THE BEAR FACTS: MAY 2018 SPECIAL EDITION

Bear Facts SPECIAL CHAMPIONSHIP EDITION

the

VOLUME 21, NUMBER 7

n

SPRING-SUMMER 2018

n

SAINT JOSEPH CATHOLIC SCHOOL

n

MADISON, MISSISSIPPI

GAME 3 STATE CHAMPIONSHIP ST. JOE BRUINS 5, EAST UNION URCHINS 1

AT LAST!

Bruins end 41-year drought, win state championship on the arm of senior pitcher Grayson Guillory

ROAD TO TRUSTMARK EARLY-SEASON LOSSES PREPARE BRUINS FOR CHAMPIONSHIP RUN

PAGE 4

SENIORS’ THOUGHTS

BRUIN SENIORS SHARE THEIR TAKE ON WINNING STATE CHAMPIONSHIP

PAGE 3 PHOTO BY SYDNEY SHOEMAKER/THE BEAR FACTS

Opinion

PAGE 2

SPRING-SUMMER 2018

Looking forward to my senior year

A

s I received my class ring and experienced my first time sitting on the senior deck as an actual senior, all different types of emotions seem to KAYCEE soar over me.

JACKSON These emotions ranged columnist from the utmost amounts of excitement I can contain to the sadness of realizing what is so quickly coming to an end. It feels like the school years have gone by so fast, not only for me, but for my friends and family as well.

This upcoming year, we will have our own sets of “firsts” and “lasts” throughout our final year at St. Joe. We will have senior lunches together – one of the more exciting

“

Even though some of our classmates are newer than others, it feels like we have known each other forever.

“

My senior classmates will be the leading example for the school.” parts of the forthcoming year – and enjoy these lunches on our own senior deck while also taking in the nature with which God has blessed our campus.

My senior classmates will be the leading example for the school – not just by what we say, but how we act. We will get to lead the pep rallies and hype students for home games.

My grade also will have the opportunity to take senior-exclusive classes and electives along with our friends and teachers new and old.

All the endless chances and possibilities we get to experience together are fresh and exhilarating. Members of the upcoming senior class have seen and known each other since the beginning of time. Even though some of our classmates are newer than others, it feels like we have known each other forever.

This senior class will also get to continue seeing each other grow in the academic, athletic and spiritual fields and enjoy our classes

Our view

Congrats to the baseball team

For the first time in more than four decades, the St. Joseph Catholic School baseball team has won the state championship. The Bear Facts staff has done a nice job documenting that feat in the pages of this special edition.

The baseball win was the third time this year a Bruin sports team took top honors. The girls swim team won the state championship last fall and the boys soccer team won the title in February.

The baseball championship is an accomplishment many players dream of achieving, but few do. It is an accomplishment born from hard work, dedication and sacrifice. It is an accomplishment for which team members, and all of us, can be proud.

Credit, of course, goes to the players who won the championship with three seniors on the team, as well as Coach Gerard McCall and his coaching staff, who have turned Bruin baseball into a competitive, successful high school program many up-and-coming ball players would love to join.

“When I got here, no one thought I could do it,” McCall said after winning the championship. “It means a lot that those guys believed in us, believed in our coaching staff.”

We believed, too, coach.

Congratulations to you and the entire team on a great year and an incredible, fun championship run. We can’t wait for a repeat in 2019. n

n

n

Summer reminders

Special to The Bear Facts Members of the Class of 2019 enjoy their first senior meal together on the senior deck in May

together no matter how much we want them to be over.

Becoming a senior shouldn’t be emotional; as soon as our senior year is over, we will begin college as freshmen.

But in reality, it is an emotional experience because each of us will leave St. Joe and embark on our own individual paths.

Junior year puts time in perspective

F

our years. It doesn’t seem like much time at all. But entering your junior year next fall like I will, four years is all that separates me from my seventh grade start at St. Joseph.

It’s almost surreal how much things can change. That is especially true at a school like ours, where you can learn the name of everyone KIM KAISER in your grade in just a of couple of weeks and columnist discover every nook and cranny of the campus by March of your seventh-grade year.

In the four years that I have been here, I have watched dozens of students come and go and a good number of teachers leave and new ones take their place. I have grown accustomed to the blue lockers that line our halls and the view of the lake as I walk to and from lunch every day. Truly, this place has become a home-away-from-home, albeit one under constant renovation.

