For the first time ever at Central, “Football Friends,” debuted Thursday by the school cheer-leading squad. Before school, the cheerleaders came to set up balloons and decorate tables for students with special needs at the school. That was only one of the many surprises that the cheerleaders had in store.
“After we set up balloons, we got some bracelets and later in the day we went to first lunch and sat with them,” senior Christina Wilson said.
Along with the cheerleaders, some of the football players sat with the kids, including seniors Johnny Naughton and Augie Brooks, who are both captains on the team. This was an opportunity that the players and friends don’t get very often.
“It was a good experience,” Brooks said. “The kids were glad to be there and it’s special because they don’t get to do things like this a lot.
After lunch, the friends were presented with the unique activity, to come and experience the football practice before game day firsthand.
“The kids came on the field with us and counted out stretches during warmup which was really cool,” Naughton said.
The cheerleaders taught three cheers for the game so that the kids were able to cheer with the student section for football games and sporting events for the rest of the season.
“It was a good experience because we’ve never done it before so it was fun to see them excited about the game and hear what they had to say about cheer,” junior Megan Schwandner said.
Friday night against Clayton, some of the football friends, juniors Randall Weber and Patrick Schmittdiel ran onto the field with the football team. The Colts ended up winning 49-0.
