The Viking Press - December 2011

Volume 4, Issue 3 December 2011 www.thevikingpress.com

Kinston High’s student newspaper2601 N. Queen St., Kinston, N.C.

Spending the holidays out of Kinston Some KHS students are traveling far and wide during their break. >> Feature pg. 12

The FEED Club gives backFind out how senior Richard Henderson and others are help-ing those in need during the holidays. >>News pg. 8

Journey to state championship game filled with memorable moments for KHS footballBy RESITA COXEditor-in-chief

Winning an East Regional c h a m p i o n -

ship and playing a state championship game for the first time in Kinston High School history has a way of building expectations for a football program.

“We always expect a lot for our kids,” coach Nick Anderson said. “A lot of times maybe we expect a little bit too much. But these kids rise up to every moment.”

The team’s historic run ended with a 21-14 loss to

West Stokes in the state championship game Dec. 3 (See story, 6).

The state champion-ship appearance was the school’s first since 1970, when the school was known as Grainger High.

The Vikings ended their season with an overall re-cord of 13-2 and came out as the 2AA Eastern Region-al champions.

The road to success hasn’t been easy, however. The historic season was ac-companied by many close, miraculous plays that kept Kinston advancing in the playoffs. The Vikings won in the third round with an overtime goal-line stand

to preserve a 47-46 win against Bunn.

Perhaps one of the most unbelievable catches in school history was made by Denzel Keyes against Reidsville High in the re-gional final. The last-sec-ond Hail Mary is what led the Vikings to a 20-16 vic-tory and a trip to the state championship game.

“Regardless of the out-come it’s about the journey and I think our team has had a great journey this year,” Athletic Director Wells Gulledge said.

Kinston High holds sev-en NCHSAA state titles in basketball and has always been known as a “basket-

ball school.” Many, includ-ing Anderson, believe that this is slowly changing.

“There’s a lot of support out there for this football program. These kids love playing football. It means a lot to turn this program around and get it going in a winning direction,” Ander-son said.

Kinston High’s success-ful season may be the rea-son its football program is finally getting the recogni-tion it deserves.

“’At the end of the day we want to be successful in everything,” Gulledge said. “Now that football has crossed that threshold, it’s great for everybody.”

What do you know about your teachers?Find out which fac-ulty member is a peacock farmer.>>Feature pg. 13

‘Historic season’Officer Corbitt says goodbye to Kinston HighAfter three years as resource officer, Corbitt will return to his old task force. >> News pg. 6

(Tommy Tsao/The Viking Press) Senior Shaheed Swinson (left) runs around a West Stokes defender during the 2AA state championship game.

Editorial2 - The Viking Press - December 2011 www.thevikingpress.com

We will miss you, Officer CorbittOur Take

The Viking Press, for the purpose of allowing the voices of all students to be heard, be-lieves in complete, unbiased reporting and strives for hon-est, open dialogue in the KHS community.

Mission Statement

Editor-in-ChiefResita CoxCo-EditorTommy TsaoNews EditorHayley VermillionSports EditorKyle BrownFeature EditorKenneth GeorgeEntertainment EditorMalasya GrajalesOpinion EditorJulia GriffinBusiness ManagerAnna HillCopy EditorsMegan ToweryAnniken WilliamsReportersAkyra AllenJevonte JonesKhadijah ThorneAdviserMichael Moon

Viking Press Staff

The Viking Press2601 N. Queen St. / Kinston N.C. 28501

The Viking Press is the award-winning student publi-cation of Kinston High School and is published entirely by KHS students as a public fo-rum.

Opinions expressed in The Viking Press are solely those of the writer whose byline ap-pears above each story.

Unsigned editorials represent the majority opinion of The Vi-king Press staff as a whole and do not necessarily reflect the views or opinions of any Lenoir County Schools employees.

Some material courtesy of American Society of Newspa-per Editors/MCT Campus High School Newspaper Service.

Letters welcome

Many people would say that three years is not enough time to build a life-long rela-tionship with someone.

However, the students at Kinston High disagree. Per-haps we didn’t realize how big of an impact our resource officer, Andre Corbitt, has had on us until we were in-formed he was leaving us. Many of us are still search-ing for the reason he must be relocated, which will result in the loss of our resource of-ficer, assistant football coach and, most importantly, our friend.

While we do not doubt that his replacement, Offi-

The Viking Press welcomes letters to the editor. Submis-sions must be 300 words or less and must be signed by the au-thor.

The Viking Press reserves the right to edit letters for content and length.

On the WebFind us online at theviking-

press.com or follow us on Fa-cebook and Twitter at twitter.com/thevikingpress.

cer Hull, will do a good job at protecting us, Officer Cor-bitt did something that many resource officers do not nor-mally do: He got to know us.

Let’s face it, many high school resource officers do not take the time to befriend and understand the students they work around. Officer Corbitt has shown us otherwise; he knows every last student by name and whenever a situa-tion occurs he doesn’t place the blame immediately. He tries to understand. Perhaps that is why Officer Corbitt is more like a family member to Kinston High rather than a resource officer.

We all come to school at 7:40 a.m. expecting to see him in the cafeteria laughing with our classmates or perhaps cheering someone up who is having a bad day. Just as we expect to see Ms. Bryant each day, we expect to see Officer Corbitt.

“At first, people told me I wouldn’t want this job, it’s just like working on the streets,” Officer Corbitt told the Kinston Free Press when he was first assigned the job.

We admire Officer Corbitt for not letting the public’s opinion of our school affect his personal opinion. Despite what he was told, he came to

Kinston High with a positive attitude, wanting to make a positive change.

And change he did. Of-ficer Corbitt has managed to change our lives in more ways than one, although day by day we may not no-tice. Rather than looking for punishments, Officer Corbitt looks for solutions. Rather than looking down on us when we make mistakes, Of-ficer Corbitt looks forward. He understands us as teenag-ers and while we could go on for days about what we are losing as a school, we will just sum it up in these four small words: We will miss you.

Mayor: Congratulations on a historic season

lettersto the editor

Dear Viking Family,On behalf of the entire

community, I’d like to con-gratulate the Kinston High School Varsity Football team for their historic and suc-cessful season. Your family, coaches, classmates, faculty, staff and community are very proud of your accomplish-ments.

A few years ago I had the honor of suiting up for this same team. We were full of talent and made it to the playoffs where we lost to Winston-Salem Carver. But, the one thing that stands out to me from my three years playing is something a coach said to me. Coach Craig Hill said, “Most of you will only suit up about 40 times to play this game in high school. Since you know there may be a limit, leave everything you’ve got out on the field.”

Whether you’re a band member, soccer player, soft-ball player, student body president, mayor or what-ever position you hold, just know that most likely you will eventually move on to something else. Why not give it your best?

Your experiences on the

field and court help build your character for your fu-ture off the field and court. How you prepare for each game or test will have a direct impact on your performance. President Lincoln once said, “Give me six hours to chop down a tree and I will spend the first four sharpening the axe.”

Take time to study suc-cessful athletes, business owners, and more. Find out what makes them successful. Sharpen your axe to increase your chances of success when it’s your turn to go out on the field, take the college entry exams or prepare for your next step in life.

