Volume 40 Issue 1 October 2014

What’s InsideWhat’s Inside

Tigertalk NEWS STAFF

Co-Editors: Alicengrace Gray and Kenzie Messer

Staff Writers, Photographers, Designers: Cindy Aguilar, Patty Bazan, Rae-gan Davis, Kilah Foster, Karla Landeros, Darby Old, Na’Chyna Rogers, Lauren

Williams, Yami Zuniga

Journalism 1 contributors: Abigail Amerson, Yasmin Alvarado, Ashley Blalock, Stacy Brown, Ashlynn Burns, Tia Culmer, Cameron Dale, Ariana Gar-rett, Caitlyn Gillean, Crystal Gomez Heavenlee Griffi th, Briana Gutierres, Dan-iela Gutierrez, Abi Hobbs, Dylan Ingram, Madora Jemison, Carolina Martinez, Julia Martinez, Angel Medina, Jennifer Mora, Lissette Moreno, Oscar Munoz,

Allison Norfl eet, Melissa Ortiz, Connor Reese, Kendria Roberson, Payton Tyler Nora Viramontes and Jennifer Zuniga.

Advisor: John Whitten

The Tigertalk is published fi ve-six times a year by the newspaper and journal-ism classes of MPHS. Address is P.O. Box 1117, Mount Pleasant, Texas 75455. Letters to the editor are encouraged but must be signed and the staff reserved the right to edit because of space. Submit all letters to Mr. Whitten in Room 401 of the CATE Building.

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SStories& Photos

Band Beau, Sweetheart...Pg. 2

Homecoming...Pg. 3, 17

New Teachers...Pgs. 4-9

New Band Director...Pg. 9

Homecoming Week...Pg. 10-11

Hall of Fame...Pg. 12-13

Football..Pg. 14

Volleyball...Pg. 15

Cross Country...Pg. 16

Student Feature....Pg. 17

Blood Drive.....Pg. 18

FFA Education Day...Pg. 18

Teacher Feature...Pg. 19

Tiger Roar...Pg. 20

Cesar Villa and Meg Lomeli were crowned Band Beauand Sweetheart prior to Friday’s game against Pine Tree.

By CINDY AGUILAR& YAMI ZUNIGATigertalk Staff Writers Maria Gaona was crowned 2014 Homecoming Queen prior to the Tigers recent football game with Pine Tree. Gaona was one of fi ve girls on the homecoming court. She is a daughter of Mr. Juan Gao-na and Mrs. Blanca Gaona and is a member of the varsity soccer and cross country teams. Gaona enjoys playing soccer and working out. She plans to graduate high school and go on to a university with dreams of becoming an optometrist. She dreams of visiting Spain in the future. Maria says her favorite food is fajitas y frijoles, a Mexican plate that includes a mixture of fajita meats. Her favorite restaurant is Two Senoritas and her favorite class is History. She would like to give a special shout-out to the soccer program. Other nominees for the court were Lupita Barraza, Madai Ruiz, Claudia Zapata and Catherine Zarcone. Barraza is the daughter of Ricardo and Veronica Barraza. She is captain of the Tiger Dolls and also a member of FFA and National Honor Society. Barraza enjoys crafting and her role model is her mother. Her future plans include to graduate from Texas State University, become a physical therapist and to open her own gym. Her favorite cuisine is Italian and her favorite restaurant is Texas Roadhouse. She said her favorite class is calculus because she likes being challenged. Ruiz is the 17-year-old daughter of Noe and Anahi Ruiz. She has accom-plished various things throughout her high school years. She has been in Ti-ger Dolls for four years with two years as an offi cer and is currently the 1st Lieutenant. Some awards given to her were Tiger Doll of the week and being named Best Sophomore. Madai is also an offi cer for Future Business Leaders of America (FBLA), along with being

Gaona crowned 2014 queenGaona crowned 2014 queen

Gaona is crowned by last year’s queen Stephanie Hernandez.

Lupita Barraza Madai Ruiza member of Junior Chamber of Com-merce (JCA), and National Technical Honor Society (NTHS).. She is also the vice president of her graduating class. Some hobbies Madai enjoys are danc-ing, arts and crafts, and baking. The person that Ruiz is inspired by and looks up to is her own mother. Madai’s future plans are to attend NTCC for one year and then transfer to the University of Texas at Austin to become a physical therapist or psychologist. Her favorite food is bacon, cheese and chicken quesadillas and her favorite restaurant is Chili’s. She said “History

is my favorite subject simply because I love learning about the past and how everything came to be. I fi nd it really interesting.” Another nominee was Zapata, who is the daughter of Clemente Zapata and Erika Chavez. Zapata has always been involved in high school activities throughout the past four years. This includes being the class offi cer for the class of 2015 since freshman through junior year, a mem-ber of Student Council all four years of high school, and a current 2014-2015

