Varsity Football Buckeye Central

Wynford Seniors Win in Impressive Fashion

By: Alexis Showers, “Royal Times”

The Wynford Royals played their last regular season home game Friday, October 24th. Nick Looker scored the first touchdown for the Royals on a 9 yard run, and Jalon Brown added the extra point giving the Royals an early 7-0 lead. The Royals increased their lead when Keaton Teynor completed a 33 yard pass to Kody Wilburn bringing the first quarter score to 14-0 in favor of Wynford. The crowd and the cheerleaders, along with the senior dads cheered on  their sons as they played their last home football game as a Wynford Royal. In the second quarter, Teynor converted on a two yard run making the score 21-0 in favor of Wynford at halftime. Buckeye Central slowed the Royals offense in the second half where Teynor and Hayden Rhoades were the only scores. Teynors touchdown was a 7 yard run while Rhoades was a 14 yard run giving the Royals a 35-0 win. The Royals continued their defensive dominance by holding its opponent scoreless and improving to 8-1 on the season. The excitement and intensity level of the Royals was contagious throughout the entire game as the Royals battled and defeated the Bucks. Wynford travels to rival Bucyrus Friday night in a key copper kettle match up and the outright Northern 10 championship on the line.

Varsity Volleyball

Tournament Trail Ends for Royals

By: Todd Enders, “Royal Times”

The Wynford Lady Royals (17-7) ran into a very skilled Huron Tigers (19-4) team on Thursday in a district semifinal matchup at Seneca East High School. The Tigers defeated the Royals, 25-19, 25-17, 25-22. 
In set one, each team traded points before the Royals called a timeout with the score 11-7, slowing the Tigers momentum. The Royals could only manage to get within three points of Huron at 22-19 with a change in their normal defensive look. Coach Hurles said, “Our girls bought into our defensive change for the match which took the Huron hitters out of their offensive system.  When you have good hitters like Huron, our girls could not afford any unforced errors to allow the Tigers any momentum.” The Tigers eventually won the set with the help of unforced errors by the Royals, 25-19. 
In set two, Huron and Wynford volleyed there way to a 9-9 tie. Huron ran off two straight points before a Wynford timeout at 11-9. The timeout did not slow the Tigers, as they increased their lead to 17-11. Huron displayed great defensive play the entire set, as they routinely dug the Royals kill attempts, winning the set 25-17. 
The Royals would not give up easily in set three, falling down early 5-0. Wynford fought back, down 8-4, before calling a timeout at 11-5 when Huron began to pull away with a series of strong kills. During the timeout, Coach Hurles stressed to the girls, “Its a decision you have to make, you either live or go home.” At this point in the set, the seniors on the floor bought in and the underclassmen followed. The Royals gave the Tigers all they could handle in set three. After the timeout, Wynford fought back and took the lead 13-12. After taking the lead, Wynford could not finish off Huron. The set was tied at 14, 15, 18, 20, and 21 before the Tigers ended the Lady Royals season, 25-22. 
The Lady Royals volleyball team finished the season with an overall record of 17-8 and a Northern 10 league record of 13-5.

Varsity Volleyball

Royals Advance to District Play

By: Todd Enders, "Royal Times"

