On October 25th, the pep rally, rivalry game, and homecoming was a time for the Warren Hills community to come together and support their one common goal: to beat Hackettstown.
Everyone showed out in their white to express their Blue Streak pride in the 99th annual game against Hackettstown. The excitement continued as the boys dominated the field, earning a win with a score of 57-14.
Homecoming and the pep rally were not just a celebration of school spirit but also a testament to the school’s enduring rivalry and commitment.
“There is no doubt the players get excited for all the extra attention Homecoming brings,” said Head Football Coach Marcus Gurdineer.
“They look forward to wearing their jerseys with pride in front of their classmates and cherish the idea of being the show under the lights on Friday nights for the Blue Crew. There is nothing better than winning in front of your friends, family and fans under the lights. Congrats to them, they earned it and worked hard for it. We are glad so many got to enjoy it.”
Following this victory on the field, it is hard to ignore the impact that the school’s pep rally had on the team’s performance. The energy and enthusiasm generated by the students seemed to fuel the players, creating a sense of unity and determination before their game to follow that night.
“I think pep rallies always enhance school spirit,” said Streak Nation Advisor Heather Wight. “I love that the fall pep rally can be used to hype up the Warren Hills vs Hackettstown rivalry football game. It is fun to create a pep rally with a rivalry themed concept. It makes it more purposeful and you can feel the school spirit in the air!”
Planning an event like a pep rally takes time in itself. Months of planning, meetings, poster and banner creating, and decision making. It takes lots of people to come together to brainstorm and make sure the event turns out how the organizers imagined it to.
“Well, my main goal was to bring out the school, more than last year’s pep rallies,” said Streak Nation President Charlie Piccione.
“Another big goal of mine was to elicit a bigger turnout for that night’s game against our next-town-over rivals, as I am one of the Blue Crew Leaders and I wanted us to have a large student section; bigger than Hackettstown’s.”
Not only was this the biggest football game of the season, it was also some of the seniors’ last games ever.
“Knowing that it would be my last football game motivated me to play harder to achieve my 1000 yard goal,” said senior Captain Dylan Duerring.
“I could not have been able to have such an amazing game without the support and motivation from my teammates and coaches. I was not worried about who we were playing, I just wanted to give everything I had to my teammates one last time and have fun while doing it.”
After the celebration of the big win, students got to celebrate even more by dancing the night away at homecoming on October 26th; where seniors Addison Wood and Logan Young were crowned King and Queen.