See Homecoming, Pg. 17

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New staff joins MPHSNew staff joins MPHSBy MADORA JEMISON,DYLAN INGRAM, ASHLEY BLALOCK & HEAVENLEE WHITAKERTigertalk Staff Writers The high school welcomed a number of new staff members to the campus this year.Some are experienced teachers, some are new and even some are former Tigers who returned to teach at their alma mater David Bagley is an MPHS alumni who has returned to coach and teach. He teaches U.S. History/Advanced Topics and is also an assistant football coach. He graduated from Harding University with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Social Science. He has a wife named Kim and three daughters, Brooke and twins Claire and Keely. He’s taught for 12 years in Plano and Irving MacArthur. In college, he earned NCAA Division II National All-Star football hon-ors. Drew Barkley teaches advanced quanti-tative reasoning and is a varsity boy’s as-sistant basketball coach. He attended East Texas Baptist University and graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in Kine-siology. He previously taught at Hallsville, Bullard and Linden-Kildare for the past six years.He has been married to Racheal Barkley for two years and has an 8 year old daugh-ter named Bri, and a newborn boy named Beckett. Barkley is a world traveler and has visited Poland twice, Malaysia six times, China, Hong Kong and Brunei. Rachel Barkley teaches Algebra 1 at MPHS. She graduated from LeTourneau University with a Bachelor of Arts in Inter-disciplinary Studies. Barkley has six years of teaching experience with Marshall ISD and Linden Kildare ISD. Barkley is mar-ried to Drew Barkley, which they have one daughter Bri who is eight years old and newborn, Beckett. Mrs. Barkley enjoys “traveling and par-ticipating in mission trips local and over-seas.” She has visited Jamaica, Morocco, Ethiopia, Malaysia and China. Not only does she enjoy mission trips and traveling, she also loves sports. She said she enjoys using athletics to build relationships with kids and develop character. Margaret Bradley, a 2003 MPHS grad-

uate, has returned to her former school and teaches Principles of Hospitality, tourism, CAP, and Child Development and Edu-cation. She graduated from University of Arkansas at Monticello and also attened Letourneau University. She is married with one child. She has taught at Chapel Hill and Hebron. In high school, she was a member of the band and color guard. Logan M. Brinkley teaches Environ-mental Systems (Biology). She graduated at Schreiner University with a Bachelor’s

degree of Science Biochemistry. This is her very fi rst year to teach; she says “I am so excited to be at MPHS!” A native of California, Brinkley moved to Texas for an interesting reason. “I moved to Texas form California for college. Texas was one of the few states that had a college with a competitive shotgun shooting team.” One of the benefi ts of still living in Texas was that her parents are nearby, living in Forney.

David Bagley Drew Barkley

Rachel Barkley Margaret Bradley

Logan Brinkley Kennie Cook

See New Teachers, Pg. 5

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New Teachers from Page 4New Teachers from Page 4 Kennie Cook Jr. is an assistant band di-rector for the high school and also helps with music programs on other campuses. He earned a Bachelor’s of Business Ad-ministration degree from University of Ar-kansas-Monticello and a master’s degree in theology from Liberty University. A former teacher at Paul Pewitt, Cook is working on his doctorate degree at Grand Canyon University. He is also an associate minister at Hendrix Temple Church of God in Christ (COGIC) in Atlanta, Texas. Angie Pope Criss, a former Harts Bluff and MPHS graduate, is an American His-tory teacher. She earned a Bachelor of Arts degree at Southwestern College Winfi eld, Kan. in 1993. She has been married for 17 years to Matt Criss, She has two sons Cole Criss (15) and Cooper Criss (13). She started teaching and coaching at Harts Bluff ISD in 1993. She moved to Pittsburg ISD and taught Reading and Math for 5 years, and she began her career here this year. She attended Harts Bluff from fi rst-eighth grade and MPHS all four years of high school.. She graduated at MPHS in 1987, and went on to play both college softball and basketball. “I am thrilled to be back home at MPHS where every day is a great day to be a Tiger! Truly, home is where the heart is!” Criss said. Jamie Denman teaches sports medicine and is one of the new trainers. This is her fi rst year to teach. She attended college at Texas Lutheran University where she earned a bachelor’s degree in athletic train-ing. She also earned an MAT (Concentra-tion- Physical Education) at the University of West Alabama. Her parents are Michael and Elizabeth Denman and her brother is named Tra-vis Denman. She worked in the Army All American Bowl as a student athletic trainer. Sandy Dunson is a new health science teacher. She got her RN degree at Eastern Oklahoma State. She is married to Daniel Dunson, has two children 13-year-old son named Hunter and a 4-year-old daughter named Haidyn. Prior to becoming a teach-er, she spent 14 years in Home Health (la-bor/delivery). Janet Floyd is no stranger to teaching or MPHS. After taking a year off from teach-ing, Mrs. Floyd returned to the classroom. She teaches Algebra I and II, This marks 35 years in education. Previously she taught at New Diana and Daingerfi eld. This marks

Angie Criss Jamie Denman

Sandy Dunson Janet Floyd

her 20th year here. She attended college at Texas A&M Com-merce where she got her BA degree and Texas A&M Texarkana where she got he MS degree.She is married to her husband John Floyd and has 4 children and 7 grandchildren, two of which are students here at MPHS, Mel-ody Mott and Emily Mott. Something in-teresting that has happened in Mrs. Floyd’s life is she is a survivor of the fi rst church shooting in the U.S. at First Baptist Church

in Dangerfi eld on June 22, 1980. Cuday Harmon is a coach and also works in ISS. A graduate of Louisiana Tech, he has spent the past four years teaching at Beckville. Harmon said about his job, “I love doing what I do, which is coaching a being in a child’s life.” Stefan Harmon is starting her educa-tion career by teaching freshman skills at MPHS. The daughter of Larry and Debra Alex-

