Decatur Christian School

It’s Going to be Hard to Shut Them Down

KarrissaSpangler — Tue, 21 Feb 2012 19:56:58 +0000

Hot off of their victory over the Tribe of Judah Christian for the ECIC tournament Championship game, the Warriors will go on to play the Hilltoppers of Mount Pulaski on Wednesday, February 22, 2011 at 8 pm. You will not want to miss this game. With so much on the line, the guys are ready for the challenge that lies in front of them. When asked about his thoughts on the game to come, senior team captain, Andrew McDowell said, “I am feeling good about this game. If we just shut down their bigger players in the paint, we can handle their guards. The whole team is very confident that we can do this.” Adding to this, junior Michael Houran said that their team motto “We not me.” comes into play. “It’s not just one person that will win the game; it has to be a team effort.”
With the drive to win and the talent to carry it out, the Warriors are on an impressive winning streak. And they are really representing Decatur Christian in an incredible way. So come out and support our Warriors! With determination like this, it’s going to be hard to shut them down.

Karrissa Spangler
Junior Student

ECIC Tournament Champs

KarrissaSpangler — Tue, 21 Feb 2012 19:56:13 +0000

A packed gym on Friday February seventeenth hosted a victory that put the Varsity Warriors on a whole new level of playing. Our very own Decatur Christian Warriors took on the Tribe of Judah Christian for the ECIC (East Central Illinois Conference) Tournament. In a heated four quarters, the Warriors grabbed the victory and title they have worked all season to achieve. In the first quarter the Tribe outscored the Warriors twelve to eight. The second quarter was an intense eight minutes that ended with the Tribe having scored fifteen and the Warriors scoring ten. When these guys came out of the locker room, determination won the battle of fatigue. The desire to win became even more evident as the Warriors outscored Judah nineteen to nine to end the third quarter. With this new wind of energy, the Warriors went on to score fifteen to the Tribe’s meager ten points to seal the deal in a 52-46 victory.

This victory was ignited by a stellar performance of junior point guard, number 23, Michael Hohm. With an incredible twenty-three points and ten steals, he brought a sense of urgency to his team as they worked toward their goal on the court. And his sweat and pain paid off when the trophy was handed to them.
Along with senior, shooting guard Andrew McDowell scoring fifteen points with two steals, Michael Houran and Brain Armour scored seven points each. This was quite the game!
Killer three pointers and insane steals aside, the thing that truly impressed me was the attitude of the now Champion Warriors. After the coveted trophy was handed to them, they huddled up and yelled, “Thank you, Jesus!” That right there is the attitude of a true Warrior. After seeing that I became even more proud to say they came from Decatur Christian. With the sweet smell of victory in the air, the boys went to the locker room with the tangible evidence that they are in fact Champions.

Karrissa Spangler
Junior Student

DCS WARRIORS: CONFERENCE CHAMPIONS

KarrissaSpangler — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 18:18:40 +0000

A song containing the words “It’s gonna be hard to shut us down” blared through the speakers at the Skywalker International Sports Complex on January 27 as our Decatur Christian Varsity boys ran out of their locker room. This scene was the beginning of a game that would go down in DCS history. After a battle with University High, the Warriors nabbed the ECIC Conference Championship title. Leading the Warriors in scoring Michael Houran had twenty-four points; Andrew McDowell had eighteen points and Michael Hohm had eleven points. They secured a victory (62-51) against Uni High of Champaign. It was a great game in which they out-scored their opponents in every quarter. They played a clean game and had only a few fouls. Their desire to win was evident as all of the players came off of the bench ready to turn the hope of winning into a reality. The team had a total of ten steals, six of which were stolen by number 3, Monte Rapp. They had eight offensive boards. And they also had twenty-one defensive boards, twelve of which were pulled down by number 33, Michael Houran. Monte Rapp, the junior starting point guard said, “We just had good chemistry on the court. There were some things that we could have done better but I felt good about the win. After a lot of hard practices this season, it’s just nice to see that our hard work paid off.”

And indeed it did, the Warriors then went on to play the Ponies of South Fork and put another win under their belt. With Michael Houran scoring sixteen, Michael Hohm scoring fourteen and Brian Armour scoring ten points they won an intense Homecoming game by a nail-biting three points.

Although the DCS Varsity Warriors haven’t even lost a home game, they continue to push themselves to become even better than they are now. Thanks to a lot of good coaching and discipline, these boys have the talent, passion and determination to do amazing things this season. Watch out ECIC Conference Tournament, these boys won’t stop until they have that trophy!

