As a senior, it is strange to consider your entire time at Elder.  Looking back, I vividly remember my classes and my endeavors of the past four years.  I especially remember my group of friends and how it has changed throughout the year.

Until now, I haven’t considered just how much it has changed.  I remember especially, two of the guys I hang out with during my freshman and sophomore year.  Jack Fehring and Dakota Handorf both came to Elder in 2013-2014 for their freshman years.

Tragically, Fehring left at the end of his freshman year, and set his sights for Cleves, Ohio, where he has been ever since at Taylor High School.  There, he played soccer through his senior year, until towards the end of his last season.

taylorathletics.com
Fehring, who is 6’3″ stands with the Taylor Mens Soccer Team

Playing an away game against Edgewood, Jack got into a bit of a scuffle with an opposing player.  Pushes and shoves were exchanged, and eventually Jack gave the rascal a piece of his mind.  What he said is unclear, but it landed him a red card, and a two game suspension.  At this point, he was pretty upset.

Jack told me later that the Athletic Director at Taylor added on a game, making it a three game suspension.  Jack did some quick calculations and realized that the third game was his senior night, and he was fed up.  He refused to be walked all over by the AD, so he straight up quit.  You’ve got to love that boldness.  You can take a bro out of Elder but you can’t take Elder out of a dude.  Simple fact.

Jack was caught up with a lady friend for some time, but he eventually got some sense knocked into him and he is back on his own, able to play the field as he does so well.  No girlfriend means more time be an entrepreneur and make some money, which is what Jack has done with a lot of his free time.

Dakota Handorf, better known as “Sac” around Elder, used to write for the Quill as a matter of fact.  He made it a little bit longer than Fehring did, in that he was here until the end of his junior year.  It was just last year that he and I were driving around in his hot Nissan Versa, or sitting in the Library drafting our stories for The Quill. Those were the days, man, I’ll tell you what.

Living on the east side, Dakota had to make a 40 minute trek to school every morning along with 40 minutes back, not considering traffic.  It truly is a tragedy that he is gone, but on the bright side, the commute to his new school, Deer Park, takes him less than two minutes.

Moreover, he has found a home on Deer Park’s soccer team, where he keeps the goal with the same intensity as Tim Howard.  Also, he has found himself a fair young lady to call his own: he may have lucked out at Elder, but it sounds to me like he has transitioned pretty well and made the most out of his opportunity.

deerparkcityschools.org
Handorf, shown in the top right corner, among the Deer Park Mens Soccer Team

Although both Jack and Dakota have found success and good vibes beyond Elder, it is safe to say that both of them would have chosen to stay at Elder.  Both have said that they miss Elder and wish they still attended.  Jack even took to Twitter to show his love for the Panthers.

Nonetheless, it is great to see that a couple of Elder men can succeed beyond the familiar streets of Price Hill.  The old saying goes: “There are two types of people in this world: people who went to Elder, and those who wish they did,” but Fehring and Handorf are a rare few who have been in both categories.