Cuday Harmon Stefan Harmon

See New Teachers, Pg. 6

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New Teachers from Page 5New Teachers from Page 5ander, Harmon married her husband Cuday on Jan. 11 of this year. Jefferson Jackson is a new English teacher and coach. He has a master’s de-gree in education administration from Tex-as A&M-Commerce. He and his wife Amy have two children, Hunter, 5, and Audree, 2. Jana Jenkins is an English teacher. She earned a bachelor’s degree at Eastern Illi-nois University and a master’s leadership at Saint Xavier University. She and her husband, have three children; two girls who are 13 and 10 and a 6-year-old son. She has taught for 14 years. Something interesting that has happened in her life is taking a bath in a volcano and walked under the Atlantic Ocean. Echo Johnson is a new English teacher and also works with transitition students. She is a graduate of UT-Tyler with a bach-elor’s of science degree in kinesiology and is currently enrolled in graduate school at Lamar University for teacher leadership. She is married to Kelly Don Johnson and has taught previously at MPISD from 2003-2008 and Paul Pewitt from 2008-2014. A graduate of Pewitt, she got coach volleyball at her alma mater. “I love teach-ing, and I love people,” Johnson said. Jack Jones is an engineering teacher. He also teaches video game design. He holds a Bachelor’s of Science degree in Phys-ics from UT-Austin and also a master’s in STEM Education. He also has taught at Travis high school in Austin for seven years.. He has a wife named Melissa and a son named Jake. Laura Kirkland takes over as the Art teacher. A graduate of Dallas Baptist Uni-versity, Kirkland is married and has three boys. She previously taught at Sam Hous-ton Middle School and Garland ISD. “This year so much has changed. Life is a roller coaster. I am looking forward to this new experience. I feel so blessed to be here at MPHS,” Kirkland said. Heather Lockler teaches English I and this is her fi rst year teaching.. Mrs. Lockler attended college at Texas A&M-Texarkana. She majored in Interdisciplinary studies. She is married to Daniel Lockler and has two children, Shelby who is 15 and Savan-nah who is 13. An interesting thing that she helped with ABC’s Extreme Makeover Home Edition. It was in Colorado Springs. She used to live in Georgia, Maryland, and

Jeff erson Jackson Jana Jenkins

Echo Johnson Jack Jones

Laura Kirkland Heather LocklerColorado. She has also been a military wife for 8 years. LaNetra McCowan-Fuller is another former MPHS graduate who has returned home to teach. McCowan-Fuller teaches Biology. She has previously taught in Garland, Dun-canville, Commerce, Cedar Hill and Paul Pewitt districts. She has a bachelor’s of science degree and a master’s in second-ary education from Texas A&M-Com-merce. She also has a bachelor’s degree

LaNetra McCowan-FullerSee New Teachers, Pg. 7

in Anatomy from Parker University and is currently working on her doctorate. She and her husband Marion have three children -- Chaya, 10, Joshua, 9, and Landon, 8. Said McCowan-Fuller, “I mar-ried my high school sweetheart, and I was able to complete eight months of cadaver dissections. I love living in Mount Pleas-ant. I graduated from MPHS, and I love being back home.” Victoria McLendon teaches Principles of Engineering and Technology along with Engineering Design and Presentation. She is a graduate of Texas A&M University with a degree in Agricultural Development with an emphasis on Education and Com-munication. A fi rst-year teacher, McLendon is married to Orrin and has two “children” a dog named Sally and a cat named Joey. After college graduation, she and her hus-band moved to North Carolina where they worked in the poultry industry. “We lived there close to a year before moving back to the fi ne state of Texas. My husband took a promotion working for our new company. I, myself, am happy to get started as an educator,” McLendon said. James Morgan-Hadnot is a football coach and also teaches freshman skills. He holds both a bachelor and master’s degrees. He has a girlfriend, Emily Mawson, and a daughter, Kennedi Morgan. He said an interesting thing that happened in his life was receiving Christ in his life on Feb. 21, 2009. Tracey Reynolds is a tenth grade En-glish teacher. She went to the University of Arkansas-Little Rock and got a bachelor’s degree in English. She and her husband Jimmy have two children Trace and Avery. She has previously taught at Yantis, Sul-phur Springs and Harts Bluff. Ross Scholta is the new History teach-er. He earned a Bachelor of Science degree from Texas A&M-Commerce.He and his wife Sherrie have one son Joshua. He previously taught at Rains. He also got married this summer. Matt Smith teaches Government and Economics and is also a coach. A graduate of the University of North Texas, he and his wife Tricia have a son Brady, 6, and daughter Maddie, 2. On the day after his marriage, Smith survived after being struck by lightning. He has previously taught at Carrollton Farmers Branch, Allen and Plano East.

New Teachers from Page 6New Teachers from Page 6

Victoria McLendon James Morgan-Hadnot

Tracey Reynolds Ross Scholta

Tricia Smith is starting her education career this year. She is eaching Principles of Business, Finance and Marketing, Prin-ciples of IT, BIM 1 and Service Technolo-gy. She is a graduate of Illinois State Uni-versity with a bachelor’s of science degree. She and her husband Matt have two chil-dren Brady, 6, and Maddie, 2. She has ran two 1/2 marathons. Angie Sneed is an English teacher for 11th-12th graders. She graduated from Eastern Illinois University.

