![High-fiving a band member in the Alamodome in San Antonio, Head Director of Bands Christopher Yee celebrates the band’s fifth UIL state win with his students. The band faced several challenges this marching season due to the difficult show routine, but was able to come in first at the state contest. “Every year is different,” Yee said. “The show is different, the kids are different, the challenges are different and the competition is different. This [year] feels a little more special. Theyre all special, but this one is particularly special because it was so hard fought. Weve mentioned several times to the kids that they seem like theyre one of the happiest bands weve ever taught. Theyre just happy kids. This years student leadership team [also] stepped up more than normal. I think that theyre very talented. Because it was a hard show, they have a lot of skills and a lot of determination and grit.”](https://cphswolfpack.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/unnamed.jpg)
![Dressed as a cow, PALs member and junior Lynnea Bergman smiles at her friends with a face covered in whipped cream. The annual trunk or treat took place on Oct. 26 during which the PALs pie in the face activity was very popular, according to Bergman. “We were doing a pie in the face and cakewalk to get the kids to have fun,” Bergman said. “Some of the kids in the PALs [program were at the trunk or treat] and they got to pie us in the face. [My favorite memory] so far is probably getting pied in the face by a four year old. He went so hard and it was very funny.”](https://cphswolfpack.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/Trunk-or-Treat-Photo-Lilly-182-1200x800.png)
![Posing next to her 2015 Hyundai Sonata, junior and Celebrities Dance Team Second Lieutenant Sophie Poulsen holds up her license. Poulsen’s car was stolen on Aug. 28 from the school parking lot, and was missing for a day before police recovered it. “I was shocked,” Poulsen said. “I never expected, especially in Cedar Park, for my car to get stolen. I still don’t know who [stole my car], but I wish I knew. I don’t think the cops are going to figure it out, because there’s no point. It already happened. We’re probably never going to know. I feel like it was a student, but who knows? [Nevertheless], Cedar Park is not that [kind of place].”](https://cphswolfpack.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/View-recent-pho11tos.jpg)
![Taking a selfie with some of their castmates, including senior Aidan Cox, who plays Buddy the Elf, junior Brooke Ferguson shows off a sign presenting the arrival of “Elf. This year’s musical, “Elf” runs Dec. 1-3 in the CPHS PAC. “[Learning a new script is] always kind of a challenge,” Ferguson said. “You get a new cast and you get your own part. I’ve never worked closely with these people before. It’s a different environment and doing character work with someone new, trying to partner work and scene work is interesting. The script is good and it has a lot of jokes, it’ll be a lot of laughs.” Photo by Brooke Ferguson](https://cphswolfpack.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/IMG_2048-e1701374239425-1200x900.jpg)
![Dressed as “H-E-B Buddy,” senior Logan Hedges entertains shoppers during a shift at H-E-B. Hedges has fun on the job, as there’s significantly less pressure than other jobs he has had. “I [used to umpire] little league baseball, and it’s definitely less stressful,” Hedges said. “There’s not much [that can go wrong] scanning groceries. Making a bad call in baseball is so easy.”](https://cphswolfpack.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/BF3C2083-817E-4847-B673-1FEF973AB972.jpeg)
![One student talks about how attractive they imagine the main protagonist is, another describes the negative effects mental health can have on a student, and a third just blatantly states that she hates the ending of her book. The club Page Turners, led by President senior Ellie Knaggs, meets every Tuesday in the library and is a place for students to come and talk about books. “It’s just a place to come and bring so many ideas and opinions into play,” Knaggs said. “We have had some really great discussions in the past, sometimes it’s just talking about like ‘Oh yes, I love that trope’ or ‘this fictional couple is so cute.’ Sometimes the [author] talked about this really heavy topic like abuse or hunger or war and I think it’s something we should talk about and so we will.”](https://cphswolfpack.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/Copy-of-Copy-of-STRESS.png)
![Standing in the golden hour’s orange light, Irish music artist Hozier performs at Austin City Limits’ biggest venue. The annual music festival provides opportunities for attendees to both enjoy familiar artists and discover new ones. “I didn’t know Thirty Seconds to Mars [before I went to ACL], but I really love them now because the lead singer put on a great show,” sophomore Mykaela Tapia said. “He was inviting people up to the stage and at one point there were almost sixty people on stage. Matthew McConaughey was there too. [The lead singer] started off the show on a platform right below the roof and he jumped off that platform and I thought that was so cool. The concert was really hype. Even though I wasn’t familiar with the music, I still liked the performance.”](https://cphswolfpack.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/IMG_6042-1200x675.jpeg)
![Delbridge smiles with hands wide after a performance at Kelly Reeves Stadium for the Bands of America Austin Finals. “I can’t imagine my life without band,” Delbrdige said. “In 2020 it was the only thing that kept me going—playing my instrument and going into rehearsals. I really don’t want to lose that part of life. It’s kind of sad to leave [that passion] here, but I’d like to find it somewhere else even after I graduate high school.”
