The Crosstown Showdown was one for the books! The teams kept fans on both sides of Wylie ISD Stadium on the edges of their seats until the last second of the game.
Former High and East principals, Mr. Virdie Montgomery and Mr. Mike Williams, joined current principals, Mr. Brian Alexander and Mrs. Tiffany Doolan, and the team captains for the pregame coin toss.
This is Mr. Williams’ seventh Crosstown Showdown football game. Now in his retirement, the game felt a bit different to him.
“The pressure of being the principal is not there for me this year,” Mr. Williams said. “In the other Crosstown games, by the fourth quarter, most of the scores were out-of-hand. Even the year we got beat -- it was in overtime. It wasn’t a close game like this one.”
The Raiders brought home the win against their crosstown rivals, the Pirates, 26-19.
The nearly sold-out stadium was jam-packed with a sea of blue on the home side and maroon on the visitor’s. Due to an expected increase in ticket sales, the bands and drill teams were seated on the field in the west end zone to allow more room in the stands for fans.
“I’ve never experienced anything like this,” WEHS Sapphire Jadyn Clark said. “I got to watch a touchdown right in front of me. It’s a lot cooler close up!”
The bands enjoyed playing side by side.
“It’s cool being close to the other band,” That Wylie Band Drum Major Joanna Ononogbu said. “It’s fun to interact with them.”
Both the drill teams and bands enjoyed their new view from the end zone.
“Everyone liked being on the field,” That Wylie Band’s Drum Major Jackson Slaughter said. “It’s like being a part of the game. We knew coming in that we were underdogs, but the energy was still there.”
The visitor side of Wylie Stadium was a new experience for the Pirates. Next year, they will be the home team while the Raiders will take up residency on the visitor side.
“Being on that side had a positive vibe,” senior member of the AHMO Squad Randolph Scott IV said. “We’re a big family and have lots of energy. We all came to have fun. We were there to cheer for our football players and that’s what we did.”
Past Scores
57-7 WHS 2010
63-7 East 2011
46-38 East 2012
35-28 East 2013
42-35 WHS 2014
56-28 East 2015
26-19 East 2022
