Mount Ayr Record-News
Mount Ayr, Ringgold County, Iowa
Thursday, September 19, 2013

Mount Ayr Community high school is gearing up for this year's homecoming festivities coming the week of September 23-27.

The theme this year is "Raider Dynasty."Students and staff in grades 7-12 will celebrate Homecoming throughout the week with a series of dress-up days. Monday has been designated as Lazy Day, Tuesday is Dress-up Day, Wednesday is Duck Dynasty Day, Thursday is Favorite Disney Character Day and Friday is Raider Spirit Day.

The elementary students also celebrate Homecoming with a series of their own dress-up days. Monday is Twin Day, Tuesday is Crazy Hat Day, Wednesday is Mix and Match or Backwards Day. Thursday is Hillbilly Day and Friday is School Spirit Day. The elementary students will also hold their own pep rally Friday morning and attend the community pep rally Friday afternoon.

Sports activities get underway Tuesday, September 24 when the Raiderettes host Lenox in volleyball action.

A big night of fun is planned for Thursday, September 26. The Friends of Football will hold a supper in the commons from 5:30 - 6:30 p.m. At 6:45 p.m. the always-popular jersey auction takes place in the gym. At 7:30 p.m. the queen will be crowned, with a dodgeball tournamet and senior parent skits to follow. The evening comes to a close with the crowning of the homecoming king.

Homecoming 2013 queen candidates include Brook RYNCHNOVKY, daughter of Mark and Tammy RYCHNOVSKY of Diagonal; Allison WALLACE, daughter of Kurt and Lynne WALLACE of Mount Ayr; Jazmine SPURRIER, daughter of Clint and Kris SPURRIER of Mount Ayr; Paige DAUGHTON, daughter of Matt and Jules DAUGHTON of Kellerton; and Leah KLEJCK, daughter of Gary and Linda KLEJCH of Mount Ayr.

King candidates for Homecoming 2013 are Jacob BEAMGARD, son of Charles and Rebecca BEAMGARD of Mount Ayr; Cody STACKHOUSE, son of Rob and Lesa STACKHOUSE and Kelly ROBINSON of Mount Ayr; Erick FREED, son of David FREED of Delphos and Robin FREED of Osceola; Mason MERCER, son of Mike and Angie MERCER of Mount Ayr; and Jacob SOBOTKA, son of Darwin and Michele SOBOTKA of Clearfield.

The princess and prince this year are Aubree SHIELDS, daugher of Brennon and Bailey SHIELDS of Mount Ayr, and Rowen SACKETT, son of Tom and Kristi SACKETT, also of Mount Ayr.

The annual homecoming parade will begin at 1:30 p.m. Friday with the community/school pep rally to follow at 2:15 p.m. School will be dismissed at 3 p.m. that day.

That evening the Mount Ayr Raiders will face Des Moines Christian high school with start time set for 7 p.m.

The queen, her court and their parents will be recognized during halftime of the game.

Homecoming week will conclude with a dance in the high school commons Friday after the football game.

Photographs courtesy of Mount Ayr Record-News

Transcription by Sharon R. Becker, September of 2013

Mount Ayr Record-News
Mount Ayr, Ringgold County, Iowa
Thursday, October 03, 2013

The Mount Ayr Community high school homecoming court includes

(front row, L-R) prince Rowan SACKETT, son of Tom and Krisit SACKETT; queen Brook RYCHNOVSKY, daughter of Mark and Tammy RYCHNOVSKY; king Jacob BEAMGUARD, son of Charles and Rebecca BEAMGUARD; and princess Aubree SHIELDS, daughter of Brennon and Bailey SHIELDS;
(back row, L-R) Allison WALLACE, daughter of Kurt and Lynne WALALCE; Cody STACKHOUSE, son of Rob and Lesa STACKHOUSE and Kelly ROBINSON; Leah KLEJCH, daughter of Gary and Linda KLEJCH; Jacob SOBOTKA, son of Darwin and Michele SOBOTKA; Jazmine SPURRIER, daughter of Clint and Kris SPURRIER; Erik FREED, son of David FREED and Robin FREED; Paige DAUGHTON, daughter of Matt and Jules DAUGHTON; and Mason MERCER, son of Mike and Angie MERCER.