The Lady Royals (17-7) needed five matches to get by the pesky Castalia Margaretta Polar Bears (12-11) in the sectional finals on Saturday night. Wynford defeated the Polar Bears, 25-11, 25-17, 19-25, 23-25, 15-11, to advance in tournament play. Wynford took the first set in convincing fashion with the help of many service errors by Margaretta. The Royals jumped out to an early 11-6 lead before the Polar Bears tried to stall the Royals rally with a timeout. This was to no prevail, as the Royals dominated the rest of the set.  
In set 2, Margaretta came out ready to play keeping the set close; tying the set at 6 all. Wynford stayed in control increasing their lead to 22-14, never trailing in the set, before finishing off the Polar Bears. 
Going into set 3, Wynford looked as if they would finish off Margaretta in 3 sets, but the Polar Bears had bad news for the Lady Royals. Nothing seemed to go right for Wynford in this set, as they continued to make mistakes on the court. Coach Hurles was happy to escape the night with a victory. She said, "Mental mistakes hurt us in the third set giving the Polar Bears life, forcing the match into 5 sets." The Polar Bears seemed as if they could do no wrong on the court taking an early 12-1 lead. The Royals would not go away, fighting back to within 3 points, 22-18, before Margaretta finished the Royals off. 
In set 4, the intensity of the match heated up. Each team continued to fight for the lead as the score flopped back and forth until Margaretta finally won the nail biter. 
Set 5 was no different in intensity, as both teams continued to trade points. The biggest lead in this set was five points held by the Royals at 12-7. The Polar Bears closed the gap to within 2 at 13-11 before an Alyssa Harrer kill and a Sydney Alspach ace sealed the match for the Royals finally bringing the crowd back from the edges of their seats. 
Wynford travels to Seneca East on Thursday evening at 7:30 to face the 19-4 Huron Tigers. 

Illusionist Assembly, "Make Good Choices!"

Believe It or Not

By: Megan Sterner, “Royal Times”

On October 14, 2014, Brian Drake came to Wynford High School and performed magic tricks or illusions for our faculty and student body wanting to share a specific message. He did three different tricks that caught the student bodies attention. The illusion which caught the students attention the most was when he looked for a student volunteer to come forward and write down a name that was special to them. Brian volunteered Samantha Peck, and she wrote down a name. The name was put in a box and placed on a table with a tablecloth. After she put the box on the table it started to elevate! After the table elevated, he then guessed the name that Samantha wrote on the paper by spray painting the name on a sheet hanging in the gym. He guessed the name correctly, which was Jeffrey. 
Brian was asked, “What inspired you to become an illusionist?” He replied “ Well, I’ve always wanted to be an illusionist, and I followed through with the dream I had while attending college.” Neva Patrick was responsible for bringing the idea and message to Mr. Holbrooks attention. Brian came into our school and shared his story behind his illusions and message. Neva was asked, “What made you want to ask Mr. Holbrook to have an

illusionist come to Wynford?” She replied, “His illusions and message behind the illusions wouldn’t just interest people, they would have an effect on our students in a different way than other assemblies would.” Neva thought Brian’s illusions and message were amazing. She said, “His performance was amazing, I am really excited to see him do another performance at church tonight.” The story behind Brian’s illusions were to make good choices and to not go along with whatever anyone says or asks you to do. The choices you make as an individual will not only affect you, but many others as well.

Sectional Volleyball Tournament

Royals Begin Tournament Play

By: Todd Enders, "Royal Times"

The Lady Royals (15-7) opened sectional play by hosting a volleyball match on its own court. The Royals were able to host the sectional tournament because of their higher number 3 seed. This was a major advantage for the Royals on Wednesday evening as they defeated the, 11th seed, Gibsonburg Golden Bears (14-8) in four sets, 20-25, 25-9,25-18, 25-23.

The Royals had some difficulty in match one where it appeared they were not quite ready for the scrappy Golden Bears. The Royals committed 10 errors during the set finally giving Gibsonburg the lead at 11-10, and Gibsonburg never looked back. Winning the set, 25-20.

Coach Hurles team meeting at the end of set one must have finally got the girls ready to play in set two of the match. The Royals, Jade Stuckman, ran off the first 13 points of set 2, taking a 13-0 lead before allowing Gibsonburg to score. Wynford never looked back taking the match 25-9. Coach Hurles said, "We were definitely more aggressive during set two and hit our zones better than in set one."

The Golden Bears were not going to give up easily in the last two sets. Again, Wynford got off to a quick start with Stuckman's serving, taking an early 5-0 lead. As both teams traded points during the set, the Royals managed to put the Golden Bears away, 25-18. It looked as if the Royals were going to make the night interesting by allowing Gibsonburg to take the match into a fifth set. Gibsonburg got off to an early 7-4 lead before Wynford tied the game at 7. The set went back and forth ending up tied again at 17. At this point, the Royals decided enough was enough and finished off the Golden Bears, 25-23.

