Sports – Page 4

JHS prepares to face off with New Albany tonight

by Austin Bainbridge

Both Jeff and New Albany come into tonight’s game looking to get their seasons on track.

New Albany is in the search for their first win, and Jeff has lost two straight in brutal fashion. However, a win could set their campaigns straight.

“We have to win these next three; if we do that we’ll be 5-4 and going into the playoffs, that would be a success for this young team,” said head coach Joe Washington.

This is a big rivalry for both communities, and the players are ready to perform.

Sophomore Austin Bainbridge and sophomore Jaxx Long do a pre-game handshake during the Homecoming game against Bloomington North. Photo by Malachi Conrad.

“We can beat them for sure; I mean, their 0-6. We are a way better team than them,” said sophomore fullback Jaxx Long.

Jeff comes into tonight’s match-up 2-4, trying to get back on the path to prepare for a playoff push.

“I think we have a couple games down the stretch that we’re favored in, and we can win. Columbus East will be a tough matchup, but if we do what we’re supposed to we can win that game as well,” said Washington.

The coaches believe that the team can succeed, but it’s on the players if they want to win.

“It’s only the little things that we aren’t doing right. If the players come together and see the bigger picture and dig a little deeper, then I think the next three games can go in our favor,” said Washington.

Even though the Bulldogs come into the game winless this season, Jeff players know this isn’t a free win.

“We have to play determined and as a team. Even though they’re 0-6, a win is never free. If we all stick together I know we can walk out of there with a win,” said junior linemen Liam Jackson.

The team only has a handful of seniors starting on the roster, so there is some experience left to be desired.

Sophomore Andre Walker during the JHS-Bloomington North game last Friday. Photo by Isaiah Stewart.

“We have a very young roster, and this is the first adversity they have seen. When we went 6-4 last year a lot of these guys didn’t play. I think they just need some ‘want-to’ so we can go out and win,” said Washington

Everybody on the team has been preparing for this game for a long time, and they’re ready to settle the rivalry for this year.

“The mentality for us is a no-brainer at this point. We know they don’t like us and we don’t like them, so there’s some bad blood, so we have to ride the wave and step up to the plate,” said Washington.

3 Oct 20253 Oct 2025 by jhshyphen

JHS celebrates homecoming this past Friday

All photos by Malachi Conrad, Parker McCloskey, Sophia Goforth, and Isaiah Stewart.

The girls’ court and queen candidates posing. Photo by Parker McCloskey.

2 Oct 2025 by jhshyphen

Bloomington North defeats JHS last Friday 36-3

All photos by Malachi Conrad, Parker McCloskey, Sophia Goforth, and Isaiah Stewart.

Senior Tre Martin running with the flag to start the game. Martin was crowned Homecoming king later in the evening. Photo by Parker McCloskey.

2 Oct 20252 Oct 2025 by jhshyphen

In the Moment: Behind the Scenes with freshman and junior varsity volleyball

Click on slides in the gallery below.

1 Oct 2025 by jhshyphen

Boys’ soccer prepares for sectional

by Aubrey Cummings

Pushing themselves as hard as they can for the 80 minutes that the match lasts. Heads up and hearts pounding every touch of the ball sends it moving across the field. With a shared goal, getting the ball into the net, the team moves as a unit across the field.

Ranked 36th in the state and 27th in their class, the varsity boys’ soccer team is moving along in their season.

Currently they are 12-3-1 and are second in the Hoosier Hills Conference for varsity and are 7-5-2 for JV. As the end of their season begins to approach for both teams they all begin to prepare for sectionals, with a normal goal of wanting to win sectionals and advance to regionals.

Head varsity coach Collin Bell explained, “It’s all about the game that is happening. One game at a time, one set of 80 minutes. If we push ourselves for those 80 minutes and commit ourselves for those 80 minutes, we will be successful.”

This was shown in their game against Franklin this year. The team had many teams cut from their schedule and many new ones added. They have faced tougher teams than they normally would. They do this to better themselves and to allow for them to be better prepared for the competition at the end.

“It’s all about the game that is happening. One game at a time, one set of 80 minutes. If we push ourselves for those 80 minutes and commit ourselves for those 80 minutes, we will be successful.”
Head Coach Collin Bell

“I think it’s a great change because it allows for us to adjust to playing new teams that we haven’t seen before, so it is a good way for us to test ourselves against teams that are considered better teams,“ said junior Alan Solorzano Lopez.

Junior Alan Soloranzo Lopez kicks the ball during the Male High School game. Photo by Parker McCloskey.

The varsity team isn’t the only one beginning to prepare for sectionals. Six of the JV members have the opportunity to go with the varsity boys to the sectional games.

“Knowing there’s a chance for us to go with the varsity team to sectionals encourages us on JV to push ourselves harder to show we are the best to try and claim our spots,” stated freshman JV member Dominic Cummings.

Doing this allows for younger boys to know what they may have the chance to experience in the near future. This allows for the program to continue to grow. The future also depends on some of the varsity boys as well as the JV.