And, never hesitate to pass along your knowledge to the kids who look up to you. In-vest yourself in the next gen-eration and you’ll find it to be just as rewarding for you as it is for them. That’s why I support you. That’s why our community loves you. Wishing all of you much suc-cess! Go Vikings!

BJ MurphyMayor, City of KinstonValhalla, KHS Class of 1998www.BJMurphy.org@BJMurphyKinston

(Illustration by Megan Towery/The Viking Press) From all of us at The Viking Press: Merry Christmas and

Happy Holidays.

Instead of Christmas cheer, the streets are filled with “Sale” signs this holiday sea-son. Slogans like “One Day Only!” and “Buy Now!” take the place of messages such as “Happy Holidays.”

In movies, the holiday sea-son rolls around and every-

one takes the time to bond with their loved ones and take a moment to relax. As a child I thought this to be true of everyone in the real world, but I was sadly mis-taken.

All I see now are people fighting over iPads and claw-ing for shoes as if the sole purpose of Christmas is to give the biggest, most expen-sive gifts.

When did we get so greedy? So materialistic? I don’t know when this tran-sition from precious time to perfect purchases occurred, but the fact that it happened in the first place does noth-

ing but disturb me.People have already for-

gotten Thanksgiving, yet they’re still bragging about their top-of-the-line pur-chases for a fraction of the cost on Black Friday. When did a day of spending mon-ey become more important than being thankful for what we have?

These days, people get so caught up in what gifts to buy that they tend to for-get why they’re purchasing them to begin with. Most buy gifts to show a friend or family member how much they mean to them. The thing is, most people forget

that a price tag isn’t a sign of affection.

If you want to show some-one you care, why not make them a heartfelt card, or spend money on something you can actually do together? That would show that they mean more to you than a gift receipt with extra zeros can ever display.

Being honest, as a child I looked forward to the big, fat presents under the tree. But as exciting as those high-ly anticipated items were for a day or two, maybe even a week, after a while they lost their “Oh, sparkly!” effect and became nothing more

than what they were: mate-rial things.

See, the best presents I’ve ever received fall into a wide price range, but what they have in common is the thought put behind them.

The true value of a gift is gained from how much thought was put into it.

I’m not saying that you shouldn’t indulge in a good purchase, but I am saying that if you’re going to spend money on gifts, think about the purpose, not the price. The holiday season is about celebrating and showing how much you care—not how big your wallet is.

Opinionwww.thevikingpress.com 3 - The Viking Press - December 2011

P a r l e z - v o u s Français?

Maybe not, if you are a Kinston High School stu-dent. All students are required to pass a foreign lan-guage course in order to pass, and Kinston has offered both Spanish and French classes until recently.

As a fourth-year French student, I was disap-pointed to learn that French may be phased out of the curriculum at Kinston High. I was given the choice to choose between French or Spanish my freshman year, and students were allowed to pick the option of their greatest interest.

Having only a single language option available

for students limits diversity within the school. French has become a special class throughout my high school years because of its intriguing culture and beautiful language. The idea of French being completely removed from my school in the future is unacceptable because so many students will be missing out on an opportunity to learn about a different language.

Spanish is still offered at KHS and it may be ar-gued that it is much more important to speak and recognize nowadays. Spanish is the second most used language in the United States and accord-ing to a survey in 2009, it is the primary language spoken at home by over 35.5 million individuals under the age of 5. Although knowledge of ba-sic Spanish is convenient to have, why limit the use of other languages? French is the fourth most spoken-language in the U.S., making it valuable

to our society as well.For some students, Spanish is in fact a first lan-

guage to them. By keeping French courses open, these students are allowed to be challenged if they desire a new language course.

I hope my high school will find a way to con-tinue to offer French classes to students. Present-ing only Spanish to students forces them to pass two levels even if they prefer another language. Having Spanish and French available gives stu-dents the flexibility to decide which course they find most appealing and it even allows them to take classes from both if they wish. With more varied options, students are given the ability to find what sparks their attention.

Our school needs to keep both programs. To do otherwise is to sacrifice future learning opportu-nities for our students.

Musings with

Megan Towery

Au revoir, French?Kinston High shouldn’t cut language courses

The latest fashion trends -- movies, video games and even trending topics on Twitter -- seem to interest teens way more than politics. What many teens fail to re-alize is that this non-interest can fracture our future.

Voting is the only way for our voices to be heard, and we must be informed about the issues around us.

But how many of us actu-ally do it? Many of our 18th birthdays include partying and the joyous feeling of fi-nally being considered an

adult. Let’s face it, not many 18 year olds run to get regis-tered to vote on their birth-days. It’s saddening that most teens don’t even know where to go to register.

Yet, can blame be placed elsewhere other than our

natural non-interest in poli-tics? I believe the school system also plays a role in this problem. Politics isn’t stressed nearly as much as it should be within school. By the time a student graduates I believe they should be re-quired to be a registered vot-er. The government forces 18 year old males to register for the draft; the same measures should be taken to ensure teens register to vote.

College tuition, financial aid and employment are all things that are affected by

whomever is voted into of-fice, whether it’s the Senate, Congress, our courts or, most importantly, the Oval Office. I hear teens, and some adults say, “It’s just one vote; it’s not going to matter.”

Wrong.Consider this: If everyone

in the United States thought this way, how would we ever be able to maintain our democracy? There are coun-tries fighting to have the rights we have in America and some of us will not even take five minutes to go vote,

five minutes to be heard. With the economy,

healthcare and foreign af-fairs being such heavy is-sues within the government today, we need to represent our beliefs through voting. Our generation will perhaps be the most widely effected generation by the 2012 elec-tions. As teens, we hold so much power in determining our future. If we continue to ignore what matters most, our needs and beliefs will go ignored and our voices will remain silenced.

Take the time to become an informed citizen

Merry GiftmasHoliday shopping craze takes precedence over family time

Here’s a thought

withAnna Hill

SomethingSapidwith

Resita Cox

After being accused of sex-ually harassing four women, GOP candidate Herman Cain is battling more allegations.

Ginger White came forth during the last week of No-vember claiming to have had a 13-year affair with Cain. While Cain admits that he and White have had interac-tions, he told the media he was simply helping her with financial problems.

Cain also claims that the allegations are simply “a character assassination” on him and believe other GOP candidates just want to bring him down.

White’s accusation against Cain also caused Cain’s fund raising to drop drastically. Cain plans to discuss with his wife whether he will con-tinue with his campaign to challenge President Obama in the 2012 general election or not.

Cain will announce his decision only after a “face-to-face” conversation with White.

Editor’s note: Information from CNN.com was used in this report.

Nationwww.thevikingpress.com 4- The Viking Press - December 2011

Kinston police officer pepper sprays Wal-Mart shopper

Herman Cain battles more allegationsBy RESITA COXEditor-in-Chief

California officers pepper spray Occupy Wall Street protesters

GOP candidate Herman Cain answers a question dur-ing the Rep. Presidential debate (Olivier Douliery/Abaca Press/MCT)

Gordon Jackson was amongst the many shoppers at Kinston’s Wal-Mart on Black Friday when things became a bit hectic.

