Author: Ben Pope, senior editor 2014-2015
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Leesville football stymies Wake Forest
The Leesville football team recovered from a sluggish start then held on in the closing minutes for a critical 21-19 win over Wake Forest on Friday, Oct. 25 at Marshall L. Hamilton Stadium. Malcolm…
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Blackout reductions changing sports television scene
Two decades ago, television blackouts were an everyday aspect of the sports-watching experience. The over-the-air availability of a game was never quite certain; even the most die-hard fan felt pushed to pay for tickets…
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Braxton Berrios commits to Miami
Braxton Berrios, Leesville senior and football team captain, committed to the University of Miami during his Saturday press conference. A lifetime Hurricanes fan, Berrios turned down scholarships from dozens of schools and his four…
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Leesville football rallies past Sanderson
For Malcolm Hitchcock, the final Homecoming of his Leesville football career was not going to be marred forever by a loss. And he was going to make sure of it. Hitchcock, senior quarterback and…
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Full football feature: “This is what we play for”
Chad Smothers, head coach of the Leesville football team, pauses briefly and looks around at the 56 fervent pairs of eyes staring back at him. Five minutes remain until kickoff of the Pride’s first…
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Leesville football sluggish in loss to Heritage
As the final minutes ticked off of a mistake-laden, out-of-synch rout at the hands of the Heritage Huskies, the Leesville football team dropped their heads and resorted to the last thing they seemed to…
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Panther Creek shocks Leesville football, 34-21
Handicapped by a plethora of injuries and an inept second half, the Leesville football team blew an early lead and fell to Panther Creek, 34-21, on Friday, Sept. 20. Braxton Berrios, senior quarterback, was…
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Leesville football cruises past Apex
The Leesville football team exploded for 26 second-quarter points to defeat Apex 40-6 on Thursday, Aug. 29 in the 2013 home opener at Marshall L. Hamilton Stadium. Bolstered by the debut of new green…
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Football begins season with explosive win
The Leesville varsity football team began their 2013 season in dominant fashion, routing Jordan Durham 62-21 on Friday, Aug. 23. Braxton Berrios, senior quarterback, accumulated 206 yards and four touchdowns on nine first-half carries…
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NHL brings international diversity, relations into sports
From 1939 to 1945, the armies of Canada, Russia and the United States fought against the armies of Germany, Finland, Norway and the Czech Republic in the infamous conflict known as World War II.…
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LCSTF seeks to improve Leesville safety
The Leesville community can be a hazardous place. A dire lack of crosswalks cause daily worries for students and athletes; a congested and heavily-residential surrounding neighborhood amplifies those problems. Those concerns were finally recognized…
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Despite planning, Leesville’s crosswalk concerns remain
Nationwide, schools of all grades, levels and sizes are installing programs and pushing for legislation to encourage students to walk to school. At Leesville, however, dangerous traffic patterns and undermarked intersections seem intent on…
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Womens soccer cruises to third round
Propelled by a dominant performance in the possession and shot categories, the Leesville women’s soccer team routed Holly Springs 3-0 on Friday, May 10, to advance in the N.C. 4A playoffs. “I thought we…
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Leesville Latin Students Excel in National Exam
Bene fecis, Leesville Latin students, bene fecis. (You have done well.) The results are in from this year’s National Latin Exam, a worldwide test administered by the University of Mary Washington in Fredericksburg, Virginia,…
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Sophomores Get Head Start on College Search
Throughout history, high school counselors have always told students to begin planning for college as soon as possible. Perhaps they’re finally listening. The 2013 NACAC College Fair, held Tuesday, March 19, at the Raleigh…
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Hairspray production progressing smoothly
From Thursday, April 18, through Saturday, April 20, Leesville Theater will present their 2013 production of Hairspray. With the countdown towards that weekend approaching its final month, work on the musical is moving along…
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Hairspray Production Progressing Smoothly
From Thursday, April 18, through Saturday, April 20, Leesville Theater will present their 2013 production of Hairspray. With the countdown towards that weekend approaching its final month, work on the musical is moving along…
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Decades later, Zeagle’s Rock still retains lore
Four decades ago, Zeagle’s Rock towered 70 feet above the Neuse River, standing watch over a meandering Southern stream 365 days a year. Today, the grandeur of the of the cliff has been greatly…
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Leesville to host Diabetes Walk
On usual weekends, the Leesville High School track looks like you would expect—deserted, waiting only for the coming Monday to renew its purpose. Show up on Saturday, March 16, however, and it might look…
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Basketball finishes second in Cap-8 tournament
The final score didn’t turn out as he had hoped, but, even in an unfamiliar gym with midnight hours approaching, Russ Frazier still couldn’t keep a smile off his face. “We played 32 minutes…
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Frazier leads basketball back to relevance
One minute and 12 seconds remained on the clock as Shyheid Petteway drove to the basket, looking to add to Leesville’s 59-49 lead over Wake Forest-Rolesville. The referee’s whistle blew; Petteway had been fouled.…
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Senior Slideshow a ‘Montage of Memories’
Four years ago, Leesville’s Class of 2013 entered high school as an entourage of jittery freshmen, looking forward to senior year from Day One on. Now, as those same students wind down their time…
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A Humorous Analysis of Hallway Congestion
The pretty girl stands at the foot of the stairs, chatting casually and cheerily within her cluster of friends. She talks about her latest boyfriend and her soccer team’s most recent win; she mentions…
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What if Leesville had no AP Classes?
