This year’s pep rallies are off to a glowing start! Organizing pep rallies and getting into the flow of them has been a tough one since covid has happened, but thanks to our amazing cheer team, football team, band, staff, and students things are getting back to normal.

Lakeview’s first pep rally was in preparation for the Lakeview vs. Girard game in which the theme was glow in the dark or neon. Everyone was excited for the first pep rally of the year as it sets the tone for the rest of the pep rallies and for that game’s student section too. As usual, the cheerleaders, majorettes, and band lined up and marched through the halls leading to the gym as the band played. Cheer coach Christina Farr provided all of the students with 400 glowsticks, which the freshman cheerleaders passed out, and a large number of light-up foam sticks to get the crowd ready to cheer for our football team who has broken their losing streak this year.

When asked about what she thought of the first pep rally and glowsticks used student section leader Madison Bayus commented, “The pep rally was really good and set a good tone for the rest of the pep rallies that we will have this year. It made people really excited to go to the game and get dressed. The glowsticks and light-up foam sticks were a big hit and got people really excited to be involved.”

The lights were shut off, and instead of running straight to their spots, the football team runs around the whole gym getting the crowd more excited. They come out earlier in the pep rally to be more involved in activities and speeches.

When asked about the change in the football team being introduced football captain Luke Canzonetta commented, “It makes everyone more involved including staff and students. Before the football players were just there but now we are a part of the pep rallies. Running around the whole gym instead of just coming out adds to the excitement of the pep rally in general and gets the students more excited and ready to be involved in the pep rally activities.”

The game played was koalas leap in which a pair from each grade was picked involving more than just the upperclassman. The winners were majorettes Brianna Wistar and Makayla Strauss. Overall, the first pep rally was a hit and everyone was excited to see the other pep rallies to come. More people showed up to the game and cheered for the football team in their tough game against the Girard Indians.

The second pep rally was in preparation for the Lakeview vs. Poland game and Lakeview’s Homecoming game. This year’s theme was the same as it usually is: blackout. The structure of the second pep rally mimicked the first pep rally as the cheerleaders did not want to change much as the first pep rally structure was successful.

The pep rallies game was a big hit as it was a game of musical chairs including 6 teachers, our school’s police officer, a cheerleader, a football player, a band member, a majorette, and a student from each grade. The students were extremely excited to see some of their favorite teachers and students going head to head and the gym was filled with an endless amount of cheers. The final 2 were narrowed down to junior Oniah Russo and social studies teacher Cameron Carson. After a very competitive last-round teacher, Cameron Carson ended up taking the win.

After two successful pep rallies, the Lakeview High School students are expecting a great last pep rally in preparation for the Lakeview vs. Jefferson game.

When asked about the pep rallies this year and have they have progressed Principal Lawrence Herrholtz commented, “The pep rallies have been absolutely outstanding and fun. They are very interactive with the students and staff. They are different in a very positive way. The crowd seems to be more energetic which is exactly what we go for when it comes to our pep rallies.”