Jackson was charged with disorderly conduct after Kin-ston officers begin to pepper spray the crowd waiting to shop. The officer reportedly sprayed the crowd with no warning for being “disor-derly,” according to news reports.

Jackson, a retired officer

himself, allegedly retaliated by telling the officer that his actions were unnecessary. Jackson was then asked to leave the store, but did not move immediately due to his hearing impediment.

Officers mistook this as failure to comply, hand-cuffed Jackson and escorted him out.

Jackson is no longer al-lowed at Wal-Mart and is now facing criminal charges.


By RESITA COXEditor-in-Chief

Two police officers and Chief Annette Spicuzza were suspended after pepper spraying students at the Uni-versity of California at Davis in November.

The officers were video-taped spraying passive stu-dent protesters of the Oc-cupy Wall Street movement during mid-November.

The video went viral around the time of the inci-dent and has received much criticism since then.

The officer casually sprayed a group of apparently peace-ful protesters seated in front of the school.

Eleven students were re-ported to have received medical treatment due to the spraying by the officer.

The university apologized for the incident and agreed to pay the medical bills of the student victims.

Students are currently pe-titioning for Spicuzza’s re-moval from the police force.



Customers leave Walmart store in Porter Ranch section of the City of Los Angeles, California at 1 a.m. on Friday, Nov. 25. Ten people were injured in the store during a pep-perspray inicident about 10 p.m. Thursday evening. (Scott Harrison/Los AngeleTimes/MCT)

Newswww.thevikingpress.com 5 - The Viking Press - December 2011

The Top 11 of 20111 The KHS football team went to

the 2AA state championship

2 Hurricane Irene keeps students out of school

3 Osama bin Laden was located and killed

4 Kinston’s Wal-Mart made national news

5KHS received new a d m i n i s t r a t i o n

6A U.S. Marshall is killed during an investigation in Kinston

7Casey Anthony found not guilty in court

9 ‘Arab Spring’ movement in Middle East & N. Africa

8 “Occupy Wall Street” movement took the nation

10 Penn State was involved in football camp scandal

11A ‘tech’ legend passed away

The “Occupy Wall Street” movement started in the epon-ymous location which spread elsewhere to protest socio-eco-nomic inequality.

To the right is Rey Ramirez, a Temple student with Occupy Philadelphia.

Photo: (Michael Bryant/Phil-adelphia Inquirer/MCT)

Apple CEO Steve Jobs talks about the Apple iPhone 4 at Apple head-quarters in Cupertino, California, Friday, July 16, 2010. Jobs passed away on Wednesday, October 5, 2011. He was 56.

Photo: (Dai Sugano/San Jose Mercury News/MCT)

The KHS football team earned its first trip to the state championship. They played against West Stokes High School on Saturday, Dec. 3. See stories on Pages 1 and 16. Right: Senior George Jones runs the ball against Bunn High School. (Staff photo/ Vi-king Press)

Principal Angela Bry-ant (left) and Assistant Principal Audrey Har-rell came to KHS from Holly Springs High School. Photo: (Tommy Tsao/The Viking Press)

[ ]The Viking Press staff compiled a list of the 11 most influential stories for 2011. Visit thevikingpress.com for full summaries of all 11 stories.

News6 - The Viking Press - December 2011 www.thevikingpress.com

By KHADIJAH THORNEStaff Writer

By HAYLEY VERMILLIONNews Editor

County holds disaster drill at Kinston High School

Corbitt to be transferred after three years at KHS

(Kyle Brown/The Viking Press)

Officer Andre Corbitt checks a classroom during a re-cent lockdown drill. Corbitt will be transferred out of Kin-ston High School in December after three years at KHS.

Officer Andre Corbitt’s last day at Kinston High School will be Dec. 8.

Corbitt, who has been the resource officer at Kinston High School for the past three years, said he was shocked when he heard that he would be transferred to a different unit.

Resource officers are em-ployed by the Kinston Police Department to work at Kin-ston High School, but the de-partment can reassign them if the need arises.

For Corbitt, breaking the news to all the students at KHS was the hardest part in having to leave.

“I will miss most the rela-tionship that I’ve built with

all the students, because a lot of them do not have people they can talk to,” Corbitt said.

Having someone to talk to at the school is what made Corbitt special to many stu-dents.

“He was the person people could talk to around campus, and he helped out a lot,” se-nior Shaheed Swinson said. “It makes me sad.”

However, Kinston’s Special Response Unit, Corbitt’s old unit before coming to KHS, had a shortage of officers, so Corbitt was appointed to leave KHS and return to the SRU.

Corbitt has been a police officer for five years and has worked at KHS for three years. In those three years, Corbitt has served as an as-

sistant football coach and has developed countless connec-tions with students.

“I will miss Corbitt,” senior Edward Nesbeth. “He was a guiding light to children, and he provided a lot of security to students. I hope he has suc-cess in his future endeavors.”

Officer W.T. Hull will be taking Corbitt’s place as the resource officer of KHS.

Hull worked with Corbitt at KHS during the week of Nov. 28 to adjust to his new role.

Hull has worked for the police department for seven years, including four on pa-trol and the past three as an investigator.

“This will be different and a chance to get more experi-ence in a new area,” Hull said. “It’s exciting.”

Tragedy struck Snow Hill in April, only 15 minutes from Kinston, when tor-nadoes ripped through the town, injuring and killing several people.

The tornadoes destroyed many homes, and even dam-aged the local middle and el-ementary schools.

Kinston High School host-ed a disaster drill on Nov. 17 to enable emergency service workers to experience just what it would be like if a nat-ural disaster hit Kinston.

Many thought the town was not prepared for a disaster of that magnitude, and Justin Tilghman, Lenoir County’s Emergency Management Planner, felt it was extremely important that Lenoir County rescue workers be prepared in the event that we ever ex-perience a similar disaster.

Tilghman organized the three-hour event to give his workers experience during the day, as well as the night, in a disaster situation.

“Through this, I am hoping to see which parts are work-ing within our system, and which parts aren’t,” Tilgh-man said.

Employees from the Kin-ston Department of Public Safety, Lenoir Memorial Hos-pital, Lenoir County Emer-gency Management, The Red

Cross and several local volun-teer fire departments were all given a chance to participate in the drill.

Tilghman sought out stu-dents from the local public schools to act as victims of the weather disaster; some were even transported to the hospital via ambulances.

“I am excited to get the ex-perience of being a patient in a serious event,” sophomore Tera Holloway, one of the student-actors, said.

Others participated simply

for enjoyment.“I just think it’s going to

be really fun,” junior Debbie Martin said as she was being transported to the hospital for her “injuries.”

Kinston High School’s Re-source Officer, Andre Cor-bitt, was in charge of initiat-ing the drill at 3 p.m. when he called communications. From there, many different emergency departments ar-rived on Kinston High’s cam-pus to deal with different emergencies.

The organization and plan-ning of the disaster drill made it very realistic, and organiz-ers said it was a great success.

