Lakeland Seniors Legendary Tailgate

Students+attending+the+Tailgate+prior+to+Battle+for+the+Paddle

Students attending the Tailgate prior to Battle for the Paddle

David Tesch, Editor-in-Chief

Students who showed up to Lakeland’s “Battle for the Paddle” saw a brightly colored van with tons of people surrounding it with an outdoor heating lamp, a grill, tables of food, and music being played through a speaker. 

“Battle for the Paddle” is an annual sports event that includes boys and girls basketball, wrestling, and other events held throughout the competition.  that Lakeland has against Sandpoint, with Lakeland recently 3-peating the paddle. 

A tailgate is a social event held on and around the open tailgate of a vehicle, very popular in many sports such as football. 

On Friday, January 21st, a group of seniors decided to have a tailgate before one of the biggest sports events for the school. 

These seniors included Tommy Pearson, Jack Borg, Devon Suko, Blake Hatchers, Richie Thomas, Abe Munyer, and Alden Waddington. 

These highly school-spirited seniors, including Richie Thomas who brought ski gear and wore it during the tailgate, knew that a tailgate would be great to have before the game.

Jackson Lutz, a senior at Lakeland talked about how their group loved the idea of doing a barbeque at school. 

“We always talked about doing something at lunch and doing a barbeque”

Battle for the Paddle was the perfect opportunity to set up a legendary tailgate at Lakeland. 

Tommy Pearson, Jack Borg, Devon Suko, and Blake Hatcher all helped buy a van and detailed it in bright colors. 

Alden Waddington brought a grill and heating lamps to keep everyone warm who attended the tailgate. 

Then the boys went to the store to get burgers, chips, buns, and many other things to include in the tailgate. 

“Perfect setup to work around,” Blake Hatcher said about setting up the tailgate. 

Tons of people showed up to this unusual event before the Battle for the Paddle game. At one point, there were almost 40 people surrounding the van and enjoying the food that Alden Waddington and Tommy Pearson help make. 

“Couldn’t go any better, everyone showed up” Jackson Lutz mentioned about the tailgate. 

Battle for the Paddle brought lots of energy to the school, and these seniors added on with a great tailgate for all students to enjoy.