A rollercoaster ride full of emotions is a great way to describe the last Friday Night Lights for the 2023 season at Ripon High. The last football game of the season was on Friday, Oct. 27, 2023, and also happened to be Ripon High’s annual Pink-Out Game along with senior night. This game was the very last game played on the RHS Stouffer Field for 13 of the football players as well as 12 of the cheerleaders.
Jesse Ochoa, senior varsity captain, has been playing football for ten years now. He plans to continue to play football in the future at Juco, an athletic association, but this was still the end of an era for him.
“This game was important to me because it has taught me a lot of life lessons and how to deal with adversity. It’s hard to accept that this was my last game at RHS, because this team has overcome a lot of struggles throughout the season and had so much potential. The biggest takeaway from my whole experience is to enjoy the little things and not let little bumps in your path stop you from achieving success,” stated Ochoa.
Participating in a sport for so many years since childhood really impacts lives and truly sticks with an individual. Unfortunately for this team, their season came to a quicker end than anticipated despite all their potential. The final score of Friday’s game was 26-55, Hughson. The Indians ended the final season with three wins and seven losses. Regardless of the statistics, the varsity team fought with all they could and did a great job overall.
Ripon High’s cheerleaders also deserve a special shout-out for their astounding annual Halloween performance and for cheering on the boys this whole 2023 season. The senior cheerleaders also celebrate their senior night along with the boys.
Maya Clayton, senior varsity cheerleader, has been cheering for eight years, since she was in fourth grade, and was upset that this would be the last time she would cheer for at a RHS football game.
“Something that made this night extra special was that I got to cheer with some girls that I’ve been cheering with since Chiefs cheer. I felt sad about it being my last game since I’ve been cheering for such a long portion of my life and I have made a lot of memories through cheer. I also had the realization that I’ll probably never cheer again and it was some of the last moments of cheering with my friends that I’ve been cheering with for almost forever,” said Clayton.
After all, the last game of the year was a great one to end off with. Ripon High had the honor to celebrate the seniors and spread awareness for breast cancer. Girls League decorated the bleachers for the Pink Out Game and gave the student section pink powder to continue the tradition of throwing it in the air in order to honor those who fought, or are currently fighting, breast cancer. The student section really showed up for this game in order to support their peers on this special night and all in all the event as a whole brought everyone together.
