The Friday Football Frenzy on TMJ4 is back! We’ve got our eye on some of the big high school matchups tonight.
TMJ4 reporter, Sydni Eure has been visiting high schools ahead of kickoff. This week she stopped by Waukesha South High School.
She spoke with senior football players, Adam Derradj, Zayus Dewalt and Ben Pizzala. The three called their final season a little bittersweet.
They said it’s hard to think about a life without their favorite sport and best friends by their side. However, they are excited about some new changes underway at Waukesha South High School.
The entire outdoor space is getting a makeover. There is new aluminum stadium bleachers with ADA access, new visitor bleachers and two new outbuildings.
The team also joined a new conference and they said they’re excited to see new teams and face new competition.
“Yeah, I feel like we’re very prepared,” said Zayus. “You know each day during practice we take it day by day and work on improving and working the team so come game time we’e going to be ready for the world.”
Students there say there is so much more to the Friday night football magic beyond just the players on the field. At Waukesha South, you can expect to see the cheer team, dance team and band perform every Friday night as well.
Nia Flenard, Julia Barron, Bella Rice and Sienna Dahler are all seniors on the Dance team. They’re all very talented, great friends and even better hype-women.
They’ve all loved dancing their whole lives but said they had a new found love for how much fun the student section has been lately. The energy they have is contagious and they lead the student section by example.
“So, Friday nights are personally my favorite nights,” said Julia. “We have some student sections leaders like Sienna. So, the dance team has their own little section for pregame and up until halftime and a lot of us get really really into football.
“I think the dance team really brings a lot of energy to the games,” said Sienna. “We’re all very energetic. The football games and basketball games are a lot of fun and we love going.”
Sienna said they’ll be working to improve the social media presence for their student section community. She’s hoping it draws more students to all the games.
If you’re a Michael Jackson fan then, tonight’s game could be perfect for you. At least, that’s what Chuck Harrison, Senior Band Conductor said. Chuck shared that this years show format is a real thriller.
As a senior, it’ll be Chuck’s first season serving as the band conductor. He said he can’t wait to see the field from a new perspective. Chuck said while people may come out to hear their music, he said he actually loves listening to the fans cheers in the stands.
“So I’m going to be conducting and looking at everything from a bird’s eye view,” said Chuck. “Which is really nice because before I was just one of the dots on the field and now I can see all the shapes and everything and hear all the different parts. And its so fun to hear all the crowd cheer and all the reactions and everything from that different point of view.”
Not only is Chuck and the band eager to play tonight, there are also several other events and competitions on schedule for them as well. A big one is March Fest which is coming up on September 28th.
The cheer team said there’s nothing better than shouting out a good ol’ go, fight, roar to get the crowd pumping on a crisp Friday night under the lights.
The cheer team captain Samantha Heinzelman said it’s a feeling she’d been able to experience all four years. Sophomore, Giselle Garcia said the culture is unlike any other team she’s been on.
Waukesha South’s cheer team said they’re prepared to bring all the vibes to each and every game this year. It’s a responsibility they both treasure and take very seriously. They say it’s the least they can do for a community that rallies around their program win or lose. They say a good way to keep the love flowing is to continue showing up, it makes bringing the energy and the vibes that much easier. Especially when you match the theme.
Watch: Football is back and students are ready to cheer.
“So we wear like red, white and blue, said Samantha. “Some people get like American Flag tattoos for this face or like hand prints but we really go all out and it’s super fun.”
“I think when the student section really like engages with the themes and really goes with it, it makes it just like 10 times more fun because it’s kind of like showing how we’re all together as one as a team for our football player and just to represent South in general,” said Giselle.
Kickoff for the Blackshirts is 7pm. TMJ4’s Friday Football Frenzy starts at 10am.
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