After an entire spirit week of themes and activities centered around the rivalry game against the Lake Mary High School Rams, students and staff brought energy and excitement to the stands of the varsity football game. The line for tickets overflowed into the parking lot surrounding Tom Storey Field as everyone anxiously waited to be admitted on Friday, Sept. 13.

“The spirit week leading up to the game really had the team hyped and ready to go because we knew we had our school behind us,” sophomore and varsity player Josh Giles said. “Playing a rival school is different because the teams have a deep history and every season starts by thinking about beating your rival.”

The new turf was finally complete and players took to the field for the first home game of the season. Due to the lack of field readiness, priorly scheduled home games had to be played at neutral-site fields. When the field finally opened, the team had less than an hour to practice on it before Friday’s game.

“I prefer to play home so I can play for our fans and see all our fans be happy and show their school spirit,” senior and varsity captain Travis Lesko said. “It’s just a different type of feeling, looking up in the stands seeing it packed with your fans and hearing your band play.”

The Marching Patriots took the field during halftime with a newly completed routine that had never been seen before. They played the famous Queen songs “We Will Rock You”/“Don’t Stop Me Now,” “Crazy Little Thing Called Love” and “Bohemian Rhapsody,” complete with synchronized dance routines from the Sparklers. Additionally, it was Middle School Band Night, an annual event where Teague and Rock Lake Middle School band members were given the opportunity to play alongside the high school band during the halftime show.

“This game was the biggest out of all the others we’ve done this year,” senior and drum major Anayansi Santiago said. “Our first true home game on the new turf, our first time performing our middle tune [“Crazy Little Thing Called Love”], Middle School Band Night and a Lake Mary rivalry game.”

Despite ending the game with a losing score of 42-0, the enthusiasm of the crowd, band and cheerleaders never faded. The spectators stayed on their feet throughout the game, chanting and roaring with excitement for the players on the field. Many students brought American flags to wave as they cheered, all the while decked head to toe in blue for the Blue Out theme of the game, emphasizing the dividing color of the two teams.

“I’ve been to Brantley football games before, but this was my first one as a Brantley student,” freshman Chloe Graham said. “The crowd was very excited and full of school spirit. They really wanted to win. My favorite part of the game was when the student section did chants. And then later seeing everyone’s pictures from the game on their Instagrams.”