend, Nick Young, of a year to visit his family in time for his childhood best friend, Colin’s, wedding and her college best friend in his home country of Singapore. Once in Sin-

gapore, she comes to the conclusion that his family is rich.

Maybe even crazy rich. Most of his family seems to take a liking to her, except for his mom. Once there they face all the other issues a couple would face on their first trip together and then some. Rachel is faced with wondering if her relationship is worth what problems it will bring and Nick is faced with an even more difficult decision, Rachel or his family?

Previously, Hollywood in a majority has secluded AsianAmericans to roles as the sidekicks to promote a more comedic atmosphere in a scene or the stereotypical intelligent student. If you look at the movies such as Indiana Jones Temple of Doom, the sidekick of Indiana Jones, Short Round, is there arguably only to interfere in tragic moments as comedic relief. This movie shortly follows the success of To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before and Fresh Off the Boat and almost tackles the success of those movies in the movement.

However impactful this movie is, others think of it as detrimental. They see it as painting an even more stereotypical light on their culture.

The movie does, at times, seem to lean on an americanized version of the culture.

You could argue, however, that it seems that way because it is through the eyes of an AsianAmerican woman who only has her perspective on life

because that is how she was raised.

Another argument was the lack of representation of other cultures within the continent of Asia. Locals on Twitter were particularly annoyed by this. Their argument was that the movie only showcases the talent of Chinese culture, placing it on an elite pedestal, while disregarding minorities such as Malays or Armenians.

In order to disprove this, you have to look a little closer at the original book. The author wrote this with the intention of representing his childhood in Singapore so it would be his perspective. You could also take a look at the extras in Singapore and look at the amount of representation which seemingly accurately portrays the culture.

This movie sparked a large debate throughout the internet discussing Asian representation. No matter the backlash, it seems to majoritively bring hope to an audience that couldn’t previously have had a voice if the role wasn’t a stereotype of comedic sidekick.

With the success of the ever growing Hollywood roles for Asian-Americans, they finally have a voice. Now they just have to choose what to do with that voice.

“This is more than a movie, it’s a movement.”Jon M. Chu., director.

There is one thing that is more detrimental to Earth’s survival than anything else: humans. It is common to see large cities such as New York or Los Angeles covered in a layer of smog due to air pollution. New reports are always coming through of endangered species creeping dangerously close to extinction. We have come to see the slow deterioration of our planet as unavoidable, but it does not have to be that way. The majority of environmental deterioration is due to human activity, but there are some groups who

are trying to protect what we still have. Environmental protection should become more of a focus for the human race at large.

Statistics show that people are creating pollution at an astounding rate. According to the Environmental Protection Agency, more than 262 million pounds of municipal solid waste, or everyday garbage, was produced in 2015 in the United States alone. Over 52 percent of this could not be recycled, composted or combusted, leaving it in landfills.

We aren’t only polluting the land, though. Approximately 18 billion pounds of plastic enter the ocean every year according to Jenna R. Jambeck from the University of Georgia, who was cited by National Geographic. In both of these cases, humans have polluted the planet at unprecedented rates, and while it affects the daily lives of people who rely

on the land and sea for their livelihoods, humans are not the only ones that are affected.

Due to human activities, more and more animal species are going extinct. According to the World Wildlife Fund, experts estimate that we are losing species between 1,000 and 10,000 times the natural extinction rate. The World Animal Foundation’s website states that, if this rate of extinction continues, between one third and one-half of all species could be extinct by 2050. The extinction of so many species would decrease the planet’s biodiversity. Human’s overexploitation of animals, such as through overfishing, harms their unique environments, sometimes beyond repair. Their homes are further encroached upon by habitat loss, often caused by logging and other industries.

Our impact on animals has changed their ways of life. Cli-

mate change, which has been by our pollution, has affected when animals migrate, causing it to occur at the incorrect time. We have impacted the ways animals are forced to live, often altering their natural way of life in the process, but we do not have to continue down this path. Some environmentalists are trying to bring awareness to the issue through their work.

Photographer Tom Mangelsen only takes shots of animals in their natural habitat, which helps people understand how they cannot live without their surroundings. In a recent feature aired on CBS’s show 60 Minutes, Mangelsen told the story of a grizzly bear identified by the research number 399, who he has documented the life of. Due to Mangelsen’s photos, she has become a target for hunters after grizzly bears around Yellowstone National Park were removed from the endangered

species list. Grizzlies have once again been put on the endangered species list due to a ruling from a Montana federal judge, but not all species are lucky enough to receive additional protection.

Despite the hard work of people like Mangelsen or Jane Goodall, one of the world’s leading primatologists and Mangelsen’s friends, species are still being threatened every day. What has already happened cannot be undone.

We can push for change in the future to ensure that what still remains of Earth’s natural wonders won’t be lost. Without the land, sea and animals that make our planet beautiful, will be gone. We must bring environmental protection to our conversations if we hope to have anything left to show future generations how beautiful our planet is.

