Gaming culture has skyrocketed throughout the years, becoming more socially acceptable; so much so, that we have competitions for certain games. Four years ago, Jenks’ Esports began as just a club with nothing. Now, they have won state championships and are in the top 25 in the country. Though Esports doesn’t get its recognition, they work hard to get where they are now. Having recently been deemed a “sport” by the Oklahoma Secondary School Athletic Association (OSSAA), the team reached the top 25 in PlayVS –  the national Esports competition for multiple games – with an 87.50% winning match, securing spot 17. 

The Olympics, the World renowned international sporting event featuring athletes from hundreds of countries. It would be safe to say that everyone has heard of the Olympics and has watched at least one event in their lifetime. But did you know there is also an Olympic competition for those with intellectual and physical disabilities?

A majority of the Jenks community is able to say they’ve found themselves at a Friday Night Lights game sometime throughout the years. They‘ll walk through the gate, find their seat on the bleachers, and watch a game of football like millions of other schools are doing on that very same night. If they go to a game this year they may see something new. All of a sudden the opposing team is on third down and a song starts playing from the speakers. Cheer and Pom girls are on the sidelines holding signs and chanting, desperately trying to get the crowd to participate. 

With a rough start to the season, Jenks is currently 1-2 just recently suffering a tough 9-3 loss to Union. Heading into Bixby in a must-win game early in the season, this might be a test for Jenks as they dropped two games in a row to Union and Owasso. The future of the season is uncertain for Jenks.

Known as America’s favorite pastime, baseball is the pinnacle of sports with over 162 games a season. High school baseball is the same, but just with 25 to 40 games (brucebolt.us) and with a little more youth.

Football time in Oklahoma is a sacred season. Students and families gather at Allan Trimble under the bright stadium lights, ready to crush the opposing team of the evening. There really isn’t much else you could ask for. Except…a rivalry game. When the mood and the stakes are intensified beyond measure. When every second counts on the field. When one mess up could cost you the game. Everything matters during rivalry games. Imagine playing all three “rivals” within a one-month period. Owasso, Union and Bixby all in September. That’s exactly what the Jenks High School Football team is about to endure. 

The College Football landscape has been tossed, turned, and flipped upside down since the beginning of the season in August. Preseason playoff hopefuls such as Oklahoma, Texas A&M, and Michigan State, find themselves unranked four months later, only to be replaced by surprises of the season such as Washington, Kansas State, and LSU. However, the previous three teams mentioned are out in terms of a shot at the College Football playoff. As an avid watcher of football for the past decade, I have culminated a deeper level of understanding for the game. In this article, I’m going to be analyzing and predicting the current ranked Top 6 Teams leading up to the College Football Playoff.

As the regular season of college football slowly comes to an end, one of the most important and highly anticipated events of the year ramps up. Transfer Portal Season. A time where players can enter their name in hopes of transferring to a new college football team. Whether a favorite player of yours enters the portal or not, there is always something happening that leaves the football community shocked. From a player switching to a rival team or entering the portal as a walk-on, there’s never a dull moment. As I take you along on brief descriptions and portal information on each player, I hope you create your own opinions and gain new knowledge/perspectives on what all comes out of the transfer portal process.

A tactical tackle, the whisper of a wack, a daring dribble; all of these are common actions of many little-miss-not-so-popular sports. In a world dictated by whichever sport yells the loudest, hits the hardest, and asserts the most dominance, many passive sports get overlooked.

It is November in Jenks High School which can only mean one thing; It’s playoff time for the football team. However, before we enter into the realm of the ‘yoffs, it’s best to take a moment and reflect on just how good this team has been in 2023. My name is Jack Denney, the president of the Jenks Superfans, and I have had a front-row seat to every single football game that the Jenks Trojans have played in my senior year. However, not everything was sunshine and rainbows this season for the Trojans and I am here to review and grade just how well our Trojans have done.

“HEADS!” As you walk out of the track locker room a circular shadow flies above your head as a big burly thrower yells at you. You look up in horror as a disk flies right by your head. You stand there in shock as another disk flies through the air, thankfully much farther away than the first. As a tall, bulky thrower walks over to retrieve their disk, you scurry back-to-track practice.

With the exciting buzz of fall sports ramping up, we slowly creep into basketball season. The boy’s basketball team is a highly favored sport at Jenks. As the Jenks community packs the Frank Herald Gym, the constant exciting energy is brought to each basketball game. The only thing different about this season? A new head coach. Daniel McChesney, head coach for the Jenks Varsity Boys Basketball team, is the latest addition to the upcoming season.

Bright lights, long ball gowns, and disco music. All of these are what make up the annual Jenks Pom Fashion Show. On Tuesday, September 12, the PAC held this program's main fundraiser for the year. But what is this money going towards?

198. That’s how many state championships Jenks High School has won, ranging from football to baseball to swimming, all the way to tennis. For context: Union, BA, and Bixby combined have 192. As Jenks keeps racking up championships through the years, it has set a pretty high standard for our athletes. It can feel like “ordinary” is never enough–even coming in second place is a loss. I’m diving deep and talking with Jenks Varsity tennis players, Krishna Bhadjiru (9), and Varsity football player Jace Hager (10), to talk about the pressures of Jenks standards and “state culture.”

On a Friday night football game, looking into the stands, you see bleachers filled with students. Screaming and cheering as the boys play on the field. Excitement is filled in the air and the mood is bright. When you go to a girl's sports game, the energy is quite different. Not as many supporters in the crowd, and less publicity to share their hard work. Times are changing at Jenks, whether we like it or not, and women in sports should start being embraced and not criticized.

At Jenks, it feels like there’s something always going on. Especially when it revolves around sports, where Jenks strongly excels at. Amongst most sports, Jenks has over 200+ state championships. The surrounding school districts simply can’t compete. Union, Broken Arrow, and Bixby combine for just under 200 championships. Except for maybe a few outliers, barely any of these amazing games are streamed for viewers at home. Bixby, Owasso, and Broken Arrow all broadcast their games, so why can’t we?

It was just another game when suddenly, bam! Trenna Walls, the first female member of the Jenks Boys’ Football Team to play, gets tackled.

Wake up, go to school, practice - an endless cycle for most athletes at Jenks. Our bodies have become so used to these routines to perfect our crafts. Imagine working hard every day, all year round, just to receive feedback that what you are doing is not considered a “sport.” Jenks Cheer members experience this kind of criticism on a day-to-day basis but have to keep pushing forward. Savvy Travis, Sophomore, on the Jenks Varsity Cheer Team, talks about how the public view on cheer has an impact on her team.

Football at Jenks is everything.

When Jenks students go to football games, what do we see? We see a bunch of sweaty, muscular boys tackle each other and try to get a win. We see boys with their jerseys tucked up, black paint all over their faces; we try to get them to glance at us from the sidelines. But we don’t see the hardships a high school football player goes through to win the games. We don’t see the physical toll the game takes on their bodies. When a high school football player is injured, it can be scary. How do Injured players feel when their future is left on the field?