By Noah Lohman and Jackson Mariotti
Last Friday, the Branford High School community got to watch the fall sports season open up with the fall pep rally.
There was an array of skits from the “Shmoney dance” to a balloon popping game that caught the attention of the students and faculty.
Read The Branford Buzz’s preview of the upcoming fall sports season here.
The purpose of the pep rally is to get the school pumped for the fall sports season, but have you ever wondered how the sports teams come up with these crazy ideas? The football team pulled off a hilarious dance routine that consisted of the whole team doing the trendy “shmoney dance.”
“It may be a surprise to you,” said senior co-caption Owen Karsmarski. “But we actually came up with the idea a few minutes before the pep rally actually started.”
He added that “It was great to get such a good reaction from the students with such an unrehearsed act.”
Senior, Alec Carlson was watching balcony and he said,” It was so awesome being able to watch all my boys hit that shmoney dance in front of the whole school.”
Sophomore Stephen Consolo said he really enjoyed the field hockey team’s pep rally skit because, “How they brought students into their balloon popping game really brought the school together.”
Field Hockey captain Karlee Kessler said the field hockey captains “thought it would be a good idea if we made a game that students could participate in, and I really think everyone enjoyed it.”
The cross country team featured an elaborate dance routine and a giant anaconda roaming around the mat. Senior cross country runner, Aodhan Dunn said, “We put a lot of effort into organizing our dance and made sure the entire team had something to do.”
Senior football player Tim Brosnan said “The cross country’s use of short shorts was hilarious as always.”
It is safe to say that by the reaction of the student body that the fall pep rally was a hit with everyone in the Branford High community, and there is still two more pep rallies to come to come this year.
Below is a full run down of all the skits at the pep rally:
Cross Country
The girls and boys cross country teams performed their version of Nicki Minaj’s hit music video, “Anaconda.” When asked if he was embarrassed by the clothing and dancing, senior captain Luke Arsenault answered, “It is all part of being on the cross country team. We just have fun and embrace.” Both the girls and guys teams are looking to have a great season and will be competing on Tuesday at Supply Ponds after school for their only home meet.
Field Hockey
Girls Field Hockey has already experienced a momentous event this year when they won Mrs. McGuirk’s 500th win. Their pep rally performance was equally as exciting, getting volunteers from the crowd to try to pop balloons in various ways. Of course, the balloons had their opponents names on it to represent their future wins. The next home game for field hockey is September 30.
Football
The football team decided to show their spirit with a dance, more specifically, the “Shmoney dance.” This dance is paired up with “A Week Ago” by Bobby Shmurda. It was interesting to see how the team works as a group off the field. More importantly, however, is to see how they play together in a game. You can see this on September 26 at Branford High School when they face Wilton.
Soccer
The soccer team’s performance was simple and sweet. The underclassmen formed a semi circle around the new senior player, Dean Conte. Dean showed off his gymnastic background when he amazed the crowd with a backflip. The next home game for the boys soccer team will be on the 26th against Hand. Come and show your support for a team that is looking to have a very successful season.
The girls soccer team acted out a soccer game in which senior members Rachel Cholewinski, Emma Pottenger, Alyssa Case, Kara Nardella, and Sarah Consolo dressed up as referees and imitated their actions. It was in good humor as the team made fun of their own sport. The girls soccer team has faced some tough opponents and will be looking to secure a home win against Cheshire on October 2.
Swimming
The Swim team went out onto the mats and yelled a cheer. However, this was not the normally screeching cheer. It was a swimming-specific cheer that they yell during their warm ups. It was cool to see, although it would be cooler at an actual meet. This is possible on Monday, when they have their next home meet. Everyone should try to make it to Walsh Intermediate School to back up the team that won the State Championship only a few years ago.
Unified Sports
The Unified Sports program is one of the most enthusiastic programs at BHS. This year, the athletes came out and performed the Macarena Dance for the entire school. Senior Teagan Mockus, who has participated in the program every year she has been in high school, said “I’m more than glad to participate in Unified Sports. It’s gratifying to help others and is a lot a fun.”
Volleyball
The Volleyball team is having a good year, and they backed it up with an interesting pep rally experience. Instead do the normal dancing they decided to do something new. Members of the team kneeled on the ground while others poured confetti on top of them. On October 1, they will be facing East Haven.
Noah Lohman, '15, is a student in Mr. Miller's Digital Journalism class.
