Can Clemson win this Saturday?

By: Griffin Jones

Clemson(3-1) hosts #4 ranked Miami(4-0) this Saturday at 7:30. The Tigers who are 2-0 in conference are facing their first true challenge in the ACC after defeating California and UNC in the most recent 2 weeks. Clemson, who got demolished by LSU in week 1 has since bounced back and looked much improved. While the offense is still shaky and uncertain, the defense has been lights out, not allowing a single touchdown in their last 20 drives. Led by star CB Ashton Hampton, the Tigers have one of the best cornerback rooms in the country. This along with impact players in Will Heldt(DE) and Sammy Brown(LB) the front 7 also does not disappoint. With Tait Reynold slowly gaining confidence with his two star receivers and the run game starting to reveal itself with sophomore Gideon Davidson, the offense could show some sparks. 

While Clemson has looked improved, they are not the biggest part of this game. The question is, how will Miami perform in front of a packed crowd of 80,000 Clemson fans that are ready to once again hold the throne of the ACC. To rival Clemson’s great defense, Miami has arguably the best offense in the country. With 2 Heisman front runners in Darein Mensah(QB) and Malachi Toney(WR) leading the group. Along with a top 5 running back in the country with Mark Fletcher and one of the best WR 2s in the nation with Cooper Barkate.

This is a program defining game for both teams, if Miami wins Clemson has officially passed the torch to them. If Clemson wins, Dabo buys himself a lot more time, they are ranked pretty well and the CFP dreams are at their highest point. If Clemson wins this game, they will save the program.

Now to the matchup, Saturday at 7:30 on ABC, this could possibly be one of the loudest Clemson crowds in years. In no way am I saying Clemson is going to 100% win this game. I’m just saying, lookout for the tigers to give Miami some problems early. The writing is on the wall, high ranked Miami with 2 Heisman candidates comes into death valley without facing any real challenges yet met with a fired up crowd, team, and program. The last time Clemson hosted a top 4 team in the country was 2023 when they welcomed #4 FSU at noon kickoff and lost in OT. However the last time they hosted a team of this caliber in these weather conditions, it was the famous “Bring your own guts game” versus Notre Dame. Will history repeat itself? I guess we’ll have to see.

Why the NFL is better than college football.

By: Eric Brown

The National Football League is a much better form of entertainment than college football. A main reason for this is the matchups every single week. In college, there are only a few good games a week. The top teams will only play other top competition for around ¼ of their games. The rest of their games are blowouts and not fun to watch. The NFL has around 90 percent of its games on that day that will be anybody’s game. This means there are a lot more close games and even overtime games. The closer the game usually results in all of the players playing better and making insane highlights usually not seen every week in college because the good teams are playing bums and are up by 70 sitting the starters. There are still mismatches because some teams will always be bad, but the majority of the games can be won by either side. NFL RedZone also makes the NFL more fun to watch. Having 7 hours of uninterrupted football on Sunday and being able to watch every single game and almost all of the plays from each game gives the NFL the edge. Since college football does not have this, you are usually stuck watching a 40- 14 game while waiting for the one good game of the day. NFL players also have a lot more skill than college players. Seeing the insane catches and bigger hits makes the game more fun to watch. Also, the player matchups matter a lot. Being able to watch the best WR on a team go up against real talent every week instead of them just blowing by every time cause your team is playing Bowling Green is just not entertaining.

The Jaguars are Winning the Super Bowl this Year

By: Braelen Lewis

The Jacksonville Jaguars have the best chance of winning the Super Bowl this year than ever before. The Jags have the most well rounded team in the entire league, not lacking on any front. On the offensive side, we have a top 10 quarterback in Trevor Lawrence starting the year right where he left off last year, which was his best ever in the league. Even a great quarterback needs good wide receivers however, but that’s no problem because I believe the Jags WR room is a sleeper top 5 in the league, which might sound crazy but hear me out. Nowadays there’s not really any teams which have all 3 wr being dominant at the position but with Parker Washington, Jakobi Meyers, and Brian Thomas I think the Jags are a sole exception. Furthermore they have fixed their major problem in the past which was the offensive line and now have an extremely promising young running back talent in Bayshul Tuten. On the defensive side of the field they have an extremely strong defensive line with Josh Hines-Allen at the helm supported by a surprisingly strong linebackers group with the departure of Devin Loyd this off season. Finally our DB’s are also atleast top 10 in the league being absolutely lock down this season recording 2 interceptions just last week with Jarrian Jones and the promising young star, Travis Hunter getting his first pick of the season. Of course this doesn’t matter that much if the team doesn’t have a competent coach, but I believe we have the strongest, smartest coach in the whole league, and I believe Liam Coen will be the winner of the best coach of the year award at the end of this season.

