Squad

By Austin M.
Outdoorsmans English IV
It was an ordinary Friday and Saturday until The Squad rolled
up and reunited. We tore up every river bottom known to man. We
also went through cornfields like a boss. The boys in this crew is me
(Austin McCraw), Drew Rigdon, Samuel Below, Daniel Hedgepath; Ryan
Coker. There are many more but I cant name them all because we all
run thick together around here. We always made our mark so people
knew we were there. Whether it was going to the Corn Fest, romping
the bottoms, having a bonfire, or something simple as chilling in the
backwoods.
It was just Drew, Samuel and I this day and we were in Boxville
putting up a deer stand. We moved it from Drews big farm to the
small farm and placed it in a tree near a cornfield and we kinda had
complications. Drew and Samuel forgot how to route a strap ratchet.
So I helped them out and we finally got back in business. I climbed up
the stand, got it set and strapped it tight. The tree stand was set and
ready for deer season.
So we left that field and went to the big farm and shot some stuf
and went hunting. We had a great time that day. We got a lot
accomplished too. We went on home and said, The squad WILL NOT
FADE.
Having the squad is important to me because we stick together
like family. We are always there for one another when we are facing
hard times. I feel so blessed to have this squad. I would not trade
them for anything in the world. I have two in the squad that are
temporarily down but theyll get back in the game. I love them like
brothers and theyll never fade in my eyes.

Team Nasty
By Seth O.
Outdoorsmans English IV
This narrative tells a story of an adventure of Team Nasty. Team
Nasty is a group of four men. The admiral Doug Omer. The shooters
Dalton, Seth and Brandon. They travel as a team and shoot bowfishing tournaments. These four men can shoot over 1200 pounds of
fish a night! Now thats what I call smokin em.
On August 15, these four guys travelled to Henderson, Kentucky
to sign in for a bow fishing tournament. On the way up there, Doug got
us pulled over for 76 in a 55. We didnt get a ticket so we were lucky.
We got to the sign in and it was really hot. Doug paid our $225 entry
fee and we were ready to compete.
We left out of the parking lot with winning on our mind. We
stopped at Hucks in Sturgis and grabbed a snack and some 5 Hour
Energy drinks. We left Hucks and drove 1 hour and 24 minutes to
Elizabethtown, Illinois. We got the boat in the water and had all night
to shoot.
We shot the middle of the river and shot 40 and 50 pound
bigheads. We headed to the banks to shoot gar and bufalo carp. We
got out of the water at 5 AM and changed clothes because Doug said I
could not get in Robert E. Nasty. We changed and headed to
Henderson.
We got to Henderson and were the fifth boat out of twelve to
weigh in. We pulled up to the scale and as we weighed our fish,
everyone whispered with each other and said, Its over. They read
the results and we finished first in total weight with 1855.5 pounds.
We came in second in numbers with 165, and we came in first with the
biggest fish at 56.7 pounds. We won a total of $2,100. We headed
home with smiles on our face and a thought in our head We just left a
mark they are never going to forget.

