by Shelley Bennett
Hope you enjoyed all the Halloween treats our little town had to offer. From trick or treating in Uptown Susanville to touring Frightmare at the Lassen County Fairgrounds, and all the silly and spooky decorations appearing in local neighborhoods, there was something fun for all.
I had so much fun hanging out uptown. Dressed as Winifred Sanderson, I got a lot of double takes and even found that I was an object on the LCC Softball team’s scavenger hunt. I was definitely not expecting that attention.
Our ASB class at LHS hosted “Falloween”, a week of transition celebrating the scary and the ordinary. We started with Scary Movie Monday, which to me is like any Monday but with a hockey mask. On Tuesday we had an awesome assembly with lots of cool performances from our on-campus groups, including Drama Club, Drum Line (featuring Tony Low on the piano), Drill Team, Cheerleaders, and a small, unknown group I like to call “The Killers”.
I’ve always thought the day after Halloween should be a day off of school, but ASB thought PJ Day would be a good fit. It might have been a little too comfy though because by lunchtime everyone was ready for a nap. Thursday was Feelin’ Like Fall and students and staff were encouraged to wear sweaters, flannel, beanies, scarves, boots, etc.
When Grizzlies Attack was Friday’s theme since it was our last home league football game. We showed our support by wearing class colors (frosh/black, soph/purple, jr/gold, sr/white) at school and camo at the game.
Senior Class president Tucker Schall and Derek Magana built a cool blind to surround the student section and the Pep Band kept the bleachers rockin’.
It was Senior Night, so we honored our football players and their parents before the game and our Grizzliettes, Cheerleaders, and Drumline at halftime.
On October 28th, our Varsity Field Hockey team completed their season with an appearance in the Super Regional tournament. They lost to Chico 0-1 then bounced back to beat Corning 2-0. Playing for third place, they beat Davis 1-0 with a goal by Hannah Matchniff. Jessica Nakanishi and Mili Crosno were named to the All-Tourney team.
They also finished first place in league with seniors Hannah Matchniff, Jessica Nakanishi, Mili Crosno, Sara Daniels, and Kenzie Delacruz earning All-League Honors. Coach Dorinda Shaffer also praised seniors Renee Delgado for her great ball handling skills and enthusiasm, Kahlen Somerville for her excellent defense and tenacity, and Sofia Bennett for being “steady, encouraging, and reliable.” Junior Lucy Olson was awarded the League MVP goalie.
With several juniors and thirteen sophomores coming up to varsity, the future of the field hockey program looks solid.
The backstory is that all eight of these seniors graduated from 8th grade in 2020. They lost end of the year trips, graduation, and saying good bye to middle school during the Covid shutdown. When Summer came and Coach Shaffer offered a “low risk” activity outside, they jumped on it. They practiced all summer into the school year.
Their season was postponed, but they continued to meet every day preparing the Frightmare Forest for locals. They got to know each other, became friends, and there was no pressure of winning or losing.
When they finally were able to compete in March, with masks on, we didn’t know what to expect. At first, it was a little like U-6 soccer, making it all the way to end of the field only to get one shot on goal and pushed back the other way.
But they made progress. They got better as players and teammates. They learned to trust each other and anticipate. They found out that no team in “unbeatable.” And all the while, they had coaches Dorinda Shaffer, and later Kelly Herrmann, encouraging them, believing in them, and setting goals for the team to reach.
We lost so much during Covid. It is refreshing to hear about something that flourished because of it. For the first time since 1985, Lassen High School has a League Champion Field Hockey team!
Remember when news was ‘newsy’? When you read about weddings, family events and engagement announcements in the newspaper? If you have something that might be newsworthy, please submit it to [email protected] and I’ll do my best to include it here in “The Good Stuff.”
