On Friday, Sept. 13, tensions were high as varsity football teams, the Central Kitsap Cougars and Olympic Trojans, faced off for the “Battle of the Bucklin Hill.” The Battle of Bucklin Hill is a football game played by CKHS and OHS. This is the first time in several years that the two teams have played each other as OHS changed its Washington Interscholastic Activities Association (WIAA) district classification from 2A to 3A.
CKHS had kicked off the season with a win against Rainier Beach High School, with a score of 23-20. Coming off of their fresh win, the Cougars went into the second game with positivity and hope, feeling confident in what they had been practicing as a team.
During the game, CK struggled to score points but nevertheless kept their morale up through the stress, and finally, with the score 29-0, CK made their first touchdown in the fourth quarter by Riley Kolda. Though the game ended in a loss, the Cougars still kept up the good fight, showing the hard work they went through to prepare for the new season.
“I usually take a second, assess everything, and then figure out how I’m gonna deal with it,” Brayden Austra (Fr.) said. “But it doesn’t get too stressful. It’s just you really gotta catch yourself when it does.”
Aside from the game on the field, Cougar fans really showed their spirit by cheering on the sidelines as well as engaging with cheers from the CKHS cheerleaders. However, Central Kitsap didn’t just cheer for their school, and found many other ways to bring to life and display their cougar spirit, as they hung out with friends, participated in game themes, and had a great time with the community. Sylvia Hall described how she kept her school spirit high at games.
“The cheers, and the cheerleaders and being with my best friend,” Hall said.