Matt Smith Tricia Smith

Angie SneedSee New Teachers, Pg. 8 Tigertalk Pg. 7

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New Teachers from Page 7New Teachers from Page 7 She has been teaching for 16 years total. She has taught seven years in Illinois, one year in Colorado, six years in in Indiana, and two years in Arkansas. She is married to Keven and has a daughter named Abby who is a freshmen, and a son named Lu-cas in sixth grade. Something interesting about Mrs. Sneed is she once received a letter from the vice president while he was in offi ce. Roderick Sneed coaches, teaches Speech and has study hall classes. He has a com-munication’s degree from the University of Colorado. He has taught 11 years, previously at Dal-las Pinkston and Richardson Lake High-lands. Rogelio Solorzano teaches Geometry, Algebra and Math Models. A graduate of Texas A&M-Texarkana, Solorzano is be-ginning his fi rst year as a teacher after four years as an aide at P.E. Wallace. His wife teaches English at Wallace. They have one son and another child on the way. Aimee Sweeden teaches Ready Set Teach. She earned her degree at Texas A&M Com-merce and has taught for six years, previ-ously at Winnsboro and Mount Vernon. Mrs. Sweeden has been happily married for 19 years to Phillip Sweeden and has twins who are 16 years old, Mason and Marshall. Sweeden laughingly said something in-teresting that has happened in her life is “I was once stranded on a deserted island for three years and forced to make friends with a bowling ball, he sank deep into the ocean during her attempt to return to civilization. She also said, “Do not believe half of what you hear or read from me or about me, but know this...I am proud to be a Mount Pleas-ant Tiger!” Kelly Taylor teaches freshman skills and web tech here. She graduated from Tex-as A&M-Commerce with a Bachelor’s in Business Administration. She previously taught two years at MPHS, then spent fi ve at the junior high before returning back. Mrs. Taylor has been married to her hus-band Chad for 18 years. She has two chil-dren, Daniel who is 11, and Makenzie who is 8 years old. Tammy Thomas is teaching 10th grade English. She attended both Stephen F. Aus-tin State and Texas A&M-Texarkana. She has three children, Mikala, a senior and Tiger Doll offi cer, Cassidy, a student at the junior high and Jake, who attends An-nie Sims Elementary. She also has two cats.

Roderick Sneed Rogelio Solorzano

Aimee Sweeden

She attended SFA and Texas A&M-Tex-arkana and has 14 years of experience in education. She has taught elementary stu-dents at Trinidad, English at Chapel Hill and also was a diagnostician for MPISD. In college, she was a cheerleader at SFA. Shea Verner teaches Algebra 1 and is also a former MPHS graduate. This is her fi rst year to teach. She graduated from Texas A&M-Texar-kana with a bachelor’s degree. She and her husband Tyler have a 3-year-old daughter Abigail

Kelly Taylor

Tammy Th omas As a child, when she played softball and was a member of a team that qualifi ed for the World Series on three different occa-sions. John Whitten is the new journalism and TNT sponsor. He teaches yearbook, news-paper, intro to journalism, TNT and Digital Interactive Media (DIM). Mr. Whitten is a graduate of the Universi-ty of North Texas with a bachelor’s degree in journalism. His wife Suzy is a health sci-ence teacher at the high school. They have

Shea Verner

See New Teachers, Pg. 9

New Teachers from Page 8New Teachers from Page 8two children, Grace, a seventh-grader, and Caleb, a fourth-grader. Both attend Harts Bluff. This is eighth year to teach. He spent the past seven at Pittsburg High School. He is also a sponsor for both UIL Journalism and SkillsUSA Photography. Prior to teaching, he worked 12 years as sports editor and fi ve years as managing editor of the Mount Pleasant Daily Tribune. “I am excited to join the MPHS staff. I have some talented and awesome students who are Built Tiger Tough,” Whitten said. While working at the Tribune, Mr. Whit-ten won several awards including being honored with the “Best Sports Story” by the Texas Associated Press Sports Editors. Joel Windham III teaches credit recov-ery. He went to college at Stephen F. Aus-tin State University and got his bachelor’s degree. He also went to Lamar University and earned his masters. Joel has been mar-

John Whitten Joel Windhamried for 14 years to his wife Michelle who teaches kindergarten at Anne Sims. They have three boys, Will, 15, Payton, 13, and Brock, 8. He has 15 years of teaching and coach-ing experience. He taught fi ve years at Bra-

zosport, two years at Angeleton, one year at Maud, three years at Paul Pewitt, and two years at Spring Hill. When we asked if there was anything interesting that has happened in his life he said, “My three boys make every day interesting.”

Luckett takes over band program

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By ALICENGRACE GRAYTigertalk Co-Editor New band director Theodus Luckett III didn’t let bullying keep him from his dreams. Luckett, an accomplished musician and band director, found mu-sic as a safe haven and an outlet for him to display his talents. He started playing the trumpet in sixth grade and by the next year he knew how to play all instruments. Luckett was a top student in academics and found inspiration from educators and musical directors and overcame challenges that many students face. Throughout Luckett’s high school career, he earned many musi-cal accomplishments. Luckett was selected for the all-state band and all-state choir and received many other music related awards. Luckett attended college at the University of Arkansas at Mon-ticello and earned his bachelor’s degree in music. Luckett then earned his master’s in music education at Stephen F. Austin and is currently working towards his doctorate degree in leadership at Grand Canyon University. Luckett started his teaching career at Daingerfi eld, where he spent one year. He then taught at Longview Middle School for four years. After teaching at Longview he taught at Paul Pewit as the head director for four years prior to taking the job here. One of the highlights of the football halftime show is the band’s theme featuring Batman along with villains Joker, Riddler and Mr. Freeze. Luckett’s idea for the Batman: City of Villains theme came from the current rave over the superhero. “I knew that the students would love the concept of the show and then I thought about the community at large and I knew that they would really like it,” Luckett said. Luckett has high goals for the band this year. He is striving for a

