2011 Soccer Run

The Pleasant Plains boys’ soccer team had another great season this year, making it all the way to the Regional finals where they came up short in a great game against Quincy Notre Dame, which ended in a 1-0 loss. The final record for this year’s season was sixteen wins, four losses, and three ties. We interviewed two of the three captains, Andrew Hamerlinck and Tyler Cameron, along with both Coach Bryan and Coach O’Connor.
The Cardinals began the season’s first three games by scoring 4 or more goals against Litchfield, Carlinville, and Lincoln. “The seniors did a great job of leading the rest of the team, bringing experience and competitiveness to raise the bar for the rest of the players,” said Coach Bryan. Approaching the middle, and hardest part, of the season, the team focused mainly on formation and strategy. Unfortunately, the Cardinals hit a rough patch between Springfield High, Jacksonville High, and Rochester. “We started out strong and competitive, but we had a little lull where we couldn’t finish,” said Coach O’Connor, “we put our whole game together towards tournament time.” The Cardinals defeated Williamsville 5-0 and then went on to face Quincy Notre Dame in the Regional Championship game. Both coaches found the game against Quincy Notre Dame to be the high point of the season. “We played all 80 minutes with the never die mentality,” said O’Connor.
Both Andrew Hamerlinck and Tyler Cameron, senior captains for the Cardinals, felt that the season went better than expected. Tyler Cameron, a defender, was able to score two goals for the Cardinals this year. “Tying Williamsville then beating them 4-1 the next time we played them was one of my favorite memories from the season,” said Cameron. Andrew Hamerlinck, who plays goalie, had five shutouts this season and one assist at goal. The Regional Championship game against QND was his favorite season memory. “Even though we lost to the team, who then went on to win state, we played hard and I’m proud of that,” said Hamerlinck. Although both captains plan on continuing their soccer careers in college, they are undecided as to where they would like to play.
Over all, it was another good season with a final record of 16-4-3. Although the team is graduating 9 of 11 starters, we are excited to see what next year’s season will bring.

Sebastian Power and Chris O’Connor
-The Cardinal

The Great Outdoors

As we progress through the calendar year one date catches every bow hunters eye, October 1st. This day is special to many because it’s the opening day of whitetail bow hunting season in Illinois. It’s a day many look forward to because for some it’s their first taste of deer hunting since the season ended in the middle of January. Any bow hunter will tell you that there is nothing comparable to the feeling of being out in the tree stand again after such a long time off.
Bow hunting is unlike any other hunt because there are so many more factors that have to be accounted for before a deer can be harvested compared to firearm hunting. The toughest is the mental factor that plays into bow hunting. Several hours of shooting practice are necessary for a hunter to be comfortable with all the different scenarios they may face while they are in the stand; confidence in the shot is one of the biggest keys to success in the field. Other factors that must be accounted for are wind, distance, and scent. First year bow hunter and senior at Pleasant Plains Clayton Otto, had this to say when asked about how he feels about all the challenges and factors that go along with bow hunting, “I feel like these challenges will be easy to overcome with the preparation I have been putting into it. I watch videos of other hunters and I practice all sorts of different shot possibilities I may face. As far a scent control goes, I like to hang my clothes outside prior to my hunt to let them air out. Then when I get ready to walk into the woods I’ll spray myself down with some scent control spray.”

Justin Mably
-The Cardinal

Ultimate Frisbee Games at Calvary Academy

On every Wednesday and Sunday night at 8 pm, students from Pleasant Plains and Calvary Academy host an ultimate frisbee game at the baseball field at Calvary Academy. The teams range anywhere between 5 to 7 players with a quick ten minute draft before each game. The frisbee directors are Josh Gordon from Lanphier High, Andrew Huffmen from Calvary, and Sebastian Power from Pleasant Plains. Everyone is welcome.

For more information, you can contact any directors or join the Springfield Ultimate Frisbee group on Facebook. This page will keep you up to date on game times, players and other information. We will play every week as long as we have enough players and as long as the weather is permitting.

-Sebastian Power
 The Cardinal

What Seems to Be the Problem?

Students run into so many obstacles in their high school years.  It is an unavoidable part of life.  Sometimes, it feels like their aren't any solutions.  When answers are hard to come by, The Cardinal is here to help. The OnlineCardinal  is opening an advice column to help students solve the problems faced daily.

 If you need advice, feel free to send us an email at plainsadvice@gmail.com


-Amber Skeeters
The Cardinal

2011 Sangamo Conference Golf Tournament

2010 Cardinals placed 4th at State

Last year in the 2010 Sangamo Conference Boys Golf Tournament, the Pleasant Plains Cardinals took first by 33 strokes. The individual winner that year was Austin Havens, with a score of 72. This year, the 9-5 Cardinals, unfortunately had a different story. The 2011 Conference Tournament was held at Shambolee Golf Course, in Petersburg. For the tournament, the weather was overcast through most of the day, and the temperature stayed in the high seventies to low eighties. Teams from Auburn, Illini Central, Mount Pulaski, PORTA, Riverton, Williamsville, as well as your very own Pleasant Plains Cardinals competed in the tournament.

PORTA entered the tournament ranked 1st and ended the tournament as the overall champions. The team had a total score of 305, led by the top two finishers, Ethan Brue and Will Edge, who shot 70 and 75. Pleasant Plains came in second with a team score of 330, led by their top two finishers, Austin Havens and Matt Nika, who both shot 73. Finishing third, Williamsville shot a 331 and had Curtis Clark finish with the Bullets' best score of 77. Mount Pulaski finished fifth with a team score of 359 and top individual score of 84, while Auburn came in sixxth with a total score of 366 and top individual score of 89. Illini Central finished in last place with a score of 383 and a top individual score of 87 from Justin Onken.