Photo courtesy of Lauren Delbridge](https://cphswolfpack.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/image_50379265-1200x900.jpg)
![Backstage, junior Erica Mihealsick and Cara Allen are setting up for The One Act Play That Goes Wrong. Originally, I wanted to be an actor, but then I didnt want to because Id have to catch up [in skills] to the other kids. So I decided to join tech, and Ive never looked back.”](https://cphswolfpack.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/P1010905-1200x675.jpg)
![FFA member and junior Max Adams will show his pigs and heifer at the Cedar Park Barn Show on Nov. 12. “When you think you have a good animal, and then you’re surrounded by a bunch of other [showmen with their animals], it will humble you really quick,” Adams said. “If I keep working and I do good [at shows], it makes me feel good about myself. I just like the competitiveness. Its fun taking care of [them]. Putting in a bunch of work and then not doing good upsets me a lot. It makes me want to do better.”](https://cphswolfpack.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/IMG_9790-1200x800.png)
![Taking a shot at the basketball hoop, senior point guard Drew O’Connor participates in a drill with Nabil Ismail during practice Oct. 30. O’Connor said he is excited to be a leader for his team this year. “It feels good to be a leader,” O’Connor said. “I think it’s fun because I just like helping others on the team with stuff. [Also], with it being my senior year, [I can] play with less pressure since it’s my last year, and playing with a lot of my friends is fun too.”](https://cphswolfpack.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/drew-oconnor.jpg)
![One of the few stick vehicles in the school parking lot, senior Alex Trebilco’s 1970 Ford Maverick is a restoration project he worked on with his dad. He and his father have worked on cars together for all of Trebilco’s life, and have several finished projects because of it. “[My favorite memory with my car is] honestly just cruising with my dad in his truck and my car,” Trebilco said. “Both of the [cars] are restored. He did the truck and we did the Maverick, so it’s cool to roll down in two cars that we made run together.”](https://cphswolfpack.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/Ford-Maverick.png)
Tonight the Timberwolves will face the Canyon High School Cougars in a Bi-District playoff game at 7:00 p.m. in New Braunfels. The team placed third in district after a 28-21 win over Georgetown to close out the regular season.
“I am proud [of the team],” Head Coach Michael Quintero said. “They are fighters. We had some challenges during the game, but our kids kept fighting. They are resilient, and they believe in the coaches and they believe in what we are doing, so I am proud of them.”
Senior tight ends Luca Wilson and Joshua Pecci both scored touchdowns, including the game winning touchdown from Wilson.
“Everyone doubted us this week playing Georgetown,” Wilson said. “We had a couple drives where we didn’t end up scoring, but you can’t be perfect. I am very confident, all we didn’t want was the 4th seed [because] we didn’t want to play Smithson Valley.”
I am proud [of the team]. They are fighters. We had some challenges during the game, but our kids kept fighting. They are resilient, and they believe in the coaches and they believe in what we are doing, so I am proud of them.
— Head Coach Michael Quintero
After scoring his touchdown, Pecci went down with an injury in the second quarter, which turned out to be a broken collarbone. Senior tight end Ethan Ludtke went in for Pecci and caught a 42-yard pass, the longest pass of the game.
“I’m proud of [Ludtke],” Pecci said. “He’s one of my good friends, so it was cool to see him ball out and get some catches. I’m hoping he gets a touchdown because that would be really exciting.”
On the defensive side of the ball, the secondary unit played a large role in holding Georgetown’s offense to 21 points. Senior safeties, Cody Manning and Garrison Cockrell, had an impact, recording 15 combined solo tackles between the two of them, and junior cornerback Garrett Nichols had five solo tackles.
“I feel like I played pretty good,” Nichols said. “The whole team played really well. We all ‘ride’ together in the second half. We had a couple of mishaps towards the beginning, but other than that, we came out in the second half and made every play count.”
The team has been practicing all week in preparation for Canyon. Quintero said the team is very confident going into the playoff game.
“We are playing well and the last two weeks we have come together as a team gelling,” Quintero said. “We are doing really good things on offense and defense, so it is always good to come in with a big win like this going into the playoffs because you have a little bit more momentum.”
Tickets can be purchased here for tonight’s playoff matchup.
“I am feeling confident,” Nichols said. “We just need to get healthy and work hard [during] practice, and then come out with energy throughout the whole game [against Canyon]. We [also] will be working on just flying around, flying to the ball, and continuing to make sure everyone is giving full effort.”