Kaitlin Clark -- Print Editor-in-Chief Meredith Comas -- Online Editorin-Chief Micheal Simmons -- Blue M Editorin-Chief Bri Carmack -- Opinions Editor Sophia Comas - Sports Editor Hannah Heger -- Features Editor Rachel Edie and Julianna Poe -Copy Editors

Hailey Eilert -- Photo Editor Mason Alberto and Makenna Wollenberg -- Assistant Photo Editors Staff Writers and Photographers -Ayden Boyles, Kami Bussmann, Josh Flickinger, Olivia Haas, Cade McNeil, Javi Mercado, Aloera Ostermann, Madison Ritz, Jennifer Sadler, Riley Williamson, Tara Wood Video Production -- Gabe Jernigan,

Duncan O’Brate, Jarrod Wege 21st Century Journalism -- Coy Avender, Kyla Barnett, Parker Dawdy, Emma Elliott, Gavin Gaston, Meredith Graves, Joe Hall, Heidi Hansen, Chloe Henderson, Naysa Hicks, Ryleigh Lancaster, Bella Lane, Hannah Le, Kris Long, Jimmy Marshall, Ethan Morrow, Anika Nyp, Elisa Ohler, Cole Schmitt, Katya,

Tarabrina, Nicholas Walters Kristy Nyp -- Advisor The Mentor is published each Tuesday that school is in session at Manhattan High School, 2100 Poyntz Ave. Manhattan, Kan. Telephone (785) 587-2114.

More than 1,000 Mentors are printed each week and distributed free of charge to all faculty members and students.

MHS journalists are members of the

Kansas Scholastic Press Association and National Scholastic Press Association and National Scholastic Press Association. The Mentor is a public forum.

E-mail us at mhsmentor@gmail.com.

Rachel Edie Copy Editor

Graphic by Rebekah Efken

Question of the Week

What’s your favorite thing to put pumpkin spice on?

Next week’s question: What is your favorite Halloween movie?

“Nothing, I hate pumpkin.”

-- Vanessa Wood, junior @woodr0w_

“What don’t you put pumpkin spice on?”

-- Ava Sergi, freshman @avamae011

“Pumpkin spice is kind of overrated but pumpkin pie is good!”

-- Bella Lane, freshman @lilbee799

Environmental protection, conservation deserves spotlight Kaitlin Clark Print Editor-in-Chief

SPORTS

The Mentor Oct. 02, 2018 MHSMentor.com

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Varsity Football continues winning streak Cole Schmitt Staff Writer

Varsity Football (5-0) dominated the Emporia Spartans (2-3) 41-14 in the annual Homecoming game. MHS will move on to defend Silver Trophy.

“We came out and our defense played really well,” head coach Joe Schartz said. “We were very concerned with Emporia coming in with their quarterback being able to run and throw. Overall, both sides of the ball the first half, we executed our game plan very well.”

Manhattan started very strong putting up 35 in the first half while shutting out Emporia. Senior running back Kevontae McDonald had himself a night with four rushing touchdowns, three of them coming in the first half alone. Senior running back Jaylynn Liggons had two rushing touchdowns including a 90-yard rushing touchdown in the second quarter. It replicated the one he scored from last week against Washburn, a 84-yard rushing touchdown.

“We are based off of getting off the ball hard the whole game,” running back Javon Peoples said.

Volleyball swept by high ranking teams Micheal Simmons Blue M Editor-in-Chief

For the first time this season, Varsity volleyball was swept by the competition on Saturday as it lost to four teams, three of which were ranked in the top ten teams in the state.

“We have a tendency to start slow,” head coach Lisa Kinderknecht said. “[We started slow] In each of our first sets except for our very last match against Lawrence. We started off very well against Lawrence but we just can’t build on points that we win and we can’t trade points.”

MHS ultimately lost to Blue Valley (18-25, 23-25), Olathe Northwest (17-25, 23-25), Blue Valley West (20-25,15-25) and Lawrence (24-26,25-20,15-25).

The team is currently on a sevenmatch losing streak, with a record of 8-13 and set record of 19-28.

“I felt that we played some of our best volleyball that we have all season,” senior Taylor Johnson said. “I think it should be noted that the teams we played were ranked in 6A so the competition was very good. Although we didn’t win any matches we competed with all of the teams and we have had to face a lot of adversity this year with injuries so we are still trying to figure out how to play as a team.”

The team has a chance to break their losing streak today as they play Highland Park, Emporia and current rivals Washburn Rural at Washburn.

For more about volleyball visit MHSMentor.com

“Every play [we] go hard and we gain yards almost every run.”

Sophomore quarterback Dayne Aschenbrenner had some completions including 25 yards in the first quarter.

Defense once again did very well. Junior BJ Young had one interception that helped score the drive after. Although the defense impressed, the third quarter wasn’t the best.

“It was unfolding right before your eyes,” Schartz said. “The kids weren’t performing well and Emporia was putting points up on the board.”

MHS soon scored another touchdown in the third quarter thanks to McDonald that would put the game away.

Manhattan (5-0) will move on to take on Junction City (3-2) next Friday for the Silver Trophy.

“For us to continually be successful we have to keep grinding everyday in practice,” Peoples said. “No days off. DMGB means ‘don’t matter, get better’ so whoever we have beat the week before, it doesn’t matter. We have to come back to practice the next week and get better to beat the upcoming opponent.”

Photo by Hailey Eilert Senior running back Kevontae McDonald runs the ball at the homecoming football game against Emporia. MHS had a successful homecoming game, taking down Emporia 41-14, making the MHS win streak 5-0.

Boys soccer team finds success in road game Kris Long Staff Writer

Boys soccer won 3-2 in an away game against Emporia on Thursday.

The line up was slightly different than usual due to injuries and illness. Brendan Mummert, junior, was moved from his usual position of center back to left back. Senior Manny Effiong, who normally plays forward, wasn’t able to attend on Thursday and senior Trace Dillon, normally Varsity left back, was injured in the Washburn Rural game last week. Senior Nicolas Fink, defender, was unable to attend because of illness. Senior Parker Holborn, forward, who was injured on Sept. 18 in the game against Seaman, played a few minutes despite a broken wrist.

Even with the unusual line up the game started off well with a goal from junior Hunter French.

