With Hurricane Harvey having come and gone, the academic year has officially begun. With many people affected by the storm, school spirit and general morale have been at an all-time low. However, the pep rally on September 15 planned to change all of this.  Performances from Band, Cheer, Classics, and Step Team accompanied by various sports teams brought forth fervor and attention – befitting a school as accomplished as Cypress Ranch.

With Band on the floor playing classics such as the school fight song, Land of a Thousand Dances and All I Do Is Win – all of our spirits were lifted. Upperclassmen could remember tense moments like playing against Katy at NRG Stadium last year, or making state finals in 2014.  Freshman got to hear the stories of these close encounters and the tales of previous years at Cypress Ranch.

“It was a long time ago, but I remember my freshman year,” said Senior Shrivu Shankar. “I was in band, and my fondest memories were always spending time playing at these pep rallies. We would practice for so long – hours and hours on-end, but that was my Freshman year. I remember the friendships, and the Freshmen should have the opportunity to have these sort of experiences.”

Cheer, Classics, and the Step Team performed their acts to display the level of dedication put into this football season. Their performances reflect the hours upon hours each member of each team has put in, in order to help spread joviality throughout the student body. Some members of the audience were so amazed by the display that they were motivated to see how far the football team could go – if this was just the beginning.

The grand spectacle and focus of the pep rally was the football team. With the power of the entire team in tow, they were able to demonstrate the absolute readiness of group. The electricity in the air was deafening as the chances of making state became ever-so feasible. The first game was to be that day, but it seemed as though the cumbersome tasks of playing season games was lifted; that this is the year Cypress Ranch will be in the history books.

“The team practiced really hard for this game,” said Senior Kevin Virgil. “They obviously need to practice more, but I really think we can make it to state this year.”

This pep rally was an important one – maybe the most important of the year, and the performances blew our expectations out of the water.  If a fraction of the energy and hype were to be present at the football games, there wouldn’t be any competition for best student section in the district. We went on to secure a victory over Cy Falls later in the evening.