Fridays at EHS are always filled with orange, black and Tiger pride. Students distractedly count down the hours until the night’s game while attempting to concentrate during class.

Friday, September 16, the game time countdown started earlier than usual.

At 5:30 a.m., smiling faces covered in orange and black paint packed the gym. Students were ready to be on television for KSDK’s 5 on Your Side Prep Rally.

The rally is usually held the Friday of the EHS homecoming game, but since that day is a teacher institute this year the rally was moved to an earlier game day.

Despite the date change, EHS was still ready to get loud for the camera.

“It’s always a challenge getting people to pep rallies that aren’t during homecoming week because the school spirit isn’t as high,” Student Council president Mary Webb said. “But so many more people than expected showed up.”

With the help of KSDK, Webb said Student Council was able to get word out about the rally in less than a week. During the rally, Student Council distributed free doughnuts, coffee and face paint to the estimated 400 students in attendance.

Sophomore Student Council member Patrick Driscoll said the large turnout is a “testament to the Tiger fan section and the school as a whole.”

Webb credits a lot of the rally’s success to KSDK for giving Student Council a layout of how much live stream was needed earlier in the week.

“When Ryan Dean showed up, he had a clear idea of what he wanted and would just let me know so I could inform the students,” Webb said.

KSDK reporter Ryan Dean said he likes coming to Edwardsville for their energetic vibe. He said it takes a great student body to get loud without being told; and Edwardsville “rocked the house.”

Freshman Mia DallaRiva said she was surprised by the excitement in the crowd at her first pep rally, “especially at such an early time of day.”

“A few schools always stand out during these prep rallies,” Dean said. “And Edwardsville is at the top of the list.”

But EHS students didn’t stop at just being on the top of the list. During the middle of the rally, students lifted each other on top of their hands and shoulders to get more TV time.

And after suggestion from his camera man, Dean joined in on the fun and gave his first live TV report while crowd surfing.

Dean said his coworkers were surprised that he did it, but he was confident that he “was in good hands.”

Sophomore football player Dionte Rodgers got air time in a different way: by flipping through a tunnel of cheerleaders and dancers while the band played “Bump and Grind.”

Rodgers followed his early morning flips with a late night touchdown that led to a shutout football game by the Tigers against the O’Fallon Panthers. Despite the rainy weather Friday night, Edwardsville’s student section was still filled.

“The fact that we had a large fan base at a game in the pouring rain is proof enough that the pep rally did its job,” Driscoll said.

And Driscoll said that large fan base is what makes EHS great.

“You don’t always know how well the turn out will be at an event,” Driscoll said. “But clearly the Tigers were willing to lose a couple hours of sleep to support the school they love.”