The top ten individual scorers for the tournament were: Scott Painter, Riverton (83); Luke Sinclair, PORTA (82); Marty Pesch, Williamsville (82); Nate Hopper, PORTA (78); Curtis Clark, Williamsville (77); Will Edge, PORTA (75); Austin Havens, Pleasant Plains (73); Matt Nika, Pleasant Plains (73); Ryan Painter, Riverton (73); and Ethan Brue, PORTA (70).

The second, third, and fourth place individual scores were determined by a score card playoff, which is a playoff in which tournament officials select the hole with the lowest handicap and determine the player who finishes better based on the score the player received on that particular hole. If a tie remains, officials proceed to the hole with the second lowest handicap and so forth. In the case of Havens, Nika, and Painter, all tied with a 73, so final placements were determined by scores on hole five. Havens scored a bogey, and Painter and Nika both tallied par. Moving on to hole 11, in which Nika bogeyed and Painter shot par, officials awarded Painter second place, while Nika finished second and Havens third overall.

The Cardinals have a match at Piper Glen tonight and another at Edgewood tomorrow before Regionals begin next Tuesday, October 4.


-Austin Havens
-Braxton Lanier
 The Cardinal

What is the Fate of Book Club This Year?

Where did book club go? Last year, the librariarn, Ms. Naylor, introduced the Book Club to Pleasant Plains High School. Meetings were once a month during lunch/homeroom. This year, however, things have changed and with the new schedule our meeting time has virtually disappeared. No meetings have been scheduled and the fate of book club is currently unknown. Is it possible that the new P.A.C.E. schedule and strictness to adhere to it may have killed Book Club? We certainly hope not, but as of right now, Book Club may not be a school activity. If students wish to have a Book Club they need to contact Ms. Naylor by Friday September 30^th, 2011 via email (Jnaylor@ppcusd8.org or pphs.library@gmail.com). All ideas will be welcomed, great ideas may even earn praise or if I may say so myself, because it is such an integrity filled act, you could earn some “Cash” -- Cardinal Cash that is.

-Doug Nickelson

 The Cardinal

Lady Cardinals Travel to the Mahomet-Seymour Volleyball Tournament

The Pleasant Plains Volleyball team has high expectations for this 2011 season.  So far they have started their season off strongly. They defeated North Mac, and won 3 out of their 3 conference matches against Auburn, Sangamon Valley, and Illini Central. These wins contributed to their undefeated record of 4-0.

            With a record of 4-0, on September 10^th, the team traveled to Mahomet-Seymour to compete in the Bulldog’s tournament.  Plains pool consisted of Urbana, Heritage, and Mahomet-Seymour. The Cardinals faced Heritage in their first match of pool play.  They came out ready to play and defeated Heritage in two games. Game one with scores of 25-13 and 25-17, improving the Cardinal’s record to 5-0.

            The next game in their pool was against Urbana.  The competition and intensity rose during this game, and the Cardinals played very well with strong defense and quick, effective offense. Both games consisted of wins with a score of 25-16, and after a great played match, this put their record at 6-0. 

            The Cardinals kept the energy up as they went straight into the final game of pool play with Mahomet-Seymour.  At this point the Cardinals and Bulldogs were both 2-0 in their pool.  The winner of this match would advance from the pool play into the championship bracket of the tournament play.  Plains started out strong with momentum and energy from their previous victory over Urbana, but Mahomet did not give up and brought the heat.  They beat Plains in the first game with a score of 25-20.  It was very close as both teams were striving for the common goal, which was to enter the championship bracket.  In game two Plains was ready knowing they needed to win the game in order to take it into a third game for a match victory.  The scoreboard was changing rapidly throughout the game and the fans became extremely rowdy.  Mahomet was ahead in game two by nine points, but Plains called a timeout, reset, and came back to be ahead by one point.  This second match was very intense, well played volleyball, and in the end Mahomet ended up defeating Plains.  This sent the Cardinals to the consolation bracket and added their first loss of the season.

            Tournament play followed after all pools had finished competing.  The cardinals faced Wilmington for their first match.  The team seemed to recover from the previous loss in the Mahomet game and won the first game over Wilmington with a score of 25-13. However, Wilmington won the second game 13-25 and then the third 11-15, changing the Cardinals record to 6-2.

            The last game left in this consolation bracket for Pleasant Plains was against St. Anthony.  The Cardinals defeated St. Anthony in two games.  The first game 25-23 and the second game 25-17.  This was a great way to recover from the previous, back to back losses, and to add another win to their record of 7 wins and 2 losses.

            In the tournament, Callie Whetstone led the Cardinals with 36 Kills, while Abby Kulavic had 40 Set Assists and Madison Oschwald had 88 Defensive Digs and 93 Perfect Passes to the setter. Defensive specialist, Jenni Ruggless stated her thoughts of the tournament, “I think we played really well, we were just unlucky in such a hard pool.  I know against Mahomet and Wilmington we were the better team. It was a learning experience.”

            Callie Whetstone, a senior, middle blocker for the Cardinals, said, “Losses are always hard but they are part of the season.  It is a learning experience which teaches us our weaknesses, what we need to fix, and how to progress from there.  As long as we pick each other up, learn, and continue playing as a team; we will have a good, successful season.”


-Emily Baietto
-Megan Wavering
 The Cardinal