I find it strange sometimes how every day feels the same and how nothing ever seems to change, only to find myself looking back one day to realize that everything is completely different. Circumstances that were are only a faded memory now, and problems of just last week are quickly forgotten.

School, especially high school, is a fast-paced world made up of grades, tests, and exams that never seem to end until summer brings you the realization that another year has passed. There’s nothing more jarring, I’ve found, than looking in mid-May at your best friends’ yearbook photo taken in August. The person you see now once had an awful haircut and a mouthful of braces only nine short months ago.

As I’ve moved up in the grades, I have found myself changing over time. And I am quite certain that many of my peers feel the same way. As a seventh-grader, I vowed that I would treat all students in the grades below me equally when I got into the upper grades. If anyone else has made such a vow, I would suggest you lower your standards a little.

F

reshman year is an unusual time of your life.

During this year, you are simultaneously too young to fit in with the upperclassmen and too old to fit in with the middle schoolers. And to any fans of shows or movies that revolve around this LEAH time frame, you have been lied to about your CLARK high school experience. This is at least true if columnist you are like me.

Middle school instilled in me the idea that you can prepare for high school.

Unfortunately, that is untrue. I was taught to color code my binders in middle school so that I could learn to be organized for the years to come. The truth, however, is that no highschooler is organized. Everyone, without exception, starts the year off with nice pencil cases and end the year with one working mechanical pencil – it’s the natural order of things.

For me, the introduction to high school was nothing like I expected. I perceived high school as a time of broken friendships, over-exaggerated problems and parties – at least, that’s what Hollywood likes us to believe.

Instead, I was blind-sided by a completely different experience. While I thought I was going to lose friends in the frenzied drama of this introductory year, I gained some. I began to become friends with people I had been in the same class with since seventh grade. What forged those new friendship? A healthy mix of stress and habitual procrastination.

When in dire situations, such as needing notes from a class

“

BEAR FACTS The

Terry R. Cassreino, faculty adviser Dena Kinsey, principal

While I would never turn away a possible friend simply by dint of being in a lower grade then me, it’s hard to treat those equally whom I hardly realize even attend this school. Ending my sophomore year, I still am shocked every Thursday Mass by the realization that seventh graders exist at St. Joseph and are only one building away from me.

Going into my first year as a true upperclassman, albeit not one who holds the title of senior, I am coming to the realization that the group of people I know at this school is steadily shrinking. With only two years left, all of the students that I have come to know have slowly begun to graduate out of St. Joe while the number of strangers in the grades below me multiply. It’s almost as if I am only physically capable of noticing my peers in the grades directly below and two grades above me these days. Middle schoolers might as well not exist in my world for all I notice them.

Mind, this is not because of a distaste for them, but simply for the fact that I never seem to come in contact with them.

Entering my junior year may not hold as much weight as the year above it. But it comes with the realization that the time to leave a place that you have come to know so intimately is getting closer, and it can admittedly be a little frightening.

This is especially true given that most rising sophomores have hardly paid a thought to that fact until around this time of year. So while I know there’s still time yet, junior year has made me realize just how much time has passed and put into perspective how little is left.

And I am more excited for it than I could ever express.

“

Junior year has made me realize just how much time has passed and put into perspective how little is left.

The challenges of freshman year

It may be summer break, but students still have some work to accomplish before the next school year starts in August.

Students taking advanced placement courses next fall should check the school website, www.stjoebruins.com, for your I originally thought that I did summer assignments. And all students not have anything in common with should check the site for summer readpeople I now call friends. ing assignments. Enjoy your summer, but don’t blow-off the summer work.

JOSEPH PEARSON, Editor

Some of my classmates will escape their Mississippi and Southern roots completely.

Others will choose to stay close to home.

But before we go our separate ways, we will look back on all the memories we have had together and will continue to create. I cannot wait to see what not only my future holds, but my classmates’ as well.

The Columbia Scholastic Press Association has named The Bear Facts one of the top high school newspapers.

“

When in dire situations, such as needing notes from a class at the very last minute, you find ourself bonding with people you normally would not.”

at the very last minute, you find yourself bonding with people that you normally would not. I originally thought that I did not have anything in common with people I now call friends.

I learned quickly that we all have one thing in common: The wish to not fail.