He got the ball out wide from an assist by senior Mitch Hutchinson, Varsity captain and starting forward, and beat a defender, then slotted it in the back of the net. Emporia quickly equalized

about 10 minutes later. Mummert went too to far upfield leaving a space for the Emporia forward to sneak through the MHS defensive line and score.

Just seconds after Manhattan took the lead Emporia scored again. They passed the ball up field and then back into midfield drawing the defense to far up field and again creating a space for the Emporia forward to break through the Manhattan defense and score, tying it again at 2-2.

Emporia had another good chance just before the half to take the lead but it was denied by Varsity goalie Caleb DeLoach. One of the Emporia’s players got behind the Manhattan defense and was one on one with DeLoach.

DeLoach came off his line quickly and closed the space for the Emporia player to shoot and saved the shot with his leg preventing Emporia from taking the lead.

“The first half we dominated, even though the score may not show it,” assistant Varsity coach Pedro Espinoza said. “We had possession of the ball at least 70 percent of the time.”

The time on the clock dimin-

ished as the second half continued. Five minutes there was still no goal, three minutes until the end and no goal, just one minute to the whistle and each team putting in the last of their effort to score the deciding point.

Finally, 14 seconds before the end Max Lansdowne, senior starting forward, received a pass on the right from Roberto Maysonet Perez, junior starting forward.

Lansdowne dribPhoto by Nick Walters bled around an Junior Hunter French makes a pass during the ManhatEmporia defend- tan High School Varsity soccer game against Seaman High School. The game was held at Bishop Stadium where the socer and took a shot cer team played a successful game, winning 9-1. over the keeper and into the top played fairly well and the defense right corner to win the game. fell off, and in the second half the “I think we played decently,” roles reversed...overall I think it Lansdowne, starting forward, was a good performance against said. “In the first half the offense a great team.”

“I think the tribe showed a lot of grit yesterday,” Emily Keeley, senior, said. “We had a lot of people running hard and finishing at the front.”

Keeley placed third in the girls Varsity race with a time of 20:15, preceded by teammate Ella Rosenkranz, junior, who placed second with a time of 20:02, and followed by senior Maddie Purdom who placed fifth with a time of 20:18. The girls worked for

an overall score of 27, taking the lead by 34 points.

“We’ve been working really hard,” Keeley said. “I think that as we begin to get our legs under us it’ll be really fun to run fast as a team and hopefully see our work pay off.”

Boys Varsity had similar success, placing first with a total team score of 41, beating Maize by just eight points. Sophomore Daniel Harkin took first place with a time

Cross Country sweeps division races at Milford Sophia Comas Sports Editor

Manhattan High Cross Country swept the competition on Saturday at Junction City, resulting in first place for both boys and girls Varsity as well as both Junior Varsity teams and boys C team.

This follows the Missouri Southern Stampede where senior Clara Mayfield broke school record and the Rim Rock race.

of 16:22, followed by junior Matthew Pickering who placed third with a time of 16:42 and senior Carson Gros who had a time of 17:13, resulting in third place.

“Overall, there was a lot of people working together and pushing one another,” Keeley said. “The temperature was perfect. It was a great day to run.”

For more about cross country visit MHSMentor.com

Varsity Girls Golf places well in tour ATHLETE Riley Williamson Staff Writer

Girls Varsity Golf has been non-stop their whole season. This past week was especially hectic for the team, with three different meets in just one week alone.

“Because of golf, I’m behind in all my classes,” junior Kamryn Bussmann said.

Two of their meets are back to back, Wednesday and then Thursday. But it started Monday in Junction City at Rolling Meadows Golf Course. This was the league meet and the team didn’t disappoint. The team tied for first against Washburn Rural, but ended up taking second place for the fifth players score is the tie breaker. Andi Siebert, a sophomore, played against Hayden Catholic High’s top scorer in a playoff round on one hole for first place.

Siebert shot a 79 at League and

finished second.

Continuing on the tour, they played again Wednesday for the Lawrence High Invite at Eagle Bend Golf Course. The team had an early morning leaving the school at 6:15 a.m. “...To be honest it was the longest golf game (ever). It was six hours. We teed off at like 8:45 a.m. and didn’t get done until like six,” Bussmann said.

Manhattan placed eighth, scoring 353 in the invitational out of 23 teams. Senior Elise Jackson was the only player to place in the top 20, scoring 83 and coming in 19th. The winning team was St. Thomas Aquinas with a team score of 311.

The very next day the team was traveling again to the Hutchinson High tournament, playing at Carey Park Golf Course. “...playing two days in a row

was really tiring,” Bussmann said. “...once again like we were up early…”.

But the team stepped up for their 1 p.m. tee time. Out of 17 teams, the girls took third place.

Two players placed, Jackson shot a career-best, 77, and came in fifth. Siebert shot a 85 and came in 11th. There was a total of 108 golfers at the tournament.

The rest of the Varsity team finished with Rhys Phipps and AJ Ryan, sophomores, who both shot a 97, Camryn McAtee, senior, who shot a 98 and Bussmann that shot a 101.

Hayden won the tournament with a team score of 343.

Girls Varsity golf played again yesterday at their only home tournament at the Manhattan Country Club. Then the team has a week off before regionals Oct. 8.

OF THE

WEEK

Max Lansdowne Soccer Sophia Comas Sports Editor

• Starting forward and Varsity captain • Scored the first goal against Seaman for a final score of 9-1 • Scored the winning goal against Emporia in the final 14 seconds of the game What inspired you to become a soccer player?

I started playing soccer because my best friend Will played and I joined his team and then just fell in love with the game.

Photo by Nick Walters

What setbacks have you experienced this season?

