After a tough start against Tomball and Huntsville, the Wildkats were on fire Friday night when they faced the Houston Bellaire Cardinals.

It was a busy night on and off the field.

The football team was busy securing their first win of the season. The team scored early and often, with the final score being 50-27.

“I think it’s great to come out with a win in 6A football, senior Aiden Collier said. “It showed the team that if we do our jobs and win in all three aspects of the game, we can be a great football team.”

The team was lead by sophomore quarterback DJ Lagway. The offense had 78 rushing and an impressive 179 passing yards in the game.

“Just making sure me and my guys get better every week,” Lagway said. “Without them, that wouldn’t have been possible.”

Friday night was also favorite teacher night. Senior members of the football team, cheerleaders and trainers honored their favorite teachers before the game. Senior Ava Semler chose two teachers as her favorites, English teacher Christina Henderson and biology teacher Heather Lebow.

“So I didn’t know what I wanted to go to college for, for a long time and both of them loved their students beyond what a regular teacher does,” Semler said. “They were always someone I could talk to and like a mother figure to me. The compassion they showed me helped me decide that I want to pursue a career in education at Sam.”

And to add the chaos, the Sweethearts and cheerleaders also hosted clinics during the week for girls in the community who have dreams of being under the Friday night lights one day. The Mini Sweets danced before the game and then members of the cheer camp showed off their moves before half time. There were little girls and pom poms everywhere.

“My favorite part of the Mini Sweets clinic is seeing all of the beautiful young girls excited to dance,” Sweethearts Captain junior Addison William said. “These girls show the same passion as everyone on the team, and it is super exciting to share what we do with them. It does get kind of crazy throughout the week because we lose a day of practice. Having 160 girls in the same room can get loud and hard to control at times. All of this can call for a very busy, stress filled week, but in the end it’s always worth it!”

Also increasing the noise were the students in the the student section and PitKru.  The groups were loud and full of spirit, adding to the feel of a successful night under the stadium lights.  The next game is away at College Station. The next home game will be homecoming on October 22.

“PitKru is shouting until your voice is gone,” senior Jennifer Talley said. “Pitkru are the ones holding support and hope through the games. PitKru is the embodiment of Willis pride.”