High school has been hard. I can admit without shame that I have cried more during my freshman year than any other time of my life. Mind you that I do not cry over being upset, but rather over being stressed out. I assure you that I take partial credit for that stress because of my own brand-new habit of procrastination. If you ask any high-schooler if they have procrastinated before, they will wholeheartedly tell you yes. And if they don’t, they’re either lying or are some kind of other-worldly being.

The source of most of my stress comes from the high school environment itself. Everyone is sent to school to learn and get a great education. When trying to get that education, we find ourselves being pushed to the limit. Sometimes we begin to eat more or less than we usually do. Other times our overall behavior changes. And when our behavior changes, our entire dynamic changes with it.

Freshman year has been one of the best and worst years of my life. I have cried, laughed and slept more than I could have ever anticipated. And while I can honestly say that I loved the experience, I would never put myself through it willingly again.

The Bear Facts, the official student newspaper of St. Joseph Catholic School, is published at least once each quarter of the school year. All stories and photographs are copyright © 2018 by The Bear Facts and St. Joseph Catholic School.

Reproduction and unauthorized use of any article, photograph or graphic is prohibited without written consent. Contact The Bear Facts, P.O. Box 2027, Madison, MS 39130-2927.

Bruin Sports

SPRING-SUMMER 2018

PAGE 3

BASEBALL, from page 4 in our coaching staff.”

ROUGH START Game 3 began shaky for the Bruins.

In the top of the first inning, East Union had its best player, Joel Wilkinson, on second base. Wilkinson attempted to score on a hit from Josh Basil.

As Wilkinson reached home plate, he made contact with Bruin catcher Andrew Sanli – knocking off Sanli’s mask and glove. The umpire counted the run, but ejected Wilkinson from the game for malicious contact with the catcher.

“I think the ruling was correct,” McCall said after the game. “I hate it for the kid. It’s just one of those unfortunate plays.”

Guillory managed to strand the remaining runner on base to end the inning with East Union on top 1-0. And then the Bruins GERARD started to build momentum.

MCCALL head coach

BRUINS’ BIG INNING By the bottom of the third inning, the Bruins still trailed East Union 1-0. Third baseman Joe Pearson led off the inning and reached first base on an error by Urchins’

shortstop Ethan Hitt.

Guillory and Trey Frierson bunted for hits to load the bases. When Josh Bailey had a ground ball out, Pearson scored and tied the game. Next, Guillory scored on a fielder’s choice, hit by Wyatt Buck. Lastly, Andrew Sanli delivered a clutch two-out hit to score Frierson from third. That put the Bruins ahead 3-1.

The Urchins came back with a punch of their own. East Union had the bases loaded with one out. Guillory managed to get one batter to roll over a ground ball, and the Bruins got the force play at home. The next batter popped up in foul territory and third baseman Pearson caught it for the final out of the inning. Miraculously, Guillory managed to escape and not give up a run.

Guillory continued to dominate the East Union lineup in the top halves of the innings.

In the bottom of the fourth, the Bruins added two more runs, stretching their lead to 5-1.

The last major obstacle for the Bruins came in the top of the sixth inning. East Union had men on first and second with one out.

Guillory got East Union’s Jake Wood to hit a ground ball to third base; Pearson stepped on third and threw across the diamond for a double play to end the inning.

forty-one years ago...

THREE OUTS AWAY The Bruins entered the top of the seventh just a half inning away from a state championship.

Guillory got Thomas Gentry, the first batter of the inning, out on a ground ball to Brady Johnson at shortstop. Guillory walked the next batter, but got the second out on a force play at second on a ground ball from Ethan Hitt.

One more out remained for the Bruins to be state champions. Pinch hitter Kye Roberts came to the plate – East Union’s last chance.

With an 0-2 count, Roberts popped up to the right fielder, where Collin Ledbetter caught the final out.

“I knew that ball was coming to me before Grayson (Guillory) threw the pitch,” he said.

“When I saw that it was right to me, I was already freaking out before it was even in my glove.”

From there, it was chaotic celebration as the team stormed the field.

Sanli tackled Guillory on the mound.

“I immediately ran up to Grayson (Guillory) and jumped on him,” Sanli said. “The team all came out and jumped on me. It was incredible. I ANDREW SANLI couldn’t believe we finally bruin catcher won a championship.”

