High school teams chunkin’ pumpkins in USC contest

LEXINGTON, S.C. (AP) — High school teams from across South Carolina have a chance to take out any post-Halloween aggression on the season’s orange mascot.

The University of South Carolina says 14 teams from across the state are in Lexington Saturday to compete in the College of Engineering and Computing’s Pumpkin Chunkin’ contest.

The teams are using homemade catapults to hurl water-filled dodge balls of uniform size and weight, testing accuracy and distance.

After the official competition is over, teams are replacing the dodge balls with pumpkins for a more festive, fall-focused holiday event.