Written By: Isabel Yrungaray, Staff Writer
PRIDE: Students from Poly and King show their school spirit at the incredibly well attended 2023 rivalry game.
Poly students, parents, alumni, staff, and fans attended the annual hometown rivalry game. The event was held at the Martin Luther King High School Field on September 8th and the Poly theme was ‘orange out.’ In preparation for the big day, Poly held a spirit week where students were asked to participate in dress up days to amp up student anticipation. There were also shirts given out, which were in high demand and there were not enough to go around. On Friday, a pep rally was held in order to give the team one last push of school spirit and hope for a win.
The game was a large production, made possible through the help of around 60 leadership students, all of whom spent time planning. It showcased over 600 posters, all claiming things like “Bears > Wolves,” “Bears do it BEST,” and various morale boosting sayings. Along with this, the game came with the introduction of new smoke machines, which blew lots of smoke in a vertical motion, and created a hyped up energy. The team worked to create large balloon filled letters which spelled P-O-L-Y and even added lights to the front and back part of their student section.
Contrary to some belief, bears definitely did it best when it came to spirit, and their fans did not fail to show up. With an entirely full parent and band section, the bears also had to use all 500 wristbands for the student section. They gave away all of their rivalry game shirts. Crowds came rushing in with fully orange outfits, energy, and ready to cheer. Principal Darel Hansen shared that the game was “incredibly well-attended, and did its job in promoting love for our school.” The Poly spirit in the game was wildly successful; however, the football game itself did not end as we would wish.
Once the game began, the team ran in with a popular song, “Run this Town” and the cheers seemed never ending. Throughout the student section, music roared and was enjoyed by all. A new DJ brought life to some seemingly repetitive music. Cheerleaders began performing their popular cheers and fans cheered alongside. Even though the results were not spectacular, we demonstrated our PRIDE and stood alongside our school.
The beginning of the game was slow, with our offensive team making few advances and having a difficult time. King was first to score. Poly eventually scored and played good defense, but the win was not in reach. For the middle half of the game, the score was 14-7, led by MLK, and students still hoped we would pull through with a win. In the last four minutes of the fourth quarter, the King football team scored another touchdown, leaving the bears down 21-7. The stadium quickly cleared of fans who hoped for a different outcome.
Football senior Keaton Stoakley explained that “it is a mental game… they are shooting themselves mentally.” The rest of the team shared a similar sentiment, explaining that the problem with the team is confidence, and if they were more sure of themselves they would do better. The team has been practicing almost every day, and occasionally multiple times of day. Another football player, MJ Gaines shared that the boys “were not doing their job” and “did not put their best foot forward.” The team is excited to keep playing and show their strengths.
At Poly, we are grateful to host these events to remind students why we love our school, even in our losses. Poly students are dedicated to promoting a campus of support and inclusivity where we cheer for others wins, and understand losses together. Our community of support is unlike any other, and the turnout of Poly events is overwhelming. The same community looks forward to continuing to make these events special, and showing up in new ways for our students.