The 2024 Panther Games are over, but the sweet smell of victory is going to forever be remembered by Coach Armentrout and Prestige Worldwide, who upset the National Champion title-holding Honeybunzzz in a final that could only be seen to be believed. Jeilo Hamenyimana (11) hit a buzzer-beating three for the game winner, putting their team ahead of the Honeybunzzz, securing the 2024 victory in the final minute of the night.
Leading the Jumbo Honeybunzzz was Hall of Famer Coach Goodson, who, because of her 1st place victory in the 2023 games, was awarded the first-round pick and took powerhouse twins Tatyana and Gulong Craft. When the older Craft twin was asked what she was most excited about, she said, “I don’t want to go.”
It was clear everyone shared that level of excitement last night as teams faced off in ultra-competitive rounds of basketball, volleyball, flag football, soccer, cornhole, and of course, the Rock Paper Scissors Relay.
Team Mahoney was stacked with football players who were all nearly disqualified by default to attend their annual fine dining dinner with their dates, Team Sierra. Thankfully, stealthy Athletic Director Coach Melo made some calls to the higher ups and the boys were able to compete after Dominos came through just in time with the Plan B dinner.
Xavier Galvan, an all star performer on Prestige Worldwide said, “He should have gotten Dominoes for everybody.”
Some stand out performances for the night included Mateen Saeed-Briggs who managed to take down a whole pizza on Melo’s field before being escorted off by security in a dramatic distraction, along with Coach Hill who had a lot to say by way of taunting players and coaches alike.
Overall, the results were impressive. Armentrout took home the nonexistent Winner’s Cup with a final score of 6-0 while the Jumbo Honeybunzzz took a respectable 2nd place with a final of 4-1-1.
Gulong Craft wants to talk about how he scored a goal, but we don’t have time for that. Of competitor Armentrout’s win, Craft said, “I don’t know why Armentrout’s team acts like they won the Super Bowl though.”
Most teams spent their entire team budgets on ultra-soft cotton uniforms, some emblazoned with oversized numbers and very strange logos but they all came to play—some with a few extra subs than the allowable official limits set my CHSAA, and some with a few “honorary” players who joined teams as walk-ons. Due to these roster discrepancies, it is possible that all Panther teams will face sanctions in the 2025 games, and we will provide an update regarding these penalties when we learn more.
Of his victory, Coach Armentrout said, “There was some adversity throughout the night but I’m proud of all our competitors who gave everything they had to these games.”
HHS’s fantastic STUCO team, alongside their fearless leader Brooke Gibbons, spent hours planning and organizing this fan-favorite event, and they hope to expand it in future years to include some historical Olympic favorites such as Breaking, Ping-Pong, Ski Ballet, and Power Slapping.