On Feb. 21, Dallastown Area High School students gathered in the gym to cheer for their respective classes at the pep rally. 

The “Class Wars” theme tied into Mini-THON’s outer space theme and highlighted some of the Push Week promises. Classes competed throughout various events for points toward the coveted spirit stick. 

Dallastown Drumline opened up the pep rally with some of their performative pieces to generate excitement.

Following Drumline, juniors Jadyn Arias and Renzo Domenack, members of the Renaissance Club came onto the floor, hyped up as the hosts.

“I was very impressed by the turnout and the level of school spirit that all grades demonstrated,” expressed Dr. Chad Bumsted, DAHS Assistant Principal and Renaissance Club adviser.

The events included I Spy, Cosmic Brownie Eating Contest, Astronaut Training Relay, and the Tug of War Tournament. 

In the I-Spy game, each person chosen to represent their class was told to find an item within their class crowd, and whoever brings that item back first wins that round. Whoever found the most items the quickest won the game overall.

In the Cosmic Brownie Eating Contest, each participant has a minute to eat as many cosmic brownies as possible. Football Coach Murphy and junior lineman Matthew “Chewy” Muniz were highlighted in the event as students raised $10,000 in push week for Mini-THON to see them compete. 

In the Astronaut Training Relay, class presidents Jackson Aiosa, Tysiar Bordonada, Allen Wu and Chase Artz took on various obstacles as part of astronaut training relay race; Wu ended up as the victor. Students raised $15,000 in a push week for Mini-THON for this event to take place.

However, the pep rally was not exempt from any scandals.

During the final tug of war showdown between the seniors and freshmen, the Class of 2028 won the event, but many quickly said that they had broken the rules by pulling the rope over the allotted legal area.

Warren Kabama, representative of the senior tug of war team, remarked, “I saw they cheated from pictures posted online and I felt like we [seniors] were cheated.” 

There was much discordance following the pep rally as many clamored about how the freshmen class had exploited the international tug of war rules.

“Our team was in fact in violation of international tug-of-war competition rules. I got some backlash afterward, as did many freshmen, due to a questionable call,” Artz stated.

Once officials had reviewed the evidence and the official tug-of-war rules, the 20 points were revoked from the freshmen and were awarded to the seniors. It was not enough to change the overall outcome.

The fight for the highly desired spirit stick still continue until the next pep rally held on May 23. 

For more pictures from the pep rally, click here.