Papillion-La Vista South High School

Infobox School
name=Papillion-La Vista South High School


imagesize=180px
type=Public high school
established=2003
district=Papillion-La Vista Public Schools
grades=9-12
contact number=[phone]
principal=Dr. Enid Schonewise
faculty=
enrollment=1,450 approximately
colors=Blue, Black & Silver
mascot=Titans
campus=Suburb
location=Papillion, Nebraska, USA
website= [http://www.plshs.esu3.org/ www.plshs.esu3.org]

Papillion-La Vista South High School (commonly referred to as Papio South, PLSHS, or PLS) is a high school in Papillion, Nebraska. It is one of two high schools in the Papillion-La Vista Public School District. The school's principal is Dr. Enid Schonewise, a former All-American volleyball player at the University of Nebraska

History

Papillion-La Vista South High School was opened in the fall of 2003. The school was created due of the rise in population in and around Papillion. Before South was built, the only high school in Papillion was Papillion La Vista Senior High School; at the time (due to over population) only grades 10-12 attended Papillion Senior High. The 9th grade students attended classes at Papillion Junior High and La Vista Junior High. With the creation of PLS, 9th graders began attending both high schools.

Mascot

In 2001 (when the class of 2007 was in 6th grade) the Papillion School District invited all 6th - 8th grade students to send in ideas for a nickname and color scheme for the new high school (PLS). After five mascots were chosen by the School District the 6th-8th graders were allowed to cast ballots and vote for one of the five finalists. The nickname "Titans" won by a land slide. Due in large to the popularity of the new movie Remember The Titans. The students also voted for the new school's black, blue and silver color scheme.

In 2007, the entire Papillion-La Vista Public School District voted on a new mascot for PLS. The name was chosen to be the "Fightin' Titan." Debuting at a pep rally The "Fightin' Titan" has blue skin, which is why most people refer to him as "Papa Smurf." It is played by a math teacher, Mr. Spilker.

Education

Papillion-La Vista South provides one of the finest educations in the State of Nebraska. According to an August 18, 2004 report published in the Omaha World Herald, PLS had one of the ten highest average ACT scores out of the Omaha Metro Area and the Lincoln, NE area.

Papillion South offers: French, German, and Spanish as secondary languages that students may take along with many other challenging courses.

In 2007, Papillion South Senior Zach Norwood scored a perfect 36 on the ACT exam.

Activities

Papillion-La Vista South is home to many clubs, sports, and activities. Some of the clubs PLS offers are: DECA, FBLA, Leo Club , National Honors Society, NJROTC, Skills USA, Future Educators Association, ProStart Culinary Arts, cheerleading, marching band, Student Council, foreign language clubs (accosiated with the secondary languages students can take), Key Club, choir and three show choirs.

Papillion South's choral clubs includes their varsity show choir, Titanium. Titanium is a competitive show choir that has competed throughout the region and have received many awards. The highlights of their past seasons include winning the competition in the Winter Park Ski Festival for two years in a row, as did concert choir in 2005. Both the show choir and concert choir have received five-strait superior (the highest rating) ratings at the annual District Music Contest.

Athletics

PLS offers the following sports: baseball, boys and girls basketball, boys and girls cross country, football, boys and girls golf, boys and girls Association Football,softball, boys and girls swimming (the swimming team is composed of both PLSHS and Papillion-La Vista High School students), boys and girls track and field, boys and girls tennis, volleyball, and wrestling. All sports (as well as activities such as Forensics and Drama) are sponsored by the NSAA. Other sports are offered as club sports to PLVS students that are not officially sponsored by PLVS. Some of these sports are trap, lacrosse, rugby union, and hockey. All of these sports (excluding trap) are offered in conjunction with Papillion-La Vista High School.

Despite only competing for a few years, Titan athletics are one of the most competitive in the state. The Titan softball team has been to state for three straight years, finishing third in 2005. The Titans are consistently rated in the top-ten, having spent almost all of the 2007 season rated number one in the state.