What if Leesville didn’t offer any AP classes? Think of how many late-night hours would be saved for sleeping instead of working. Think of how much stress and anxiety would be avoided. Think of…
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Leesville students to help Stop Hunger Now
20,000 meals in two hours? With the help of Ms. Scioli, the Stop Hunger Now charity organization and a crowd of enthusiastic Leesville students, hundreds of hungry children across the world could be supplied…
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How would student tracking chips work at Leesville?
John Jones is in the bathroom. Sally Smith is skipping class. Bob Brown is sneaking off campus. Meanwhile, on a nondescript computer screen deep within the administrative offices, a map of Leesville blinks with…
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NHL Lockout Hits Home
It’s like they just don’t understand. “They” are NHL commissioner Gary Bettman and NHL players association leader Donald Fehr, and “they” have been bickering for months over foreign financial terms like ‘escrow checks’ and…
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Phillip Phillips true to roots in debut album
For Phillip Phillips, it’s been a long road from Leesburg, Georgia to Hollywood, California. The immensely likeable but comfortably reserved 2012 American Idol winner brought a new dose of talent and originality to America’s…
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Leesville football ends fantastic season 12-1
The same team. The same stadium. The same round. The same record. On paper, Leesville football’s 56-35 third-round loss to Garner in the NCSHAA 4AA playoffs was hardly different than last year’s 42-21 defeat.…
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Leesville Football Pounds Heritage, 43-13
The Leesville Pride football team avenged a disappointing regular season meeting and advanced to the second round of the N.C. 4AA football playoffs with a 43-13 victory over Heritage on Friday, Nov. 2. The…
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Great alternative bands falling prey to pop takeover
“Am I part of the cure?” sings Chris Martin, Coldplay lead singer, in the band’s 2002 hit song “Clocks” — “Or am I part of the disease?” For over a decade, Coldplay has not…
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Pride football wins 54-17 at homecoming
For the undefeated Leesville football team, 2012’s Homecoming game didn’t begin the way they had planned. Against a struggling two-win Millbrook team, the Pride sputtered uncharacteristically en route to a mere 21-10 halftime lead—the…
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Holocaust Museum visit offers students a unique experience
A textbook? Forget about it. For one group of Leesville students, a special two-day trip to Washington, D.C., offered the opportunity for a personal, comprehensive learning and commemorating experience about one of the darkest…
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Football wins 52-24 over Wakefield
“It was a great win against a great football team.” Evan Parker, Leesville quarterback, knew that Friday’s showdown at Marshall L. Hamilton Stadium was one he simply had to win. The undefeated Pride’s date…
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Escape from Anxiety at Falls Lake
Two days—Saturday and Sunday. That’s the weekend. That’s what you spend the other five days longing for. That’s when school fades to a distant second on your priorities list and the fun things in…
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Profanities corrupting Leesville’s hallways
There are no official lists of profanities in the English language. But Leesville wouldn’t have a hard time creating one. Google’s accidentally-released vulgarity-checking program, which lasted less than 24 hours in April 2011, may…
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Varsity football routs Jordan 49-0, sets stage for impressive season
Despite significant personnel losses from a record-breaking 2011 team, Leesville’s varsity football team has shown few signs of rust so far this fall. The team rode on the shoulders of Braxton Berrios and Maurice…
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Bus route chaos confuses students, administrators
A disorganized new bus schedule has thrown a major obstacle into the usual Leesville transportation routine. A crowd of 750 incoming freshmen and other perplexed students had their first day of bus travel interrupted,…