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Welcome to the

J u N G LE
By Hannah Boufford and Josh Bragg
Photos by Kayla Fiore
Layout by Hannah Boufford

By day, Libertyvilles football stadium is a place where gym classes work


out, cross country practice starts, and astroturf bakes in the sun. However, on Friday nights, the stadium transforms into a community filled with
spirit, pride, and tradition. Although the main focus is on the football
players storming the field, there are also eyes on the other players of the
game: band, poms, cheerleading, and the student section. Their presences
are often overlooked, but that does not make them any less important to
the games atmosphere.

spirit in the air

Found on either the track or in the air, the LHS cheerleading team has
had an integral role at football games for many years. Whether in front
of parents or students, the cheerleaders job is to rally the crowd and
perform stunts and tumbling to entertain the fans.
First-year head coach Erin Vance believes that the cheer team helps add
to the gameday atmosphere: The cheerleaders role at the football games
is to do what they were created for: help lead the crowd in cheering on
the team throughout the game.
Hours before the football players take the field, the cheerleaders arrive
to practice their routines. When the guys begin their warm-up on the
field, the cheer team shifts into pre-game mode, which is intended to
entertain and engage the fans. After the national anthem is played, the
cheerleaders, joined by the poms team, form a tunnel for the football
team to run through and accompany them towards the part of the track
next to the student section, where they remain for half of the game.
My favorite part about football games is being down on the field,
so close to all the action, senior captain Kenzie Cook explained. The
student section loves to be loud and intimidating to the opposing teams
student section, and it hypes not only the players up, but the cheerleaders,
as well.
Cook is one of three captains. She is joined by senior Hannah Boufford
(also on Drops of Ink; while she co-wrote the article, she did not write
this section on the cheerleaders) and junior Allison Nelson. The girls
work together to improve communication between the team and coaches,
as well as keep their team motivated throughout the two-season sport.
According to Nelson and Coach Vance, the energy of the stadium
during the game is what makes Fridays so memorable. The crowds energy fuels the cheerleaders and vice versa.
Everyone is excited to be there and the student section always goes full
out to support our football players! Friday nights are truly an amazing
experience and being able to be on the track in front of all the fans is
incredible, Nelson said.

Loyal and True

One of the aspects of Libertyville football games that carries the most
tradition and passion is the student section. Nicknamed The Jungle, the
student section gives students an opportunity to express their support
for their team and enjoy themselves in a unique atmosphere. The student
section was visually and audibly stronger than in years past at the opening game versus Elk Grove thanks to a new advertising campaign and
more commitment from LHS students.
The student section was very active and engaged throughout the game.
Signs of various football players faces were visible in the crowd, along
with beach balls and fans banging drums. The Jungle was in full effect:
fans were decked out in all-camo clothing and paint. 2015 marks the first
year that freshmen are encouraged to join the stands with the upperclassmen, which resulted in the stands being jam-packed.
Social media has also played a big part in the student sections rising
support. Senior Timmy Ryan, who is one of a few students who manage
the @LHSRagePit Twitter account, explained that Twitter has been an instrumental tool in promoting Libertyville spirit: Social media has helped
the student section immensely; spreading news and recruiting students is
made that much easier because the information is just a few clicks away.
The account is intended to represent the schools student section, actively
tweeting reminders and news of upcoming themes and events.
Student Council has been very active in promoting the spirit pack,
which includes five themed t-shirts and accessories intended for students
to wear at not only football games, but other sporting events later in the
school year. Ryan mentioned that the spirit packs were a big hit and
that even those who didnt buy them still showed out with great school
spirit.

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The varsity cheerleaders perform the fight song after an LHS touchdown at Zion-Benton.

The Hype Team

Friday Night Leaps

In the north bleachers, near the concession stands, the Marching Wildcats sit facing the game, waiting for a play to end on the field. Their new
position near the end zone allows them to play downfield so more people
can see and hear them, and they now have better access to move on and
off the field. As some of the loudest people at the game, their job is to
keep the crowd excited, even when there is a delay on the field.
Whether theres something positive, and we want to reinforce that,
anytime theres a lull or a slow point, we want to provide something that
keeps things moving in a positive direction, explained band director Mr.
Adam Gohr.
Pregame allows the musicians to start the night off with school spirit,
by playing the national anthem, the opposing teams fight song, as well as
the LHS fight song. Then, throughout the game, the band will play short
song snippets, such as Hey Baby and Shake it Off, to keep the crowd
energized even when no football is in play.
So as a marcher, I guess our job is to be the hype team, and get everybody hyped up, senior alto saxophonist and social chair James He said.
At halftime, the band combines with poms to provide entertainment
during the games biggest break. They often play multiple songs, including
the one that poms dances to on the field.
Following halftime, the drumline breaks off to spend the third quarter
in the student section. In this area of the stadium, they can be heard
better by the students to pump them up, as well as be closer to the poms
and cheer teams, who dance to the memorized cadences.
We talk with the student section, and try to get [them] involved, also,
with the drumline because its fun to see somebody in uniform -- a
different kind, the marching uniform -- but also getting the students
involved and the poms involved too, drum captain Eva Mattioli said.
Mr. Gohr explained that his favorite part of game day -- and one of the
most important aspects to the Marching Wildcats -- is the community
dynamic that the high school displays at games.
A lot of times, you know, football worries about footballs thing, and
band worries about bands thing, and cheer worries about cheers thing -and game day is one time we can all kind of bring that all together.

From their position of the track, the poms team entertains both the parents and the student section throughout the course of a football game.
To begin the night, the team starts in front of the press box to perform
their pregame dances in front of the parents while the football team
warms up on the field. Then, each quarter, they rotate with the cheer
team on the track between the parents stands and the student section.
I love doing pregame in front of the press box for the parents just to
do little side entertainment while the guys are warming up, and I also
love being in front of the student section, senior varsity captain Nikki
Westphal said. Even though I cant actually be in the student section,
being able to perform for my peers is super fun, and it makes me feel like
Im included in the student section, too.
Westphal is one of three captains for
the varsity team. She is joined by seniors
Kristen Luce and Emily Yates (who is
also on Drops of Ink). This trio, having
danced together on varsity for three
years, better understands their teammates personalities and skills from their
experiences together. This helps them
clean up the teams motions and skills,
provide insight to their first-year head
coach, Casey Dugan, and bring the team
together as a family.
Were close with every single person
on the team by the end of the year, Luce
explained. Its also kind of fun to see
how we start off in the beginning as
a team and how we dance -because joining and bringing
new people together we dont
always dance the same way -- but
then at the end, like last year at
state, it was cool to see how we all
danced the exact same way and how we
come together.
The team enjoys the season and their
Friday nights in the stadium, feeling the
energy produced by the team and enthusiasm from the crowd.
As a coach, the atmosphere at an LHS
football [game] is unparalleled, Coach
Dugan commented. It is a great experience watching my athletes perform,
interact with the crowd and support the
football team.

The drum feature is my favorite part of performing at halftime because its the one time
the drumline can really showcase what were capable of and what weve been working on in
rehearsal, said junior Brandon Tang (pictured above, left).
Sports

The varsity poms team finished their


halftime routine by spelling out LHS.
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Drops of Ink

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