In the fall of 2005, John DeVose claimed the school's first individual state title, winning the tennis #1 singles state tournament. Ross Friehe won #2 singles claiming a sweep in #1 and #2 singles for the Titans in 2005. In 2007 DeVose would claim runner-up.

The rugby team is one of the elite programs in the Great Plains Rugby league (Nebraska and South Dakota). In 2006 the team finished third in the league and in 2007 they finished fourth in the GPRL. The team's best achievement came in 2006, when they won the gold medal at the Cornhusker State Games. In 2007 the team was invited to compete in the United States National Tournament in Dallas, Texas (they had to decline their invitation due to financial concerns).

The Titan baseball team has been ranked in the top ten in the state since 2005, ranking as high as #1 for a short period in 2007. In 2006 the baseball team became the first Titan baseball squad to qualify for state. In 2008 they were ranked #2 all season and again made it to the State tournament. The Titan's American Legion team was the 2008 State Runners Up, they traveled to Oklahoma and competed in the American Legion Regional Tournament.

The boys basketball team wrapped up their most successful season in PLS history. The season was a success as the Titans defeated several perennial power houses and was once again victorious for the second time in three years against their rival Papillion-La Vista Monarchs. The 2008 season saw the Titans ranked as high as fourth and fall one win short of the state tournament. Senior Kendall Wehrle became the first Titan to be elected to the Omaha World Herald's All-State team (he was also elected All-State in Baseball).

The Titan football team earned it's first winning season in 2007 going 5-4 and just missing the playoffs. The Titans beat crosstown rival Papillion-La Vista 42-24 for the first time in 2007 setting the tone for future battles (PLVS won again in 2008). Papillion South was ranked for the 1st time in school history by the Lincoln Journal Star at #10 midway through the season but fell out soon after. Four year starting QB Anthony Dunn eclipsed the State completion record against Millard South going 33-52 for 384 yards in the contest. The final game of the season was one to remember as the Titans defeated the eventual state champions, Omaha Central, in dominating fashion.

2008 Titan-Monarch Football Game

The football team started the 2008 season with a 26-23 overtime victory over the Papillion Monarchs. The Titans were losing 23-7 late in the third quarter till South scored a touchdown and a two point conversion with under two minutes in the third. The score remained 23-15 through much of the 4th quarter until Michael Burrus capped off a long scoring drive (that included a fake-punt) when he punched in a short touchdown run with under four minutes. Once again, the Titans converted for two points and tied the score at 23 all, eventually sending the game to overtime. In accordance with NSAA rules, each team was allowed one possession each until the other team is unable match the score. The Monarchs had first possession. Papillion-La Vista was held to 4th and 10 and they attempted a field goal. Monarch kicker, Erik Kusy's kick went wide left. The Titans came out and kicked the game winning field goal on the first play of their possession. The "Black Hole" stormed the field and celebrated with the team. The thrilling overtime game was the second between the two teams in the last four meetings. The Titan's comeback has proved to add even more fuel to the Titan-Monarch rivalry.

"The Black Hole"

"The Black Hole" is the nickname of the Papillion South student section. The students stay involved during all basketball and football games, cheering throughout the game. The students have a reputation for being very creative. While playing the Benson Bunnies the students dressed as rabbit hunters. Against the Papillion Monarchs, the students dressed as characters from the movie Braveheart. "The Black Hole" is also known for doing "the roller coaster" [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a0r4KZpQsqQ] , an original version of "the wave."

Television

*South offers a journalism class that produces an award winning news programs throughout the school year. "The Titan View" can be seen on a local television network.

*During the 2007-08 school year Papillion South was featured on WOWT's High School Cribs. [http://www.wowt.com/news/misc/10208306.html]

External links

* [http://www.plshs.esu3.org/ Papillion-La Vista South High School]