Senior Spotlight....RYAN JENKINS #76!!!

Okay....I have made my best attempt all season long to refrain from partaking of any nepotism as I administered this blog, and in my opinion, I've done an excellent job as this blog has never become a vehicle to spotlight my own Cadet. That is UNTIL NOW!!! I regret to inform all of you now that 'THAT STOPS HERE!!!!' The senior Cadet featured in this Spotlight post is none other than my very own ALL-AMERICAN, RYAN ALEXANDER JENKINS!!!

Having known Ryan for as long as he has existed, it is difficult to condense all that I know about him into a post that someone whose entire world does not revolve around him might be willing to take the time required to read; but I'll try. BINKINS as he is often called by his team mates is too many things. He is the kind of kid who will drop everything to pamper his Mom through her seasonal migraines, doing everything from making meals to ensuring quiet solitude until the headaches pass. He is self-reliant and has been a source of amazement to many of his contemporaries' Moms because of his unheard of ability to do his own laundry. He is the social director in his group and has blood hound-like characteristics when it comes to sniffing out parties. On the football field, he is an extremely dedicated team player, who is especially dedicated to providing opportunities for his fellow team mates to attain their goals. He spends many hours researching the technique of upcoming opponents prior to each week's game and developing his own technique to make sure that he contributes all that he can to the team's overall success.

Ryan is a charmer of mothers (his own and others such as his "lenient Mom" Maureen Flachs); he is an as yet undiscovered comedian, and if he has his way, he is a future college football standout! Ryan is well known throughout CBC as one of its premiere visual artists and has future aspirations to become a cartoonist or graphic designer.

He is also an accomplished pianist who plays beautifully by ear and is currently enrolled in his very first piano and music theory classes both of which he adores.

Okay, okay, I realize I've been carried away, how can I help it with such fascinating subject matter :-b . Anyway, I'll just stop here and leave you with Ryan's vital stats and his responses to the Senior Spotlight Questionnaire.

Name: Ryan Jenkins
Nickname: Big Janks/BINKINS
Ht: 6'2" Wt: 265
Position: OT/DT
Varsity Number: 76
Activities: Football, STUCO, Art Club, OBCA, Piano
Parents: Sharon Jenkins

Motto: "DO WORK!!!"

QUESTIONNAIRE RESPONSES:

What are your plans following graduation? (If planning to attend college, what are your top 3 choices?)

-I plan to attend college and (hopefully) play football somewhere. My top three choices are: Northwest Missouri State University, Missouri State, and Mizzou

Do you plan to play football in college

-Yes. I do plan on playing football in college. Hopefully somewhere like NWMSU or MSU.

What are your personal FOOTBALL goals for the season?

-I would like to be an essential part of the success of the offensive line. I would also like to help Rayon rush for 2,000 + yards in the regular season.

Who is your personal "Hero" (football or other) and why?

-My personal football "Hero" is probably #72 Glenn Dorsey from LSU. He has a disorder and regardless of his circumstances he still goes hard every play and has a relentless playing style.

Would you like to give a special someone a "shout-out"? Here is your chance....

-I'd like to shoutout: the Fun Train a.k.a. Lineman Love...I would also like to shout-out my boys Flachs, and Luberda. My running-back Rayon and my quarterback Jack Swoboda. I would also like to shoutout Batliner, Kyle Martin, and Ben Warning for the hard work I personally know they did getting ready in the 2006 offseason up until now. I want to shout-out some of our Juniors who have made great impacts on the team's success: Kevin Gerwitz (Ger-Baby), Jake and Josh Bromberg, Roderick Alton. Last but not least I want to give a shout-out to the new faces on the team: Andy Powell, Brian Rector, and Stan Ruchalski. Oh yeah and that boy K-WoOoOoODDDDD!!!!!

In closing, even though his WONDERFUL MOM didn't rate a shout-out, I would have to say that this particular Cadet is the

Spotlight Senior of all Spotlight Seniors!!!

(In my humble opinion that is ;)

Senior Spotlight.....MATT HAPPE #74!!!

Matt had already been selected as one of the two seniors featured in the Senior Spotlight on this blog when the Varsity coaching staff selected him as the Most Improved Player from the Francis Howell game. Initially, the lazy blogger in me saw an opportunity to get a "two for the price of one post" up and make my life just a bit easier. However, the Mom in me who tries to teach her biological son as well as the hundreds of CBC Cadet sons she has adopted to always do their best work, decided that in spite of the "potential overexposure" he might suffer here on this blog this week, Matt deserved a separate Senior Spotlight post just like all the other seniors ;). After all, compared to the exposure given to some of this generation's "celebrities" (think Paris Hilton and Lindsey Lohan), we're not even approaching the tip of the iceberg of overexposure here....so here goes!