In the Garden
By Josie
Outdoorsmans English III
Beautiful surroundings, splashing creeks, and muddy toes; its amazing
how the most beautiful things in life happen to be right in my mamaw
and pawpaws backyard. That backyard holds the best memories of my
childhood and those memories will last. The bonds made with my
family there can never be broken. Growing up, my life was spent in
that yard.
As I look around, Im overtaken by the beauty around me
overtakes me. The fruit trees are in prime beauty, vibrant green
leaves, plump, rich fruit dangling just above reach, green sprouts
peeking through the loose dirt of the garden reaching for the suns
delicate touch. The smell of fresh cut grass lightens my soul and I walk
through the grass barefoot. I make my way to the edge of the garden;
there I see my pawpaw, bent down with his sun-aged face smiling at
me. He motions for me to join him so I pick up my bucket and join him.
I snatch it up and rush to him, my barefeet squishing through the damp
mud. This is when we began to do the real work.
We started out at the cabbage at the row closest to the house
and worked our way through the lettuce, rhubarb, and turnips. We
crouched between the rows pulling anything green that wasnt
supposed to be there. I picked as far as my little arms could stretch
then Id wobble on down the row a little, almost like a little assembly
line, stretch and pick, pick, pick. We made our way down to the blackeyed peas. Those things stained my fingers for days. Past the peas and
greens beans was the corn. Papaw and I didnt really mess with the
corn that much. I think he waited until I went on my way to work on the
corn because I was to short to be any help anyways. After we finished
pulling the weed and picking buckets full of black eyed peas and green
beans, he told me to go play with my cousins in the creek. I really liked
helping papaw but I reluctantly followed directions and went on my
way.
The trip to the creek is a treacherous journey, or so it seemed as
a little kid. It was a steep, sandy bank scattered with clay that flooded
frequently due to the heavy rainfall in the wet springs of Kentucky. I

stepped carefully but hurried with my cousins motioning for me to join

them in our typical summer job of building dams that got knocked
down every time there was a good rain. We splashed and caught
crawfish all day until Mamaw hollered for us to come in and eat ham
and cheese loaf sandwiches. These are my best memories from my
childhood.
Memories are what make life worth it, but what make life worth it
more are the relationships we build. My relationship with my papaw is
an unbreakable bond and the joy I see in his eyes when I helped him in
the garden growing up and the joy I see when I help him now is truly
priceless.

When the Boat Sank

By Emilee
One Saturday morning around 9:30 am, my dad gets a phone call
from my Uncle Robert. Uncle Robert has decided hes going fishing and
wants my brother Logan, my dad and me to go with him. We decide
that we will go. So dad says to Logan and me round up em poles and
get them pops ready to go, kids, we goin out to the pond. So my
brother and I go to the buildin and we get fishin poles out for each for
the three of us. Then we go back inside get the cooler ready. We fill it
with Dr. Pepper, Sunkist, a tea jug and some water bottles.
Soon after Logan and I finish getting things ready (about 20
minutes later) Uncle Robert pulls in our driveway with the johnboat.
When he comes in he sits at the kitchen table, so my Mom, Dad, and
Logan and I crowd around the table. We all sit around the table
cracking jokes and talking. We sit around for about 20 minutes talking
about everything under the sun and cracking jokes and within the 20
minutes a joke was made that was said that they sure hope their fat
butts didnt sink the boat. So after about 20 minutes, we decide its
time to go. Its about 10:45 in the mornin and its already a blisterin
hot mornin. So we load up in the truck. Logan and I were in the back of
the cab, Dad was ridin shotgun and Uncle Robert was the driver. We
headed out through Sturgis towards Webster County. We were headed
to our cousin Georgies pond. Georgies pond is located at least a good
country mile of 630 leaving Dixon heading to Madisonville. About 10
minutes into the 45-minute drive Logan looks at me and says Sister,
guess what time it is? I knew what time it was but I waited for his
answer. He said, Jiblee, it is chaw time he pulls out the ole can of dip.

