I BELIEVE THAT WE
JUST WON

At the 7A football state championship game against Bentonville High School, fans, cheer, dance and football players all yelled in celebration after each touchdown as the band blared the fight song and ROTC ran the spirit flags across the end zone. 

 

Most students came bundled up in gloves, hats and jackets, dressed for the theme: ski lodge. With the temperature in the low 30s, they could see their breath in the air as they watched the game and cheered on the players.

 

“[The] crowd makes a big difference in the game, whether you think it does or not, because momentum is everything in football,” senior Luke Andrews said. “So it's just important we stay loud and the players can hear us.”

 

Near the student section was the band, stationed in the stands behind the south end zone. Throughout the game, band members looked behind them to watch the live video and replays displayed beside the scoreboard.

 

“Whenever we're at War Memorial, it feels a little more serious because we're just always at Hornet Stadium almost every week,” senior trombone Luis Aguilera said. “But at War Memorial, it feels like this is an important game, and so we pay attention to the game a bit more.”

 

The two spirit flags were transported in the football trailer, with the actual flags in a bin. A mix of ROTC members ran them after each touchdown. 

 

“It's actually really exciting because they make a touchdown—everyone gets excited and we get excited for them. It almost feels like we got the touchdown,” sophomore ROTC member Isaiah Fromer said. “It definitely was a little bit more nerve wracking because we were on live television.”

 

The game ended in a 27-7 win. The football players joined the arm-in-arm cheerleaders and dancers in front of the student section as they swayed to the Alma Mater and chanted “I believe that we just won.” 

 

“It was just amazing because out of everything, we went through a lot in the season,” junior  defensive back Terriun Jones said. “[We] really just came in confident, overly confident, knowing that we the Bryant Hornets: we don't lose.” 

 

After running onto the field, players took pictures with the trophy, poured gatorade on coach Quad Sanders, flipped with the cheerleaders and hugged each other.

​

“It was just a lot of adrenaline going through me and just excitement and just like, wow, we did that,” junior student athletic trainer Ashley Barrett said. “After all the hard work, the long summer hours, team camps, hard practices that they've gone through and just all seeing it come to life for them and it all paying off. It was really good.”