CHAMPIONSHIP THOUGHTS HAVE TAFT IN HIGH SPIRITS.Byline: Mariel Garza Staff Writer WOODLAND HILLS - After a three-year absence, the Taft High School football team will head to the cavernous cavernous /cav·er·nous/ (kav´er-nus) 1. pertaining to a hollow, or containing hollow spaces. 2. having a hollow sound, such as certain abnormal breath sounds. Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum For board track racing circuit, see . Present use The Coliseum is now primarily the home of the USC Trojan football team. During the recent stretch of its success in football, most of USC's regular home games, especially the alternating games with rivals UCLA and Notre on Friday to play Dorsey High for the city football championship. And the Taft teen-agers who will be on the field - the players, dancers, flag team members, cheerleaders Notable cheerleaders
gig - gigabyte of their high school years. ``It's going to be amazing a·maze v. a·mazed, a·maz·ing, a·maz·es v.tr. 1. To affect with great wonder; astonish. See Synonyms at surprise. 2. Obsolete To bewilder; perplex. v.intr. ,'' said Frances Cuprill, squad captain, as she imagined leading the cheerleaders through routines for a huge, screaming crowd. ``There will be so many people in the audience. I've never been in a situation like that before.'' Taft High Athletic Director Athletic director (commonly, "athletics director") is a position at many American colleges and universities, as well as in larger high schools and middle schools, which oversees the work of the coaches and related staff involved in intercollegiate or interscholastic athletic Mark Drucker said thousands of fans are expected to attend the game, including hundreds of students, parents, teachers and staff members who will be cheering for the Taft Toreadors against Dorsey's Dons. The classrooms, hallways and quads of the Woodland Hills high school buzzed with excitement this week at the approach of the game. And while the Toreadors have gone to the championship game three times in the past six years - even winning it in 1998 - this will be the first one for most of the students enrolled now. ``In my classroom, they are talking about it,'' Drucker said. And it's not only the students who are excited. ``Every faculty member is calling me to get tickets,'' Drucker said. Across campus, students, faculty members and others on the staff eagerly anticipate the campus pep rally and game later on Friday. The 43-member dance team also practiced hard this week, preparing for a pregame show as well as the ambitious patriotic show it will perform with the band and flag team at half-time. ``The kids are ecstatic ec·stat·ic adj. 1. Marked by or expressing ecstasy. 2. Being in a state of ecstasy; joyful or enraptured. [French extatique, from Greek ekstatikos, from about it,'' said Katina Childs-Muller, dance team coach. ``The idea of going to the Coliseum Coliseum: see Colosseum. - the energy is pumping around here.'' Even the youngest students have been swept up in the hoopla hoop·la n. Informal 1. a. Boisterous, jovial commotion or excitement. b. Extravagant publicity: The new sedan was introduced to the public with much hoopla. 2. . ``I'm so excited,'' said Ashlee Hickey, 14, a freshman on the dance team. ``It's going to be so much fun.'' ``I think it will be crazy - crazy, but fun,'' echoed teammate Noah Tessler, 16. ``I didn't think they had it to make it that far. But when they beat Crenshaw cren·shaw also cran·shaw n. A variety of winter melon (Cucumis melo var. inodorus) having a greenish-yellow rind and sweet, usually salmon-pink flesh. [Origin unknown.] (High School), that was it.'' The Toreadors upset Carson High and Crenshaw High on their way to the Coliseum. Principal Myra Fullerton said the school excels on all levels. ``A lot of kids on campus expect our teams to do well,'' she added. Many expect the championship game to be the experience of a lifetime for the Toreadors. ``I think they're going to win, but it doesn't really matter if they don't,'' said 17-year-old Vasco Bilbao-Bastida, one of the few boys on the cheering squad. ``I'm a senior this year. I get to just go with my friends and make memories. It'll be a night to remember.'' Toreadors coach Troy Starr also predicted success, regardless of the game's outcome. ``I think the school is excited,'' he said. ``It's a big event, and it's great for morale.'' Justin Tryon, a running back for the Toreadors, said playing in the championship game is a dream come true. Earlier in the season, when the team wasn't doing well, reaching the championship game seemed nearly impossible. ``I knew our team was good,'' the 17-year-old said, ``but I didn't think we would make it.'' Taft's excitement has even spread to other schools in the San Fernando Valley San Fernando Valley Valley, southern California, U.S. Northwest of central Los Angeles, the valley is bounded by the San Gabriel, Santa Susana, and Santa Monica mountains and the Simi Hills. . ``It's not just our school,'' said Leila Kashani, a 16-year-old Taft student who's on the dance team. ``Other schools are coming too. The Birmingham football team is coming to cheer us on.'' Cheerleader Terra Blades, 16, is one of the few students now enrolled at Taft who saw the school's team win the 1998 championship game. She remembers the Coliseum atmosphere as much more exciting than the usual one on a high school field. ``It's, like, 10 times the people, and the crowd is energized,'' said Blades, who won't just be a fan in the stands this time. ``It's a different feeling.'' CAPTION(S): photo Photo: (color) Ina Volynsky, front, and others on the Taft High School dance team rehearse re·hearse v. re·hearsed, re·hears·ing, re·hears·es v.tr. 1. a. To practice (a part in a play, for example) in preparation for a public performance. b. for pregame and half-time shows for the city football championship game against Dorsey High. |
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