The St. Joe Bruins won its first baseball championship since 1977. A lot has changed in the four decades that have passed. Here is a look into what life was like in 1977. n A gallon of regular gasoline cost an average 62 cents. n Jimmy Carter was President. n A 12-ounce can of Coca-Cola cost a dime. n A new 1977 Chevy Camaro listed for $9,250. n A dozen eggs set you back 82 cents. n Jackson State alumnus Walter Payton was the NFL’s MVP. n Elvis Presley died suddenly at age 42. n “Laverne & Shirley” was the No. 1 show on television. n “Star Wars” was the No. 1 movie of the year. n Fleetwood Mac’s “Rumors” was Billboard’s Album of the Year. n Punk rock appeared on the scene with The Ramones, The Clash and Elvis Costello.

PEARSON, from page 4 catcher and pitcher for the Bruins. “We grew up a lot from the time of our first game to our dog-pile at Trustmark.”

As the season progressed, Josh Bailey and Carter emerged as the starting pitchers. Charlie Lott locked down the role of closing pitcher.

The Bruins defeated Mize Attendance Center twice, going 2-0 in district play.

However, the Bruins’ inexperience once again revealed itself as the team dropped three games in a row on the Mississippi Gulf Coast during Spring Break.

The lowest point in the season came courtesy of the Canton Academy Panthers. The Bruins lost in humiliating fashion 1-24.

“That game really was an eyeopener,” said Andrew Sanli, the team’s catcher. “That game taught us you have got to bring your best to the ball park every time or anyone can beat you – even humiliate you.”

Finally, on April 2, the Bruins reached a turning point. The team defeated 6A powerhouse Northwest Rankin High School 3-1. Grayson Guillory pitched an incredible complete game and had Northwest Rankin hitters off balance the whole game.

That game showed the Bruins they could compete at a high level.

The Bruins rolled into the playoffs 8-0 in district play. They matched up with West Lincoln

High School. The Bruins swept Northwest Rankin in two games to move on to the second round.

They ran into a slight bump in the road in the second round. After winning Game 1 against Richton High School, the Bruins lost on the road 7-6 in extra innings, forcing a Game 3.

The Bruins were down 4-0 after two innings, but escaped with a 12-8 win.

In the third round, the Bruins again faced elimination in Game 3 against Taylorsville High School.

In the bottom of the seventh inning, the Bruins trailed 6-7 and were three outs away from the end of the season. The Bruins managed to load the bases and Steven Wolf delivered the game-winning hit to walk it off.

In South State, the Bruins swept Perry Central handily and earned a trip to Trustmark Park here in Pearl for a shot at a state championship.

Defending state champion East Union stood in the Bruins’ way. The Bruins won Game 1 in dramatic fashion. The Bruins went into extra innings, and in the bottom of the 10th, they led 7-6. Second baseman Josh Bailey dove for a ground ball and recorded the final out at first base, preventing the tying run from scoring.

In Game 2, East Union rolled out their best player. Joel Wilkinson, the 2A player of the year, entered the game with a record of 12-0 with a 0.66 ERA. He pitched the entire game and led East Union to a 8-5 victory.

This set up a winner-take-

Photo by Sydney Shoemaker/The Bear Facts Senior outfielder and second baseman Trey Frierson at bat against East Union.

all Game 3 for the 2A state championship. Guillory was slated to start at pitcher for the Bruins in the last high school game of his career. Guillory pitched an

unbelievable game, going all seven innings, giving up only three hits and carrying the Bruins to a 5-1 victory for the state championship.

“No one thought we could do

it,” Guillory said. “We found a way to come out as state champions.

No one thought we would be successful, but that just made the dog pile that much better.”

Bruin senior baseball players share their thoughts on winning state championship

“

It was a great feeling and a dream-cometrue to be able to win state.

It is good to know that all our hard work and TREY preparation paid off. I am FRIERSON 2B/CF proud of my teammates sticking together and finishing. I feel great about the game and the thought of being champions.

I can’t wait to watch them next year.”

“

From early on in the season, nobody believed we would make it back to where the team of last year made it. We came in and GRAYSON were extremely young.

GUILLORY OF/P And we had some ups and downs. But I honesty think this team wanted it more. We were hungry. We got some lemons early in the season, but we went out and made some lemonade.”

Bruin tennis players named to All-State team from staff reports St. Joe’s Nick Zouboukos has been selected to play in the Mississippi Association of Coaches All-Star tennis match – one of 12 players in the state selected by coaches for the match.

Zouboukos will play for the North Team as it competes against the South at 1 p.m. June 14 at Parham Bridges. Last year, alumnus Stedman Strickland represented St. Joe in the event.

