“When I played St. Michael in lacrosse it wasn’t so much that I cared if we won or lost because I don’t get too beat up over it, it is a lot just beating them because they are just so mean on the field. Beating them just feels good.” Sophomore Lily Hershley says about her experience playing the rivals.

The rivalry takes place in even the more calm sports. “Even with baseball being a more mellow sport there is definitely a lot more energy in the game. The preparation to play St. Michael is always just more intense than playing any other team.” Senior David Watermiller explains.

The boys baseball team defeated a top ranked St. Michael 6-5 in a thrilling game. St. Michael was ranked 13th in the state at the time and looking for another bid at state. “It’s nice to finally beat those guys, you can just tell they’re all cocky pricks,” stated David.

The boys and girls of the track and field team understand the frustration and rivalry that come with competing  against St. Michael too. “It’s different with track and field, but it does start to get old seeing them win in just about everything” said Senior Jordan Thielman. Both the boys and girls track teams suffered losses to the St. Michael track team.

“It was hard losing to them last year with knowing a lot of the kids, so we were extra prepared for the game,” said Senior Kevin Kemp. It was a close game all the way through with a 6-6 tie at halftime. “We knew it was going to be a hard game but if we played well, we were going to win,” stated Kemp.

After the third the boys were down by three and needed some people to step up. Senior Brady Hartman came to the call by finishing the game with 4 goals. But it was Senior Gavin Welch scoring the game winning goal with just 2 minutes to play. “I was able to use my speed to beat him to the net, and then I had a good finish low on the goalie,” said Welch.

The Bison wrap up their season Friday with a game against Hutchinson. The boys have had a good season with only three losses, and hope to make a run in a tough section 8 for boys lacrosse.

“I am quite the class clown if I do say so myself,” said Hershley about his reputation. Hershley is known for his sinister looking artwork. He has a tendency for sketching bizarre looking characters. Max has a stack of papers in his room with 25+ drawings of off the wall, animal-human mixes, occasionally on fire. Hershley has also drawn outlandish characters that imitate his friends with features of other animals and creatures.

Although Max basks in the glow of the laughter of his peers, one thing Max’s friends don’t take seriously is his art. Hershley is a dedicated artist and has spent days on end perfecting his craft. Max’s art is occasionally used to mess with his friends in a creative way, but a lot of the art Max works on in his alone time he takes seriously. He works out every detail carefully and tweaks it until it is something he is proud of. Senior Teagan Schnebly’s told us her thoughts on Max’s art “I don’t really take Max’s art that serious but it’s actually super good.”

Many of Hershley’s friends have seen his art and a lot of them have similar reactions.

“A lot of Max’s art and drawings are super messed up but I guess I’ll give it to him that they are drawn really well.” Senior Tommy Gaughan admits about the art. “It is kind of fun to look at just because it’s so weird, it’s cool.” He now strives to show his art in order to get good grades. Max took an ordinary image of Darth Vader and created a visual of a half bloody half normal looking Darth Vader showing the contrast of the blood with the darkness that Darth Vader already resembles.

Hershley seems to think differently. “I think people take my art seriously, because I produce very fine and creative art that I think people will respect it.” When he was told a lot of his peers said his art was strange, Hershley told us, “Well that is true, but it is still very fine art.” The way that Max works on his art is an unusual way. Most people like to work in a quiet enviroment and focus on what they are doing, but not for him. “I work better with music and my friends around,” stated Hershley, “It makes me want to work better to try and show off to the homies.”

Hershley’s art isn’t based on any normal scale of the typical feelings, “I think good art doesn’t fit the normal objective.” The objective for Max is definitely just letting him do what his mind desires. It’s not easy trying to do something the teacher expects him to do rather than doing what his mind wants. “I don’t think i’m weird, I just think my mind is different,” said Hershley. Max hopes to continue his work when he’s off at college so he can “keep his imagination the way is.”

He now strives to show his art in order to get good grades. Max took an ordinary image of Darth Vader and created a visual of a half bloody half normal looking Darth Vader showing the contrast of the blood with the darkness that Darth Vader already resembles. Max is looking forward to keeping his work going for years and hoping to keep as many pf his drawing as possible.

Last year the boys  had to play in a tough section and lost in the first round to Wayzata. This year they are not only looking to play well in sections but also in conference. “A good team goal is to win conference this year,” said Senior Brady Hartman. The past few years Delano has won the conference but this year Buffalo is going to have up against a tough Rogers team.

Senior Tommy Gaughan has high expectations for this years team “If we don’t win state this season will be a bust,” stated Gaughan, “ We have a talented team with a lot of ambition, but I think if our defense steps up we have a shot at state.” Gaughan who was near top of the state in forced turnovers last year aims to be top in the state this year.

The Bison have a team with a senior heavy roster, meaning this is the last chance to complete their goals of a state appearance. “If we don’t at least make it to state it’ll be a bust,” stated Gaughan. The team will be playing against a tough section again this year if they can beat Wayzata in sections they have what it takes to get to state.
The Bison will face off against Monticello on April 19 at Monticello High School.