“Overall, the exercise gave us exactly what we were looking for: a picture of how exactly we would be able to respond and any areas we could adjust our response plans to better protect and serve the citizens of Kinston and Lenoir County,” Tilgh-man said.

(Staff Photo/The Viking Press)A Lenoir County EMS worker practices a crisis response drill with Kinston High School

junior Debbie Martin (right).

Prepare for a Disaster

Create aFamily Plan* Write down contact info and emergency numbers on small in-dex cards to keep at all times.* Have pictures of your family members to show to authorities in case someone is missing.

Take care of your pets* Don’t forget about your pets if you’re forced to evacuate. Take them with you.* Know animal shel-ters in the area in case the shelter you go to doesn’t allow animals.

*Source: Ready.gov

Christmas Day

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24Christmas Eve

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DecemberSeniors: Check your Senior Guide for schol-arships and their due dates.

26 2827


Kinston student organizes St. Jude Walk-a-thonBy TOMMY TSAOCo-Editor

31New Year’s Eve

3029

State 2AA foot-ball champi-onship at N.C. State

Christmas break begins!

Progress reports distributed

Varsity, JV Boys, Varsity Girls@ South Lenoir

Boys/girls bas-ketball at Cam-eron Indoor Stadium

FEED Club food drive ends

Varsity, JV Boys, Varsity, JV Girlsvs. Beddingfield

(Tommy Tsao/The Viking Press) Junior Sarah Walker (right) organized a St. Jude Walk-a-Thon at Kinston High School.

Varsity, JV Boys, Varsity Girls vs. South Lenoir

Varsity, JV Boys, Varsity Girls @ Farmville Central

Varsity, JV Boys, Varsity, JV Girls vs. Southwest Edgecomb

Varsity, JV Boys, Varsity, JV Girls vs. North Lenoir

Eastern Alamance Holiday Hoopla Basketball Tournament

Kinston High School stu-dents and parents partici-pated in a walk-a-thon on Saturday, Nov. 5, to raise funds for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.

It started around 8 a.m. and lasted till noon.

For a morning that was 50 degrees and partly cloudy, many people still came out to show their support while bearing the chilly climate.

Junior Sarah Walker worked with teacher and advisor Ron Owens to orga-nize the walk-a-thon.

“I never sent money to those TV things. You always see the commercials, but this was a way to help those

close to home,” Walker said. “They rely on donations. That’s how they treat their patients.”

The participants walked around the Kinston High School student parking lot to earn money, either as a per mile donation, or to meet a requirement from their sponsors.

In the end, the walk earned a total of $1,088 from 29 different sponsors to donate to the Resarch Hospital.

“It’s a rewarding experi-ence because I put a lot of hard work into it and all the hard work paid off,” Walker said. “It’s going to help a lot of people in need.”

Walker Insurance

James D. (Jim) Walker, LUTCF

CEO/President

Walker Ins Group IncNationwide Insurance and Financial Services

1200 West Vernon AvenueKinston, North Carolina 28501

Tel 252-527-6000Fax 252-527-1295Cell [email protected]

News8 - The Viking Press - December 2011 www.thevikingpress.com

(Anna Hill/The Viking Press) Seniors Richard Henderson (left) and Monika Lender collect food for the FEED Club’s

annual holiday fund-raiser.

FEED Club continues holiday food, clothing driveBy HAYLEY VERMILLIONNews Editor

The walls of Kinston High School were covered with posters reading “FEED Club Food Drive” during the month of November.

With both Thanksgiving and Christmas right around the corner, it is prime time for the Feeding Every Empty Desperation (FEED) Club’s work efforts.

The club held a food drive in November, raising many canned food donations. The donations were given to In-terChurch Outreach (ICOR) of Kinston and the Harvest Connection. Each of these organizations reaches out to Lenoir County residents in crisis, with large efforts put forth over the holiday season.

Senior Richard Hender-son was inspired to start the FEED Club two years ago by situations he witnessed first-hand.

“Seeing a homeless man is one thing; seeing a family that’s down on their luck to the point where they have to

walk the streets does some-thing to you,” Henderson ex-plained.

The homeless and the hurt-ing are who give him the mo-tivation he needs to continue his work.

The FEED Club currently has over 20 members and they are all working towards the same goal.

“The goal of the FEED Club,” Henderson said, “is to sow seeds of love into homes of the less fortunate.”

Members of the FEED Club have been working diligently to spread the word about the work they are doing especial-ly as the holiday season rolls around.

“We’re totally appreciative to everyone who supported us in our cause,” Henderson said.

In addition to their drive in November for the Thanksgiv-ing holiday, they conducted a Thanksgiving dinner at the local homeless shelter, and in December, they will con-tinue to collect clothing and other miscellaneous items for

Christmas. The current food drive ends

Dec. 13, and the first block class that contributes the

most items will earn a reward.To donate, contact Hender-

son, faculty adviser Sue Pot-ter or another member of the

FEED Club or simply drop off your items in the boxes pro-vided in your first block class.

Kinston High held its annu-al College Application Week from Nov. 14-18.

During that time, students have received help with col-lege applications and any questions they had about the

(Anna Hill/The Viking Press)

Senior Iyiannah Collier fills out a college application during Kinston High’s college ap-plication week.

College App Week helps studentsBy ANNA HILLBusiness Manager

process.“It makes it easier to apply,”

senior Angelo Keyes said. “(This week) helped be map out my plans for college.”

Not only is this week mak-ing college applications easier and faster to complete, it of-fers less financial stress. Many colleges are offering applica-tion fee waivers this week,

and students have an oppor-tunity to take advantage of it.

“It helps the ones who wouldn’t ordinarily be able to afford multiple applica-tion fees, and you can apply to more than four schools during College Application Week,” senior Iyiannah Col-lier said.

“Straddling the line of real-ity—what’s considered nor-mal?”

This is one of the many thought-provoking ques-tions addressed in the play “Asylum.” Theater students at Kinston High School re-ceived a chance to interpret the complexities of this play at the North Carolina The-ater Conference High School Play Festival in November.

Director Clay Raines and his students traveled to Lit-tle Washington, N.C., and

competed against nine other schools for the privilege of moving on to the state com-petition.

Not only did their perfor-mance win them a “superior” rating and a slot at the state contest, it earned awards for Best Ensemble, Best Chore-ography and Best Director.

This is the first time stu-dents from Kinston High School have competed in the state competition since 1970.

Though the play as a whole was a success, the honors didn’t stop there. Seniors Teana Walker and Brody Bergman earned awards for

their individual performanc-es. Bergman was named one of the Top Five Male Actors.

“It’s an honor to be amongst all these great ac-tors,” said Bergman. “It’s also a privilege that we are the only primarily black school to be successful in these competitions.”

They not only appreciated being a part of the action, they relished the experience. Walker received the Best Overall Actress award.

Said Walker: “I enjoyed playing my character. I worked hard to give my best performance.”

By ANNA HILLBusiness Manager


JROTC student eyes his future

Lt. Col. Tajahn Williams has been dutifully training for the Army for almost three years now. He’s loyal, he’s dedicated and he’s a junior at Kinston

High School.Williams has been in the Kinston High School

JROTC program since he started as a freshman. Thanks to his hard work, he was chosen for a promotion in October.

