Sidelines shine with reborn Mountaineer cheer team
The Mountaineer cheer squad amps up team spirit in front of a pink-themed student section during rivalry night against Lakeview High School on Feb. 5.
Photo by Riley Klein
From left, Taylor Terwilliger, Vi Salazar, Elizabeth Allyn and Soren Trivelli make up the newly reformed cheer squad at Housatonic Valley Regional High School.Photo by Riley Klein
Aspects of competitive cheer, such as vaulting, were incorporated into the group's routine.Photo by Riley Klein
Halftime shows returned to HVRHS basketball games this year.Photo by Riley Klein
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Cynthia Rothrock and Steve McQueen's son saunter purposefully in "Martial Law."
Provided
Because she’s not named Bruce Lee or Jackie Chan.
It’s an outrage, and we’re gonna do something about it.
In “Martial Law” (1990), Rothrock and Chad McQueen (Steve’s son) are cops and David Carradine is the evil kung fu-practicing international car thief. We’re talking fun with pizza, the most annoying snitch in cinema history, and a compelling visual discourse on the inadvisability of stealing cars at night from a well-lit dealership located on a busy highway. No gratuitous nekkidity, which really isn’t a problem here, as nobody wants to see any of these people nekkid.
Chad is replaced by Jeff Wincott for the sequel, “Martial Law II: Undercover” (1991). This is much rougher stuff, not least because it has a “sex scene” involving Billy Drago. A kung fu villain runs an expanding underworld empire from the kind of bar you can’t get into without a double-breasted suit and a ponytail. There are large, grunting lackeys, a bit of gratuitous nekkidity, and Rothrock delivering swift justice while clad head to toe in teal.
Rothrock and Michelle Yeoh in "Yes, Madam," featuring the scorpion kick.Provided
“Yes, Madam” (1985) is Rothrock’s debut, as Carrie Morris, a Scotland Yard inspector in Hong Kong to help Inspector Ng (Michelle Yeoh) do something about a piece of errant microfilm. There is an exceptionally unconvincing dubbing of a British accent for Rothrock, who strongly resembles American Olympian Mary Lou Retton — except Retton didn’t do kung fu. The movie makes no sense, which is OK because it’s short. Plus, Rothrock delivers her trademark scorpion kick to some hapless goon’s forehead, which is worth the price of admission.
“City Cops” (1989):Here our heroine is FBI agent “Inspector Cindy,” who comes to Hong Kong to fight crime in warehouses, alleys, office buildings and airports. Featuring the spectacular Receptionist’s Desk Roll. We also get a comical cop duo, a martinet police superintendent, and an extended opening riff on gender that would be impossible to make today.
Rothrock fights crime after rolling arounda receptionist's desk in "City Cops."Provided
“Undefeatable” (1993) was directed by Godfrey Ho, the Jess Franco of the East, and despite Ho’s Hacko di Tutti Hacki status, this movie actually has a story and makes sense. Rothrock plays Kristi, who participates in illegal fights to earn enough money to get her sister through med school. Meanwhile, Anna dumps her psycho husband, Stingray, who fights on the same underground circuit as Kristi — but he’s a lunatic and has a mullet.
Anyhoo, there is a lot of plot involving a couple of cops and Kristi’s dorky gang, and none of it matters because at the end Kristi and the cop subdue Stingray in extremely gory, horrible and entertaining fashion. And then everybody goes to college.
“Black Creek” (2025): Rothrock produced, co-wrote and starred in this crowdfunded Western, in which she plays a tough woman who rides into town to find her family has been destroyed by the local bad guy, played by the late Richard Norton. You could make a 15-minute reel of Rothrock and Norton kicking each other over the years, so this is a fitting coda. (Norton died in March 2025.) It seems Rothrock spent most of the budget on sets, lighting and costumes, figuring the writing would only get in the way of the story. So it’s heavy on the fighting, and anyone who thinks kung fu and Westerns don’t mix deserves a scorpion kick to the noggin.
Aubrey Funk passes.
Riley Klein
the HVRHS student section came dressed in a “Men in Black” theme and held custom signs.Riley Klein
The cheerleaders, prep band and roaring student sections made for a lively atmosphere with high energy. HVRHS fans dressed in a “Men in Black” theme, save for one supporter in a fox-fur Mountaineer cap.
The boys game was played first. HVRHS was missing its starting guards Owen Riemer and Nick Crodelle, who were both out with the flu.
Wyatt Bayer dribbles.Riley Klein
Lakeview opened up a lead early and was up by seven points at halftime. HVRHS caught wind in the third quarter and narrowed the gap, bringing the score to 43-41. Lakeview regained control in the fourth quarter to win 65-48.
Lakeview’s leading scorers were Jack Gollow with 29 points, Quinn Coffey with 20 points and Max Guma with 14 points. For HVRHS, Anthony Foley scored 14 points, Anthony Labbadia scored 13, Tyler Roberts scored 10, Simon Markow scored nine and Wyatt Bayer scored two.
Olivia Brooks plays point guard for Housatonic in the game against Lakeview Friday, Jan. 9.Riley Klein
The girls game followed. The score went back and forth in the first half with HVRHS leading by one-point at the break. Lakeview caught fire in the third quarter and opened up an 11-point lead. The Bobcats held on to win 49-35.
Lakeview’s leading scorers were Allie Pape with 20 points, Christina Barone with 17 points and Eleanor Turturo with six points. For HVRHS, Olivia Brooks scored 12 points, Carmela Egan scored 10, Victoria Brooks scored seven, Maddy Johnson scored four and Aubrey Funk scored two. Egan had a double-double with 14 rebounds.
The snack bar sold more than 100 slices of pizza.
Noah Fitzsimmons takes a shot for Kent School.
Lans Christensen
Two minutes in, with spectators hardly seated, Logan Ferrara of Loomis scored. In a blink, two and a half minutes later, Nikolai Bazalitski made it a 2-0 game.
Gustafson lines up a shot through traffic in the game against Loomis Chaffee Jan. 10.Lans Christensen
The rest of the first period maintained a fierce pace of attacks by both teams with many great saves by both goalies.
The second period started and again stunned the crowd when Kent’s Calvin Gustafson scored 50 seconds later.Loomis took control of the period with three more goals with Ferrara emerging as the real danger, accounting for two scores.
The 5-1 Loomis lead looked like an uphill fight for Kent as the third period began. With seven minutes left, Kent’s Aiden Grinshpun and Jack Broderick scored three consecutive goals to come within one point with four minutes left.
Kent fans were given hope, but Owen Schwarz and Ferrara scored again to give Loomis a 7-4 final score.
Kent’s record moved to 6-8-1 and Loomis advanced to 6-3-1.
Calvin Gustafson controls the puck for Kent. Lans Christensen