Karrissa Spangler
Junior Student

Cheers to the King and Queen!

KarrissaSpangler — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 18:00:32 +0000

Last week, we crowned our DCS Homecoming King and Queen! The Homecoming court consisted of Beth Wiggins and James Bonds, Hannah Guske and Alex Newbon, Michelle DeBrun , Brian Armor, and Sarah Simms and Andrew McDowell. After a lot of voting, Sarah and Andrew became DCS royalty. There is more to this duo than just a cute couple, so let’s get to know our King and Queen a little better. Andrew has been a huge part of our Warrior Basketball team and has been playing that sport for eight years. And Sarah has been an incredibly valuable player for the volleyball, basketball and soccer team throughout her years in high school. They are both very dedicated athletes that set a good example of how hard work really pays off. Along with sports, Andrew and Sarah are focused on keeping good grades. They can do more than shoot or serve a ball!

When asked, Sarah said, “The best part of being crowned was being able to be a part of DCS history.” Andrew simply stated that the best part of being crowned was that he got to “carry on Eric Black’s legacy”. Sarah said that she felt “excited and honored” when voted as Queen and Andrew said that being voted King made him feel “awesome”.

After the week of special events and fun games, most of the high school attended the Homecoming Dance, “Party in Paris”. Andrew said that his favorite Homecoming memory was winning the Homecoming game (which was an intense four quarters in which the Warriors beat the South Fork Ponies by three) and going to the dance. Sarah gracefully said that her favorite Homecoming memory was the coronation at the big game.

I think the whole school agrees that Sarah Simms and Andrew McDowell are a fantastic choice for King and Queen!

Karrissa Spangler
Junior Student

Homecoming Week

KarrissaSpangler — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 17:53:40 +0000

Last week here at DCS, we had our game-filled, crazy-dressed, homecoming week. The entire high school looked great! With Monday being “Class Color Day”, the Seniors rocked the neon pink, the Juniors looked legit in neon yellow, the Sophomores worked it with neon orange and the Freshman sported neon green! Tuesday seemed to be one of the favorites among students: “Twin Day”. You felt like you were seeing double or even triple all day! It was a really fun way to get pumped for homecoming. Wednesday was “Holiday Day” and students came as Christmas, Valentine’s Day, and St. Patrick’s Day and many other holidays! Thursday was “Wacky/Nerd Day”; everyone came in Nerd apparel and crazy mix-matched outfits. Friday was “Spirit Day” and the entire school looked ready to support our boys when they came to school decked out in blue and gold! The whole week was great and the win was the icing on the cake!

Karrissa Spangler
Junior Student

Man-to-Man Defense

KarrissaSpangler — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 17:52:35 +0000

To be a good basketball player, you need to be able to play through a man-to-man defense. You have to be able to handle uncalled fouls and you need to stay focused on running the offense. Your defender will more than likely push you around a bit and they will definitely try to keep you from getting the ball. When you just can’t seem to shake this persistent defender, your coach will probably have a teammate of yours set a screen for you so that you can get free. This is the exact play God ran when he sent Jesus to us. Satan was guarding mankind in a tight man-to-man defense; he wanted to keep us under control. And no matter what we did to try to beat our defender (whether it was with a jab-step or v-cut) we just couldn’t do it on our own. So our coach sent a player into the game who could set a screen like no one else could. This player was like a brick wall. And the coach knew that no one could get past this pick. So while Satan was fouling us and keeping us contained (“The thief’s purpose is to steal and kill and destroy.” John 10:10a), Jesus set a screen and took the blow for us so that we could be free. John 8:36 “So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.” So just from this one screen we are free to get the ball and our defender no longer has the ability to have any control over us. We can run freely to the ball without a defender to slow us down. Now this is an amazing thing, but God had more to this play than what we thought. He is always looking out for us. After Jesus set us free with a screen, He rolled to the basket. This “screen and roll” gives us the option to pass the ball to our teammate so that they can score and secure a victory. See, on its own the screen was great! The Son of God set us free and we were no longer held by Satan, but then he took it one step further. A play within a play. He defeated our defender, then He came to our aid to help us have victory through Him by His resurrection and the gift of free salvation. So when you feel like Satan is constantly trying to keep you from a victory, remember Jesus already set you free of your defender. He took every foul, just for you. And with this freedom, you are in store for a jaw-dropping win. So go into that battle knowing that your defender has already been defeated.