sweepstakes band. To earn this the band must receive a one (top rating) at UIL marching, a one in UIL concert and sight reading. But Luckett is also already thinking ahead. “My ultimate goal is to be a state band and really represent the school and district well,” Luckett said. With all the chaos from being a new director, hosting his fi rst marching competition, to having a new addition to the family, Theodus Luckett lll is a great addition to the MPISD staff and the band program.

Luckett has high goals for the band.

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Pages designed by Darby Old

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MPHS inducts fi rst classinto Athletic Hall of Fame Four former MPHS athletes and one former head coach were re-cently honored as members of the inaugural Tiger Athletic Hall of Fame class. Each inductee was recognized against Sulphur Springs and served as honorary captains for the game and participated in the pre-game coin toss. As recognition of their selections, each inductee received a gold jacket featuring the Athletic Hall of Fame crest. Pictures of each in-ductee will also be displayed in the hallway of the Willie Williams Gymnasium. Guaranty Bank and Trust is the offi cial sponsor of the event, which will be held annually. Head Coach Donnie Laurence and athletes Tony Miller, Barry Minter, Jerilyn Pope and Keith Stanberry were chosen by a selec-tion committee based on their accomplishments while at Mount Pleasant High School.

Donnie Laurence Mount Pleasant High School former Head Coach Donnie Lau-rence coached at Mount Pleasant from 1971-1978 and is credited with taking a Mount Pleasant Tigers team the farthest ever in foot-ball—to the state championship in 1973. “My greatest memory was how the town, administration and so many parents and fans got behind all seven teams that I had the privilege to coach,” Laurence said. “It’s right along with being able to work with a great coaching staff that believed so strongly in our players and each other. I also was amazed at how our entire teaching staff supported and backed our student athletes. That is what I remember the most and still cherish. Because of this type of backing, we were successful in all sports—girls and boys.” Laurence recalls that particular season, 1973, just like it was yes-terday. In fact, that season Laurence coached both Ronny Homer and Randy Homer, father and uncle to new Mount Pleasant Head Coach Corey Homer.

Laurence attended Baylor University and majored in physical ed-ucation and math, played football, baseball and basketball as a Bear. Laurence was inducted into Baylor’s Hall of Fame in 1993. Laurence is now humbled by the honor he received. “I don’t know that I can put into words the meaning of this honor,” Laurence said. “I humbly accept the honor for all who made this possible. No one is honored like this on what he did by himself. As I walked through the MP fi eldhouse, I saw the pictures of so many players that made this happen and was reminded of so many that didn’t have pictures.”

Tony Miller Tony Miller, a multi-sport athlete, graduated from Mount Pleasant High School in 1989 While in high school, he participated in sev-eral athletic sports including football, baseball, track and basketball, serving as team captain. He was selected to the Basketball All-District and All Area team during his junior and senior year and earned the track and fi eld All-District and All-Area awards in 1988 in the 400m. He was a member of the state championship 4x400m relay in 1988 capturing the third fastest time in the nation. He was also a district, region-al and state championship winner, school recorder holder and First Team All-American and Golden West Finalist in the 400m. His greatest memory as a Mount Pleasant Tiger came in 1988 and 1989. “We won back-to-back in the 4x400m relay in 1988 (team-mates included: Calbert Cannon, Lawrence Fields and Jerry Warren) and in 1989 (teammates included: Calbert Cannon, Kenyon Brooks and Jerry Warren),” Miller said. After high school, Miller continued his success as a track standout at Baylor University. Among his many accomplishments, he was a 15 time All American. His greatest mem-ory as a Bear in track and fi eld is competing in the Olympic Trials in

See Hall of Fame, Pg. 13

From left are Laurence, Miller, Minter, Pope and Stansberry.

Tigertalk Pg. 13

1992 and 1996. He also has fond memories of the Pan Am Games in 1995 and winning the NCAA Championships with his team-mates at Baylor. Miller was also inducted into Baylor’s Hall of Fame in 2011. Tony, who holds a Bachelor of Business Administration degree in marketing, is mar-ried to Toinette Miller and has two children: son Cameron, 14 and daughter Candace, 8. He and his family live in Frisco where he serves as the track and fi eld coach at South-ern Methodist University.

Barry Minter A 1988 graduate of Mount Pleasant High School, Barry Minter enjoyed success in several sports as a Tiger. As a three-year football and track letterman and a two-year letterman in basketball, Minter’s classmates voted him Most Athletic in 1988. He also received First Team All-District honors in both football and Basketball before gradu-ating in the top 25% of his class. Af-ter graduating from Mount Pleasant High School, Minter spent the next fi ve years playing football on a full scholarship to the University of Tulsa. He played both safety and linebacker and became a two-year start-er. He fi nished at Tulsa with a college career 267 tackles (11 for losses), six sacks and six interceptions. After graduating from the University of Tulsa with a Bachelor of Science degree in health and physical education, Minter was drafted by the Dallas Cowboys in 1993. He was then traded to the Chicago Bears that same season and spent eight years playing professional football. “It was all a wonderful experience,” Mint-er explained. “I would not be the man, hus-band, father, teacher, and coach I am today if it were not for the coaches and teachers I was blessed to have at MPHS. These men and women, along with my mother, molded and shaped my work ethic, character, and desire to become someone better and great-er than who I thought I could be. All my success I owe to God and them for what they instilled in me while I was in their presence.” Today, Barry is married to his high school classmate, Shawnya Jones Minter, and they have three children: Gia, 25, Bari, 22 and Jordan, 19. The family lives in Houston where Barry teaches and coaches.

