JV FOOTBALL AND CHEER

Junior Varsity sports are back and here to stay! For the first time since 2017, Pine Crest is featuring a JV Football and Cheer team. JV teams allow players the opportunity to learn from the upperclassmen on the Varsity teams, teaching them skills and lessons that will prepare them for their next years as Pine Crest Varsity athletes. 

The JV Football team consists of 25 underclassmen. They practice everyday after school to train for their games. They run drills and plays, and make sure their offensive and defensive lines are aware of their jobs.

Coach Sanderson told Paw Print, “To get the JV players ready for Varsity we try to have them practice with the Varsity team as much as possible. They go to the games and run plays with them.”

The team is led by Head Coach Mike Sanderson and assistant Coaches Steven Lucovic and Dominick Napold. October 18th, the team had a major win at Northeast High School. They beat them 27 to 8 in a decisive victory. 

MJ Hamblet ’27 a wide receiver and defensive back on JV football said, “We have been doing pretty good. Although we only have one win, we have improved a lot from the beginning of training camp to now. I think we have gotten much better at blocking and tackling.” 

Will and Harry Snyder Class of ’27 are what the football program calls “floaters”. A floater is a player who plays on both JV and Varsity; this allows them to stand out on the JV team and learn from the Varsity team. 

Harry told Paw Print, “Being a floater helped me improve a lot by playing with better kids. I also enjoyed playing with my brothers Will and Nico. I improved by knowing more plays and playing in a more challenging environment.” 

On the sidelines of every JV football game you can find the JV Cheer Squad. The JV Squad consists of 12 girls from the class of 2027, led by Head Coach Kella Coe and Assistant Coaches Jessica Szalay, Elijah Colas, Carrie Anderson and Lauren Elliott. The girls work hard on cheers, stunting and their dance that they recently showcased at the Homecoming pep rally and game. 

The squad cheers at home and away football games. They bring spirit to the crowd and players. The girls enjoy encouraging the players. 

The JV cheerleaders have achieved a lot this season. At the beginning of the school year, many girls on the squad had not cheered before. It was a completely new experience. 

Julia Musa ’27 told Paw Print, “I had to overcome a lot this season. I was working with new people and getting adjusted to a new team environment.”

They learned from this experience by making mistakes and improving from them. The squad has been through a lot together. From injuries to laughs and everything in between the twelve girls have had to get over everything and anything. 

Olivia Carida ’27 cheered for the first time this past season. This season she learned how to do all of the stunting positions. She also learned all the sideline cheers that the squad does during the games. 

Carida said, “Cheering was really fun and I had a great time with my friends.”

Pine Crest sports are continuing to grow because of the JV programs. They have developed and gained so much this season. In order to continue developing their programs, the football and cheerleading departments hope to continue Junior Varsity sports in the coming years.