The Royals were lead by Alyssa Harrer's 18 kills, and Jade Stuckman's excellent serving where she was 26 of 27 for the Royals. Wynford host Castalia Margaretta, 6th seed, in the sectional finals starting at 6:00 pm.

Leadership Conference

Four Wynford Students Attend Leadership Conference

By: Kalyn Heinle, “Royal Times”

Left to Right: Jerry Snodgrass, OHSAA Assistant 
Commissioner for basketball and soccer, Ellie Richmond, 
Alyssa Harrer, Hunter Miller, and Alex Crall.

On Tuesday, October 07, 2014, Wynford Royal student athletes represented Wynford High School at an OHSAA Leadership Conference. The Royals who attended the conference were Ellie Richmond, Hunter Miller, Alyssa Harrer, and Alex Crall who were nominated by Wynford coaches and the students peers. Ellie Richmond said, “I was very grateful to have the opportunity to represent Wynford High School at this leadership conference.” Amy Taylor-Sheldon accompanied the students to the event as the adult supervisor. There were several well-known speakers talking about Qualities of Leadership, Personal Accountability, Thinking Like an Athlete, Leadership Development, Ingredients of Success, and Distracted Driving. Hunter Miller was asked, How was listening to the speakers beneficial to becoming a better leader?” He said, “Most of those people are as successful as you could dream of being, and it was cool to see how the athletes were also successful in the classroom.” Alyssa Harrer said, “My favorite speaker was Jerome Singleton because he said, ‘I wouldn’t give up no matter what, and if my success wasn’t working in the classroom then I would focus on my sports, and when sports weren’t working, then I focused in the classroom.”’ After listening to Qualities of Leadership, Alex Crall commented,“I learned leadership skills that can help improve our school.” These four students are going to bring what they learned and apply it inside and outside of our school to improve leadership qualities in our student athletes.

Wynford Volleyball

Royals Defeat Arch Rivalry

By: Jayden Charlton, “Royal Times”

The Wynford Royals played their biggest rivalry the Bucyrus Redmen on October 9th. The junior varsity played very hard and gave the Redmen two tough losses with the scores of 25-8, 25-23. Before the varsity game, the Royal seniors, Sydney Alspach, Lydia Miller, and Brooke Miller were escorted across the court by their parents. Each senior received recognition of what would be their last regular season home game at Wynford as volleyball players. Photos were taken as each senior received gifts and flowers from other teammates and Coach Hurles. It was evident that both parents and players were emotional. The varsity then played three competitive and exciting games. The Royals defeated the Redmen in each set as the teams played hard and kept the scores close til the very end, 25-21, 25-22, 28-26. Alyssa Harrer had eighteen kills and six aces, and Brooke Miller had twelve digs. The Royals improve to 13-5 in the N10 and 15-7 overall. They begin tournament play on October 15th hosting Gibsonburg at 6 p.m.

Football Homecoming

The Royals Continue Their Winning Streak

By: Taylor Baumberger, “Royals Times” 

Despite the rain and cold of the football game, Friday October 3rd, the Royals easily defeated the Crestline Bulldogs. Before the game, the 2014 fall homecoming queen and king were crowned. Ellie Richmond was given the title of homecoming queen, and the king title was received by David Blank. The rain let up just in time for kick off. The first touchdown was scored early in the first quarter by Wynford senior, Austin Shutler. The extra point was added by Jalon Brown. The Royals ended the first quarter with three touchdowns, gaining one extra point with each, making the score 21-0. Wynford was playing a more technical and cohesive game, than Crestline. The next quarter was even more successful for the Royals, scoring four touchdowns and three extra points. This brought the score to 48-0 going into the second half. Due to the new OHSAA rule, the clock was only stopped for official’s timeouts in the second half with a team leading by more than 30 points. This gave the Royals enough time to score two more touchdowns, one in each quarter with mainly junior varsity players playing. The Bulldogs pushed through Wynford’s defense to gain a touchdown late in the fourth quarter, ending the game with a score of 62-6. Austin Shutler led the team with two touchdowns, as well as 106 of Wynford’s 223 yards receiving. Zack Hoffman had a total of 67 yards rushing and one touchdown, followed closely by Cole Fortner. Fortner contributed 50 yards rushing and scored one touchdown. Keaton Teynor made the leader board, passing for 286 yards. Kody Wilburn strengthened the Royals defense with four tackles and two sacks. Hayden Rhoades had three tackles and one sack. This win put the Royals at 5-0 in the Northern 10 (N10) Conference, and 5-1 for the season thus far. The Royals will be back in action Friday, October 10th, 2014, at Seneca East.

