PAGE 6

SPORTS
DEC 14/ JAN 15

TOP

Performers

Competitive
cheer goes big
Sheily Shah

Feauture Editor

Kelsey MILLER
Stats: Averaging 7.3 points,
2 assists, 2 steals and 1
rebound
Favorite pre-game music:
Big Sean, Chief Keef, Chris
Brown

sshah@novischools.net

Future
Competitions
1/21: Meet @
Livonia Stevenson
2/07: KLAA
Association Cross
Over @ Hartland
2/20: MHSAA
Tournament
2/28: MHSAA
Regionals

Brad HOFELICH
Hot start: 23 points in
his first eight games (16
assists, 7 goals)
Future: Brad plans to play
junior hockey after this
year

3/06: MHSAA
Finals @ Delta
Plex

UPCOMING
EVENTS
Hockey

1/16/15
vs. Northville
@ Novi Ice Arena,
7:30 p.m.
1/17/15
vs. Brighton
@ Novi Ice Arena,
7:00 p.m.

Girls Basketball
1/16/15
vs. Northville
@ Novi HS,
5:30 p.m.

17 cheerleaders, 13 seniors. That

was the story of the varsity cheer
team in 2014.
But 2015 brings a different story.
With so many seniors last
year, most of the juniors didnt
have experience leading the team.
Currently we have 4 seniors who
have have really stepped up this
season, coach Ashley Karinen
said. We have 22 cheerleaders
as opposed to the 16 or 17 we
usually have.
With a larger, younger team,
Karinen said there is a lot of potential.
Its actually really fun. Since
the upperclassmen are so supportive and encouraging, its a lot
of fun to watch practices, Karinen said. I have high expectations this year.
Senior Krystina Giroux said
shes looking forward to being
the best that the team can be.
How you practice is how you
perform, Giroux said. So far
weve been giving all at practices, but with the high goals we
have for ourselves, its hard to
lose that team aspect and I think
we need to focus on that.
On Sat., Dec 7, the varsity
cheer team had their pre-season
competition.
We were right in the middlethere were some people below us
and some people above us, junior
Kristen Bailey said.
Giroux said that the goal is to

make it to regionals by getting into

the top 4 in the District.
There are three rounds to a
competition, she said. Round
1 is motion and jumps. Round 2
is Team skill and precision and
Round 3 is stunting/tumbling. We
need to work the most on stunts
and tumbling this year so we can
reach our goal.
Karinen said the team is trying
to put more difficult stunt transitions to improve on round 3.
The girls will need to put
stunts up in the air and move
quicker to something else, she
said. Were taking more risks this
year while still keeping the round
clean and safe.
With 22 cheerleaders, Karinen
said its important to stay focused.
Competitive cheer is a very
mental sport, she said. Im not
necessarily nervous about it, but it
takes a while to build up to the next
level. So making a young, large
team stay mentally prepared could
be a difficult task.
Giroux said the hardest thing
that comes with a large, young
team is the amount of competitiveness.
Its easily to get carried away
in having a single focus for our
competitions, she said. We cant
lose the team factor by that.
From 17 to 22, the varsity cheer
team has a great start to achieving
their goal.
Its really good that we know
our strengths and weaknesses at
the start of the season, Giroux
said. It gives us more time to do
better and make it to regionals.

Larger, younger
team brings greater
competition, goals

All photos by N. Naseem/ Yearbook

Photos by E. Edevbie/ Editor in chief

Varsity cheer takes to the mat to start their preseason competition. We were right in the middle, junior Kristen Bailey said. We need to get on the top.

The cheerleaders change formation and ready for their next one. We want to focus
on quickly changing acts, coach Ashley Karinen said.

The Road to Victory ... and defeat

Team comes back from Calumet trip with a win and a loss
Alexa Harb
News Editor

aharb@novischools.net

Ski

1/23/15
Meet
@ Alpine Valley Ski
4:00 p.m.

Bowling

1/19/15
vs. Salem
@ Novi Bowl,
3:30 p.m.

Wrestling

1/17/15
vs. Chelsea
@ Chelsea HS,
TBD

Boys Swim
and Dive
1/22/15
vs. Northville
@ Novi HS,
6:30 p.m.