“I was chosen because of my experience and dedication to the program,” Williams said. “It was an honor to be selected.”

Though his character is evident, there is more to this KHS junior than meets the eye. When you see him in his JROTC uniform, you wouldn’t expect him to have a wild sense of humor, but according to sophomore Hannah Vermillion, a close friend of Williams, that’s ex-actly what he has.

“He looks like Franklin the Turtle and he always has something funny to say,” said Vermillion. “He always knows how to make me smile.”

Williams agrees with his friend’s sentiments.“I love to make people laugh. You will never see me mad,”

Williams said, “When (people) laugh, all bad thoughts and negativity is replaced with happiness and joy.”

Williams also loves the day he was born.“My birthday is on Valentine’s Day,” Williams said. “I think

that makes me pretty unique.”Another thing many wouldn’t know about this junior officer

at first glance is that he hasn’t always lived in Kinston. Born in Newark, N.J., Williams moved to Kinston at the age of 3 to be closer to his grandmother and farther from the crime-filled streets of N.J.

“New Jersey’s crime rate was off the charts,” Williams said.Williams has big plans after high school, even if he’s not quite

certain what they are yet. “I’m thinking of going to either N.C. State, N.C. A&T University, or NCCU,” he said. “I’m planning to go in the re-

serves while in college.”Whether it’s in a classroom today or an Army base 10 years

from now, Tajahn Williams hopes to be making a difference and still making people smile.

2006 N Queen StKinston, NC 28501

(252) 939-9500

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Drama students check into mental institution with ‘Asylum’

(Staff photo/The Viking Press) Senior Teana Walker, standing, delivers a monologue

during the Drama Club’s production of “Asylum.”

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Entertainment10 - The Viking Press - December 2011 www.thevikingpress.com

What’s New?

Drake“Take Care”

Release Date: 11.15.2011

The MuppetsRated PG

Family/ComedyRelease Date: 11.23.2011

My Week with MarilynRated RDrama


The SitterRated RComedy


Alvin and the ChipmunksRated PG

Animation/ComedyRelease Date: 12.16.2011

Sherlock HolmesNot Yet Rated

Action/AdventureRelease Date: 12.16.2011

Hot Chelle Rae“Whatever”


Rihanna“Talk That Talk”


Tyga“Careless World”


Trey Songz“Inevitable”


Drake - ‘Take Care’By KENNETH GEORGEFeature Editor

Rihanna led off her new album “Talk

That Talk” with her single “We Found Love.”

The video for the song let everyone know Rihanna is still changing as an art-ist.

After multiple al-bums of completely different styles, it’s hard to anticipate what she will do with her music. Her first album “Music of the Sun” released back

in 2005. Six albums later, she has emerged with a completely dif-ferent sound.

She sings about genuine problems now and seems to put a lot more emo-tion into her music than when she first came onto the scene with her hits “Pon De Replay” and “Please Don’t Stop The Mu-sic.”

There are many standouts on “Talk That Talk,” includ-ing songs “Cocki-ness” and “Drunk on Love.”

Just when you think

“Ri-Ri” has to be out of ideas she surprises you with something new. The album says sexy from cover to cover, and it sells its message very well.

This is some of Ri-hanna’s better work as she took her music to a different level.

Want to stay in touch with Kenneth? Let him know what you think of his re-views by following him on Twitter at:

@TwatchDaThrone

By KENNETH GEORGEFeature Editor

Drake’s sopho-more album “Take Care” hit

the shelves on Nov. 15. With all of the mo-

mentum of his debut album “Thank Me Lat-er”, as well as multiple features on songs with other top artists, “Take Care” had a lot of ex-pectations to live up to.

The album was origi-nally scheduled to re-lease on Drake’s birth-day, Oct. 24, but it was forced to be pushed back a few weeks.

So was “Take Care”

worth the wait? Sev-enteen tracks and a dropped jaw later, I have an answer: Yes, Take Care is well worth the wait.

The rhythm is changed with each song as he uses little consistency in his beats. Drake chang-es up his style every track, switching from singing to rapping with ease, which makes him appeal to more than one audience.

He makes music for those hardcore rap fans with songs like “Un-derground Kings” and “Lord Knows” where

he flows non-stop and shows he is a true lyri-cist.

On the other side of things, Drake has R&B songs like “Marvin’s Room” and “The Real Her.”

He also tends to switch mid-song from rap to singing and vice versa.

“Thank Me Later” was good, but Drake is clearly maturing as an artist and is showing it in his music.

“Take Care” is well worth adding to the collection and will be a good listen for months to come.

Rihanna - ‘Talk That Talk’


Arguably the most antici-pated game of all time, “Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3” has turned out to be a bit different then expected. The campaign is unsatisfy-ingly short. Call of Duty, which has never really had long storylines, just seemed to shorten this one more then ever. With fewer than 20 missions (none of which are extremely challenging)

and only three acts, it leaves you expecting a lot more. It can be beaten by a hardcore gamer in one sitting.

MW3 starts exactly where the last game left off. To a gamer who hasn’t played the first two Modern Warfares, they will be completely con-fused because the game is not very informative at the beginning of the campaign.

The climax of disappoint-ment for MW3 is that it’s the same cat and mouse chase system with a villain as the

previous two. Of course there’s a lot of action, but it’s mostly the same shoot, reload and breach a door or two game play with slightly different settings.

There is a bright side though. Missions like “Tur-bulence” keep this game afloat. Obviously developer Sledgehammer had some great ideas, because this mis-sion kept me on the edge of my seat and gave me the feeling that the game was taking off.

Online Multiplayer is sup-posedly Call of Duty’s “bread and butter” now though, so the campaign being kind of a disappointment isn’t all bad to some gamers. Still, the online mode has yet to show us something new. Maybe it’s because I’ve spent more time waiting in lobbies than in actual game play or maybe because once I finally make it into a game, sometimes the server disconnects. Either way, these are both prob-lems that need to be fixed

sooner than later. The maps are decent but are also noth-ing special. After spending hours in line for the “game of the year” I was expecting way more.

MW3 cannot live up to the hype, but is still a good first person shooter.

To be fair “Modern War-fare 2” blew it out of the wa-ter, so after that experience, MW3 felt more like playing a demo than an actual sequel.

Entertainmentwww.thevikingpress.com 11 - The Viking Press - December 2011

Call of Duty:Modern Warfare 3


Uncharted 3:Drake’s Deception


Saint Rows:The Third


Assassins CreedRevelations


Battlefield 3


By MALASYA GRAJALESEntertainment Editor

Senior Donta Mum-ford, also known as “Ta,” is considered

one of the most fashionable students at Kinston High School.

Anyone could describe “Ta” as playful, funny or laid back, but his eye for fashion is one of the many characteristics that make him unique.

Although Kinston may not be considered as a very stylish town by some, peo-ple like Mumford are the ones to thank for keeping the town up to date.

You could probably catch him in Polo by Ralph Lau-ren, Levi jeans and Retro Nikes.