Homecoming Ceremonies

The Queen and King are Crowned

By: Lauren Auck

The rain paused long enough for the king and queen candidates to enjoy their homecoming parade with the car tops down. The crowd was cheering them on and waving as they passed by. All the girls were dolled up with their hair and makeup done and their nice outfits. The gentlemen looked handsome, too. The cars drove around the track to the visitors side allowing the candidates to get out. Friends and family lined the sidelines with flashing cameras coming from all directions. The candidates were introduced as they walked across the field. Ellie Richmond escorted by Brydan Lohr was first to walk. At this point, the rain began to fall slowly and increased with intensity as Brooke Miller and David Blank along with Samantha Lambert and Trey Smith were escorted across the field. Up next, our Russian foreign exchange student, Marta Kovalyova, was escorted by Hayden Rhodes. Last, Hannah Kocher was escorted by Kaleb Alspach. Following the candidates was the 2013 fall homecoming queen, Meghan Harrer. The 2013 fall homecoming king, Gage Roe, was unable to attend. As the crowd waited with excitement, Ellie Richmond was crowned the 2014 homecoming queen and David Blank was crowned the 2014 homecoming king. Meghan Harrer crowned them both while the rain continued to wash away the dolled up look. The homecoming ceremonies were followed by the homecoming dance on Saturday night and fun was held by all!

Homecoming Bonfire

Fun at the Fire

By: Alexis Showers, “Royal Times” 

The student council organized a bonfire to begin homecoming festivities for the first time in many years on Thursday evening. All the activities were to begin at the conclusion of the girls volleyball game against the undefeated Upper Sandusky Rams. This was an exciting night created for the Wynford fans to have fun and cheer the team on to victory. Festivities started at the football field with hillbilly golf, cornhole, and music.  The Wynford Athletic Boosters opened the concession stand and served everyone delicious food and snacks. Students, parents, and staff walked as a group to the bonfire to finish off the night, as the band played “The Cadence” while the color guard chanted “W-Y-N-F-O-R-D”. When everyone gathered around the numerous pallets stacked upon each other, the blaze was set a fire. The band played and the cheerleaders and color guard performed routines as the blaze lit up the night time sky. Everyone watched the fire and showed their royal pride. Taylor Baumberger said, “ It’s my senior year, and we reintroduced the Wynford bonfire. It’s pretty cool.”  Holmes Township Fire Department assisted with the bonfire being there for safety and to put out the fire. The turnout was great for the start of a new tradition during homecoming week. The Royals went on to defeat the Crestline Bulldogs, 62-6, the following evening.

Volleyball vs. Upper Rams

Rams Remain Undefeated in the N10

By: Jayden Charlton, "Royall Times"

The Royals were hoping to follow the winning ways of the junior varsity squad but were unable to finish a sweep of the Rams. In junior varsity action, it took the Lady Royals three exciting sets to defeat the Lady Rams, 22-25, 25-21, 25-23. The varsity match started out in very competitive fashion against the Rams. In the first set, the Royals gave the Rams a battle, but came out on the losing end, 25-18. The Wynford student section was in full spirit mode as they cheered on the Lady Royals preparing for the bonfire which was later in the evening. The Rams did not allow this spirited crowd to affect them as they showed their strength at the net and ability to cover the floor to remain undefeated (16-0).  In the next two sets, the Rams continued to dominate the Royals defeating them 25-11, 25-14, handing Wynford their 6th lose of the season. The Royals fall to 12-4 in the N10 and 14-6 overall. Wynford is back in action on Tuesday, October 7th when they travel to Buckeye Central facing the 18-2 Buckettes.