Jerilyn Pope Mount Pleasant native Jerilyn Pope has the distinction of being a member of the fi rst fast-pitch softball team at Mount Pleasant

Hall of Fame from Page 12Hall of Fame from Page 12

High School. “I went to the superintendent my senior year to request that ladies softball be added to the athletic program under Title IX,” said Pope who was the team’s pitcher. “I, along with my peers and some very supportive parents in the community, later presented the request to the school board for approval. The softball program began Spring 1992 and we went undefeated our fi rst season.” Pope graduated from MPHS in 1992 and received full scholarships to Hill College and Northeast Texas Community College. She attended Hill College, but decided to return to NTCC to support and participate in the inaugural season of the fast-pitch soft-ball locally. “I was awarded Most Valuable Player and All Region awards at the collegiate level. After I graduated from Northeast Texas Community College, I attended Texas Tech University and then transferred to Stephen F. Austin State University where I graduat-ed with a B.A. in psychology with a minor in child development and family studies. I continued my studies at the Texas A&M at Commerce where I received my M.S. in Counseling and became a Licensed Profes-sional Counselor,” Pope said. Pope now lives in Arlington where she works as a senior Organizational Effective-ness Strategist for a health system in the Dallas-Fort Worth area developing leader-ship programs and coach leaders in health-care. She is also volunteer trauma counselor

and volunteer for the Texas Rangers Wom-en’s Club.

Keith Stanberry Keith Stanberry, a 1981 Mount Pleasant graduate, is considered one of the top defen-sive backs in the state. He received All East Texas, All State and Blue Chipper honors for his work on the football fi eld. He was named Mr. MPHS and was captain of the football team. Stanberry remembers one high school game in particular as a Tiger. “It was my ju-nior year when we beat the #1 team in the state that year, Paris, 7-6 in front of a record crowd,” Stanberry said. Stanberry went on to have a stellar colle-giate career at the University of Oklahoma playing football all four years. Stanberry, who suffered a near-fatal car ac-cident in 1984 was unable to make a bid for the pros, is proud of the Hall of Fame honor he is receiving from his alma mater. “This is one of the most meaningful events of my life,” Stanberry said. “Having the place that I started recognize me and my ac-complishments is uplifting and encouraging knowing that all of my pain and struggles were appreciated. It makes me feel like it was all worth it. Nothing comes easy, hard work is the key to success.” Keith, who now lives in Katy and works as an inspector, is married to Sibyl Stanber-ry and has a blended family of six children ranging in age from 10 to 30. He credits be-ing an athlete with shaping him into the man he is today.

MPHS Head Football Coach Corey Homer presents Pope with jacket.

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Tigers not giving up despitehaving tough football seasonBy NA’CHYNA ROGERSTigertalk Staff Writer It’s been a diffi cult season for the varsity football team this year. They have come close to winning a few games only to come up short on the scoreboard.The Tigers fell short to Pine Tree during homecoming, los-ing by two points, 31-29. They had a chance to beat Pine Tree, but an interception at the end of the game ended the hopes for a comeback win.Despite the diffi cult season, Head Coach Corey Homer re-mains proud of his team “I am very proud of our boys and what they have done. They have laid an unshakable and unbreakable foundation since January 6th. They come in each day, punch the time card, roll up their sleeves and go to work. They have great attitudes and they do not understand the word, ‘Quit.’ “They have fought every game and left it all on the fi eld. I am very blessed to have had the opportunity to work with them.” Even though the season has been very challenging for the Tigers, Homer is happy to be here. “The season has not gone the way we wanted it to but there is no other place that I would rather be. Mount Pleas-ant is my home as well as theirs. I would not have it any other way,” Homer said. Athletics has played a great part in the player’s character this year.

“I love these kids. Athletics teaches so much more than inside the lines. They are learning how to improve their character, academics and more importantly how to become men. This is a very special group,” Homer said. Lineman Mitchell Parra said the team still has the chance to end the season on the positive side. “I believe that if we keep working hard like we’re doing we’re going to end the season on a positive note,” Parra said.Earlier this season, the football team lost by one point to Greenville in a heartbreaking game. “We were heartbroken because it was by one point. We just didn’t fi nish, but it was helpful because it showed us that we can be great when we play great,” Parra said. Parra said he believes fans still have faith in the team. “I believe that it does have something to do with it, but I believe that it’s because we were so close to a win and peo-ple that still believes in us,” Parra said. Travion Holloman is the team’s leading rusher with 576 yards on 111 carries with four touchdowns, while quarter-back Joseph Griffi n is third in the district in yards passed. Griffi n has completed 92 of 145 passes for 1,274 yards with six touchdowns. Jaquille Rodgers is the team’s leading receiver with 35 catches for 691 yards and has nine touchdowns on the sea-son. Hunter Lide leads the district in punting average with an average of 37.26 yards.