At the beginning of the season, I went through a stretch of games where I missed some easy chances and lost a bit of confidence but I finally got a goal and I’ve been scoring consistently since then.

What has been the best part of the season so far?

Our win against Emporia on Thursday. Getting a goal that late was super fun and the mood of the team that night was amazing.

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FEATURES

The Mentor Oct. 02, 2018 MHSMentor.com

Key Club students attend Fall Rally Ayden Boyles Staff Writer

Key Club members joined members from across Kansas to listen to speakers, attend workshops and help with service projects at the Fall Rally in Kansas City last Thursday.

Junior Duru Dogan and senior Tejaswi Shrestha helped lead an officer training workshop, where club officers talked and found solutions to any problems within the club, though they felt overwhelmed running it. “[The workshop was] a little overwhelming,” Duru Dogan, Lieutenant Governor for the Kansas District Key Club, said.

“I’ve never led a workshop before and I felt weird giving my peers advice on self improvement as I’m still working on that myself.”

Members who weren’t running a workshop attended other workshops that taught them meaningful life skills.

“Both of the workshops I attended were great. The first one was all about self improvement so we were given a list of attributes and picked three strengths and weaknesses off of it that we thought we had, and then we talked about balancing them in

our lives,” Mira Bhandari, junior, said. “I also went to one about scholarships and college which was really informative.”

Students also found one of the event’s speakers, John Nguyen, principal of Piper High School, to have a powerful message.

“He told us about how his parents escaped from Vietnam in a small boat to pursue a better life in the states,” Shrestha, Secretary for the Kansas District Key Club, said. “He encouraged us to always take the best path, even if it’s the harder path.”

The service project that members completed included making blankets for a children’s hospital and writing cards for veterans and a nursing home. Owen Stuckwisch, a junior, found making the blankets to be his favorite part out of the event.

Students who went expressed that if you have the opportunity to go to the Fall Rally in the future you should go.

“Just go for it. Even if you don’t know anyone else going, Fall Rally is a great way to get to know the Key Clubbers in home club, in your area, and the organization in general,” Dogan said. “You get to see how your service impacts people beyond your school.”

Chamber Orchestra prepares for upcoming tour Sophia Comas Sports Editor

The Manhattan High orchestra has recently accepted an invitation to go on tour with the Kansas Wesleyan University orchestra in Wichita throughout Oct. 25 and 26, taking them to the campus, salt mines and Wichita East High.

This is intended to follow a festival on Oct. 6 at the Beach Museum of Art called “Art in Motion,” where they will celebrate Asian culture and music through the Silk Road exhibit.

Planned last year, the event is the orchestra’s chance for recognition outside of Manhattan. “[The director of the Kansas Wesleyan orchestra] had this idea that it would be really great if we joined his college orchestra on tour,” Nate McClendon, director, said. “I thought it would be really cool and this would be really fun.”

To prepare for the tour, MHS orchestra students will go through rehearsal with the college director here and will then travel to the campus to

practice with the older students.

“We’re going to play a couple pieces with their orchestra and then each orchestra is going to play a few of their own pieces,” McClendon said.

“We’ll do a concert in Salina on their campus.”

Getting a head start, the students will begin practice on Oct. 25 for a day full of concerts the next day. The trip will also give them different opportunities to have fun with time slots on the itinerary saved for free time and meal times.

“It’ll be fun as well just to go on a little tour and travel and hang out with each other,” McClendon said. “We decided it would be kind of fun to get our groups together for us it’s great exposure and a great experience for our student to be playing with the older students,” While preparing for the tour, the group will also practice for their upcoming festival and their fundraiser at UMI restaurant on Sunday.

The Manhattan High Science Explorers club is reaching out and spreading knowledge to the student body. The club has announced they will take up a weekly informational segment with The Mentor in order to better reach the students and community of MHS. The segment will be a basic explanation the science behind the functionality of everyday items, such as the engine in a car.

The club hopes to open the selection of discussion topics to the

From SUPREME COURT Page 1

History classmates were given five points of extra credit by teacher Darren McCoy for taking notes on the event, providing students with even more motivation to attend, though most went because it was the chance of a lifetime.

Students like Elizabeth Chapman, junior, did whatever it took

ARTIST OF THE

WEEK Forest Efken Drawing and painting Makenna Wollenberg Assistant Photo Editor

Forest Efken is in several other artistic departments including theatre, choir, where she performs with the Chamber Choir and band. Efken also participates in the Little Apple Horns Choir.

readership, allowing them to submit appropriate topics-of-interest through The Mentor.

They also hope to eventually accompany the weekly written segment with an online video, produced by the Indian Insider staff and published on The Mentor Online.

Each segment will be written by a combination of club members, but visually presented by one to two members.

The first written segment and accompanying video will be released Oct. 16 in the next edition of The Mentor.

to make sure they could sit in on the special session.

“I changed my schedule so I could be here and experience it live,” Chapman said in an interview with Topeka news station WIBW. While the majority of the audience were students from MHS, the event brought in various community members from col-

Photo by Makenna Wollenberg

When did you get into art?

“I started taking art seriously when I was around 11 years old.

I didn’t have any friends and I grew up in an isolated house. I had this babysitter because my mom worked a lot and she liked anime and drawing. I really liked how her art looked. In a way, art saved my life because it was the only thing I cared about.”

What kind of art do you enjoy the most?

“I am better at drawing and pencil art. Not painting, because

it is easier to doodle on the side of your homework pages then it is to break out your paints. So I am better at that.”

What are your plans for the future with art?

“I want to go into sequential art at SCAD [Savannah College of Art and Design] in Georgia, it’s an art school. Sequential art is art and sequence. So graphic novels, comic books, storyboarding and for me, I am a nerd and like anime.”

