{"id":8001,"date":"2025-10-09T11:49:50","date_gmt":"2025-10-09T16:49:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.montoursville.k12.pa.us\/thearrowhead\/?p=8001"},"modified":"2025-10-30T21:59:07","modified_gmt":"2025-10-31T02:59:07","slug":"mahs-warriors-meet-the-lycoming-college-warriors","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.montoursville.k12.pa.us\/thearrowhead\/2025\/10\/09\/mahs-warriors-meet-the-lycoming-college-warriors\/","title":{"rendered":"MAHS Warriors meet the Lycoming College Warriors"},"content":{"rendered":"

On Saturday, Sept. 6, the Marching Warrior Band and Cheerleaders met for the \u201cMeeting of the Warriors\u201d at Lycoming College.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Not only did the students have the opportunity to play and perform at a college football game, they also had the chance to explore Lycoming College\u2019s campus and music facilities. <\/span><\/p>\n

Director of the Marching Warrior Band, Mr. Chris Morgan, commended Lycoming College for making this part of the day \u201cinformative\u201d as well as \u201copen and inviting.”<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"
MAHS students and chaperones sit in on an informational presentation about Lycoming College and its music program. The presentation was held in the Mary Lindsay Welch Honors Hall in the Trachte Music Center. Photo from the Montoursville Music Department Facebook<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Morgan, being an alum of Lycoming College, also elaborated on the \u201cexciting and nerve-wracking\u201d feeling surrounding his return to campus, this time with his own students.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u201cBringing our band to showcase what we do at THE place that made me into a Band Director is a big leap of faith, but I knew our band would represent us well and show off all that we have learned in our time together!\u201d Morgan said.<\/span><\/p>\n

The students arrived at Lycoming College around 10:00 AM and walked through campus to the Trachte Music Center where they were given a presentation about the college.<\/span><\/p>\n

After campus exploration, the students were bussed up to David Person Field to get ready for the game. The band set up their instruments in the stands, while cheer prepared their pompoms and practiced with the Lycoming cheerleaders.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI was hoping that our band would learn how integral the band and cheer squad can be to a game, even when it’s not our team playing,\u201d said Morgan as he expressed his hopes for the event.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"
The Marching Warrior Band plays in the stands at the Lycoming College Warriors\u2019 football game. The band had to bring their raincoats because it was raining off-and-on all day. Photo by Lillian McCulloch<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Once the band was ready to go, they were allowed an hour to get food and walk around before the game started.<\/span><\/p>\n

Sophomore clarinetist Estella Smelko reported that this \u2018hour of freedom\u2019 was the coolest part of her day because she roamed around the sports complex and ended up watching the rest of a field hockey game before she had to be back in the stands for the game.<\/span><\/p>\n

When the game started, the band immediately started hyping up the crowd and the team with their stands tunes. Some band members from Lycoming College joined MAHS in the stands as well, one of them being Montoursville alum, Randi McKenna.<\/span><\/p>\n

McKenna stated how \u201cunforgettable\u201d her experience playing in the stands was, saying how \u201c<\/span>It brought back so many memories\u201d from when she was a member of the band in high school.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

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Senior Drum Major Alice Ravert conducts the Marching Warrior Band through the last two songs of its halftime show. The band had just finished their third song, \u201cFirework,\u201d by Katy Perry. Photo from the Montoursville Music Department Facebook<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cThe best part of the day was connecting with the students who were only freshmen when I was a senior,\u201d said McKenna. \u201cThey really are incredibly talented individuals and it was great to hear about what they are involved in and the places they are going.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Sophomore clarinetist Arabella Lucas said that all of the band students that played in the stands from Lycoming College were \u201cfunny and nice.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

At the end of first quarter, the MAHS cheerleaders combined with the Lycoming cheerleaders to perform a cheer routine to Chappell Roan\u2019s, \u201cHot To Go,\u201d which was played over the stadium loudspeakers.<\/span><\/p>\n

