Manhattan High School Pride hosted a Pep rally on Monday, with a bigger outcome than expected.

“We were so happy to have students involved,” senior Eden Westfahl said. “The energy was out of control during the games.”

During the pep rally, Pride introduced many games that students could get involved in, which coincided with the spirit week’s theme of games. Games such as tug of war between the junior and freshman classes and senior against the sophomores, along with musical chairs were played.

“The crowd was wild especially after [junior] Jaxon [Bowles] ripped a chair out from under [senior] Claire [Shamburg],” senior Jackson Ivester said. “I’m pretty sure I lost my voice by the time the rally was done, but it was worth it.”

Along with the games was the performance of both the MHS cheer squad and the PowderPuff cheerleaders.

“I joined [PowderPuff] super last minute, and so did the majority of the boys,” sophomore Cooper Pfannenstiel said. “[Pride] really needed more boys to do it – they even let freshmen, sophomores and juniors join when it’s typically only for juniors, and I thought it might be fun to try it out.”

PowderPuff cheer has been a MHS tradition since the school can remember. One of the senior members of the squad had joined to continue the legacy that his brother started.

“My older brother did this three years ago, and he absolutely rocked it,” senior Zeke Khol said. “Ever since then I saw him perform, I’ve always wanted to do the exact same thing. Turns out, I didn’t even come close to upstaging him because he almost got suspended [that day].”

Many students were skeptical of the event from the start, but by the end, all of them left with a smile on their faces and a weeks worth of shouting and laughing with their peers.

“I’m glad we had a pep rally this year,” Ivester said. “I particularly am one to not look forward to them as much as the person next to me, but I think the absence of them made me miss it and the laughter it brings.”