Welcome to the WARRZONE

   What cheers loud, shouts proud, and strives for victory? The Warrzone! This year’s newest addition to Friday Night Lights is an official student section: cleverly named the “Warr-Zone” after our very own West High Warriors. This newly-branded student section came to be after Coach Druten brought up the idea to ASB Vice President Gaby Nieraeth (12). One thing led to another and soon enough, the Warrzone was here. After all, there’s no better way to show spirit than supporting our hardworking Warriors at a football game after a long week of school. Featuring performances from Cheer, Drill, All-Male, Band, and more, there was endless entertainment to be found in this year’s games.

      The Warrzone made its grand debut on Sept. 9 at West High’s first Varsity home game against Palos Verdes Peninsula High School. Clad in eye-catching neon colors, students made their way to a sectioned-off portion of the bleachers and settled down. Anticipation buzzed through the air as everyone waited to see what ASB had planned. The opposing team, Peninsula High School, brought their student section dressed in all white. Though the group appeared intimidating, West High finally had a colorful crowd to fight back against the competition’s jests and cheers. 

   Rain began to fall on the field as the game was underway, but as viewer Eli Fauni (12) put it, “you can’t water down school spirit!” The downpour had the opposite effect — instead of drowning everyone out, it sparked excitement within the crowd — making it a night to remember.

   West High began to rack up points in favor of a win against Peninsula, and the crowd became electric. The stands roared with support every time West High’s players scored a touchdown. A push-up board was brought out and music was played for students to sing along to. The section was filled with a contagious excitement that carried on throughout the game and the Warriors ended with a 28-21 win. Needless to say, the night was a success.

   The next games to come had stands even more packed than before. Featuring themes like “24K Gold Out,” and “Cops Versus Robbers,” attendees showed up in creative outfits to show their Warrior pride. Somehow, at almost every game, an unidentified student in a Spiderman costume made their way onto the push-up board and became an iconic sight for Warr-Zone regulars. “The dressing up, the school spirit, it’s always so fun,” bubbled student Maya Sekulich (11). 

   ASB did face some difficulty keeping such an enthusiastic crowd under control: “The first time, the game was a little bit complicated because it was raining and then we didn’t know who was performing, so there was a big problem with people running onto the track,” Secretary of Fine Arts Julia Araujo (12) explained. However, these issues were quickly resolved after they established “some rules and clarified them — and it seemed to be working!” 

   The Warrzone not only brought out passion from students during football games but also rekindled school spirit. Araujo remarked, “I think that the Warrzone . . . [has] really increased school spirit because I’ve seen more spirit than I ever have.”