Junior cheerleader and percussionist, Paige Rosenbaum, said the experience was \u201creally fun,\u201d and that she \u201cgot to learn a lot about college cheer.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

At halftime, the Marching Warrior Band performed its show, \u201cFire It Up!\u201d and received many compliments afterwards from the members of the audience.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIt was definitely one of the best shows we have had,\u201d said Morgan. \u201cHearing the crowd cheering and supporting us was the icing on the cake.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

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Freshman cheerleader Bennett Handley performs a cheer stunt in front of the band. Handley was spotted in the back by junior cheerleader Brynn Connelly. Photo by Lillian McCulloch<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

When asked to describe what it was like performing at a college football game, Freshman colorguard member, Zelma Haight, said, \u201cIt was so much fun! Being able to perform in front of an audience who doesn’t usually get to see that type of thing was like performing the show for the first time all over again!\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

After the halftime show, the band took a break from playing in the stands, but the cheerleaders continued on.<\/span><\/p>\n

Rosenbaum described what it was like to cheer at a college football game, saying \u201cWe got to do some pyramids right in front of the band, which we never do, and they cheered us on!\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Finally, the band rejoined the stands for the fourth quarter and played almost non-stop to close out the game.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Lycoming College Warrior football team played the Technical College of New Jersey (TCNJ) and ended up losing 24-27, but the band and cheerleaders did their part in hyping the team up for their first game of the season.<\/span><\/p>\n

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The MAHS cheerleaders form a \u201chype circle\u201d and pump each other up. Before hyping themselves up, the cheerleaders prayed together before the game started. Photo by Lillian McCulloch<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Overall, MAHS students from both band and cheer said they enjoyed the event and were grateful for what the experience provided them.<\/span><\/p>\n

Many members of the Warrior Band claimed that their participation in this event made them interested in continuing marching band in college.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Haight said that she wanted to try marching band in college because she \u201cwould miss participating in it.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Lucas also expressed how the \u201cMeeting of the Warriors\u201d changed her interest in pursuing music in college, saying, \u201cI really wasn\u2019t gonna do marching band or anything music-related in college, but I think now I just might do band and marching band.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Overall, the feedback from the audience members about the band and cheerleaders\u2019 presence was incredibly positive.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI’ve seen several comments commending the band after our performance and asking if we could come back for EVERY game!\u201d said Morgan. \u201cThat kind of admiration and recognition speaks to the power of supporting the arts here at Montoursville.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

FEATURE PHOTO: The Marching Warrior Band and MAHS Cheer pose for a group picture outside Lycoming College’s Trachte Music Center. This photo was taken in the morning after the informational presentation and campus tour. Photo from the Montoursville Music Department Facebook<\/span><\/span><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

On Saturday, Sept. 6, the Marching Warrior Band and Cheerleaders met for the \u201cMeeting of the Warriors\u201d at Lycoming College.\u00a0 Not only did the students…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":845,"featured_media":8002,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_cbd_carousel_blocks":"[]","footnotes":"","_expiration-date-status":"saved","_expiration-date":1788760860,"_expiration-date-type":"draft","_expiration-date-categories":[],"_expiration-date-options":{"expireType":"draft","category":false,"categoryTaxonomy":"","enabled":true,"id":8001}},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.montoursville.k12.pa.us\/thearrowhead\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8001"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.montoursville.k12.pa.us\/thearrowhead\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.montoursville.k12.pa.us\/thearrowhead\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.montoursville.k12.pa.us\/thearrowhead\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/845"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.montoursville.k12.pa.us\/thearrowhead\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8001"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/www.montoursville.k12.pa.us\/thearrowhead\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8001\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8122,"href":"https:\/\/www.montoursville.k12.pa.us\/thearrowhead\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8001\/revisions\/8122"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.montoursville.k12.pa.us\/thearrowhead\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/8002"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.montoursville.k12.pa.us\/thearrowhead\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8001"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.montoursville.k12.pa.us\/thearrowhead\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8001"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.montoursville.k12.pa.us\/thearrowhead\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8001"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}