Matt Happe is simply put, A GREAT KID! Now occasionally, parents say things of this nature about other people's children; however in the case of Matt Happe, other kids say things like this! Matt is the kind of young man who is not just concerned about "what's in it for himself", he also shows true concern for what's in it for everybody else as well. He has a natural ability for leadership, and using his special magic, seems to make everyone who comes in contact with him see themselves as better than they were before he met them.

This is one of Matt's senior photographs, and its almost supernatural-like quality tickles me as the most amusing thing about Matt in my opinion is his almost fanatically superstitious nature when it comes to football. Whether it be wearing the exact same article of clothing for every game to eating the same meal at the same place at the same time each week prior to the game, I don't believe I have ever met a more superstitious kid than Matt Happe!

Matt's responses to the Senior Spotlight Questionnaire are coming up, but before I close, I wanted to share the taglines from Matt's personal email address just so that more of you can have the opportunity to see what I see when I look at this Cadet....

Matt Happe CBC Class of 2008 Mizzou Class of 2012

"To give anything less than your best is to sacrifice the gift."

"Be kinder than necessary for everyone you meet is fighting some kind of battle."

Need I say more.....

Name: Matt Happe

Nickname: "Hey Centa"

Ht: 6'3" Wt: 225

Position: Center/DT

Varsity Number: 74

Activities: STUCO, Football, Track, Mission Trips, Dream Team, being with Bob Shannon

Parents: Don & Kathy Happe

Motto: "That's a double positive!"

QUESTIONNAIRE RESPONSES:

What are your plans following graduation? (If planning to attend college, what are your top 3 choices?)

-I got accepted to MIZZOU a few weeks ago and I am excited to be a part of the big school atmosphere.

Do you plan to play football in college?

-Not at this point

What are your personal FOOTBALL goals for the season?

-HAVE FUN! Help the team stay motivated.

Who is your personal "Hero" (football or other) and why?

-My family is really important to me so I would say that I look up to my sisters and parents.

Would you like to give a special someone a "shout-out"? Here is your chance....

-All the boys on the offensive line and I'd like to give a shout-out to everybody on the Fun Train!!!! Whoo Whoo!

Most Improved Player....Matt Happe #74

BIG UPS go out to the most improved player from the Francis Howell game #74, MATT HAPPE!

Affectionately known by most of the CBC student body as Captain Matt, #74 is definitely worthy of this honor. As a member of the starting offensive line, Matt has been known as a team leader since his Freshman days. In this particular game, it appears that Matt's natural leadership abilities led the coaches to recognize the contribution he makes on the field in addition to the contributions he is notorious for making that consistently benefit the team at large.

The email naming Matt as this game's Most Improved Player contained the following information:

"Matt Happe- has steadily improved his play as the season has progressed. Matt improved by 20% points from Vianney to this week."

NO SURPRISE HERE....THIS IS WHAT WE HAVE BEEN CONDITIONED TO EXPECT FROM THIS EXCEPTIONAL TEAM LEADER!!!!

Following are some vital stats about "Captain Matt", and his answers to our Most Improved Player Questionnaire.
Name: Matt Happe
Nickname: "Hey Centa"
Ht: 6'3" Wt: 225
Position: Center/DT
Varsity Number: 74
Parents: Don & Kathy Happe

Motto: "That's a double positive!"

QUESTIONNAIRE RESPONSES:
Are you surprised to receive this honor? Why or why not?

-DEFINITELY a little surprised to get this.

What are your personal football goals for this year?

-My personal goal is to keep the FUN TRAIN truckin.

Do you have a football "HERO"? Who is it and why is he your hero?

-I would say my football hero is Vince Lombardi because of the way he was able to inspire his players. I say this because I know I am not near the best athlete out on the field but I feel like I can make an impact by trying to motivate others to play hard.

Other than you, who on the team do you feel deserved this honor for the game in which you earned it and why?

-I felt like Brad Luberda also deserved this award for stepping in when Adam Ryan was unable to play.

Would you like to give a special someone a "shout-out"? Here's your chance....

-Two words: FUN TRAIN

Congratulations on this honor Matt, no one deserves it more!

**Cadet Carpe Diem Most Improved Players are selected by the Varsity Football Coaching Staff based on noted improvement from week to week**

Senior Spotlight....Kelvin Haywood #12

The senior featured in this post just happens to be one of everybody's favorite Cadets, this week's Spotlight Senior is KELVIN HAYWOOD!!!!

Whenever one ventures up or down the hallways of CBC High School or spends any time on or near Klemm Field, they are bound to notice the calls of "Hey Wood!" ringing out. In many cases, a person's name gives us important insight into who that person is, and in Kelvin's case, his surname is certainly an alert to the fact that this is definitely a kid that everyone else wants to talk to!

On the field, Kelvin brings with him a steadiness that almost seems incongruent with the upbeat personality he displays off the field. With his surprising speed and ability to have a positive impact whether catching a pass or tackling a runner, Kelvin definitely has the stuff of which the best Cadets are made!