* Upcoming events for competitive cheer and boys basketball

are provided for in their respective articles. Figure skating dates
were not posted on klaaconference.org

The hockey team packed up its

gear and headed to the U.P. to play
against Calumet and Hancock
High Schools, Jan. 8.
We were stuck on a bus together so that really brought the
team together, senior assistant
captain Jimmy Hole said.
After leaving the Novi Ice
Arena at 6:30 a.m., the team
arrived and had an hour long
practice beginning at 10 p.m. at
Lakeview Arena.
The rink we practiced at was
extremely cold, but it prepared
us for the Calumet game, junior
Brennan Martin said.
The next day the team took the
ice at 7 p.m. to play Calumet.
I think we all had a lot of
chemistry going into the game,
Martin said. There was no negative talk, so everyone was having
a good time out there.
The boys came out victorious
even after an unexpected Calumet three-goal comeback during
the third period. The Wildcats
won, 4-3.
They took the ice again Saturday, where they faced Hancock at
1 p.m.
I was ejected from the Han-

Senior assistant captain Jimmy Hole races for the puck alongside a Salem player. The
Wildcats won 3-2.

cock game because I hit someone

too hard, senior Patrick Wojtlyo
said.
When a Hancock player went
to pass to a teammate, Hole intercepted the pass and hit the puck
in the air.
It was intense. Jimmy
chipped the puck over the players
head, toward me, Wojtlyo said.
Anticipating where Hole was
going to put the puck, and during the pass, a Hancock offensive
player stood in the way and Wojtlyo checked him, resulting in an
ejection.

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Roar on Twitter:
@TheWildcatRoar

The player laid there and

didnt get up for a while, Wojtlyo
said.
The ejection required Wojtlyo
to take off his pads and uniform,
change back into his dress clothes
to watch the rest of the game
from the bench.
It kind of affected the game,
because everyone kind of shut
down when it happened even
though we were already losing at
that point, Wojtlyo said.
A 4-11 mercy ended the game.
It was Novi Hockeys first time
being mercied in five years.

We didnt have the strongest

leg with our defensive game, senior Alec Wells said.
Driving through the night, the
team arrived back in town Jan. 11.
Besides the games alone, I
think it was a good time for everyone, a good bonding experience, Martin said.
He said the weekend was considered a learning experience for
the team that will help them in
their upcoming games against
Northville and Brighton.
I think the loss helped us,
Hole said. Theres something to
learn every time you take a hard
loss.
The Wildcats came home to
defeat the Hartland Eagles, 6-4.
Last season the Eagles took the
Regional title from the boys.
It was an emotional loss last
year, Wells said. Hartland took
our one chance at going to states
by a cheap shot.
From the start of this season
Wells said the returning players
have had the goal of getting revenge and defeating Hartland.
This year we were more
ready to play than Hartland was,
Wojtlyo said.
The boys go on to play the
Northville Mustangs and the
Brighton Bulldogs, Jan. 16 and 17.

Snapshot
Photos by K. Wheeler/ Yearbook

Max YANKE
Stats: Averaging 11.5 points,
1.4 assists and 1.7 rebounds
Favorite memory: Making a
three-pointer on his first shot
in his first-ever varsity game
sophomore year

Senior - Hockey

Senior - Basketball

Senior - Basketball

DECEMBERJANUARY

(Top) Senior Ryan

Baxter faces
off for the puck
against a Salem
player Dec. 12.
(Bottom) The boys
celabrate a goal
against Salem.

By the
Numbers
5

Number of games
the team has
scored seven or
more goals

Number of shutouts the team has

had this season

vs. SOUTH LYON

Jan. 13
W 54 - 39

Ulle (2); Yanke (1); K. Hankerson (1); Ozeir (1); Dixon (1)

Assists

Yanke (1)

Scoreboard:
End of the 1st Quarter: 16-5
End of the 2nd: 25-18
End of the 3rd: 40-30

Streaking:
4 wins in a row

Huddle
Efe Edevbie

Brad Dotinga

4 and 5

19 total points
3 assists
3 steals
3 three pointers
1 rebound

Photos by M. Yarberry/ Yearbook

*Stats provided by Zack Martlock

Rebounds Ozeir (5); Dixon (4); K. Hankerson (2); Yanke (1); Duarte (1)
Steals

The

Player of the Game

Photo by B. Kiel/ Editor in chief

The Stat
Sheet

Inside

Naji Ozeir (8); Max Yanke (7); Kam Hankerson (6); Jaylen Dixon (4);
Billy Ulle (3); Tony Asimadu (2); Jay Duarte (1); Nic Hankerson (1)

Points

Junior Naji Ozeir goes up over a Walled Lake Western defender for a basket during the teams first game, Dec. 9. Junior Kam Hankerson dribbles past a Walled Lake Western defender.

