Martians – Goodrich (MI) High School

So, these Martians are supposed to be named for Mars, the Roman god of war.

I don’t know … You wanna tell ‘em?

Interestingly, they were formerly the Gladiators. Hey, if it ain’t broke …

Well, it is good to see at least the robotics team owning the obvious.

Goodrich? It’s a town of 2,000, in the Flint metropolitan area. And, yes, Flint does indeed appear to have a metropolitan area. Here’s a shot of the Goodrich metropolitan area:

Oddly, the town is named for the first settler, one John, who arrived in 1835. I was assuming it had to be an automotive reference (you know, to BFGoodrich). I mean, we’re talking the Motor City area here, right? Unfortunately, that Goodrich is located in Akron.

Looks like the high school has the same population as the city, 2,000. They’ve got one famous alum, Kyle Elsworth, a 2-time state champ in wrestling, linebacker at Michigan State, and MVP of the 2014 Rose Bowl. Geez, Kyle, couldn’t you have at least made it to the NFL? The school features plenty of sports, including golf, bowling, and equestrian.

Good Lord!  What is that thing?

BTW, don’t get our Goodrich High School with the Goodrich High School in SD or TX. Respectively, they’re the Hornets and Dragons. Hey, that last one isn’t too bad, you know?

Marshmen – Horicon (WI) High School

I’m 99.9% sure their opponents like to call them the Marshmallows.

Yes, Horicon is a real place. In fact, it’s just south of Fond du Lac, which we covered a couple of weeks ago. I’ll bet it’s a real event when the Marshmen take on the Ledgers. 

The town’s got about 3,600 people. Sounds like the main claim to fame is a John Deere factory. As well as this, apparently …

And, yes, there is a marsh. Supposedly, tourists flock there to see the Canadian geese. 

Breathtaking!

The school’s got about 300 kids. Couldn’t find out much else on it.

I do know they have a particularly lame live mascot though.

Kinda looks like Mr. Mayhem from those Allstate commercials

Plus, they have to deal with this issue:

Marsh Women? Marsh Maids? Marsh Ladies? Lady Marshmen?

Mainstreeters – Sauk Centre (MI) High School

Would you believe this is a literary allusion?

Yup, it’s after native son Sinclair Lewis’s novel Main Street. Seeing as the book’s a rather biting satire of small-town life, I’m not sure what the town fathers had in mind here. Well, at least they’re not the Babbits.

Sauk Centre, called Gopher Prairie in the novel, is a city of 4,500 right in the center of the state, about midway between Minneapolis and Fargo. They really play up the Lewis connection – the library, 2 sculptures, a street, his boyhood home, murals, a festival, a campground, etc., etc.

Wikipedia lists 10 notable people, though Lewis is the only one I’ve heard of. That said, I must admit, though, to a particular liking for Ody J Fish and Sylvester Uphus.

Sylvester

The high school has a little over 300 students.  I’m afraid I couldn’t find all that much on it.

Ledgers – St Mary’s Spring Academy (Fond du Lac, WI)

Preparing students for the exciting world of certified public accountancy for over 100 years!

Actually, the mascot points simply to the school’s location on The Ledge, a local geographical feature (kind of like a bluff, I guess). Huh! Well, that explanation’s even more boring than certified public accountancy.

Fond du Lac is a city of 45,000 people, about halfway between Milwaukee and Green Bay. It’s on the rather large Lake Winnebago. In fact, the name is French for “bottom of the lake.” Do mind, though, that denotes a location, not underwater, but on the lake’s southern shore.

The city dates back to 1836. It’s the headquarters of Mercury Marine, which make boat motors. It’s also home to a walleye festival, as well as the world’s largest fondue pot. You betcha!

Wikipedia lists over 100 “notable people.” I’ve only heard of one, though – Colin Kaepernick. That said, he was actually born in Milwaukee and only lived in FDL up to age 4.

As for the school, it dates back to 1901. Over the years, it’s been a sanitarium, a girls boarding school, and (its current manifestation) a co-ed Catholic day school. It was founded by the Sisters of St Agnes and is currently part of the wonderfully named FACES (Fond du Lac Area Catholic Education System).

They really push the ledge idea – mascot, magazine, etc., etc. My fave, though, is the on-site chapel, Our Lady of the Ledge.

