On October 16th, the Key West Conchs had their first football home game against Dade Christian at the Tommy Roberts Memorial Stadium. This was considered one of the biggest high school events in South Florida during COVID-19. The Friday night was just like a regular high school football game, but incorporating the social distancing factor.

Even though it was the Conch’s first home game, we started the night off celebrating our 2020 seniors by kicking off Senior Night. The seniors that were recognized were either football players, Conchettes, band members, or a cheerleader, each wearing an accessory commemorating their seniority.  

To promote spatial awareness, there was a limited amount of tickets being sold, which was only sold to parents who watched their children perform, and students who go to Key West High School (KWHS). Besides that, the public was not able to enter. In addition, they put red dots on the seats to help guide people where to sit, while maintaining social distancing.

The entertainers too respected the safety guidelines and made sure that they kept six feet apart. All performers were situated on the opposite side of the field, near the baseball stadium. The Marching Conchs and the Conchettes were seated in chairs, while the cheerleaders were standing up and performing their stunts, trying to maintain social distancing as best as possible. Although they were separated, each performer still maintained the energetic atmosphere, keeping the crowd alive. 

Unlike a normal Conch’s game, there was no food or drinks being served. Since many programs use the money generated from the selling of these products as a fundraiser, there was a lot of lost profits that night. To replace the funds, the organizations have been making Snap Raise accounts, which is a digital fundraising platform like Venmo or PayPal. If you want to make an account, click here to start your fundraiser. 

When the second quarter finished, the cheerleaders started off the halftime show with their routine, while also introducing their 2020-2021 officers: 

Varsity Cheerleaders

Football Captains – Jazlyn Perloff and Emma Casis

Football Co-Captains – Jenesis Perloff and Carli Morell

Basketball Captains – Madison Fernandez, Deonza Ayala, and Kaila Kirkpatrick

Basketball Co-Captains – Kenniah Chapman and Emma Casis

Competition Captains – Michael Preval and Paris Crone

Junior Varsity Cheerleaders

Football Captain – Sierra Titensor

Football Co-Captains – Annie Saunders and Angelina Foster

Continuing halftime, the Marching Conchs and the Conchettes performed to the band arrangement of the song Feel This Moment by Pitbull, featuring Christina Aguliera. Before the show, the sports announcer introduced this year’s band and Conchettes’ officers: 

Marching Band

Band Captain – Thomas Winegarden

Drum Majors – Heaven Rodriguez and Andrew Wang

Drum Captain – Tyler Huber

Conchettes

Captains – Olivia Sanchez and Taylor Lariz

Co-Captain – Yanessa Camejo

First Lieutenant – Lydia Cuervo

Although we lost the game, it’s just one more obstacle in the road to success. This night sure wasn’t the luckiest, with Camren Watson having a drastic injury, losing the game, and COVID-19 getting in the way, but the fans still left the stadium with Conch Pride.