Mumford describes his

style as “cool, wavy and mellow.” His goal when it comes to clothing is “to get something that no one else could possibly get their hands on,” he said.

Rappers Wale and Juelz Santana play a significant role in his clothing deci-sions.

“Their fashion is always up to date,” he explained.

It often seems like people are competing to see who has the latest gear and who looks the nicest.

This is what makes Mum-ford more diverse than oth-ers.

“Dressing nice is not real-ly a ‘competition,’ it is more of a mentality or a lifestyle,” Mumford said. “These days, everyone tries to compete. That’s where I disagree. I don’t really try to compete;

I just get up and get dressed in the morning.”

In the future, his keen fashion sense will continue to play a sizeable role in his life. Mumford plans to be an entrepreneur and own a clothing store, which shouldn’t be a surprise to anyone who knows him.

Want to get to know Donta? Follow him on Twitter @MarleyOnfari.

Editor’s note: Each month, The Viking Press will select one student to spotlight for a fashion profile. Think you know someone deserving? Let us know by following us @TheVikingPress on Twit-ter.

Fashion SpotlightDonta Mumford

MW3: A Modern Disappointment

Feature12 - The Viking Press - December 2011 www.thevikingpress.com


Black Friday mad-ness was possibly worse than ever

this year. Most shopping centers

that usually open at 3 or 4 a.m. were open by mid-night and some as early as 9 p.m.

In larger cities people started lining up at the be-ginning of the week trying to get the best sales.

Because of all the com-petition there was of course, a lot of commo-tion. Right here in Kinston there was a big incident at Wal- Mart. While waiting in a cell-phone line late that night about 20 people, including children, where doused with pepper spray.

Outside a Wal-Mart in Myrtle Beach a woman was shot and wounded. But was all of this ruckus necessary?

I went to Smithfield Fri-day afternoon to find al-most no commotion, and almost all of the same sales. Banana Republic, Gap, and Wilson’s Leather all had the same sales from the previous night.

A lot of outlet stores re-stocked before too late in the morning, so many late shoppers had no problems.

Before heading home I made my way to a Wal-Mart in Goldsboro. Though there was rumor all of their sales items should be long gone, I walked in to find several 42 inch flat screen televisions on sale that still hadn’t been bought.

So why spend your Thanksgiving outside of Best Buy instead of with your family?

The answer is unknown, because I ended my Friday night with just as many items and double the sleep.

Christmas time at Kinston HighStudents enjoy break, time with familes

The perfect Christmas gift...

Black Friday: Was it worth the madness?

(Kyle Brown/The Viking Press) Junior Shaquana Outlaw helps the Peer Group Connection (PGC) class put up the

Christmas tree in the front lobby at Kinston High. The tree will hold pledges from students who have promised not to drink and drive over the holiday break.


After many days of work, students and parents always

look forward to the holi-days.

A few weeks where you get to enjoy family, rest and relax is always nice. Some people stay at home and some travel, but either way the holiday spirit is cel-ebrated.

Sophomore Molly Rid-dick spends her holiday in Charlottesville, Va.

“I love it because it snows every Christmas,” she said, which is a stark contrast to the lack of snow in Kinston, especially over Christmas break.

She visits her dad’s par-ents, and returns to Kinston for New Years.

What is it about the Christmas season that makes everyone so happy? Is it the food? Is it the time off? Is it the gifts under the tree?

There are a lot of things that make Christmas so unique and there is nothing at all that can compare to it.

...for the jock ...for the nerd ...for the fashionista

...for the game freak

Under Armour T-Shirt: Price about $35-$40

Wii Fitness game Price about $90

Adidas adiZEROsneaker. Price about $110

2GB USB flash drive / cuff link. Price about $100

Coffee cup power inverter.Price about $25

Joystick for iPod Touch and iPhone. Price: $13 for iPhone and $18 for iPad

For the Gamer: Just Dance 3Price: $39.99

For the Gamer: NBA 2k12Price: $44.99

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3Price: $59.99

Ray Ban shadesPrice: $205

Mitchell & Ness Snap-backPrice: $28

Jordan Concord ‘11 Price$170

Featurewww.thevikingpress.com 13 - The Viking Press - December 2011

By ANNIKEN WILLIAMSCopy Editor

(Anniken Williams/The Viking Press) Junior Lukiss Brooks has had a passion for cooking since

he was 8 years old.

No matter how hard or confusing life gets for Lukiss Brooks, he has a passion that keeps him motivated and pos-itive.

“When I was about 8 years old my mom had gastric by-pass and she could not cook so I took up cooking, and when my dad was deployed to Af-ghanistan I kept cooking and I never stopped,” Brooks said.

Brooks is a junior at Kinston High School who thoroughly enjoys cooking and drawing. Since he took up cooking at such a young age, he is now very skilled at it.

He has many goals that he wants to achieve with this long-standing passion. For-tunately for Brooks, he was recently offered a job at the Kinston Country Club as one of the chefs. The job, he hopes, will give him a head

start toward a carer as a chef.

After he graduates from Kinston High he wants to go to school for culinary arts.

“Eventually I want to start my own business,” Brooks said.

Food is centered around culture and Brooks has had a lot of experience with differ-ent cultures. His father is in the military, so he spent a lot of time moving around.

Brooks was born in Califor-nia, then moved to Georgia, Germany and Kentucky be-fore moving back to Califor-nia and on to Washington, New York and now North Carolina.

Brooks said Germany was his favorite stop along the way. He loved the culture and the history and he had a lot of good memories there. But if he had to choose one of those places to move back

to, he would not choose Ger-many.

“I would move back to Ken-tucky because the weather was so beautiful,” he said. “It is nice place to live.”

He is the kind of person that always has a positive attitude about anything he does, even if he is not very skilled at it.

He abides by the saying “practice makes perfect,” and after eight years in the kitch-en, the practice has paid off with a job he hopes will serve as a stepping stone for a culi-nary career.

“I am not very good at some of the things I love to do, but the more I practice, the better I will get,” he said.

Culinary creatorCooking a passion for junior

The more I practice, the better I will get.” - Junior Lukiss Brooks on

his cooking talent“

Among her many inter-ests – and there are many – science teacher Jodi Maxey counts environmental aware-ness among her top priorities at Kinston High.

The Environmental Aware-ness Club is back at Kinston High. The club was once ex-tremely active in the com-munity when biology teacher Joseph Romig started it, and now Maxey is helping with the effort to bring it back.

“The students are so enthu-siastic about initiating a recy-cling program,” Maxey said.

Anna Hill is the president of the club and the initia-tor for the biggest project in the planning, Project Green Pride. The goal of this project is to improve the courtyard, starting with planting peren-nials in the triangular bed outside the cafeteria. The club also hopes to begin a recy-

cling program once they find a firm willing to collect the bins from our campus. Max-ey’s interesting background and eagerness to direct the club has made her a valuable addition to the school.

Maxey attended the Uni-versity of Arizona, attaining a B.S. in Agriculture and spe-cializing in natural resources. She attended Longwood Uni-versity in Virginia to earn her teaching license and is currently in her tenth year of teaching. At her previous high school in Farmville, Va., she helped publish a book featuring the flora and fauna on the campus.

