Hoards of students filed through the gates of their new stadium at Paint Branch for the pep rally on Monday, September 16 at 1pm. Paint Branch officially opened its newly built stadium with a home game later at 6 p.m.

The whole school, including teachers and staff, had a pre-game rally to get everyone pumped up for the big night. It was a celebration for the entire school finally having a home field to play on. Paint Branch sophomore Godsee Joy said, “We’ve never had two pep rallies (homecoming and stadium) before, so I can’t wait to see what we’re going to do.”

As the marching band began to play and the cheer team got the crowd excited with flips and leaps, the stadium became completely filled. The excitement level was high despite the rescheduling of the game and the pep rally. The warm weather helped lift everyone’s spirits as poms performed a short dance routine to a mashup of songs. They all cheered for all the fall sports teams as they were introduced. When Paint Branch’s Principal, Dr. Rogers, introduced the varsity football team, the crowd exploded. Multitudes of voices began shouting out numbers and players’ names to cheer them on.

Despite some technical difficulties, the event carried on. Students were eager for the first real home game against one of their biggest rivals, James Hubert Blake High School. Even though it was a Monday, many students had planned to come to the night’s game. The pep rally worked to get everyone excited.

Paint Branch sophomore Carolyn Bowering said, “I had been expecting a bit more (from the pep rally), but it was all right.” As the pep rally came to a close, the varsity team prepared for its big game and celebrated the fact they were no longer the “homeless Panthers.”