Karrissa Spangler
Junior Student

*visit www.sportsandthecross.wordpress.com for more sports devotionals!

Jan Term

wp-admin — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 15:44:47 +0000

The Herald and Review came to DCS last week. We ended up on the front page of the paper! The links below will take you to the article and more pictures from their visit.

Herald & Review Article
More Herald & Review Pictures

FREE AGENT SIGNED TO UNLIKELY TEAM

KarrissaSpangler — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 18:04:19 +0000

When the NBA lockout was officially over there was a lot of talk about free agents, trades and money. Whether you followed basketball news or not, I’m sure you had heard about this subject at least once. The idea of a free agent is that when a player fulfills their contract, they are then allowed to go to whichever team they choose. The “higher-ups” of a team will meet and decided who they would like to pursue during the draft. When they come to a decision, they present their offer to the player(s) of their choice. For the team to acquire this player, they must agree to the transaction. When you look at this process does it strike you as familiar? Well it should. Let’s go back to the first draft…it was about two thousand years ago. A Coach saw His team, but knew something wasn’t right. He needed an all-star player to come and rescue this team from the loss that ultimately brought them down. So He scouted for the best of the best. And He found Him. The one He needed turned out to be His only son. He proposed the draft and this Player agreed. This is exactly what happened when God sent His only son to Earth for us. This being, who was so far above us was given to us, just so that we might have victory through Him. John 3:16, “For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son. That whosoever believes in Him will not perish, but have everlasting life.” Although this world looked hopeless, God saw what one draft could do. Even though Christmas is over, Jesus wasn’t “drafted” for the month of December only. This miracle is something we should think about (and be grateful for) everyday. So when you are thinking about the incarnation of Jesus, remember this: The Player was willing to be drafted (Jesus was willing to come to Earth for us), and the Coach has your best in mind (He gave His only son so that we might live). So get your game faces on and gear up for a winning streak!

“Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; He is the Messiah, the Lord.”

Karrissa Spangler

Junior Student
*visit www.sportsandthecross.wordpress.com for more Sports devotionals!

Merry Christmas

KarrissaSpangler — Tue, 20 Dec 2011 17:50:49 +0000

A lowly carpenter, a young girl and an insignificant city. Who would have thought that those three things would take part in the greatest story ever told?

In the time nearing Jesus’ birth Herod got anxious. He wanted the threat to his kingdom dead and gone. As we know Herod went on to take the lives of many innocent infant boys in an attempt to wipe out this long awaited King. I’m sure Herod thought that this “Messiah” would be born of a great king and would come and establish his kingdom by force. Little did Herod know that this new King had already established His kingdom, even before the beginning of time.

The Jews waited for their deliverer to come but for a long time they didn’t see or hear of anything that told that the Messiah’s coming was just around the corner. They knew God would be faithful to His word, but they were ready for relief. Most of the Jews assumed that this Savior of theirs would come and rule with an iron fist (much like the thoughts of Herod), but to their surprise they were given someone who came to restore peace.

Then one night this promised One was born. He wasn’t clothed in robes of purple and He didn’t sleep His first night in a palace. He was wrapped in ordinary cloth and slept in a place where animals’ food belonged. He didn’t rip through the sky with an army to take over the world, He came as a child, vulnerable and humble.

It’s in places like this that we see that God is all about using the weak to become strong. When God wanted to throw this world of sinners a curve ball, He used the least among the people. Why? Because He is God. He did this because He can make anyone strong through Him whether they are young or just insignificant. His love and purpose knows no social status. So this Christmas, remember that the ultimate giver of peace came just for us. He didn’t come to destroy those who have strayed. He came to save them. The all-powerful God became incarnate and brought us a gift that left this world never the same.

Karrissa Spangler
Junior Student

Candy Grams

MichelleDeBrun — Tue, 20 Dec 2011 17:09:40 +0000

The Christmas season is here and that means the seniors are starting to sell candy grams during elementary and high school lunches. Candy Grams give the students the chance to buy candy canes for their friends and send it to them. It is a great opportunity to give during this time of year. The candy grams are $.50 each and will be sold until the day we get out of school. They will be back for Valentine’s Day but don’t miss out on this opportunity. It even gives you an option to send it to someone you have never talked to or to someone who just seems down. Have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Senior Student,
Michelle DeBrun