Results have been announced for entries in the 2013 Mount Ayr Homecoming parade.

The sophomores won their class float competition with their entry entitled "Defending Raider Dynasty." The juniors placed second with their float "We're going to put the Lions on their back and that's a fact, Jack!" The freshmen placed third with their "A Raider victory will make us ... Happy, Happy, Happy." The seniors were fourth with their "Now We're Cooking with Peanut Oil" float.

In the school organizations and clubs division, the Little Raider preschool took top honors, with the Special Olympics in second and the Ringgold Raider football team in third.

Clearview Home and Estates placed first in the community entries. Mount Ayr Medical Clinic took second place while the Klommhaus family and the high school football moms tied for third.

In another competition for hallway decorations, the seniors grabbed first place followed by the freshman in second, the sophomores in third and the juniors in fourth.

The 50th and 25th anniversary Mount Ayr Raider football teams were honored during this year's Homecoming.

The 1963 team was coached by Joe McNEILL, and the quarterback of that team was Dave STILL, who would go on to coach his alma mater.

Both McNEILL and STILL are members of the Iowa Football Coaches Association Hall of Fame.

The '63 squad started the season by outscoring their oppenents 212-0 over the first five games. Starting with the last game of their junior year, they scored on the first play from scrimmage in five consecutive games. They finished the 1963 season with a record of 9-0. The seniors on that squad had a four-year record of 32-3.

STILL'S 1988 team was also honored as the 25th anniversary team. These Raiders finished 6-3 and narrowly missed the playoffs. Highlights of that season included a 20-0 victory over a top-10 Central Decatur team, and a season-ending 23-0 win over Sidney, a game that was played in a mixture of snow and sleet.

Raiders move to 5-0, prepare for district showdown

Friday contest pits state-ranked teams

The Mount Ayr Raiders remained undefeated for the season with a convincing 35-0 victory over Des Moines Christian Friday evening at the Raider's homecoming game.

"We came out and played well in the early part of the game, established a lead and forced them to abandon their game plan," said co-head coach Delwyn SHOWALTER."Des Moines Christian is a good team. They have some size and speed and were coming off a solid win against Pella Christian. But we dominated them on both sides of the ball and nevery allowed them to get into a rhythm."

While Mount Ayr dominated in all aspects of the game, it was the defense that completly shut down the Lions, holding the visitors to just 114 yards in total offense.

Making interceptions for the Raiders were Jacob TAYLOR, Jacob SOBOTKA, Kyle DOLECHECK, Lincoln MARTIN and Cody STACKHOUSE. TAYLOR and Logan STARK also recovered fumbles for Mount Ayr. SOBOTKA found Erik FREED open in the back of the end zone for the Raider's first score. Zach VANDERFLUHT padded the PAT to make it 7-0 with 8:21 left in that quarter.

SOBOTKA later took the ball 54-yards for a touchdown with just 13 seconds left in the quarter. On a fake PAT play, Dawson KNAPP passed to Quency VO for th two point conversion and a 15-0 first quarter lead.

In what is becoming a common practice this season, the second half saw Raider reserves seeing plenty of action.

SOBOTKA led the Mount Ayr rushing attack with 118 yards on 15 carries. The Mount Ayr quarterback was 16 for 21 throwing the ball for 113 yards. FREED caught five passes for 45 yards while MARTIN also have five catches for 22 yards.

Defensively, STACKHOUSE was in on 10 tackles, Mason MERCER had part in eight and Riley WEEHLER and Caleb SCHNOOR had six each.

"MERCER was phenomenal," said SHOWALTER. "He had eight tackles, a tackle for loss, outstanding kick coverage and a whole lot of pressure on the quarterback. It was his best game of the season so far."

[Game statistics were unavailable by press time.]

Photographs courtesy of Mount Ayr Record-News

Transcriptions by Sharon R. Becker, November of 2013