Thespians to collect canned goods for charity While the Manhattan High Thespians are often known for their live performances, they have taken time out of their busy schedule to help the community.

On Friday Thespian Troupe #941 will be putting on their Trick or Treat so Kids Can Eat event to gather donations for the Flint Hills Breadbasket.

Thespians will take to the streets of Manhattan, going doorto-door to ask for canned food donations. To make it more fun, they all dress up in costumes.

“My favorite part is planning the costumes because I really love doing TOTSKCE,” Thespian Points Recorder Mckayla Alberto, senior, said.

Many Thespians look forward to the event each year and are excited to see how many donations

they will receive.

“We get lots of pounds of food every year, and that’s always been really gratifying,” Thespian Vice President Grace Franke, senior, said. “It’s fun for a cause.”

TOTSKCE, more widely known among other troupes as TOTS Eat, is an event that is used by troupes nationwide in an effort to raise money for local organizations. While the event is fun for Thespians who participate, Troupe #941 stresses that it is also for a worthwhile cause.

“With all the fun and games and all the costumes and stuff, it’s a great way to convince people to do it,” Thespian State Rep Nicole Savage, sophomore, said. “But the most important part about it is that we’re gathering food for people who don’t always have food to feed themselves.”

According to Savage, the Thespian Board has been plan-

ning the event since their summer retreat in August.

One of their main goals this year is to get even more food than they did last year, when they had a very successful outcome.

“I really hope we get a lot more [food] this year so like, [we] just keep… adding more and more,” Alberto said.

The Thespian Troupe highly encourages all club members to participate so that they can have their most successful year yet while helping those in the community who need it the most.

“If we can encourage as many Thespians as we can to come and help out with it, that’s great, because then they’re all doing service and we’re going to [serve] together and I think that’s a great goal,” Savage said. “...we’ll be able to show our community how much we care, which I think is important.”

lege students to adults. After the session concluded, everyone was welcome to stay in the cafeteria where an informal reception was held for refreshments and questions about the Supreme Court’s decision to better inform the public.

“It’s important because most people have a vague idea of the Supreme Court. They know

we’re based out in Topeka and hand down judgements, but that’s all they know,” Chief Justice Nuss said. “It’s important for us to come show the communities what we do and for them to see for themselves who we are and what we do.”

The next special session of the Kansas Supreme Court is intended to take place in April of 2019

with a location still being decided.

Until then, the people of Manhattan can continue to reflect on the proceedings which took place before them and have a better understanding of Kansas law.

“I got a good view of the Kansas law system and I believe that was fulfilling,” Singh said. “This was an amazing experience and I wish everyone were here for it.”

Kaitlin Clark Print Editor-in-Chief

Science Explorers introduce new club content Meredith Comas Online Editor-in-Chief

Photo courtesy of Austin Kruse

Key Club members pose with sponsor Lisa Julian for a group photo after participating in the Fall Rally in Kansas City. At the event, members participated in workshops, a service project and listened to inspiring speakers.

It’s National News Engagement Day. Thanks for reading! #newsengagementday

The Mentor Oct. 02, 2018 MHSMentor.com

ENTERTAINMENT

5

Dance team wows with pep rally performance Brianna Carmack Opinions Editor

With a two-week preparation, the Manhattan High dance team kicked off the pep rally with their first official performance. Only seven girls participated on the team at the pep rally, but they still managed to wow the entire school.

“I personally was very nervous for the pep rally,” sophomore Haylee Davis, new member of the dance team, said. “I was nervous that we wouldn’t get the crowd excited with the dance or with our energy.”

The dance team provided fresh and fun new skills to get the crowd pumped up and energized.

“We wanted the dance to give the crowd lots of energy,” Davis said. “It took us three days to learn the dance, then the rest of the time we cleaned it up.”

A normal practice for the

Photo by Makenna Wollenberg

Sophomores Haylee Davis, Gabbi Howard, Nataly Hill, Olivia Haas and freshmen Anika Nyp and Kyrsteen PopeHunninghake dance during the homecoming pep rally. The MHS dance team performed at the pep rally along with the cheer and PowderPuff teams.

dance team is working on their side line performances for games or getting ready

with the band for big festival shows like the one coming up in Saturday. The dance team

is still working on improving their dances and creating better moves for future events.

“I think we just need to be more focused,” Gabi Howard, dance team returnee and sophomore, said.

Davis had also mentioned that sometimes the girls tend to feel a bit self-conscious about the dance and will overthink the routine.

“We do tend to get selfconscious about how we look and over think the dance,“ Davis said. “When we dance and mess up we show it on our faces and we are working on that…. We always have fun with it and encourage each other and boost each other’s confidence up.”

Not only will the dance team be performing at pep rallies and on the sidelines of football games, but they will also be at home basketball games.

“It’s an outlet for stress, anxiety, sadness, frustration, anything I’m feeling,” Howard said.

Homecoming events mesh traditions, new ideas Micheal Simmons Blue M Editor-in-Chief

Photo by Makenna Wollenberg

The sophomore student section cheers along with the cheerleaders on Wednesday’s pep rally. The pep rally took place during advisory and featured performances from the cheer team and the dance team. The Big Blue Marching Band was also featured on the floor level, as opposed to in the stands where they have sat in years past.

From POWDERPUFF Page 1

serious as people think it is,” senior Kara Kennedy said. “You won’t make a fool of yourself. It’s actually a lot more fun than you think.”

While the girls geared up in cleats and flags, a group of boys pulled on some booty shorts and tank tops to perform a cheer.