Boys basketball sprints to 5-2 start

New coach brings new energy, philospophy
Editor in chief

oedevbie@novischools.net

In its last two games, the boys

basketball team played South
Lyon East, Jan. 9, and South Lyon,
Jan. 13, coming away with wins in
both match-ups, 61-45 and 54-39.
Junior Naji Ozeir stood out
with 16 points, 9 rebounds and
a steal against East; while senior
Brad Dotinga made two fourthquarter threes against South
Lyon.
Weve been a lot better with
[our defensive intensity] lately,
which leads to fast break opportunities, Dotinga said. Everything started with our defense
and weve just been doing well.
The team has gone on a 5-1
stretch since losing its first game
against Walled Lake Western,
Dec. 9, 46-67.
The little things that we practice on in the beginning of the
year [dont] really get exposed
until you play a good team like
that, senior captain Billy Ulle
Fast Fact
about the
Fast Break

said. So we needed kind of a reality check.

The Walled Lake Western
game was Brandon Sinawis first
as head coach. In the off-season
he replaced Brian Tass.
Sinawi last served as Livonia Stevensons head basketball
coach, and he gained an impression of Novis program while
leading the Spartans.
As a basketball program, I
knew they always had talent here.
Theyve always had guys that
had size, that had quickness, that
had a good knack for the game,
Sinawi said. Knowing that we
were going to be playing Novi, we
were going to be playing against
kids that were tough and were
good basketball players.
Sinawi brings a distinct
coaching style to the program.
Hes very vocal and on-the-spot.
Whether the guys are setting up
screens incorrectly or someone
is failing to pump fake to avoid a
block, Sinawi will stop practice in
the middle of drills to point out
details that could end up having a

bigger impact during games.

Hes upbeat; hes energetic,
senior captain Nic Hankerson
said. He always keeps a positive
morale. Hes gonna get into you
in practice, but its all for a better cause Hes a good coach. I
respect him a lot.
One of the bigger changes for
the team is how Sinawi runs the
offense. While they employed
more set plays last year under
Tass, Sinawi preaches moving
the ball down court and using
the teams great athleticism and
speed, without having to call any
sets.
One of his main ideas is
pushing the ball, Dotinga said.
Just fast break, push the ball as
much as possible. Thats kind of
his philosophy.
With the help of their fast
break offense and improved defense, the boys have moved into
a tie for first place in the KLAA
Central Division with Salem and
Livonia Stevenson.

Top Left: Junior Tony Asimadu breaks down a Walled Lake

Western defender. Top Right: Senior captain Max Yanke shoots
a floater against WL Western. Bottom: The team huddles up
during a break in the second half.

Whos Up Next?

Almost any basketball team you could imagine has an element of the fast break offense, so Novi is only one of
many to utilize it. But where did it come from? Former college basketball coach John McLendon is considered
by many to be the man behind the fast break offense, and a person who contributed heavily to modern day
basketball and its development.
*Source: Bleacher Report

The more, the merrier

Northville

This Friday
@ Novi HS,
7:00 p.m.

Salem

Stevenson

Next Tuesday
@ Novi HS,
7:00 p.m.

Next Friday
@ Stevenson,
7:00 p.m.

Girls bowling attempts to

rebuild program

Liam Loomer

Bowling
Lingo

Staff Writer

wloomer@novischools.net

The following is a list of

just a few strange terms
that bowlers use:

Action

Spin on the ball and the

movement based off
that spin

Bagger

A string of strikes; i.e.,

five baggers is five in
a row
Photo by R. Maylen/ Yearbookr

In order to make the headlines, the girls bowling team, has

recruited new bowlers.
We hope to have fun, get better, and get more bowlers, returning bowler Heather Gregory
said. We also want to create
awareness that Bowling is a fun
and great sport that you can earn
your school letter in and play for
a lifetime.
After qualifying for the state
finals last year, the team lost nine
bowlers due to graduation.
In their first two meets of the
season, the girls have lost toLakeland, 24-6, and to Brighton, 20-10.
This is a tough rebuilding
year because only two girls were
in the program last year, coach
John Osborne said. It is also hard
because we are an unfunded off
campus program without transportation to and from practice
and meets.
Part of the issue of recruiting underclassmen is because of
transportation issues, Osborne
said.
The program is required to
have 32 bowlers across the girls

