Varsity football defeated Libertyville 31-28 win after three overtimes Thursday. The student section was packed for the big rivalry game, even though it was on the road. 

“This game was so worth it, even on a Thursday night,” junior Annie Gibbons said. “The crowd had such great energy, and it was a well earned win for the Scouts. This energy is just what we needed heading into homecoming week.”

However, before the rivalry game Thursday,  the student section hasn’t been living up to its full potential. 

Not only did the football team fall short in their opening game against Carmel, but many students who came to the game were disappointed in the energy brought by the crowd. 

“The energy in the student section has honestly been low. That could be due to the absence of Scout Nation because I remember freshman year, the Scout Nation people were super involved with the crowd, and we are definitely lacking that,” junior Maeve Farrell said. 

Senior Alana Tennett says the seniors bring the energy, while other classes fall short. 

“It feels like the only people that are having fun are the seniors. While the juniors sometimes join in, most of the time everyone gets lazy past the juniors. Everyone needs to participate 100% of the time to improve the spirit,”  Tennett said. 

The football team has also noticed this drop in energy from the students, too. 

“At the game against Lakes, their student section stayed the entire game even when we were up by 30. When it was Carmel, and they were up by 10, everyone in our student section left, and they didn’t show the same support,” said junior Simon Back. 

Mr. Johnson, a Varsity football coach, thinks the energy in the student section “absolutely” affects the game’s dynamic. 

“The more that the crowd and students are into the game, the better the performance and atmosphere of the game is,” said Johnson. “I think it makes them better; you can feel the energy when the student section is in it.”

Many underclassmen agree that the energy is high in the front of the student section, but that same enthusiasm doesn’t carry up to the back of the stands. 

“I think the student section leaders could do a better job getting the crowd engaged, especially for the underclassmen,” said sophomore Dylan Cran. “There are almost no chants in the student section.”

Over the last few weeks, Scout Nation has been meeting every Tuesday after school to prepare for the games. This past week, the Varsity cheer team came into the meeting to show cheers that Scout nation will lead at future games, specifically a cheer saying, “Let’s get fired up!” to push for more engagement from all grade levels. 

Junior Kat Yakes says  “no freshmen have joined the club yet.” Scout Nation has been putting a lot of effort into their meetings to improve their spirit. 

“All are welcome, and it’s a great way to get involved in the high school and promote school spirit,” Yakes said. “We have been brainstorming ways to create more involvement within the student body.”