Vestaburg High School - Wolverine Yearbook (Vestaburg, MI)

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!! CARE TO DANCE? Tim Beach and Wes Laurencelle contribute a tackle in the fourth quarter of the win over Portland St. Pat's. (Far left) !! LOOKING FOR THE BRIGHT SIDE. Wes Laurencelle and Coach Rick Roberts look on in the fourth quarter of the homecoming game. Homecoming wasn’t exactly Wes’s favorite game, considering he had to go to the hospital for ankle x-rays. The Heart-Breaker: When a sure win with 45 seconds left slipped from their grasp in the game against SHA, the team learned what broken hearts were all about. The Gasser: To and from the scrimmage against Lake City, the term “gas” came up quite frequently as the bus nearly had to be evacuated several times. Ups and Downs !! COME ON GUYS; LET’S GET THIS CHUMP. Aron Palmer goes for the tackle, assisted by what seems to be the whole Wolverine squad in the homecoming game against Montabella. VARSITY FOOTBALL — FRONT ROW: Neicko Benavidez. Patrick Priede, Loney Withey. Troy Mortensen. Sam Wrisley. Denny Graham. Dan Ryckman, Dominic Beni. Ike King. MIDDLE ROW: Coach Rick Roberts. Ben Palmer. Matt King. Aron Palmer. Rich Wrisley, Jeff Humphrey. Frank Allen. Tracy Kunkel. David Scott. BACK ROW: Andy Johnston. Josh Ryckman. Tim Beach, Wes Laurencelle, Steve Kolenda. David Bowser. Jim VanAlstine. Coach Steve Liestenfeltz. The Bone-Crusher: After ups and downs in the game against Carson City, the bruises and cuts on the Wolverines proved they had sur- vived a truly hazardous encounter. VHS Varsity Football OPPONENT 12 Portland St. Pats 6 7 Sacred Heart 14 6 Saranac 12 7 Baldwin 16 21 Montabella 29 13 Flint Academy 6 0 Carson City 26 22 Ashley 0 8 Dansville 25 Overall: 3-6 Sports I 7a

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ERSONAL VICTORY by Harold Franks The day: August 11, The time: high noon. The sound of cracking helmets and the stench of sweating bodies filled the late summer air. That’s right; football practice had officially begun. While most carefree devotees of summer were still languidly taking in the rays, the varsity Wolverines were going through a series of tortures comparable only to hell itself, and under new head Coach Rick Roberts, the Wol- verines looked for a successful season. “We were hoping for a season to re- member fondly,” commented Coach Rick Roberts. The Wolverines began their regular sea- son play with a long bus ride to Portland. Four quarters of inspired play kept the game tied 6 to 6. In the overtime, the Wolverines pushed their way up the field, and Dominic Beni bounded into the end- zone to give the Wolverines a thrilling 12-6 victory. “1 knew the play, and I knew I had to score, and there was no way I was coming down. I had the touchdown!’’said Dominic Beni. The next game continued on a thrill- ing trend. The Wolverines were playing tough Sacred Heart, but at the end of the game with a few seconds left, the fighting Irish moved the ball down the field and threw a game-ending touch- down pass. The next two games were close but the Wolverines fell short each time to Saranac and Baldwin. Before anyone knew it Homecoming was here. The excitement during that Friday was un- surpassed by even the greatest of pa- rades, but it was not enough as the Wolverines fell short against rival Mon- tabella 21-29. The rest of the season was filled with action-packed games but the Wolverines dropped three of their last four contests. Considering the input the players gave on and off the field, it definitely was a season to remember. !! ENDZONE BOUND. In the fourth quarter of the home Montabella game, Domi- nic Beni lunges for six but the grasp of a com- petitor denies him the touchdown. 6a ! Varsity Football

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YOUR ORDINARY BASKETBALL TEAM by Jenny Bigelow and Karen Hansel basketball game by wetting their hair Varsity Basketball VHS r OPPONENT 42 Clare 40 46 Sacred Heart 42 47 Belding 32 43 Portland 64 42 Montabella 34 41 Lakeview 42 48 Sacred Heart 45 37 Carson City 29 54 Tri County 46 35 Saranac 55 38 Central Montcalm 31 40 Montabella 37 58 Belding 50 39 Portland 42 46 Central Montcalm 29 32 Lakeview 48 26 Carson City 39 47 Saranac 50 40 Beal City 30 56 Beal City (Dist.) League: 7-7 Overall: 12-8 71 !! AIR JOHNSTON. Senior forward Tammie Johnston tries for 2 in the overtime loss to Port- land. In the same game senior Jenny Bigelow, (right) goes up for 2 of her 22 points. down. “Watch out Aggies here we come, Wol- verine team is number one. Number one, number one, number one, one, one.” Before every basketball game the varsi- ty girls shouted this chant from the top of their lungs to psych themselves for uj coming challenges. The girls started the season off very impressively by capturing the first place medal at the Pepsi tourney. Opponents found it hard to beat the Wolverines at home, since they won six of their nine home games. When they played Portland at home, the girls proved how tough they were, los- ing in overtime 3942. Imagine being in the locker room at this time. Sweating and fighting for air after the JV girls left the showers on, the girls’ heads were down to hide their crying. “After having them ridicule our team last year it was more important than ever to win,” said Senior Tammie Johnston. After beating the Beal City Aggies a week before districts and having the home court advantage the Wolverines felt they finally had a chance to win a district game. But again the dreams and hopes were un- fulfilled as they lost, 56-71. Not only were their games a challenge they also provided Mr. Lesky with the chal- lenge of keeping his sanity. The first challenge came before the games actually started. It all began late in July at the CMU team camp. Since this would be the last camp for the seniors the girls decided to make it a memorable one. Not only did they play tough and work hard, they provided Mr. Lesky and the camp staff with the night time entertainment. The last night of camp started off with seniors Jenny Bige- low, Amy Frost and Karen Hansel giving a live concert which featured the week’s number one song “Blame it on Baldie” written by the girls about their ever so balding coach. The night ended with a wa- ter fight and a visit from a friendly member of the camp staff. But the fun didn’t stop there, did it Mr. Lesky? It continued in the Sacred Heart game when the girls decided to keep the surfer look intact during their “That was a surprise I could have killed them for,” said Coach Lesky. The next surprise I occurred at Lake- view, where the girls decided to wear their traditional black shorts instead of their tra- ditional red ones. The final and best sur- prise of all was saved for parents’ night. After being introduced with their parents, the girls ran back into the locker room and waited for their introduction by Mr. Show- ers, which prepared the crowd for one last surprise. Suddenly from the corner of the gym brightly, bouncing, brilliant, bermuda shorts caught the spectators’ eyes. Despite all the surprises having a 12-8 winning season proved to be satisfying along with a lot of fun. The seniors couldn’t have asked for a better way to end their basketball career. !! TRIPLE THREAT, During a home game against Montabella, Tammie Johnston shoots for two, while teammate Linda Marshall positions herself for the rebound. Amy Frost falls back on defense. The Wolverines ended up winning the game 42-34. 8a ! Varsity Basketball