The team huddles up before its match against John Glenn.

and boys junior varsity and varsity teams. The problem for the
team at this point is that it doesnt
have enough bowlers.
Nobody knows we have a
bowling team, Gregory said.
This year we put up flyers on
all the [bulletin] boards and that
helped a lot. But, we need more
in-school publicity, and more
team members.
The smaller team size has allowed for work on fundamentals,
and gives the team time to bowl
entire games.
The enjoyable part is that we

have found an enthusiastic, hard

working, and coach-able group to
work with, Osborne said. We
hope to improve each week and
be competitive.
The bowlers have matches
weekly where they can show their
improvement.
Our matches are pretty
fun, but we stay focused on our
game, Gregory said. We rotate members so everyone gets
to bowl, and we encourage each
other, including our opponents.
Cheering and giving high fives
are always happening.

Fill Ball

The ball thrown after a

spare in the 10th frame

King Pin

The 5-Pin. It is a key pin

to produce a strike

Messenger

The name given to a pin

that rolls into a pin or
pins to get a strike or
break a split

Punch Out

Matches consist of two baker

games (games where each bowler bowls toward a team score),
as well as two regular games
against an assigned opponent.
There are 30 points to a match;
the first team to 16 or more points
wins the match.
We have a great group to
work with and I believe we will
be able to improve and be competitive by the end of January,
Osborne said.

To finish a game with

consecutive strikes
from any frame on

Six Pack

Six strikes in a row

Infographic by L. Loomer/Staff Writer

Efe Edevbie

PAGE 7

SPORTS
DEC 14/ JAN 15

Ill never play football on a

team again and thats something
Ill have to live with. Whats going to make that harder is the
fact that I only had one winning
season in high school and never
made the playoffs.
Playoffs.
Something that seemed so
certain in the off-season and
something the senior class had
worked toward for four years. It
never materialized.
We had all the talent. All the
swagger. We had the right mindset and the right attitude. We
probably had the best offseason,
in terms of lifting and conditioning, in Novi football history.
On paper, we were a team
ready to make a playoff run. In
reality, we underachieved.
The Brighton game and dedication of our new turf field came
and passed. In almost a blink of
an eye, we were 0 and 1.
The Kettering game was
postponed to a Saturday afternoon, and with the help of the
worst officiating in the history
of high school football (this is
my column, Ill say whatever I
want) we dropped to 0 and 2.
The senior class had a meeting after that game. We let it
all air out. Nothing held back,
nothing left unsaid. We knew
we were underperforming, the
question was how to fix it before
it was too late.
Losing to Stevenson the next
week after a last-second touchdown didnt help.
The locker room atmosphere
after that game could only be
described as depressing. To say
it was devastating is an understatement.
0 and 3? If I was told before
the season that that would be
our 3-game record, I would have
laughed so hard that I cried.
But after the Stevenson
game, I had real tears streaming down my face.
Then the fun started.
Salem, South Lyon East,
South Lyon. Win, win, win. We
were 3 and 3 and our season
had been resurrected. The playoffs, something that seemed so
unlikely after the Stevenson
game, had rematerialized and
were just beyond our reach.
Then the fun ended.
Northville week. This was
the year we would end our
5-game losing streak to Northville and reclaim the Baseline
Jug. We were going to win that
game.
But we didnt.
As the second half started,
one Mustang touchdown rolled
into the end zone after the other.
With the clock ticking under a
minute, the score read 45-14.
Not even close.
Walking back into the locker
room, the fact that I would never
play Northville again and never
have a chance to hold up the Jug
hit me like a freight train.
I collapsed onto the locker
room floor, crying uncontrollably over a shower drain like a
little baby.
I couldnt grasp anything
that was happening. In a sense,
it didnt seem real.
We lost the John Glenn game
the next week and were knocked
out of playoff contention.
Wow.
With nothing to lose, and
most of us playing in our last
games ever, we beat Howell in
a thriller on Senior Night. After everything that went wrong
during the season, it was nice
for something to go right.
But in the end, all the great
moments I had my last season
will be overshadowed by two
numbers.
4 and 5.

Join the awardwinning staff of The

Wildcat Roar for
second semester.
Stop by Room 120
or email Ms. Cadena
for more information.