It wouldn’t be the beginning of the football season without a scrimmage, and it wouldn’t be a Manhattan High scrimmage without soup.

Last Friday students, parents, faculty and MHS football fans alike filled Bishop Stadium to watch the football teams play their first unofficial games of the season.

For countless years MHS has used the scrimmage as a chance to fundraise for a good cause, the Flint Hills Breadbasket. Attendees of the game donated cans of soup and other non-perishable food items at the gate.  The fundraiser collected 304 pounds of food for the Breadbasket as well as $287 in cash donations.

“It felt great to collect food, the plus being it benefited the more unfortunate in our town and it was amazing being with my friends,” sophomore Tanya Singh said.

Singh helped collect the donations at the gate with a number of other fellow Student Council members.

In addition to being a great fundraising opportunity, the night also gave MHS students a sneak peek of the upcoming football season.  Students came out sporting MHS gear and huge smiles.

“It was a lot of fun to be back under the ‘Friday Night Lights’…,  said senior Kendall Smith, “I’m so excited to see how the team will work together this year, and I’m so excited to be there cheering them on.”

Along with the students being excited for football itself, many are also looking forward to the new seating arrangement announced that night. Tribe co-president and senior Josie Hilgers announced the new student section seating plan. The left side of the student section will now seat juniors in the front and freshmen in the back, while the right side will be for seniors in the front and sophomores in the back.

“The new seating arrangement is something Tribe has talked about adjusting so that we can get everyone more involved,” Hilgers said “Sometimes younger students don’t always know what cheers we are doing or when to do them so putting them behind some upperclassmen we think will help with that.”

In addition to the new seating announcement, the winner of the perfect attendance car was also announced. Every student who had perfect attendance last school year randomly chose a car key, which was turned in the ignition. Whoever’s key started the engine was the winner of the car, the lucky key this year belonging to sophomore Mason Lutz, or rather, his mom. Mason, being on the football team, was busy on the field, so his mother stood in and started the car for him. His celebration with his teammates on the field after hearing the good news was enough said.

All in all the 2017 football scrimmage was a successful night, with the fans getting their football, the Breadbasket getting an impressive donation, and a lucky sophomore getting his new car.

“I really like how they rearranged the seating for the games. [The night was] overall really fun and I can’t wait for the season to start,” junior Addie Terril said.