In addition, Zouboukos, Larisa Armour, Nicholas Barone and Caleigh Hankins were selected to the 1A/2A All-State Team.

In other tennis news this year, Zouboukos and Barone competed in the boys-doubles state championship in Oxford on May 9. They were state runners-up with a season record of 19-1.

Armour and Hankins competed in the girls-doubles state championship in Oxford on the same day. They advanced to the championship, falling short of a state title but earning runners-up.

The team as a whole lost North State to the eventual state champions from Tupelo Christian Preparatory School.

The team record for the season was 12-3. All three losses were to 6A schools, two of which competed in the state tournament. Hankins, Barone and others will return to the court next Photo by Sydney Shoemaker/The Bear Facts year as they look to continue their success.

Nick Zouboukos in action.

“

I’m very excited.

We have come a long way this season. All of us have worked hard, and it paid off. It was the best moment of my life. When everything we’d worked for paid off, it was a big relief.”

COLLIN LEDBETTER RF

2018 BrUIn footBaLL n Aug. 10: Jamboree, TBA n Aug. 17: at Newton High School n Aug. 24: Tri-County Academy n Aug. 31: at Jackson Academy n Sept. 7: St. Andrew’s n Sept. 14: Jackson Prep n Sept. 21: at Union High School n Sept. 28: Pelahatchie High School * (Homecoming) n Oct. 5: at Mize High School* n Oct. 12: at Canton Academy n Oct. 19: Puckett High School* (Senior Night) n Oct. 26: at Pisgah High School* *DISTRICT GAMES

Bruin Sports SPECIAL CHAMPIONSHIP EDITION

PAGE 3

PAGE 4

n

SPRING-SUMMER 2018

n

SAINT JOSEPH CATHOLIC SCHOOL

n

MADISON, MISSISSIPPI

BRUINS DOMINATE DIAMOND

St. Joe wins two of three games over East Union to take state title

P ABOVE: Grayson Guillory pitches in Game 3 of the state championship series on Saturday, May 19, at Trustmark Park in Pearl. The Bruins won 5-1 to take home the state championship trophy.

TOP: Catcher Andrew Sanli takes a swing in Game 2 of the state championship series on Friday, May 18, at Trustmark Park in Pearl. The Bruins lost the game 8-5, but bounced back to win Game 3, the championship series and the state title.

Photos by Sydney Shoemaker/The Bear Facts

from staff reports

EARL – The St. Joe Bruins won their first baseball state championship in 41 years at Trustmark Park on May 19 behind the incredible pitching performance of senior Grayson Guillory.

Guillory tossed a complete game against the East Union Urchins, giving up one run in the 5-1 victory. Guillory went two-for-two at the plate and drove in a run.

“I had faith in my whole team, and they backed me up on defense,” Guillory said. “All I did was pound the zone . . . and we got it done.”

In just four years, Coach Gerard McCall has completely turned around the culture of St. Joe baseball. McCall elevated an initially mediocre program to three South State Championship appearances and now one state championship.

“When I got here, no one thought I could do it,” McCall said. “It means a lot that those guys believed in us, believed See BASEBALL, Page 3

The Bruins’ long road to a state championship

P

EARL – The Bruin baseball team ended its season in a wild 30man dog pile on the rust-red dirt of the pitcher’s mound at JOSEPH Trustmark Park.

PEARSON The St. Joseph editor Bruins captured a baseball state title for the first time in 41 years.

The 5-1 victory in Game 3 of the championship series over East Union cemented the Bruins’ place in Mississippi high school sports history.

But the journey to Trustmark wasn’t easy. It was full of obstacles.

Last year, the Bruins started eight seniors. The talented class of 2017 carried the Bruins all the way to Game 3 of the South State

Championship. But the team fell to Loyd Star Attendance Center in extra innings in heartbreaking fashion.

Three months ago, in February just before the start of the 2018 baseball season, no one picked the Bruins as a state championship team. Newspapers around the state claimed the Bruins couldn’t replace last year’s eight senior starters and also challenge once again for the South State Championship.

To open the season, the Bruins were run-ruled by Germantown High School. It appeared at that game the Bruins would not match last year’s success.

“We were extremely young at first,” said Eli Carter, the junior See PEARSON Page 3

Photo by Sydney Shoemaker/The Bear Facts Junior second baseman Josh Bailey flips a ball back to the pitcher in Game 2 at Trustmark Park.