In case you have not had the personal pleasure of getting to know this senior Cadet, read on....

Name: Kelvin Haywood
Nickname: Wood
Ht: 5'11" Wt: 150
Position: WR/CB
Varsity Number: 12
Parents: Kelvin Sr. & Gina Haywood

Motto: Good things come when you do good things!

QUESTIONNAIRE RESPONSES:

What are your plans following graduation? (If planning to attend college, what are your top 3 choices?)

-I plan on attending college. My top 3 choices are Arizona State University, Georgia Tech University, or Illinois.

Do you plan to play football in college?

-I might walk on as a freshman, depending on how the rest of this year turns out.

What are your personal FOOTBALL goals for the season?

-My personal goals are to score some touchdowns, a pretty dezzent (descent) amount of yards and a nice number of receptions, a few tackles, and a couple of interceptions.

Who is your personal “Hero” (football or other) and why?

-My personal hero is my pops. He has to be the best pops in the world. He has been there all my life and when I am in trouble, he is like my escape route. Not always but most of the time.

Would you like to give a special someone a “shout-out”? Here is your chance….

-Yeah…I wanna give a shout to everybody because I don’t wanna leave nobody out and have people trying to hurt me.

HOT OFF THE PRESSES!!!

IT'S HERE!

IT'S HERE!

IT'S HERE, IT'S HERE!!!

IT'S HERE, HERE, HERE!!!!

IT'S

HEEEEERRRRRRREEEEEEE!!!!!

The 2007 CBC Football Guide is here!!! The guide serves as an annual yearbook of sorts and introduces the Cadets and Coaches across all three CBC Football Teams. The guide also celebrates the Senior Cadets as they play their final season of Cadet Football. It is intended to be a keepsake that the boys can have to revisit their high school football experiences after this chapter of their lives has ended.

The guide was sold during the crushing defeat of SLUH last Friday night (YEA! Sorry for the poor sportsmanship here but I simply couldn't resist....Boys, this is bad so please "do as I say, not as I do!" ;). The guide will continue to be sold by Football Moms during all remaining games for ALL CBC football teams until they sell out. If you haven't already purchased your own, please do so as soon as possible as they are a beautiful way to capture this very special football season. If you have already purchased your own, please think of someone else you might be able to purchase one for (i.e. Grandma, Aunt Flo or Uncle John, etc.) as the guides are also serving as a fundraiser to help to create a very special end of the season banquet for all Cadets and Coaches on all CBC football teams. As there are still some parents who are unaware of this blog, please tell everyone you know who is involved in supporting the football teams about this opportunity! For more information about where to purchase the guides during games, look for Lori Johnson during Freshman football games, Susan Berberich during JV football games, and Sharon Jenkins during Varsity football games. The guides are priced at $10 per book, with all proceeds (minus the cost of production) being used to offset the cost of the end of season football banquet which will be scheduled shortly; most likely taking place during the first week in December.

The end of season football banquet is held on behalf of ALL THREE CBC FOOTBALL TEAMS, and celebrates the accomplishments on the field of all of our Cadets. A delicious, catered buffet meal will be served in Ross Dining Hall at CBC, following which the football coaches will honor the Cadets with awards for achieving football milestones such as Most Improved Player, Most Valuable Player, etc. Also during this event, Coaches gifts are presented, Cadets receive their letters for participation on various teams, and for those Cadets who are selected to be named to "polled teams by the sports media" (i.e. ALL-METRO, ALL-STATE, etc.), special recognition is also given. Invitations to this event will be sent home by football Cadets in early to mid-November. In order to contain costs, RSVPs will be necessary; so please look for the invitation and R.S.V.P. early or contact Sharon Jenkins in the event that no information is brought home by the week of Thanksgiving break.

Many hours of hard work went into the creation of this year's media guide, and a very special thank you is owed by all to Ms. Jessica Happe.

Jessica is a trained graphic designer who DONATED her services to assist (LOL! she created the sculpture, I mixed the mud!) us with the creation of this guide because her brother Matt is a senior Cadet and she is a generous person. Jessica spent many hours (think a couple of work weeks) of her personal time working hard to create the most beautiful guide I have seen in my many years of working with youth sports teams. The amount of money it would have cost to hire a graphic artist of Jessica's skill level to help develop this guide would have been prohibitive to say the least considering the time invested; so to those of you who have seen the finished product and understand the magnitude of her contribution, please let Jessica know when you see her in person at Varsity games and/or via this blog how very much we all appreciate her and all that she did on our behalf!!

Now let's show our support of ALL OF OUR CADET FOOTBALL TEAMS by purchasing every single guide and paving the way for the most spectacular end of season banquet ever!!!!

LET'S GO CADET FANS!!!!