They put together many routines and a half time performance to help fulfill their duties as cheerleaders.

“My freshman year we saw it so a lot of us guys and my friend group that we’re still in we agreed to join PowderPuff our senior year,” senior Zachary Payne said.

“A lot of us went through with it but some of us didn’t...but that’s what got us really interested.”

They first performed for the student body during the Wednesday pep rally but later put their cheering skills to the test while the girls played football.

They cheered on the sidelines during the first half of the game, From HOCO CROWNING Page 1

After introductions, senior Kia Wilson, volleyball representative, was crowned queen.

“It’s incredible,” Wilson said.

“I’m so honored.”

She was even more surprised to win since she wasn’t an honoree last year, which made the whole experience something very new for her.

“Knowing what to do and where to go and all that stuff was new this year,” Wilson said.

Jaylynn Liggons, football representative, was announced king but since he was in the locker room senior Dylan Haar came up and accepted the crown for him.

Haar quickly began flaunting the

sometimes making up their own stuff, other times copying the cheers they hear the actual MHS cheerleaders do on Friday nights.

While some guys were there for various reasons the majority of them joined because they were looking for an opportunity to have fun.

“I joined because when I was a freshman and I first saw it I just thought it was really cool,” senior Kevin Kilner said. “It was just a way to have fun senior year.”

They all had fun performing in the gym with their whole team but actually had to adapt some of their performance to make up for missing people during the halftime show.

“Some of us weren’t able to make it and that’s understandable you know you got things going on you’re busy or whatever,” Payne said. “We kind of knew they weren’t coming. It was kind of already planned… [senior] Ruiz [Walker] went ahead and tried to do the splits that [senior] Quincy [Saddler] did during the

pep rally.”

Each student was able to try a new role during the halftime show if they desired.

The Tribe members and cheerleaders had a big part in the performance as well. They came up with most of the routine and did nearly all of the organizing to get the boys ready in such a short amount of time.

“The Tribe people they come up with it and we try to get them to change it and sometimes it works sometimes it doesn’t,” Kilner said.

Because of the rules the Kansas State High School Athletics Association has placed on the event, the choreography is limited to exclude lifts, stunts and tumbling. Regardless of the restrictions the boys still have a fun time participating, even without the entertainment value of the stunts.

“I recommend anyone should do it even if they aren’t athletic,” Kilner said. “If they want to do it I think they should, I think anyone should.”

crown and plaque which had Liggons’s name on it. He took pictures with Wilson and a number of other people while wearing the crown and sash.

“I did pretend to be Jaylynn,” Haar said. “It was really fun so I just want to thank him a lot.”

He even considered keeping the crown but Liggons’s top-notch performance at the game made Haar eventually decides otherwise.

“I’m keeping it, nah, I’ll give it to him,” Haar said. “He has two touchdowns so I kind of have to give it to him.”

While Liggons heard the news of his success at halftime he stayed focused on the game. “[Junior] Isiah Childs let me

know,” Liggons said. “I was just worried about the game trying to get this dub.”

Even though Liggons didn’t think too much about it during the game he was still excited to be king.

“It’s a great title, I love it,” Liggons said. “I just want to thank everyone for voting for me.”

As soon as his post-game talk was over he came out and got pictures with Wilson who waited the entire game for her rightful king to stand at her side for a photo.

Nonetheless, both students were equally honored and surprised to be crowned fall homecoming king and queen.

Fall homecoming filled the minds of Manhattan High students during spirit week. Dozens of nerve-racking dance proposals were made, which built up to one night encompassed by flashing lights, dancing and screaming from several hundred students.

“I had a blast at the dance,” junior Morgan Day said. “I mostly danced with my date [junior Egan Dritz] and my friends. While I was there …

I was just happy and thinking about how lucky I was to have such good friends.”

While the dance still provided memories for decades to come for many students, it was far from the ordinary homecoming as Tribe made several changes. One change which was a disappointment to a number of students was how short-lived the dance was, only lasting until 9 p.m.

The most noticeable change, however, was made during the pep rally.

The tradition of the MHS pep rally usually consists of competitions such as pie in the face between members of fall sports and performances of several different groups of students. Some of those tradi-

tions were dropped this time.

“This year, we wanted to make the pep rally like an actual pep rally,” senior Suman Wang, co-president of Tribe, said. “Instead of sitting in the gym for 45 minutes watching people you didn’t know talk, you were on your feet cheering with your friends cheering and doing chants with the entire school body.”

Before the pep rally, the horizon of change was visible as changes were made to spirit week as well.

In previous years, during spirit week there was several different theme days, such as pajama day, movie day and Disney day. This year, they were simple colors instead.

Despite the themes being simpler, students found a way to leave onlookers in a state of shock and awe. Junior Nathan Paukstelis, for example, went above and beyond wearing a bright yellow suit for the Wednesday theme of “yellow.”

“When people first saw [the suit] they generally gave all smiles and handshakes, which made it a good time for everyone,” Paukstelis said. “I think spirit week adds a sense of community and creates something [for] everyone to do together.”

Photo by Makenna Wollenberg

Freshman Anika Nyp poses during the dance team’s performance. The dance team performed at Wednesday’s pep rally, showing off their moves and raising school spirit.

TRENDING

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The Mentor Oct. 02, 2018 MHSMentor.com

FOOTBALL: FALL FANDOM

Manhattan High graduate reaches top level Cole Schmitt Staff Writer

Manhattan High’s first-ever graduate to reach the National Football League, 2012 graduate Deante Burton, recently changed teams after playing as wide receiver with the Atlanta Falcons for his first professional season.

Burton was claimed by the Green Bay Packers, where he will switch to cornerback.