Volleyball

Royals Cage the Tigers

By: Todd Enders, "Royal Times"

The Lady Royals improve to 14-5 overall and 12-3 in the Northern 10 League. Wynford looked like a well oiled machine as they easily defeated the Seneca East Tigers in 3 matches, 25-6, 25-8, 25-15. The Royals were lead in serving by Brooke Miller and Alyssa Harrer with 4 aces each.  Harrer also lead the team with an impressive 15 kills followed by Mallory Moore and Maci Cooper with 6 a piece. On the defensive side of the the court, Jade Stuckman lead the team with 11 digs. The Royals are back in action at home tonight against the undefeated Upper Sandusky Rams at 5:30. Come out and support the Royals before heading out to the bonfire and pep rally for homecoming ceremonies this weekend.

Scholar Athletes

Wynford Recognizes Student-Athletes

By: Todd Enders, "Royal Times"

Chris Solis, athletic director, wants to recognize Wynford student athletes by starting a new program for students in grades 9-12. All students who participate in a fall,  winter, or spring sport will have the opportunity to be recognized. In order to be eligible, each student must earn a 3.5 grade point average during the previous quarter of their current sport. Mr. Solis said, "Our athletes put in a tremendous amount of time in the classroom as well as outside of the classroom. I believe our athletes are students first and athletes second, and I want to see that they get recognition for this accomplishment." Wynford's first class of scholar athletes for cheerleading, cross country, golf, volleyball, and football are as follows:

Cheerleading: Allie Crall, Shelby Sipe, Taylor Leonhardt, Hannah Underwood, and Hannah Zeigler.

Missing from photo: Hannah Underwood

Cross Country: David Blank, Nathan Weithman, Chelsea Mosley, Ellie Richmond, Aryn Copeland, Kaleigh Swalley, and Madi Schiefer.

Missing from photo: Chelsea Mosley

Golf: MacKenton Johnson and Annika Gerlach.

Volleyball: Brooke Miller, Maci Cooper, Rhieannae Cory, Alyssa Harrer, Mallory Moore, Hayley McCoy, Sarah Ogden, Alexus Ross, Janai Troutman, and Tara Zinser.

Football: Trey Smith, Cole Fortner, James Guinther, Nate Sparks, Dalton Benson, Zach Hoffman, and Dylan McLaughlin. 

Missing from photo: Nate Sparks

In the future, Mr. Solis would like this program to become part of the annual banquet for each sport. He wants each athlete to be recognized as a scholar athlete while participating in a sport at Wynford. Please take a moment to congratulate these students, as the photos of each student athlete will be posted in the cafeteria trophy case.

Mini Cheerleading

Elementary Students Get Excited at Mini Cheer Night

By: Kylee Brown, “Royal Times”

Wynford cheerleaders had their annual mini cheer night on Friday, September 24, 2014. The varsity cheerleaders along with approximately 100 prospective mini cheerleaders cheered the Royals on to victory against the Mohawk Warriors, 49-7. The mini cheerleaders were taught 10 chants during the three clinics that were held after school for an hour and a half. During the clinics, the mini cheerleaders competed in a splits contest. Each day the varsity cheerleaders chose a camper of the week. The camper of the week had to exemplify great traits of a cheerleader. As a cheerleader, their cheering skills had to stand out, they had to take leadership roles, and they had to help other mini cheerleaders during camp. If a mini cheerleader was selected as camper of the week, the varsity cheerleaders gave them prizes. At the end of camp all the mini cheerleaders got their picture taken with the varsity cheerleaders. The 5th and 6th grade cheerleaders that were involved in the camp got to cheer an additional quarter during the varsity football game. This was a great opportunity for Wynford Elementary students to get involved with cheerleading and support the Wynford High School football team. The mini cheerleaders also got a chance to learn what cheerleading is all about.