This Friday, February 3, marks the Winter Pep Rally at Rice Memorial High School. For this season’s slate of contests, our sports journalism team will submit their picks to win each event. Remember that these picks are all made with a light heart, but also we take our stuff seriously here. With this being said, let’s introduce ourselves to the games and their contestants. 

Participants may be subject to change before the Pep Rally.

Musical Chairs

Rules: Pretty simple concept. Many participants, not enough chairs. When the music stops, everyone tries to sit down until they have either found their place or been bumped out of the running. It goes on until only one champion remains. 

The Participants:

Freshman

Chais Lyford, Nolan Worgan, Maddie Ryle, Bayleigh Clark 

Sophomores

Eric Poso, Brendan Patterson, Athena Moulaert

Juniors 

Emmett Waite, JJ “Colin” Banks

Seniors

Catherine Viner, Anna Marsella, Andrew Libby, Cade Bretton

Faculty

Mr. Dornfried, Ms. Croce

JRob’s Pick: 

Chais Lyford

This Friday, the entirety of Rice will assemble to watch what is to be one of the most highly anticipated games of musical chairs ever. Throughout this week, the student council selected a crop of very technically skilled individuals. I predict a unique winner. Perhaps he is not the oldest or the biggest, but the competitive edge of this individual will dominate this event. I predict…… freshman prodigy Chase Lyford will take the world by storm this Friday.

Messi’s Pick:

Mr. Dornfried

As you will see in my picks throughout the article, I am a man of the students. However, with this event, I am going to have to go with Mr. Dornfried. Mr. Dornfried is a military man, and I have a feeling this will translate well to the physical competition of musical chairs. Also, Mr. Dornfried does not mess around; ask anyone who takes AP United States History. I have a feeling he will bring the same energy seen in the classroom to the gym floor on Friday. 

Toilet Paper Mummy

Rules: The race begins! Two teammates wrap the other member in toilet paper until a mummy emerges. Then, it is a speed waddle to the finish line; first to get there goes from rags to riches in bragging rights. 

The Teams:

Freshmen

Rozella Van Tvergen, Reese Tourville, Oliver Quon

Sophomores

Carlos Asbell, Sophia Ambroggio, Coleton Merchant

Juniors

Raven McCray Fay, Gabby Sneddon, Joseph “JRob” Rob

Seniors

Annecy Blanck, Tela Haskell, Caden Fischer

Faculty

Mr. Clas, Mrs. Barnicle, Mr. Mazzella

JRob’s Pick

Faculty 

The Toilet Paper Mummy is brand new to our usual showdown of competitions and is expected to be quite the thrill. Yes, I am competing in this competition, and while I am the obvious pick, I am going to remain impartial. Regardless of the facts, the science department has put forward three big contenders– Mr. Clas, Mrs. Barnicle, and Mr. Mazzella will most likely go for gold on Friday. And I predict that a battle between Juniors and Seniors will determine second place. In the end, the overwhelming skill of the faculty will be just too much for the students to handle. 

Messi’s Pick:

Juniors

Listen, call me biased in every way possible, but I am going with the Juniors. They have an absolutely stacked squad, including the Banner’s very own JRob. Now, the Faculty could give them some trouble with the Science Department Squad they have assembled. Overall, a difficult selection to pick from. The Student Council really got some good players out there this year. But I have faith in the Juniors. 

Basketball: Students vs. Faculty

Rules: The Students will face off against the Faculty in a basketball game. In the match-up of the century, each team will have ten members, five taking the court at a time. Dunks are expected and deep threes will be chucked. 

Nota Bena: Only two Varsity team members were allowed on the Student team, one from the Boys team and one from the Girls team.

The Teams:

Students

Drew Bessette (junior), Kelli Cieplicki (junior), Thomas Colman (junior), Grant Murphy (junior), Jacques Meli (junior), Kyle Tanis (senior), Shamarke Hassan (sophomore), Titi Bogre(sophomore), Ellie Wright (sophomore), Addy Petrasch (freshman)

Faculty

Mr. Bergeron, Ms. Lemoine, Mr. Cook, Mrs. Barnicle, Mrs. Allard, Mr. Garcia, Mr. Fitzgerald, Mr. Welsch

JRob’s Pick

Students 

WOW! This is the only word I can muster after seeing such a powerful roster for the students. I’m calling it right now: Mr. Cook is getting dunked on by fan favorite and three-star Drew Bessette. The faculty do possess assets that could possibly sneak them by with a win– this is their outstanding backcourt defense consisting of Mr. Bergeron, Mr. Welsch, and Ms. Lemoine, our school’s very own athletic trainer. Poor Ms. Lemoine, she will probably have her hands full after this game. The teachers are going to need ice packs and Advil after the students get some payback for midterms. 

Messi’s Pick

Students

I am going with the students on this one. An absolutely electric lineup here. Kelli Cieplicki and Drew Bessette are stars on their respective varsity teams, but we have some good pickup players here as well. Kyle Tanis is a known three-point shooter when he is not scoring goals for the hockey team. I will say this: the faculty put out a solid squad. Mr. Bergeron was on the Rice varsity basketball team around five to six years ago. The height of Mr. Fitzgerald and Mrs. Barnicle is definitely going to help the faculty, but the students offset that with the towering duo of Tommy Colman and Drew Bessette. The student team is just glorious. I have heard Drew is going to dunk on Mr. Welsch and Mr. Cook. I expect an overwhelming student victory here. 

That concludes the sports journalism team’s picks for the Winter Pep Rally 2023. If you are interested in joining our section, reach out to Hannah Cunningham, Giles Heilman, Mr. Matarazzo, or one of us! Thank you all for reading, and Roll Knights!