Burton played at MHS under head coach Joe Schartz before playing college football in his hometown at Kansas State University, graduating from K-State in 2017.

“It’s pretty cool,” Burton said.

“I watched a lot of guys play before me and to be the first to make it to the highest level is definitely an honor. It’s kind of something I look forward to being able to say now, that I am the first player from my high school to play in the NFL.” Burton is one of few players to play for both MHS and K-State.

Burton said he has been coached by two extraordinary coaches, Schartz and Bill Snyder, who have combined for more than 10 league titles in the Big 12 and Centennial League.

“I learned a lot about hard work,” Burton said. “You got to work hard. You got to fight for the things you want, you can’t complain. Discipline is huge for both coaches. Both helped me become a man as well as a football player.

You learn a lot of life lessons playing for both of them. I think those things have panned out and have helped me become the person

Photo courtesy of MaryKris Roberson

Deante Burton, 2012 graduate and current player on the Green Bay Packers, visits English teacher MaryKris Roberson on a recent visit to Manhattan High.

I am and definitely the football player I am.”

Many athletes look for attention when playing pro sports.

Many want to be the best and want to play for money, but not Burton.

“My main goal is to enjoy it,” Burton said. “Don’t look at it as a job. I get to play [football] for a living, that’s not bad. When you start looking for accolades and benchmarks and trademarks along the road you forget why you started playing and forget to enjoy it.”

Even while playing football in high school, he was still a great student.

“I had some really good time in [MaryKris] Roberson’s class,” Burton said. “She was definitely my favorite teacher. We had some

good times in [her] class.”

Ro b e r s o n was very praising about Burton.

“He was a great student,” Roberson said.

“He is very intelligent.

He had a gift for literature and s t o r y t e l l i n g.

That came naturally for him.

In football, you have to intuit the routes and intuit the plays.

Same goes for literature, you have to intuit and understand

it.”

Burton had memories just like everyone does in high school. His favorite was the bus ride home after beating one of Manhattan’s best opponents.

“My senior year I was coming back from beating Topeka High,” Burton said. “It was a fun game.”

Students going to Manhattan High want to find a career and want to learn so they can succeed and be successful in their careers.

“Academically, find something that you enjoy and push towards that,” Burton said. “In high school, you’ll have to take some classes that you don’t like but you [have] to be willing to grind through it. Give it your best effort.”

Football vs Soccer: Who should use the name?

Kris Long Staff Writer

In Kansas, the heart of the U.S, when you hear the word “football”l it conjures an image of massive yellow goalposts,a 160 by 53½ foot field and crazy fans with face paint on.

If you step outside of the U.S., excluding Canada, a very different image would appear: two goals on either side of the pitch which is about 100-110 meters in length and 64-75 meters in width.

That’s just the start of the differences in these similarly-named sports. American-football you barely ever kick the ball. As a British-American who knows very little about American-football this has always baffled me. Why call a sport football when for the majority of the game you throw and catch the ball? There are a million and one other names that they could have chosen that better describe the game, but not only do they choose a nonsensical one but one that already exists for a different sport.

Why? Because this is America that’s why.

Soccer has a right to the name football. It’s self explanatory: kick the ball with your foot.

A major difference between the sports is that in soccer you can tie. In American-football you have to win or lose. One other

difference is that in Soccer there are two halves and in Americanfootball there are four quarters.

The games are also set up very differently; soccer is more free flowing, no-timeouts and no regimented plays.

The one thing the games have in common is fans. They live and die with their team; the rivalries are intense, the sport is their religion. Americans and the rest of the world show their support in different ways. Americans supporting American-football tend to park their large truck in a parking lot and set up camp hours before the game starts. They eat lots of different foods collectively referred to as diabetes, and then they enter the stadium to watch a four-hour event that has only 1 hour of actual playing time.

While I cannot tell you how everyone supports their soccer team in the rest of the world I can tell you from personal experience how the British fans support their team. First, about an hour before the game they show up at the local pub for a few drinks with fellow fans. Then, once sufficiently buzzed, they go to the game, which lasts a little under two hours and has around one and a half hours of playing time.

If their team loses, they go home slightly depressed, if they tie they go home thinking at least we didn’t lose, if they win they make

their way back to the pub and get incoherently drunk. Soccer is, in general, not a family event.

So who has a right to the name? I would argue Soccer should be called Football and American-football should find its own name. The first reason I have already stated: in soccer you kick the ball with your feet.

Sources also show that a soccer-like game has been around since the 1500s and that game was referred to as football. It was mostly played in England and Scotland and consisted of two towns trying to get a stuffed pig’s bladder through the other town’s gates -- no other rules.

China claims to have been playing football since 200 B.C. Their version of the game is similar but the goal was raised 30 feet off the ground. The direct translation of the name of this game is “kicking the ball.”

American-Football was invented far later by Walter Camp, a undergraduate medical student at Yale in 1876, as an adaptation of rugby and soccer.

As you can see soccer has been around much longer than football, and Camp called it football knowing that there was already a sport called football. I think it is only fair to give soccer its name back.

Hard work Fantasy Football explained ‘plays’ off in post-season Jimmy Marshall Staff Writer

The popularity of Fantasy Football has been rapidly growing in recent years. Whether it be for money, fun, or just being a casual fan, many people, including Manhattan High students, participate in this football celebrating halftime, and see which of their favorite players can earn them the most points.

This game consists of a roster containing roughly 12 teams consisting of preexisting NFL football players the partakers draft themselves. Some versions of the game auction off players, while others have partakers choose. Game starters consist of a quarterback,

two running backs, two receivers, a tight end, kicker and team defense. The rest of the players are for bench spots.