Travion Holloman is the team’s leading rusher this year.

Brittany Burns and Nikki Martin go up for a block.

Sophie Sanchez reaches for the volleyball as Sarah Flanagan watches.

Volleyball about to wrap up seasonBy LAUREN WILLIAMSTigertalk Staff Writer The Lady Tigers are about to wrap up their season as they conclude the year with Sulphur Springs on Tues-day. In a thrilling contest against Green-ville on Senior Night, the Lady Ti-gers rallied after losing the fi rst two sets to win the fi nal three and end the home portion of their schedule on a winning note. Junior Sophie Sanchez said the best thing she likes about volleyball is her teammates. “I love my team, through our wins and our losses we always stick to-gether,” Sanchez said. Sophomore Tootie Grant said she also likes being with her team and the battles they face on the court. “I like spending time with the team, and also competing against other teams to make us a better vol-leyball player,” Grant said. Even though the team has strug-gled some this year, Sanchez said the team has never quit.

“So far the season has gone good. Yes we’ve lost some games but we put up a good fi ght,” Sanchez said. Grant said a challenge she faces is being the only sophomore on the team. “It’s very challenging because I

am the youngest on the team. Also everyone is experienced on the var-sity,” Grant said. On Senior Night, the team honored Labrisha Hargrave, Brittany Burns, Brooke Thompson, Sarah Flanagan and Heather Dryden.

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Girls cross country advances to region

By PATTY BAZANTigertalk Staff Writer The girls cross country team took sec-ond place at the district meet Tuesday. Grasiela Gaona was third with a time of 20 minutes, 45 seconds. Juslis-sa Sanchez got sixth in 20:52, Briana Castaneda was seventh at 20:53, Emily Brown ninth at 21:07, Laura Oviedo 23rd in 22:21, Lissette Dejesus sixth in 22:51 and Karina Pena 32nd in 24:01. The boys varsity came in fourth as a team with Jorge Hernandez leading the way. He got fourth overall in 16:05 to qualify for region. Hugo Valdez was 21st at 17:37, Jesse Morales 26th at 18:21, Giovanni More-no 28th at 18:26, Alexis Equihua 32nd at 19:03 and Gonzalez Salatiel 47th at 20:58. Reyes Vargas also ran for Mount Pleasant and had a time of 18:26. The JV girls placed second as well with Maria Gaona leading the way by getting third in 22:22. Shelby Daniels was eighth at 23:17, Lesley Murua-ga ninth at 23:19, Kayla Robles 10th at 23:25 and Jasmin Martinez 13th at 23:46. Also, Natalie Ramirez cam in 23rd at 25:21 and Morgan Martin 27th in 26:06. Other runners competing and their times were Jacquelin Guerrero at 26:13, Ilse Vazquez 26:33, Odette Garcia 27:00, Veronica Pina 27:01 and Janelle Wright 28:12. The JV boys team took fourth place overall as well. Angel Flores was the team’s top runner at 19:39 which placed him 11th. Gonzalez Emmanuel came in 19th at 20:23, Israel Gomez 24th at 21:12, Aguilar Noah 25th at 21:14, Damian Gwin 28th at 21:55, Zuniga Tristan 29th at 22:02 and Diego Rivera 31st at 22:43. Others competing were Eduardo Hipolito with a time of 23:47, Rich-ard Gonzalez at 24:39, Diego Lugo at 19:45 and Daniel Huerta at 22:53.

Boys fourth at district

Girls varsity and cross country members pose with their trophy and medals they won at the district meet.

Jorge Hernandez took fourth overall to qualify for region.

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By YAMI ZUNIGATigertalk Staff Writer Miguel Luna is a foreign exchange stu-dent this year at the high school and is currently in the 10th grade. He came from Madrid, Spain and is now going through a whole new different high school experi-ence. He has so far met new people, tasted lots of Mexican foods and is hoping on having a wonderful year here. Traveling from a faraway country to the states and having to get used to going to a new school is challenging. For Miguel, MPHS is a huge school with lots of dif-ferent subjects and organizations to learn about and join. He considers these sub-jects not to be boring and that the teachers here are as nice as can be. “I like it because everything is very big, and there are many subjects that are not so boring such as in Spain. And the people, including teachers, are very nice,” Miguel said. Since it is Miguel’s sophomore year, he plans to make it a successful one. He hopes to pass all his classes while also have a great time and enjoy it here. Some differences between Spain and Texas that he has noticed are that MPHS is very big compared to the small schools in Spain,

and how people spend their free time by going out to random places.“The school here is very big, and the ways that a person could spend on their free time… There is a lot of differences,” Miguel said. Luna says that he is starting to miss home somewhat but not so much. “I’ve been here one month and now I’m start-ing to become a little homesick, but not a lot,” he said. Luna has several interests such as the types of music genres he listens to which are all kinds. Some of his favorite foods

from Texas are Tex-Mex types that are very diffi cult to fi nd in Spain. Miguel has also been to other countries besides Tex-as. He’s been almost all over the country of Spain and including Tunisia, which is located in Africa. “I’ve traveled almost all around Spain and I’ve been in Tunisia, in Africa,” Mi-guel said. To all those students and teachers who see Miguel around school, make sure to greet and make him feel right at home. This way, Luna will not feel out of place or left out on any school activities.