“The pressure feels greater not just because I am a goalie, but also because I am a freshman, so I am representing more than just my varsity team but also my classmates on JV,” said varsity freshman Jafet Benitez-Rubio.

Benitez-Rubio is not just on the varsity team; he is the starter goalie as a freshman. This is significant every, and everyone knows it. The student section in games makes sure everyone knows by cheering “He’s a freshman” whenever he stops a ball from going in.

The team’s spirits are high as ever. The team feels confident and are preparing to have a different outcome than last year where they lost in the final round to Seymour.

The Red Devils play Jennings County next Monday in the opening round of sectionals at Floyd Central High School at 7 p.m.

Senior Shlomo Tshimbalanga guards the ball from his defending New Albany opponent. JHS won 2-0. Photo by Magdalene Conrad.

1 Oct 2025 by jhshyphen

Homecoming game against Bloomington North tonight at 7 p.m.; royalty crowned at halftime

26 Sep 2025 by jhshyphen

New Albany defeats JHS 5-0 last night

Senior Katrina Britt welcomes the fans as her name is called in the starting lineup at last night’s game against New Albany. The Bulldogs won 5-0. The Red Devils play at Center Grove this Saturday. Photo by Magdalene Conrad.

26 Sep 2025 by jhshyphen

Tennis team heads into sectional play next week

by Mikail Cetiner

The boys’ tennis season is coming to an end, and that only means one thing — sectional is close.

The Jeff tennis team is really excited and nervous because for most of them, this is their first time playing in a sectional.

Senior William Burnette serves for Red Devil tennis. Photo by Magdalene Conrad.

According to singles 1 senior William Brunette, “It is very exciting, but also very stressful to play sectionals.”

The tennis team works hard and takes the practice really seriously. “We work on a lot of basic strategies to prepare for sectionals; the main focus is playing with energy and focus and staying present during matches that can often be very intense,” head coach Jerid Inman said.

Even though the practice is hard and intense, many tennis players decide to stay after practice, and one of them is junior Alex Nef.

“I stay after practice to work on my weak points so I can be ready for Sectionals.”

“We have a lot of new varsity players this year,” coach Inman said, “so we need to practice more intensely so the varsity players can learn how to play under a lot of pressure.”

Sectionals also have a side effect for the J.V players, “Sectionals affect J.V really much because we won’t have any matches since sectionals only is for varsity,” junior J.V player Ian Hoyer said.

According to senior J.V player Micah Cabell, “J.V should be taken more seriously because most of them are the future of the varsity team.”

“Even though we have no matches we will still practice and play against each other for next year,” J.V coach Clint Fackler said.

Sectional begins Tuesday, Sept. 30.

Boys’ tennis heads into sectional next week. Photo by Jackson Anderson.

26 Sep 2025 by jhshyphen

Girls’ soccer defeats Columbus East 4-1

All photos by Malachi Conrad.

The Red Devils celebrate after scoring a goal to tie the game against Columbus East. Photo by Malachi Conrad.

24 Sep 202525 Sep 2025 by jhshyphen

Cheerleaders earn honors at ‘Fear the Cheer’ competition

by Reese Dobson

Cheerleading is a lot more difficult than it may appear at a regular football or basketball game.

“The hardest part about cheer is probably cheering throughout all the difficulties, like weather conditions, losing, and people being absent,” said sophomore cheerleader Aaliyah Flowers.

Cheer is an all-year-long season. “I don’t think anybody realizes how much we practice. We only get one month off throughout the year, and we practice from April to competing at nationals in February,” senior Kyndal McCartin said.

McCartin said the cheer team practices on Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Saturday. On weekends, cheerleaders compete in competitions and cheer at sports games.

“Going to nationals with my team and competing the routine we have worked so hard on makes it all worth it,” senior Kenzie Keller stated.

UCA cheer nationals is a cheerleading competition in Orlando, Florida, where teams all over the country come and compete for state titles. Teams have to receive a bid to compete in the competition, Keller explained.

However, cheerleading isn’t always about competitiveness. A big part of cheerleading is team bonding and trust, which cheerleaders need to have for each other.

“I have always enjoyed watching others cheer, and I wanted to give it a try. I enjoy the sportsmanship and friendship on the Jeff team, and it keeps me going,” said freshman Kiela Smith.

Coming to practice with a good attitude is important to get through a hard practice, Flowers explained.

Cheer is sometimes debated as to whether it’s a sport or not. “I think cheer is definitely a sport because we practice, train, and perform. We have a minimum of four practices a week, and we have competitions against other teams,” said freshman Eliza Davis.

JHS cheerleaders took on the “Fear the Cheer” cheerleading competition at New Albany High School on Saturday, Sept. 21 They came out with first place in the timeout division, first place in the gameday division, and overall timeout grand champs. Photo by Alicia Flowers.

The Jeff High cheerleaders attended one of these competitions at New Albany High School last Saturday, Sept. 21. They came out in first place for the timeout routine and first place for the game day routine. The awards ended with the title “Grand Champs” for the overall timeout category.

“I’m glad we won because we practiced hard, and I’m glad all the work paid off,” Keller said.

24 Sep 2025 by jhshyphen