Fans had a long drive to the Mesquite Girls Softball Complex for the Region II Area playoff game between the Ponder Lady Lions and the Malakoff Tigers. But every fan will agree that it was worth the drive to see such an excellent game.

The Lady Lions struggled hitting the ball early in the game with only one hit during the first four innings. The game remained tied at zero until the bottom of the fourth inning. Then the Lady Lions saw some trouble when the Tigers scored a run off an RBI triple by the Malakoff second basemen. The fifth inning was an important one for the girls as Freshmen Aubrey Antle and Brooke Sanders both got on base on walks to start the inning. Morgan Stover then moved the runners around with an infield single. The Lady Lions scored their first run with a single by Junior Keeley Woods. The runs did not stop there, though. Two batters later, Junior Kristen Kimmel hit a RBI triple into the gap between the left and center fielders. The triple gave them a 4-1 lead going to the bottom of the fifth.

Malakoff scored two unearned runs in the bottom of the fifth, but the Lady Lions returned the favor by scoring one run in the top of the seventh. The score going into the bottom of the seventh inning was 5-3. The bottom of the seventh inning was a very intense inning for the girls and the fans. Malakoff scored one run during the inning off of a walk by pitcher Ashley Anderson. Malakoff then had the bases loaded with two outs, but Anderson ended the inning by striking out the Malakoff pinch hitter.

With two play-off wins, the girls seem to be on a roll. Now the team will be tested in the regional quarter-final in a three game series versus S&S. The first game is Wednesday at 6:30pm at Sanger High School. The second game will also be in Sanger - on Friday at 5:30pm. If a third game is necessary, it will be played at 7:30 on Friday night.

Area Gallery 1 / Area Gallery 2 / Area Gallery 3

Click pic to check out the Lady Lions player profiles:

UIL State Academics:
Schofield 4th In Calculator
By John Boyer

The top academic qualifiers competed at the State UIL tournament this weekend. Senior Lindsey Allen, who earned 1st place in Headline Writing at Regional, left Ponder for Austin Thursday, accompanied by sponsor Mrs. Melaynee Broadstreet.

Friday morning, Allen competed in her event, but did not place in the top 6. Later that same day, Allen and Mrs. Broadstreet met at the state capitol with the PHS Calculator team, consisting of juniors Brent Fletcher, Lizzy Schofield and Brent Fletcher and senior Andrew Gallegos and their sponsor Mrs. Sherry Simmons, and took pictures along with an impromptu tour of the capitol.

The state qualifying calculator team competed on Saturday morning, resulting in Schofield seizing 4th place. The team itself was ranked the 4th place Calculator team in the state.

Click on picture to see
State Academic Profiles

State Tennis!

“State Qualifier” - Colton Ream’s 2nd place finish at regional has PHS saying the words for the first time about a tennis player. Playing in the state quarter-final on Monday, Ream lost 6-0, 6-2 to Hunter Lloyd of Tuscola Jim Ned.

The Roar finally got Colton to talk - check out his profile by clicking on the picture.

Varsity and JV Cheerleaders of ‘08-‘09
Krissy Boxell

After a long week of tryouts, taking place on April 14-18, the varsity and junior varsity cheerleaders for 2008-2009 were chosen. Three neutral judges from other towns came on Friday, April 18 to help select the new squad members.

The new varsity squad includes: juniors Krissy Boxell, Nikki Johnson and Cheyenne Tawater, sophomore Priscilla Hernandez, freshmen Cassidy Owens and Megan Starks, and eighth-grader Susan Valenzuela.

PHS Varsity Cheerleaders for 2008-2009	Krissy Boxell	Cheyenne Tawater	Nikki Johnson
Priscilla Hernandez	Cassidy Owens	Megan Starks	Susan Valenzuela

The first JV squad to ever hit PHS will include: freshmen Ashley Darby and Destine McCoy, and eighth-graders Kaleigh Matus and Nike Odunaiya.

2008-2009 JV Cheerleaders:
Ashley Darby	Destine McCoy	Nike Odunaiya	Kailey Matus

PS I Love You
By Kristen Kimmel

It’s not very often that a movie has you laughing and crying at the same time. However, P.S. I Love You contains the perfect amount of comedy and is also quite a tear-jerker.

Holly Kennedy (Hilary Swank) might be luckiest person in the world. She’s smart, beautiful and married to the love of her life Gerry (Gerald Butler), a funny and impetuous Irishman whom she adores. However, her luck ends fatally when Gerry becomes unexpectedly ill and dies. But before he died, Gerry wrote Holly a series of letters that will guide her, not only through her grief, but to help her rediscover herself. Each letter is sent in a surprising way that takes her on a new adventure. Holly’s mother (Kathy Bates) and best friends (Gina Gershon, Lisa Kudrow) worry that the letters are holding Holly back in the past, but she knows they are exactly what she needs to start a new and happy future.

This is a great story about love and friendship and will keep you reaching for the tissues.

Starring: Hilary Swank, Gerald Butler, Kathy Bates, Gina Gershon, Lisa Kudrow, Harry Connick Jr., Jeffry Dean Morgan

Rated: PG13 for sexual references and brief nudity

P.S. I Love You hits shelves on May 6

Ludo
By Ashley Laughlin

Pop-punk outfit Ludo, from St. Louis, Missouri released their major label debut, You’re Awful, I Love You, on Island Records February 26 th. Named after the gorilla-like Ludo character in 1986 film, Labyrinth, the five piece band is slowly on the rise.

Their first self-titled record released in 2004, on their own indie label, Redbird Records, gained mediocre success in the indie scene. The band re-entered the studio in 2005 to record a rock opera EP, Broken Bride. Known for their themed live shows like HalLUDOween, A Very Ludo Christmas, and Cinco de Mustache, the bands fun and interactive shows caught the attention of Island and Capitol Records. Settling with Island, Ludo has recently signed a 5 record deal and made Redbird Records an imprint to continue releasing their own non-commercial material.

The unconventional lyrics and combination of pop beats and light-hearted lyrics from the first LP with the sinister undertone of, Broken Bride, make the record appear bright and animated on the surface. But after listening, the corny looking album cover is definitely a throw-off from the albums actual contents. The first track, which is also the first single, Love Me Dead, which houses the title line, “Youre Awful, I Love You”, is a perfect display of the creative contradiction of the lyrics. In, Topeka, the repetitive line, “I found God in a catalytic converter in Topeka on a Monday night,” is somehow brilliantly shaped into a rhyming hook that pulls you in to its meaningless humor but is followed with the significance of the line “Every saint has a past, Every sinner has a future”.

The sounds on this album won’t be anything like you are expecting. With music a bit like My Chemical Romance, minus the dark album art, Ludo has something for everyone.