Friday Night Lights, What’s New?
The classic “Friday Night Lights” football games tend to be a Highlander favorite every fall season. However, this season is shaping up to be a bit different… Highlanders can expect to see some changes in the current season.
The first major change that many students are finding rather disappointing is the dwindling rivalry with Grossmont High School.
Dominic Galicia, a second-season varsity football player, states, “I am personally a little bummed out by not playing Grossmont, it’s a game I’ve looked forward to in prior years. I love the school history and tradition behind the game and the musket. I don’t think it will do much to team morale, even though it’s a game that in the past has really brought us together.”
Grossmont and Helix have had an ongoing rivalry dating back to 1951, in which the two schools compete for a 19th-century trophy musket. This began the “battle for the musket.” The fierce rivalry is much anticipated by both schools; the game is often preceded by a school spirit week consisting of activities and dress-up days, sparking a fun sense of school pride and competitiveness.
This year, the rivalry game will, unfortunately, not be taking place.
According to Coach Damaja Jones, “We aren’t playing them because they moved to the other side of the league and unfortunately we didn’t have any open non-league games.”
The second change to look out for is a new addition to the sidelines: the Pom Team.
A brand new sideline pom team can be seen cheering alongside the cheerleaders! The official pom team can be easily confused for cheerleaders, so how can we differentiate them? First of all, their performance is different. Pom is a competitive dance team; therefore, they will not be seen stunting, and their cheers are different from the cheerleaders. The second way to tell them apart is by location. The pom team will border the cheerleaders on each side, cheer in the middle and pom on either side. Finally, their uniforms are slightly different; Pom has dark green mesh long sleeves with Helix written across their backs.
Keira Roberts, an ex-cheerleader turned pom dancer, shares the difference:
“Pom and cheer are relatively close, but overall, there are a few differences. For example, Pom is different in their purpose, style and performance. Pom’s focus with the dance styles we do is a mixture of jazz, hip hop, and lyrical movements. Our style brings sharp, precise arm movements and synchronization, with the use of pom poms. Mainly, pom is more dance heavy, just with pom’s as props for us!” Roberts shares.
This new addition will only enhance the excitement on the sidelines and boost the morale of both players and supporters by adding an extra layer of enthusiasm and support.
All in all, these differences won’t dim the vibrant spirit of Friday night lights. The experience that is high school football is not one to miss, see you there Scotties!