“We could do that here as well,” Maxey said. “We have been blessed with such a love-ly campus for our school.”

The teacher hopes to in-troduce more hands-on ac-tivities for the students in her biology classes and has plenty to share about her past expe-riences.

Maxey, a previous dolphin trainer, has taken students snorkeling in both Florida and Costa-Rica. Over the past 25 years, Maxey and her family have raised American Saddle-bred horses and peacocks on a small farm in Virginia as well.

Above all else, though, stu-dents express their apprecia-tion and excitement for the new club.

“I think that it is good that we have a club that is inform-ing students of what is hap-pening in the environment,” senior Liesel Nix, a club member, said.

The club has many projects planned for the future and encourages students to partic-ipate in making a difference. Although this is Maxey’s first year at Kinston, she has proved to be quite the contri-bution.

“The students have been very welcoming to me and I love teaching here at Kinston High School,” Maxey said.

Maxey: Dolphin trainer, environmentalist, teacherBy MEGAN TOWERYCopy Editor

Teacher FeaTure

5things you probably didn’t know about Ms. Maxey

1. Four of her children were adopted from South Korea.2. She has a part-time job at the Kinston Drag Strip.3. She used to train dolphins.4. She raises Saddlebred horses and peacocks.5. She published a book called “Fuqua School: Nature’s Classroom” at her previ-ous school.(Compiled by Megan Towery)

Sports14 - The Viking Press - December 2011 www.thevikingpress.com

The varsity cheerleading team placed second in the 2A Eastern Plains Confer-ence Cheer Off, which was held for the first time at Kinston High on Oct. 29.

The competition included fast paced music and a very good turnout.

“I was pleased,” coach Patricia Graham said. “We have a pretty good team. We had good stunts and we also had a good dance rou-tine. I personally think that our routine was a little more complicated with the stunts and the dance routine, and overall we still did well.”

Five high schools, which also included Southwest Edgecombe, Farmville Cen-tral, Greene Central and Tarboro, competed, and the KHS cheerleading team scored a near perfect score of 231.5.

“It was a good turnout,” senior Danaysha Jackson said. “It was fun. I think that out team did great. For out first major competition, we

did very well.” This year was also the year

that Graham was named Coach of the Year. She said her success should be cred-ited to her team.

Cheerleaders earn second in EP2A meetBy AKYRA ALLENStaff Writer

“They improved because we also have a very good tumbler, David Monk. Every-one loves him on the team,” Graham said.

After the competition end-

ed, the team was invited to competitions in Boone, Ra-leigh, Cullowhee and Princ-eton.

(Staff Photo/The Viking Press) Cheerleaders Brianna Whitehead (left) and Iyiannah Collier take a moment to pose

during a recent football game.

This is for all the athletes out there who work hard day in and day out, leaving their blood, sweat and tears out in everything they do. Those who are trying to become the best player they can be, but at the end of the day they never get in the game.

Yes, everyone, these are called “the bench warm-ers.” They try their hard-est in practice to get to play but seem to never get in. This may seem depress-ing but most bench warm-ers are team-first players. They would rather win than put their team in a bad situation where they might eventually lose.

I know from experi-ence it isn’t the best feel-ing in the world. My 10th grade year of basketball was probably the most up-and-down time of my life. One game I was play-ing and another I was rid-ing the bench. It confused me more than anything but at the end of the day the bench warming helped win a state championship.

We shouldn’t get lost in the world of saying bench warmers are sorry. They made the team because the coach saw something good in them. They are the ones making their teammates better in practice so the team can succeed. Most of the time the ones on the bench are the most spirited and encouraging people you will meet.

We shouldn’t drag our head about not touching the court or the field. Rath-er, we should be grateful because there are a few people in the world that would love to be in your spot. Injuries can knock an athlete all the way off his game where he’ll never touch the court again. So don’t dig your own hole and jump in it.

Keep a good attitude. I know I was just happy to make the team. Warming the bench or not, I was on the team living it up to the maximum.

Bench warmers

Keepin’ it cool with Kyle Brown

Sports15 - The Viking Press - December 2011 www.thevikingpress.com

By THE VIKING PRESS

By THE VIKING PRESS

If the first night of the sea-son was any indication, the Kinston High School girls basketball team picked up right where it left off last year.

The Vikings (1-0), East-ern Regional semifinalists a year ago, dismantled Upper Room Christian Academy, a private school out of Ra-leigh, in their home opener. Kinston won 67-43 and did so with ease.

The Vikings led 16-10 af-ter a quarter and 34-28 at the half before pulling away 57-33 by the end of the third quarter. Kinston was paced by senior Tisha Dixon, who had a game-high 22 points. Sophomore guard Brittany

Drumgoole added 13 points for the Vikings and junior Monique Lofton chipped in with 10 points. Senior Caroline DeBruhl had 8 points for Kinston in a well-balanced scoring affair. In fact, nine different Vikings scored at least one point in the blowout victory.

URCA 10 18 5 10 – 43KHS 16 18 23 10 – 67

URCA – M. Jones 17, Chandler 7, Gabby 7, Beck-with 7, Williams 4, Hunter 1. KHS – Tisha Dixon 22, Brittany Drumgoole 13, Monique Lofton 10, De-Bruhl 8, Pridgen 5, Williams 4, Vermillion 2, Harper 2, Williams 1.

By THE VIKING PRESS

Girls bball starts with win

Two games, two wins for JV boys

Upcoming gamesDec. 6 - @South Lenoir (Boys and girls, varsity and JV boys, no JV girls)

Dec. 7 - Word of God Christian Academy (Boys and girls, varsity)

Dec. 9 - Southwest Edgecombe (Boys and girls, varsity and JV)

Dec. 13 - Beddingfield (Boys and girls, varisty and JV)

Dec. 16 - @Farmville Central (Boys and girls, varsity and JV boys, no JV girls)

Dec. 17 - Clash at Cameron Indoor (Boys and girls, varsity)

Dec. 20 - South Lenoir (Boys and grils, varsity and JV boys, no JV girls)

Dec. 21 - North Lenoir (Boys and girls, varsity and JV)

(Staff Photo/The Viking Press) Sophomore Brittany Drumgoole scores two of 13 points

against Upper Room Christian Academy. The Vikings won 67-43.

(Staff Photo/The Viking Press) Kinston freshman Brandon Ingram (23) scores two of his

game-high 36 points against Upper Room Christian Acad-emy.

Brandon Ingram’s home debut couldn’t have gone much better for the freshman guard or his fellow junior varsity Vikings.

Ingram, the younger broth-er of 2008 state 3A player of the year Bo Ingram, played like a veteran, as he torched Upper Room Christian Acad-emy for 36 points to help lead his team to a 74-64 win. The way he’s playing, he won’t be on the JV team for long.

“That’s wishful thinking,” JV coach Darnell Matthews said of his chances of hold-ing on to Ingram before he is whisked away to varsity.

Ingram wasn’t the only Kinston player to have an excellent home debut. He was joined in double figure scoring by Andrew Lopez, who had 12 points. Donnell Dunn chipped in with nine points for the Vikings, who improved to 2-0 on the year.