Its our favorite kind of dip Grizzly Wintergreen. So we put us a good

dip in and enjoy the rest of our journey.
We get to Georgies house and dad goes to the door and tells
him we are going to be out fishin. Uncle Robert proceeds to the
docking place on the right side of the of the pond. Logan climbs in to
get the boat ready for us when it comes of the trailer.as Logan climbs
in dad lets out a holler to him put that there plug in that boat boy. So
we get the boat undocked and the remaining 3 of us climb in. we
notice that while we trolley through the pond our feet begin to get wet.
We get to the middle of the pond and proceed to start fishin. More
water begins to fill the boat. More and more water pours in to the boat.
We dont notice till it reaches our ankles. So as a result of the boat
filling with water it began to sink. Dad looks to Logan and says Boy,
did you put that there plug in this here boat Logan with a terrified look
says, What plug Dad?
Dad replied yelling, THE ONE THAT KEEPS WATER FROM
GETTING IN THAT HERE BOAT. So all 4 of us swam to the bank. Dad
goes to tell Georgie that we need to get the boat out of the pond.
Georgie lends us a paddleboat and a 4 wheeler to drag our boat out of
the pond. We get the boat out along with all of our belongings except
for 2 fishin poles. So we decide to go home. We all had to ride home
soaking wet and smellin like dead fish. When we get home we had to
explain what happened to my mom. Nowadays it makes for a good
story to tell and gives us all a good laugh. I will never forget the
memory made that day.
Lunar Eclipse
By Kiersten
It was a cold, cloudy night. I was spending time with my best
friend Grace Mills. We were told about a lunar eclipse that was suppose
to occur that night
About nine oclock at night, we headed outside to see if this
eclipse is actually going to happen. We stepped of my porch and could
not see the moon. We began to walk up the hill heading towards my
grandmas house. As we stood on top of the hill Grace, and I could see
the moon but it was a blur. The clouds covered the moon almost
completely.
We went ahead and walked back to my house and went inside.
We got too occupied doing other things and almost forgot about the
lunar eclipse. Thirty minutes had passes before we actually realized.
We hurried back out. By this time the moon had moved and we could
see it from my front porch.
It was still cloudy and the moon was still a blur. In hope of being
able to see the moon change from orange back to white, we sat

outside. After fifteen minutes of waiting, C.J., my little brother, came

out and joined us.
We just sat patiently waiting and waiting. C.J., Grace and myself
became antsy and tired of waiting and began to converse among each
other. Thirty minutes past before I looked back up at the moon and it
was back to white. Thats the moment I realized I missed my
opportunity of watching a Lunar Eclipse occur.

Sludgefoots Father
By Noah
On November 12, 2014 I was awoken by the sound of my alarm
clock at 5:00 am. The weather was cloudy with calm winds coming
from the north. The rut was in full blast and it was a frosty cold
morning around 30 degrees. I always hunt the same deer stand about
25 feet up the tree. For this particular morning I decided to change up
the scenery to hunt another stand Ive never hunted before.
Sunrise was 6:32 am and I had about half a mile walk. I arrived
at my stand 10 minutes till 6 being as quiet as a mouse trying not to
spook and deer around the area. Im finally settling on my stand
waiting for a nice buck to appear, around 7:00 I was already freezing
and wanting to leave to warm up but knowing rut was in full blast I had
a good chance at 150 deer, which is how they score the deer antlers.
Patiently waiting twenty five feet closer to God, I spotted a doe
down the hill walking my way, with her tail perked up and bent over I
knew she was in heat and there was a good chance a buck wouldnt be
to far behind her. Not even two minutes later around 7:40 here came a
buck on the same path as her that a recognized from on camera from
the previous year called Sludgefoots dad, without a doubt I knew he
was a mature buck and no questions asked; a shooter deer. My
adrenaline started rushing as I stood up slowly and quietly, I grabbed
my 30-60 and got sighted on the deer quickly before he started
running to the doe ahead of him. Steady, steady, held my breath and
squeezed of a shot. The deer instantly dropped and started rolling
down the hill and of a rock onto our neighbors property.
Instant happiness. I was so proud of the deer I just harvested and
without a doubt the biggest Ive ever shot. The real question was how I
was going to get this deer. The land is rocky hills of valleys. Knowing its
impossible to hand pull it, nor get a four wheeler down there. I got out
of my sand to see what a blessing God just provided me. Approaching
the deer it was bigger than expected with eighteen points and scoring
172 but still was asking myself, how the hell can I get this deer
home?