When the season starts, your team can earn points when the real NFL player scores or gains yards. Partakers can receive a point for an extra point and three points for a field goal.

Fantasy Football is a popular craze, and is enjoyed by many people.

“You get a group of about five or six people you know. Friends, family,” said freshmen Braden Dinkel. “Just playing it with my friends, just to have fun during NFL season.”

Joe Hall Staff Writer

College football Top 5 Coy Cavender Staff Writer

As conference play is just getting started, week three should be one for the books.

As of the end of the third week of the season, according to ESPN, nine out of the top 10

The one word that might Rivalry to remember change football Anika Nyp Staff Writer

Parker Dawdy Staff Writer

The new emphasis on the existing roughing the passer rule has left the National Football League in a state of confusion for the first four weeks of the 2018 season.

This rule was implemented in 1995 but was changed during this past off-season.

The rule states, “When tackling a passer during or just after throwing a pass, a defensive player is prohibited from unnecessarily and violently throwing him down and landing on top of him with all or most of the defender’s weight.”

During the off season the rule was changed to say that, “...unnecessarily and violently throwing him down or landing…”

This small, but important, change to the rule cost the Packers their game against the Vikings in week two. A Packers interception that would have sealed the game was called back when Clay Matthews, who has been hit with a roughing the passer penalty every game this year, was flagged with roughing the passer, giving the Vikings a first down and eventually a touchdown.

This change has raised the number of roughing the passer penalties by over 100 percent since last season. Up until the third week there have been 33 roughing the passer calls but by the third week last season there were only 16. Another five penalties have been called in week four.

With this sharp increase there has been an outcry from both sides of the ball with even the quarterbacks taking sides with the defensive players and saying they don’t know what the refs want.

Even with this outcry the NFL will not be changing this rule.

“What affects the NFL? The bottom line, the bottom line. If your bottom starts to get hurt, that’s what makes the NFL stand up and get noticed. Is this going to do that? No,” said Mike Golic, former defensive linemen and was a co-host on ESPN’s newly canceled show “Golic and Wingo” The Competition Committee is the NFL’s reviewing committee that controls competitive aspects of the game, including roster regulations, game-day operations and player protection, and playing rules. They held a conference call to talk about this issue last week and they ruled not to change the rule or its enforcement.

The reason the committee decided not to change the rule is due to the fact that this change does not affect the bottom line negatively. In fact this has boosted the number of watchers; for example the Patriots vs Lions had the highest Sunday night ranting since 2015. They passed was Broncos vs Lions game from 2015.

The change of one world has divided the NFL and is the hot topic every football analyst is talking about.

The Junction City and Manhattan High rivalry has been around a long time. The rivalry was made official in 1949 with the Silver Trophy, originally called the Sportsmans Trophy.

This year the rivalry game will be held at JC but not only is this an exciting game for the fans it is even more exciting for the team. The rivalry is now nationally ranked as one of the best rivalries according to the Great American Rivalry Association.

‘It’s the number of years, I guess, the game has been played,” athletic director Mike Marsh said, “and being close in proximity it’s a lot about school pride and I guess bragging rights for one year.”

This year one MHS football player and one JC player will receive a $250 scholarship for being a student athlete with high grades and great performances on the field. Although the rivalry between the schools is intense, the schools still play fair and put on a great show.

“It’s just a football game.

I’ve played in it, I played in it for three years. Mr. [Greg] Hoyt, [MHS principal], had the opportunity to play in it, as well as many former teachers and coaches in our school district,” Marsh said. “It’s a fun game but after the game’s over we shake hands and walk away and we are all friends.”

This year the game will be this Friday. Football parents are selling MHS silver trophy T-shirt at the gate at home football games for fans to show support at JC. The playoffs kick off on Friday, Oct. 26. That's followed

by Regionals on Nov. 2, Sectionals on Nov. 9, Sub-States on Nov. 16 and State Championships on Nov. 24.

Your Manhattan Indians must win four straight games in the playoff against Kansas’ top competition to be crowned as this year’s 6A State Champions at Emporia State University on Nov. 24.

According to the sports website MaxPreps, the Indians are currently ranked as the third best team in Kansas.

They will try to continue moving up the rankings in hopes to have a good seed in the bracket as the higher the host team is seeded, the lower seeded the opponent they play will be.

No teams have been selected into this year’s bracket due to how early on in the season it is.

For more football content, visit mhsmentor.com While the Manhattan Varsity Football team is off to a 4-0 start, one can only wonder the potential of this team as it looks to make a run at the state title in this year’s 6A State Football Playoff.

The playoffs kick off on Friday, Oct. 26. That’s followed by Regionals on Nov. 2, Sectionals on Nov. 9, Sub-States on Nov. 16 and State Championships on Nov. 24.

Your Manhattan Indians must win four straight games in the

playoff against Kansas’ top competition to be crowned as this year’s 6A State Champions at Emporia State University.

According to the sports website MaxPreps, the Indians are currently ranked as the third best team in Kansas. They will try to continue moving up the rankings in hopes to have a good seed in the bracket as the higher the host team is seeded, the lower seeded the opponent they play will be.

teams in the nation were undefeated and many of those teams might be tested this week. Louisiana State, who is one of those teams, will face a 3-1 Florida team.

Also, possibly the game of the week, #7 Oklahoma will take on #19 Texas. The in-state teams, Kansas State and Kansas, have found themselves at the bottom

of the Big 12. Kansas State will face an uprising Baylor team, while Kansas will face an undefeated West Virginia team.

Here are the current top five teams in the country.

Alabama Georgia Ohio State Clemson Louisiana State