Ranking the days of the week

Everyday of the week serves a purpose, that doesn’t mean all days have to be loved.Somedays bring love and joy. Somedays bring depression and hate. Well today I will be ranking these days. With careful consideration, extensive observation, and no research I will be ranking the seven days of the week from best to worst.

1.Saturday: Saturday is easily the best day of the week. There’s no school, no work, and no need to wake up early. The entire day belongs to you. Saturday also has a superpower of making doing nothing seem like you are doing something. You can stare at your phone all day go out with friends sleepover go get food and still have a successful day

2.Friday: Friday is the day everyone waits for the long school day might be painful, but it’s the fact that knowing you have a week ahead of you that really sets Friday apart. Fridays especially great because you realize you don’t have to worry about anything tomorrow because it’s the weekend.

3.Sunday: Sunday is still the weekend, but unfortunately, you do have to stress about going to work or school the next day.

4.Thursdays: Thursday is an underrated player. It’s not close enough to the weekend to be excited, but it’s close enough to Friday to be all the other days.

5. Wednesday: Wednesday is painfully average. You’re not close to the weekend but you’re not far from the weekend once you complete this day you’re over the hill in a good way.

6.Tuesday: Tuesday might be the most unnecessary day tell me a time where you’ve done anything important on Tuesday. Tuesday it’s just Monday without the excuse of being Monday.

7. Monday is undoubtedly the worst if your alarm goes off too early. Your week is over. Your week is ruined as the longest day the most tedious day and by far the worst day. But day feels like the weakest personally attacking you for enjoying your weekend.

Recipe Time

By: Anna Rhett Harris

Fettuccine Alfredo: 

Today I will be telling you how you can make fettuccine alfredo. Fetteccinie alfredo is a classic pasta dish featuring flat ribbons of fettuccine coated in a rich, buttery cheese sauce. To perfectly curate this dish, there are only six main steps you need to follow, along with only six main ingredients. If you follow these steps, you will never want to order it again at a restaurant because this recipe will beat all others. The first step you need to do is boil the water. You should bring a large pot of salted water. After the water is in a rolling boil, add the pasta and cook until it is al dente. Once you have cooked pasta and start to drain it, make sure to save ½ cup of water. The next step is to heat up a large skillet over medium-low heat. Place butter in the pan and melt it then add in minced garlic, cook this for about 1 to 2 minutes or until fragrant. The third step is to add in the cream. You must pour the heavy cream into the pan, then gradually add the freshly grated parmesan. You should stir constantly until it is completely melted and smooth. After it is all smooth you need to add the cooked fettuccine directly into the sauce. You should be able to toss well, when doing this add small splashes of the reserved water as needed to create a rich, glossy coating. The final step to curating the best fettuccine alfredo is to season and serve. If you would like to add salt and pepper this would be the time. The best time to eat would be when it is warm immediately after seasoning.

Top 5 Dancing With the Stars Couples: Season 35

By: Adelaide Eaddy

  1. My first favorite couple is Ezra Frech and Daniella Karagach. As soon as they stepped out on the floor on Week 1, I knew that they would be one of my favorites for the season. Daniella is an amazing choreographer and Ezra is a really good dancer. For the three dances they have done this season, my favorite dance they have done was on Week 2.
  2. My next favorite couple would have to be Connor Wood and Rylee Arnold. Rylee is one of the younger pros, and she is one of my favorites. Her and Connor work really well together, which helps in the competition. As of right now, my favorite dance of there’s was their Tango on Week 2.
  3. My third favorite couple would have to be Harry Shum Jr and Jenna Johnson. One of the reasons I enjoy this couple is because Jenna is a really good dancer and Harry is a really good partner for her! Another reason I enjoy this couple is because I am a Grey’s Anatomy fan and Harry is on the show, so this gives this couple an automatic boost.
  4. My fourth favorite couple is Jackson Olson and Emma Slater. I have followed Jackson from Savannah Bananas for a couple of years now and he has talked about Dancing With the Stars for a while now which makes him one of my favorites. My favorite dance that they have done is their dance on Week 2.
  5. My fifth favorite couple of the show is Tyler Cameron and Sharna Burgess. I have never heard of either of these people which I like because I do not already have an opinion of either of them which I like. My favorite dance of theirs, even though it wasn’t the judges favorite, is probably their Week 2 dance because it was very different.