Foreign exchange student adjusting to life hereLuna visiting from Spain

Luna said his favorite food here is Tex-Mex.

Claudia Zapata Catherine Zarcone

Homecoming from Page 3Homecoming from Page 3

her parents. After high school, Zarcone plans to attend the University of Tex-as at Austin and become a registered nurse. Her dream vacation spot is Austra-

chapter offi cer for FFA. She is also a cheerleader manager. Claudia’s hobby is being involved in Saint Michael’s Catholic Church Choir in the 1:00 P.M. mass. Her role mod-el is her mother since she has always told Claudia to achieve for what she wants in life. After graduating, Zapata plans to study at NTCC for two years then transfer to Texas A&M or Baylor College of Dentistry and graduate as an orthodontist. Her dream vacation is spot is Acapul-co and her favorite food are enchiladas. She said her favorite place to eat is her grandmother’s house and her favorite subject is English. Zarcone is the daughter of Grego-ry and Judi Zarcone. She is a member of both the varsity cheerleading squad along with HOSA. Her role models are

lia and her favorite subject is English because “It’s the only subject without numbers,” Zarcone said. Her favorite food is Mexican and her favorite restaurant is Two Senoritas.

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Students, staff donate 111 units of blood

Senior Presley McClendon eagerly donates blood.

By RAEGAN DAVISTigertalk Staff Writer High school blood drives are an im-portant part to saving lives in the Unit-ed States. Students and staff here had the chance recently to donate for the Carter Blood-Care. They were able to donate 111 units of blood during the fi rst drive of the school year. “This is an amazing number as we usually only total about 60-70 units per blood drive,” high school nurse Heidi Skelton said. Skelton said blood drives are very important to helping save lives. Each unit donated has the opportunity to help more than just one person in need of blood. Blood donations are critical because despite all the medical advances that have been made in recent years, there

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is still no good substitute for human blood,” Skelton said. “Each unit of blood donated has the potential to save three lives. With the

need for blood growing every day, I en-courage everyone who is able to help save a life by donating during the next blood drive in February.”

FFA Education Day

Photo spread by Allie Norfl eet

Twenty Questions with Mr. NewmanBy KARLA LANDEROSTigertalk Staff Writer In each issue, Tiger Talk will feature a sto-ry on a staff or faculty member. Th is issue highlights Marty Newman, who teaches sophomore English and also coaches the color guard/winter guard. 1. What collage did you go to? University of Texas at Arlington and Texas A&M University Commerce 2. What did you major in? I majored in English with a minor in In-strumental Music and Accounting. 3. How long have you taught at MPHS? Going on 17 years. 4. How have the years at the school treat-ed you? Like any job there have been good years and bad years, but I must say there have been more good than bad. 5. What is the name of your spouse and children? How old are the children? I have been married for 11 years to Rhon-da Newman and we have two children: Zoe-8 and Zac-4 6. If you had a day to teach whatever you wanted, what would you teach and why? I don’t know because I pretty much teach what I like… 7. What is your favorite book and why? I have several favorite books. In Cold Blood By Truman Capote (because it’s such a unique novel- I always wonder how much of it is fi ction), Th e Odyssey (Gotta love the Odyssey and his journey), and the Witches of Eastwick. 8. How long do you hope to teach? I don’t know. 9. Do you students remind you of your children?

Sometimes. 10. What’s been the craziest thing that a student has done in your class? Nothing really stands out in my mind. Ev-ery day is crazy. 11. Have you always liked English? NO! I despised it in High School. 12. What kind of student were you in high school? Lazy and Average. 13. How do you feel about being Teacher of the Year (2013-14)? It was an honor to be chosen amongst so many great teachers. 14.What do you like best about Color Guard/Winter Guard? Watching the kids perform and creating routines. 15. Has teaching always been your goal/

dream? No. I wanted to be CPA when I left high school. 16. Have you always lived in Texas? Yes. 17. What other activities besides teach-ing do you do? Not much! Teaching is exhausting. 18. Is it diffi cult to balance everything you do for school and home? YES!!! I sometimes feel I’m not home enough. I try to take my wife and kids on all our contest trips and such. 19. What do you plan to do aft er you re-tire? Travel all over the U.S.20. If you had the chance to plan your fi -nal meal, what would it include? Hot dogs and cheesecake.

Football SweetheartsPictured from left are Fresh-

man Sweetheart Briceth Alcala, Junior Varsity Sweetheart Taylor

Craig and Varsity Sweetheart Labrisha Hargrave.

Tigertalk Pg. 19

Tiger RoarTiger RoarWhat is the first thing that comes to mind

when you hear “Built Tiger Tough?”

“Coming together to bebetter than ever.”

-- Destinie Myers, 11

“To push yourself to do good.”

-- Casey Cutler, 10

“Coach Homer.”-- Kerry Harper, 11

“Mighty Tigers.”-- Alyson Cortez, 11

“Won’t be beat easily.”--- Abbeh Sims, 10

“Desire to go far.”--- Luis Ramirez, 11

“For sports to get better.”-- Ariana Garrett, 9

“Tough, strong,” --- Bobby Morgan, 12“Strong, independent.” --- Shaundalyn Minter, 12

“To work hard and be a leader.”

--- Connor Gage, 10

“Strong team.”-- Maria Oieda, 12

Tiger Roar page by Tigertalk Co-Editor Kenzie Messer

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“More energy in the pep rally.”

--- Valerie Medina, 9