The school’s got 900 students, and is something of an athletic powerhouse. They’ve got 36 state championships to their name, including 17 in football.

Not totally sure what the mascot is supposed to be.

Based on his outfit and the pick in the logo, though, I’m guessing it has something to do with mining.

Lawyers – John Marshall High School (Cleveland)

I understand they overwhelm their opponents with their hourly rates.

John Marshall was indeed a lawyer. He was also a Founding Father and the longest-serving chief justice. I don’t think, though, that he has any association with Cleveland, or Ohio for that matter.

That said, there was a law school named after him in the city. Now, it was on the other side of Cleveland … It also no longer exists, becoming subsumed into the Cleveland State Law School. 

The high school dates back to 1931. These days, it’s made up of three schools – for leadership, engineering, and IT.

Notable alumni include a couple of NFLers and actor Franklin Cover, from The Jeffersons.

There are actually several other John Marshall Highs out there. Just doing a quick Google search, I’m finding them in West Virginia, Minnesota, Chicago, Milwaukee, Richmond, Oklahoma City, San Antonio, Los Angeles ... And that gives us some standard mascots like Bears, Rams & Eagles, as well as less likely ones such as Rockets, Pride & Commandos.

More in line with our Lawyers, though, are the Justices (Richmond) and Barristers (LA). That last one might be familiar, as it’s been in multiple movies & TV shows, including Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Boy Meets World, iCarly, Who’s the Boss? Grease, A Nightmare on Elm Street, School of Rock, Pretty in Pink  …

Pretty in Pink

Lava Bears – Bend (OR) Senior High School

Did they consider naming themselves the Downs? The Overs? The Backwards?  

Bend is in central Oregon, on a bend on the Deschutes River. It’s got not quite 100,000 people, making it the state’s 7th largest city. It’s a big destination for tourism, especially of the outdoor kind (skiing, hiking, rafting, rock climbing, even golf). It’s in the high desert, with lots of ancient lava beds around.

Which brings us to that bear … First of all, it is an actual thing. And, yes, it did indeed live among those lava beds. In fact, that harsh environment resulted in something of a mini bear, just slightly bigger than a badger. Though once thought to be a separate species, it turned out to be just a miniature version of a black bear. It’s also known as a dwarf grizzly, North American sun bear & sand lapper. Unfortunately, it’s also now extinct. 

As a mascot for the high school, the bear goes back exactly 100 years, to 1924. In 2013, it was named the top HS mascot in Oregon in survey by The Oregonian. And, yes, they do have a live, on-the-field mascot, though he’s definitely larger than a badger.

The high school itself dates back to 1904, and currently has about 1,300 students. Wikipedia lists 8 “notable” alumni, none of which I’ve heard of. And that includes the wonderfully named Kiki Cutter, former Olympic skier (middle).

Lambkins – Ft Collins (CO) High School

Continuing our series of fearsome, intimidating, bloodthirsty mascots …

What exactly is a lambkin? According to Collins Dictionary, it’s a “1. a little lamb. 2. a person who is exceptionally sweet, young, and innocent, as a small child.” 

When I do a search on the term, I get images such as these:

  

Interestingly, it also happens to be the name of a certain (rather unattractive) cat breed.

All in all, probably not what you want to call your sports teams.

How did that come about though? Would it help to know that Ft Collins was once a center for wool and sheep?

I actually thought it must be a play on Colorado State’s mascot, the ram, as both schools are in Ft Collins. Unfortunately, the ram goes back to only 1946, while the lambkin dates all the way back to 1917. 

Ft Collins is about an hour north of Denver. These days, the city of 170,000 is known mostly for CSU, but also relies on manufacturing, tech & brewing. Like Denver, it’s at the foot of the Rockies.

The high school goes all the way back to the 1890s, with 1,800 students today. Wikipedia lists 7 “notable people,” though I haven’t heard of any of ‘em. I don’t know, maybe you’re intimately familiar with JD Hammer, John Paragon, and Dorothy Metcalf-Lindenburger. I’m definitely not.

Surprisingly, JD Hammer is a baseball player, not a rapper.

The school has made an attempt to make their mascot a little more aggressive over the years.

 

I don’t know, guys.I’m not sure it’s working. (Psst, I think it’s the name.)