![Walking through the tunnel created by the cheerleaders and Celebrities, senior Frances Tran smiles as the soccer team is sent off during DEN for their playoff game against Rouse tonight. Tran said the wins against Smithson Valley and Alamo Heights gave the team a morale boost to take on the Raiders tonight. “I know we were not 100% confident in those games,” Tran said. “But, Rouse is a big opponent for sure. We’re definitely going into tonight with a lot of morale [because of the previous wins].”](https://cphswolfpack.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/frances-tran.jpg)
![Holding a bucket of materials in one hand and a roll of tape in another, anatomy and biology teacher Tyler Terry prepares for a lab. Terry said his proudest moments are when his students are happy to see him. “When I take my wife to a football game or something and a bunch of students want to say hi to me or they like to smile and wave and it just makes me feel good that the students are really kind and supportive of me,” Terry said. “[I’m also] proud when I see students perform really well in their extracurriculars because I can see how hard they’re working in my classes, [so] when I see that they’re also working so hard in other things. Like they’re winning band competitions or they’re getting awards for their theater productions, or I see them put on their choir shows, that’s like, wow, you guys are incredible.”](https://cphswolfpack.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Rags-6.png)
![Catching a ball, junior Alivia Robinson plays at the Cedar Park vs Glenn game. Having played since she was 5 years old, she is dedicated to softball and has committed to UTPB for softball. “When I got my offer it took me a very long time to decide where,” Robinson said. “Softball has always been my dream for college, and UTPB is my fit. When [I committed] I knew I was going to be loved and supported.”](https://cphswolfpack.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Lilly-Adams-3.13aliviaedit-901.jpg)
![Holding her dog, Nova, senior Ariana Balakrishnan poses for her senior pictures while Nova wears a bandana with her college decision. Balakrishnan applied to 18 colleges in total, but she decided on Columbia in the end. “Right before I clicked the button to open Columbia’s letter, I literally looked at the camera and go ‘This is just gonna really suck because I wanted it so bad,’ and I clicked it and all of a sudden you hear trumpets,” Balakrishnan said. “There’s a video that plays when you open it and I actually didn’t watch the video, I just watched the screen go black, because every day of December before ED [Early Decision] I would go on YouTube and watch the acceptance video to manifest it, so immediately when the screen went black, I started screaming and jumping up and down. And my parents in the video are like ‘What are you doing, where’s the letter,’ and I was just screaming ‘I got in, I got in.” I just started crying, and it just felt like everything in the world came together.”](https://cphswolfpack.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/ariana-2-300x217.jpg)
This Friday the Cedar Park Timberwolves hosted the Stony Point Tigers. Cedar Park was looking to continue their district streak and improve to 5-0. Cedar Park had their hands full as Stony Point was 47th in the nation and 4th in state. Going into the Timberwolves and the Tigers were tied for first spot in district 16-5A play. A win for either team would boost them to the only remaining undefeated team in the standings.
As Cedar Park took the field, everyone looked in the huddle to see if quarterback standout Nathan Thornhill would be there. Nobody found him. In the Vista Ridge game, Thornhill got injured and he wasn’t able to play in the Stony Point game. Due to Thornhill sticking to the sidelines the whole game, Sophomore Brian Hogan, and Junior Matt Posey took the snaps. For the both of them it was their first career start. Hogan led the team with 161 rushing yards, and nabbed three touchdowns. The sophomore also had Cedar Park’s game winning touchdown; a one yard drive with 1:31 left remaining in the 4th quarter. Cedar Park star, Holmes Onwukaife picked up a fumble in the third quarter to set up the Cedar Park offense inside the Tiger 15 yard line. To close out the first half, cornerback Ryan Roberts caught an interception. During the fourth quarter Onwukaife recovered a fumble near midfield. That fumble eventually led to Hogan’s game winning score.
Cedar Park’s black rain defense completely denied Stony Point’s running backs, holding the tigers to just 166 yards on the ground. With leading passer Aaryn Sharp out for the Tigers, Gus Barrera had to take the reins. Barrera was pushed to his limits and out of his comfort zone throwing for only 120 yards.
This 28-21 win was a huge momentum builder for Cedar Park. Going into the Cedar Park game, Stony Point was ranked 4th in state, and hadn’t lost a game since 2007. That loss ironically was given to them by Cedar Park as well. With this win Cedar Park is the only undefeated remaining in the district 16-5A standings, and moved up to the 17th spot in state. The Timberwolves also gained national recognition as USA today recognized their achievements with information on the game included on their website.
Cedar Park had a great game against the tigers but, they’re not out of the woods just yet. This Friday, Cedar Park will travel to the Palace and face the Westwood Warriors and their star running back, Princeton Collins. We wish the Timberwolves good luck as they continue their hunt for a district title. Go Cedar Park.