Football Oh Football

By: Wilson Mims

Where do I begin? You’ve always been there for me through the ups and downs, in and out of all of it. From watching the Barons as a wee lad to playing for them as a strong young man is truly amazing. Watching Cocky suit up every Saturday September to December and this year all the way to January. What a time to be alive. I used to go to the games in my little jersey now I rock “the Crown” on Saturdays. Maybe a little golf beforehand with the boys Gray, Conrad, Nolan, Silas, Nehemiah, Ryland, Shep, Eric Brown, all of them make my days. Now back to the main event. Football gives me some goosebumps hearing the bagpipes or hearing 2001 and seeing Lanorris leading the charge. I used to watch the Gamecocks destroy the competition with Jadeveon Clowney and the men. Now as I sit here today eager, excited for what’s next for the barons. A state chip? Gray punching one into the endzone? Who knows what’s next. But whatever it is it’ll be done with 100% effort and attitude. Some of us might be scared with a couple hard games on the schedule. Hammond week 8? LMA week 6? We can look at those games and be timid or we can grow these next couple weeks and take it one game at a time. Like Coach Jarecki preaches,”Be 1-0 each week.” That should be our only goal this year. And we will dominate and do it with pride.

Top 5 Fast Food Restaurants 

By: Savannah Wells

Here is my personal opinion on the top five fast food restaurants in Sumter. Coming in hot at number five we have Sonic. Sonic is a staple and they have a ton of drink options. Some of my favorite food options are pretzels and corn dogs. One thing I think they can do is bring back the roller skates. It is such a fun way to deliver the customer’s meal. Number four is five guys. This one got points taken off for prices. I would go there so much more if they were cheaper, but I cannot always afford it. Also there is no drive thru which limits access to people who are trying to get a quick meal before an event. In third place we have McDonalds. Mcdonalds is a staple and you can find it almost everywhere.They are cheap and easy to get. Their menu is full of options for all times of the day, breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Personally McDondalds is a reminder of Friday night lights with my friends putting it higher on my list. At number two I have a cookout. You can get a really cheap meal for a very low price and their corndogs are legendary. I could never go to a cookout without getting one. A cookout is a good place to sit down with your friends or family to share a meal. Finally at number one of course we have Chick fil a. Their southern charm and respectful attitude keeps people coming back. They also have one of the healthier menus in fast food. Their chicken minis in the morning and chicken sandwiches are a staple.

Why Josuke is the best Joestar

By: Reese Wilson

In the JoJos Bizarre Adventure anime, there are six different Joestars and a seventh in the new animated part is being released. Out of the six, Josuke Higashikata is the best of them all. He appears in part four of the show,the second best part, and sadly isn’t in the show after that. His personality is very similar to Joseph’s, since he is Joseph’s son, but he actually has a cool stand in Crazy Diamond. Speaking of which, the stand is named after the Pink Floyd song so that is extra bonus points. The stand also has a really cool ability which is it’s able to restore anything back to its original state and its design looks super cool with the pink and the light blue.. This allows him to heal his allies and also lets him come up with creative ways to take down his enemies. This is helped by his insanely high battle iq. He’s able to defeat Kira who had multiple stand abilities much stronger than Josuke’s, but he still was able to beat him. Speaking about his JoBro, Josuke is the only one to keep him alive. His style is also based on Prince which makes him look very cool even with his interesting haircut. Overall Josuke not letting any of his friends die, having a super cool stand, having one of the best villains in the show, and just being overall a very likable character. Josuke is by far the best Joestar in the show.

Why Wilson Hall Needs More Upper School Field Trips

By: Livie Pedersen

Wilson hall offers field trips with amazing opportunities and activities to do. For example, students plan to attend the 5th grade Washington Field trip, the 7th grade Yorktown field trip, the 11th grade Kanuga trip, and seasonal trips for the lower school students, like strawberry picking or visiting the pumpkin patch; however, there is a huge gap from the time where students get a field trip. There are great opportunities for the younger kids, but field trips like the Washington trip should be given to older kids because they are old enough to understand the depth of the material. By 8th, 9th, or 10th grade, these students have had years of learning about history in each year’s course. They are also old enough to be mature and appreciate the monuments instead of being bored and not understanding it at all. I am not necessarily saying the Washington trip should be moved because there are always good memories made from that time period, but older grades need field trips too. This is important because field trips give people something to look forward to as the year goes on. It’s similar to how people look at spring break or christmas break! Adding field trips for the upper school would help with participation and overall positivity due to them having something to look forward to. Aside from that, going on field trips as a grade helps with cohesion within that class. They need to truly learn their peers’ personalities and make friends outside their own friend groups so they can have regular conversations with their peers and not feel awkward. It is a great thing to have so many field trips for the younger students, but we need to even out the timeline. 

Pictured: Class of 2027 at their Junior Kanuga field trip