The Vikings led 24-19 after a quarter, thanks in large part to 15 first-quarter points from Ingram. Kinston trailed 38-37 at the half but reclaimed a 53-52 lead going into the fi-nal eight minutes of play.

Kinston opened its season with a 71-52 win at Wilming-ton Hoggard a week before facing Upper Room Christian

Academy.Matthews said he is pleased

with the team’s progress at this early juncture in the sea-son. Kinston plays five fresh-men, in addition to a hand-ful of other first-year players who are still “trying to get

their feet wet,” Matthews said.

“We have a good young nucleus that we hope will be able to help us for several years,” Matthews said. “Not just on JV, but at the varsity level as well.”

Kinston 74, Upper room Christian aCademy 64

URCA 19 19 14 12 – 64KHS 24 13 16 21 – 74

URCA – Victor Gray 21, Jalen McKay 20, James Dick 14, Micah Turner 9. KHS – Brandon Ingram 36, Andrew Lopez 12, Dunn 9, Bellamy 6, Hart 5, Best 5, Francois 1.

Vikings host No. 21 team in nation

(Staff Photo/The Viking Press) Senior Jay Taylor (20) drives to the basket against two

Whitney Young defenders on Friday, Dec. 2.

As far as season openers go, it doesn’t get much tougher than hosting the No. 21 ranked team in the nation, but that’s exactly how Kin-ston High School began its season when it entertained Whitney M. Young Magnet High School of Chicago.

The Dolphins (1-0) won 82-61.

Whitney Young took ad-vantage of 6-foot-11, 275 pound center Jahlil Okafor’s 31 points and dominated the Vikings in the paint. The sophomore big man is the No. 2 rated center in his class and will almost certainly play major Division I basket-ball.

“He gives us something 99.9 percent of people in the country don’t have,” Dol-phins coach Tyrone Slaugher said, “a truly dominant post presence.”

The Vikings (0-1) were

playing without at least four players thanks to the Kin-ston football team’s run to the state 2AA championship game, but it’s doubtful their appearance would have made much of a difference.

“That was a special team,” Kinston coach Wells

Gulledge said. “Not many teams in the state gain the experience we did tonight from opening with a team like this.”

Kinston was paced by 19 points from junior Josh Daw-son and 13 from senior Jay Taylor.

Kinston High’s dream season ended with a nightmarish num-

ber of penalties and late-game fumbles at Carter-Finley Stadium, where the Vikings lost 21-14 to West Stokes in the N.C. High School Athletic Association 2AA state championship.

Four turnovers and 88 penalty yards (including three that led to touchdowns being called back) gave the 21-14 win to the West Stokes Wildcats of King.

Both teams were playing in their first state champi-onship. Despite entering the game undefeated at 15-0, many considered the Wild-cats underdogs to the heav-ily favored Vikings, who en-tered the game ranked No. 3 in the final state football polls.

“Nobody can say we are the underdogs now because we won,” West Stokes quar-terback Austin Fleming said. “No one put us in the situa-tion to win.”

The state championship was the first in any sport for the Wildcats.

The game didn’t always belong to West Stokes, however. The Vikings (13-2) started strong in the first quarter with a 3-yard touch-down run by Shaheed Swin-son with 9:49 on the clock, and the Vikings had a 7-0 lead following Will Deters’ extra point.

Another 3-yard touch-down run, this time from senior quarterback C.J. Brad-shaw on an end-around re-verse punctuated by a dive

into the end zone, and an-other point after by Deters gave the Vikings a 14-0 lead at the end of the first quarter.

As it turned out, that would be the last time the Vikings found the end zone.

Fleming, who was voted the Wendy’s Most Valuable Player by the media, led the Wildcats to their vic-tory starting with his 5-yard touchdown run at the end of the second quarter. With just over nine minutes left in the game, the Vikings allowed Fleming to score two more times, giving the Wildcats the 21-14 lead they needed to win.

Prior to the game-tying

score, the Vikings looked to open up a 21-7 lead on three separate occasions, including on back-to-back plays in the third quarter. Swinson ap-peared to find the end zone on a 5-yard run in the third, but a block in the back ne-gated the score. On the next play, Bradshaw hit senior Jevonte Jones in the end zone, but a holding penalty backed the Vikings up once more, and the drive ended without a score.

In the fourth, Swinson crossed the goal line again, but a holding call kept Kin-ston out of the end zone, and a fumble on the ensuing play gave the ball to the Wildcats, who promptly marched down the field to tie the score at 14-14.

Making so many mistakes and coming so close to a state title is what seemed to hurt the Vikings the most.

“We went out there and played our game,” Bradshaw said. “Unfortunately, we got hit with a little bit of adver-sity. But sometimes you’ve got to just man up and just play your game. It hurts real bad, though. You had it in

your hands and it just slipped away.”

Both teams made their first appearance in the NCH-SAA state football finals this year. Each school was also the overall top seed in their 2-AA brackets. Both coming from relatively small towns, the teams seemed to match up almost perfectly.

Fleming, quarterback for West Stokes, played with a torn labrum in his throwing shoulder yet still managed to complete 10 of his 12 passes for an overall 84 yards.

Bradshaw completed 9 of 21 passes for 157 yards and led his team with 90 yards on the ground. Bradshaw was named East Most Outstand-ing Offensive Player and se-nior Angelo Keyes, who had 20 tackles, was named Most Outstanding Defensive Play-er for the East.

Despite their loss, it was a historic season for the Vi-kings, who earned their first regional championship.

“The season meant a lot,” Bradshaw said. “We came out here and put our school on the map and basically made history.”

Coach Nick Ander-son has already done more in

two years at Kinston High School than nearly any football coach in Lenoir County history.

Anderson started his coaching career at JH Rose in 2005 as an assis-tant coach, where he was part of a staff that won two state titles. He came to Kinston in 2008 to replace coach Battle Holley, who returned to his hometown to coach East Duplin High.

Anderson has an overall record of 23-5, a confer-ence record of 10-2, and a playoff record of 5-2, which is the best record in school history.

“My main goal when I came to Kinston was to maximize the talent we have here and ultimately bring a state championship here,” he said.

Anderson believes Kin-ston should not be known as a “Basketball School” be-cause the football team was a sleeping giant waiting to be awakened.

Said Anderson: “I feel like they are very much awake now and ready to roll.”


(Tommy Tsao/The Viking Press)

Senior quarterback CJ Bradshaw dives into the end zone against West Stokes in the 2AA state championship game.

‘Historic season’ ends short of state 2AA title

Coach builds tradition of winning at KHS

16 - The Viking Press - December 2011 www.thevikingpress.com

By KYLE BROWNSports Editor

(Resita Cox/Staff photo)

Coach Nick Anderson reacts after his team beat Reidsville in the 2AA East Regional final.

By the numbers23-5

10-2

5-2

the Vikings’ overall record in the last two years

Kinston’s EP2A conference record since 2010 (including a conference

championship this year)

the Vikings’ playoff record in the last two years, including an East

Regional championship in 2011.

The Viking Press - December 2011

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Transcript of The Viking Press - December 2011