Juniors Upend Seniors In Rocketball Upset

Sarah Allen, Photo Editor

For the first time in rocketball history, the juniors beat the seniors.

On Tuesday night, each grade level played in a rocketball game. First the juniors played the freshman, then the seniors played the sophomores, then the juniors played the seniors. The juniors and seniors won the first games, and the juniors won the game against the seniors.

Since 2010, the seniors have won against the juniors. For the first time, the juniors defeated the seniors. The junior rocketball team was very confident going into the game. “The confidence of our team was high. I had the trust in myself and the team to get the job done.” said Sean Johnson, a junior rocketball player.

Johnson, as well as many other players, believe that the way the team worked well together is what got them the victory. “Communication was a big factor for us,” said Peyton Merideth, junior rocketball player. William Smith, junior rocketball player, believes the game was “just the right balance of tensions and domination,”.

To prepare for the games, the juniors had two practices that were two hours each. The practices were mostly for scrimmaging. During the scrimmages against the juniors and seniors, the seniors won one game and the juniors won the other. “It was really up in the air for me,” said Smith.

The coaches were very proud of their team. “They deserved every bit of it. They actually pushed and had the desire to learn about the game and fundamentals. They knew they were going to have to bring it to the seniors and they did. Who wouldn’t be proud of making rocketball history?” said Lexie Fisher, junior rocketball coach.

Every year the winner of the last game plays the teachers. In years in the past, the seniors have played the teachers. This year, since the juniors were the winners, the juniors were supposed to play the teachers. Fisher made the decision to let the seniors play in the game. “I saw the frustration and devastation in the senior guys and then Savannah Glass [senior rocketball coach] asked if they could play them so I just said, ‘Why not?’. Who knows what next year will bring, but we will get to play the teachers because we are champions,” said Fisher.

The seniors were happy that the juniors were backing down to let them play. “The juniors were nice enough to let us play them [the teachers]. They just wanted to beat us,” said Jake Reece, senior rocketball player. The focus of the juniors was to have fun and be the first to beat the seniors. For many, like junior rocketball player Zach Thomas, this game was the highlight of their year.