There’s only one high school that produces a start-of-the-year event to rally the community to get pumped up for the upcoming school year in the Cherry Creek School District.
Eaglecrest High School’s Raptor Rally is unique because of its long-standing and beloved traditions.
“The school spirit and turn out rate at Raptor Rally is always a huge success,” said senior student council representative Maddox Browne. “A lot of 9th graders get involved for the first time at this event and that is really great to see.”
Eaglecrest’s Raptor Rally promotes their clubs and athletics to help them kick off their goals for the school year.
The event kick-started with a pep rally. A highlight from the assembly was when seniors showed off their fabulous senior pants – another EHS tradition that lives on year-after-year.
“Everyone’s senior pants look awesome,” said Browne. “All of us senior work really hard to create something special that we can show off to our friends and family.”
Seniors had a chance to strut down a red carpet while being photographed and cheered for by their peers and teachers. Freshman and newcomers to EHS got to see the Dance and Cheerleading teams for the first time, and learn our school’s favorite chants.
Each fall sports team got their moment of recognition and hype: softball, football, flag football, boys golf, cross country, and girls volleyball.
The volleyball team would open their season later that night against Regis Jesuit High School, losing a close 5-set match.
“I think we played pretty good but could have beat them if we tried a little bit harder,” said senior outside hitter Anayah Rucker.
EHS lost this close game with a final set score of 2-3. After losing set one, EHS made a comeback and won the second set 25-11. The Raptors split the next two sets with Regis, but in the final set, EHS came up short 15-11.
Although the players made some minor errors that set them back, they fought hard and never gave up when the game became challenging.
Meanwhile, outside on the football field, the Raptors scrimmaged the Rock Canyon Jaguars.
“The scrimmage went okay, but I don’t think we played to our full potential, ” said senior defensive back and receiver Cameron Bell. “We need to put our heads down at practice and work, especially with us having our first game this week.”
The scrimmage ended in a 7-7 tie, but the players hope to focus on staying enthusiastic as their season progresses. The team feels as though they are staying engaged and connected with each other on a deep level which will end up supporting them both on and off the field.
For those that didn’t come for the sporting events, Raptor Rally offered a variety of other experiences. Multiple clubs and organizations reported that they sold out of their products – food or Raptor swag.
Some of the most visited booths included: wings from the football team, a pie-in-the-face experience with theatre, Hawaiian smoothies from girls wrestling, and branded sunglasses and gear from the Fellowship of Christian Athletes.
A total of 21 booths were active, 10 of those being club booths and 11 of those being sport booths.
“I think we’re bringing a lot of benefit to the community by hosting Raptor Rally,” said Browne. “It’s an experience that some people don’t get to have at their school and I think it’s important that we get students out of their comfort zones and participating in things that they normally wouldn’t.”
