The pounding of sneakers on bleachers drowns out hundreds of cheers. Popcorn goes flying, and pom-poms are thrown in the air. In the center of the commotion is a football field. Dozens of high school players clash against their opponent, shouts of their own filling the space between their teammates. A ball is tossed from gloved hands, and it zips across the night sky like a shooting star.

The score was 22-21. The last seconds of the game slip from the timer, and feed the anticipating crowd. The student section yells with hoarse voices but press on, giving the varsity football team one last push.

The game ends with another win for the Steele Knights.

The student section, referred to as The Dungeon, celebrates the victory with fist-bumps and shouts. Although not on the field, the section plays a big part in the games the football team plays. In charge of the energy and encouragement, they are the heroes’ sidekicks of the night.

The varsity football team believes the student section has a large impact on the game.

“In a close game, hearing the roar of the crowd when something big happens, it makes us feel really special and gives us hope that we can do more,” varsity player Makai Williams said.

The student section, known to have various cheers and tactics, encourages the players outside of the game too. When they have home games on Fridays, students are given a certain theme to dress up as.

“Dress up Fridays are pretty interesting,” Williams said. “I like seeing the support. They make us feel pretty special because we know that we have a crowd behind us supporting us.”

Fellow teammate and Junior, Okikijesu Adejuyigbe, also feels motivated by dress up Fridays.

“It’s really cool that the student section does stuff like that, and I think the support is just what keeps us going during our games,” Adejuyigbe said.

On campus, students who are not on the football team give their take on how the student section makes them feel.

“It’s cool!” Jenifer Jeong, 11th, said. “It shows spirit for your school!”

Jeong also dresses up on Fridays, deeming Hawaiian Friday as her favorite.

“It showed a lot of color around the school!” Jeong said.

Through explosive cheers during games to days of dressing up outside of the box, the Steele Knight student section brings spirit and joy to the sports on campus.