The hard part was here, which was getting a 240-pound deer up
a mountain. My father was at work and had no signal so I couldnt get
ahold of him. After many attempts of calling him I was clueless. I knew
I had plenty of time because it was so cold outside and couldnt rot but
I was still scared coyotes might find it before I got help.
My father had four horses which he rode every chance he had. I
figured to myself maybe the horses could pull it out. One was very
used to that terrain from horse rides in Illinois. I saddled up the horse
with the most experience and headed to the deer. Once I reached the
steep hill, I got of and guided the horse down the rocky terrain. The
horse acted scared but I knew this was my only way to get my deer
home. I tied a rope around the horns of the deer and the other end of
the rope to the horn of the saddle. I snapped a lead rope to the badly
and began walking up the hill the easiest route I could find. The horse
pulled the deer without any problems or hesitation up the mountain.
The horse and I successfully got the deer back home.
Thats the story of my trophy deer.
Webster county girls soccer game
By Katelynn
Webster County is our biggest rival in girls soccer. Ever since the
team started practicing in June, our number one goal was to beat
Webster. On August 25th, our goal would be achieved on our home
field.
Of course it wasnt an early win. They wanted to beat us just as
much as we wanted to beat them. Before the game we always warm
up for about 45 minutes or so. Everyone was so excited and pumped.
Positivity was echoing through our thoughts. Everyone just knew that
this was going to be a good game. When we stepped out on the field
everything grew silent. The only thing you could hear was the wind.
The tension between the two teams was so intense you could see it.
The referee blew his whistle after what felt like an eternity and
Caroline kicked the ball over the line. The first half was of to a slow
start, no one was scoring. The ball was moving from one side to the
other. We couldnt seem to keep possession of the ball. Winslow, our
coach, began yelling at us at the top of his lungs, Wake up Bravettes!
Pick it up!. Still with the score remaining 0-0 the horn sounded out for
half time.
During half time Winslow gave us the same speech he always
gives up at half time. Basically telling us that we need to step it up and
show some heart. We stopped onto the field once more and we gave it
everything we had. We scored the first goal of the game but Webster
was soon on our heel. Shortly after they scored their first goal, leaving
the score 1-1. We fought tooth and nail to recover, with 15 minutes left
of the game we scored our second goal. But surely, with just few

minutes left, the Webster girls scored their second goal. With the
buzzer sounding for the end of the game, the score was tied 2-2.
Since Union County and Webster County are district rivals there
must be a winner. The refs decided on going into overtime consisting of
2, 5-minute halves. When the first half began we were determined to
beat them. We werent going to let them score on us. But neither were
they. The five minutes quickly passed by, we switched to the other side
of the field for the second half. By the end of the half, there was still no
winner. Like I said before, in a district game there must be a winner.
This lead up to a PK shootout. A PK shoot-of is where five girls from
each team take a PK, one at a time. (A PK is a free shot on goal with a
goalie.) One girl from Webster would go and then one girl from Union.
One girl from each team made a shot, but this still left the score in a tie
so they cancelled out. Since everyone had gone and there was still no
winner, a second lineup was chosen. I was in the second lineup. I was
third in line to go, I waited anxiously for my turn. This lineup was the
Golden Rule, which was whoever scored the next goal won the game
for their team. The first two rounds of girls went, the girls from Union
being Kiara Campbell and Kassidy Luttrell. They both missed their shot.
I was up next. I jogged up to the PK line and set the ball where I was
comfortable. The referee blew his whistle signaling for me to kick. My
palms were sweaty and I shook with nervousness. There wasnt a
sound; all I could hear was my heartbeat in my chest. I stepped back
from the ball and started running toward my ball. I faked the goalie out
left and swung right. Embarrassed that I missed I turned around and
started jogging back to the lineup when I noticed my team smiling. The
crowd stood up and my team ran towards me, little did I know my shot
had made it into the bottom right-hand corner of the net. The whistle
blew, and we had won the game.
From this experience I learned that you must have faith in
yourself and in your team. You have to trust your teammates that they
will do their job. And most of all have fun. Beat Webster.