A new high school football season began in Killeen ISD, and as always, no one yelled louder and brought more hype than the bands, the cheerleaders, the dance teams and the color guards.
In pre-game ceremonies, bands and choirs performed school songs as students swayed and held up hands.
Spirit group game photos:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/killeenisd/albums/72177720328758913
Teams entered the field through tunnels and ran between lines of cheerleaders and dance teams as the crowd noise echoed across the stadium.
Junior ROTC color guards displayed the flags, bands and choirs led the National Anthem and after the coin toss, the kickoff began the game as bands delivered the soundtrack to the action on the field.
Pausing briefly during Shoemaker’s Thursday win at Searles Stadium against Round Rock, cheer captains explained the excitement.
Junior Aaliyah Sutton and senior Sabella Holland, both Shoemaker cheer captains, expressed the thrill of representing their school at the center of the action.
“I am so excited,” said Sutton. “I’ve been counting down the days to Friday Night Lights.”
“It’s a lot of hours of practice, of running, of yelling,” she said of the commitment of being a cheerleader. “It brings a good community around you. You build deep bonds with everyone and it’s a lot of fun.”
“I’m really excited. It’s my last year cheering,” said Holland. “It’s my favorite time of year with everyone coming out and supporting us and getting to do it with my friends.”
“I’ll remember all the memories we made. I enjoy being part of such a big spirit team, being a cheerful person. It’s important to represent the whole team.”
Friday was even busier with Ellison hosting its homecoming and the visiting Copperas Cove Bulldogs at Leo Buckley Stadium and the Chaparral Bobcats opening against Lehman High at Searles Stadium.
Before the usual pregame ceremony, Ellison Principal David Dominguez and student activities director Jessica Snider guided the homecoming court between the raised sabers of the JROTC color guard.
After revealing the king and queen, the rest of the pregame ceremony continued, including the coin toss featuring state Rep. Brad Buckley, a 1985 Ellison graduate and grandson of the stadium namesake Leo Buckley.
As the first quarter concluded, the school principal was in his customary spot along the edge of the student section, cheering the Eagles and supervising students.
“There’s nothing like the beginning of football season,” said Dominguez. “All throughout Texas and here in Killeen ISD it’s a huge part of our lifeblood. Here at Ellison, you’ll never see any greater spirit. The community comes out. Many graduated from Ellison.”
“What you see is not just the football team, but all the kids involved in cheer, Emeralds, band, JROTC, choir, everybody is out in full support. We’re so proud of all these kids cheering in the stands and we hope we get a W tonight,” the principal said.
“It is so much fun. We are here supervising. People come out and bring a great spirit. We’re here to make sure it’s safe and fun and we have a blast cheering on our Eagles.”
Follow our athletic teams and fine arts groups all season and all year.
For football game tickets, go to https://www.killeenisd.org/o/kisd/page/tickets
Check out our photos on Flickr: www.killeenisd.org/photos
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www.killeenisd.org/news, Facebook.com/KISDSports and X.com/KilleenISD_