Friday nights are more than a football game at Starr’s Mill. The new event known as Friday Night Lights was put into effect at the first home football game last Friday.
“The biggest thing was just to try and get the whole school involved versus it just being a football game,” Athletic Director Rick Fontaine said.
The event takes all of the different activities that Starr’s Mill offers and combines them into one night. This year, competition cheer, dance team, marching band, and color guard are working together to put on a variety of performances at each home football game.
“Obviously the first game is a little bit…you know, you get hit in the face, you don’t realize what potential problems can arise, but I thought [Friday Night Lights] was a success,” Fontaine said.
The idea of Friday Night Lights started in May of last school year with the previous administration. Over the summer, new Athletic Director Rick Fontaine and new Principal Jamie Voorhies worked on this idea along with football head coach David Cooper, assistant cheer coach Jana Justice, dance head coach Mandy Ridgeway, band director Scott King, assistant band director Bert Groover, and math teacher Tony Kluemper.
“The great side was it was a big event but the down side was it was argumentatively our biggest game of the year, which was my first [game].” Fontaine said. “Sometimes we focus on the negatives instead of the positives, and there were a lot of positive things.”
Learning from last Friday’s game, the administration plans to have less downtime and include more activities for fans. The goal is to provide fun all around from the start to the finish.
There will be more exciting projects put into effect including another halftime performance featuring the Pantherettes, the marching band and the color guard.
Come out and be part of Friday Night Lights this Friday when Starr’s Mill hosts Veterans High School. Kickoff is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.