‘Meet the Warriors’ Pep Rally Tonight

Here we go friends and neighbors, boys and girls!! With the beginning of school comes the building of 'school spirit' and Victoria West High School is wasting no time.

Monday night's "Meet the Warriors" pep rally sets the tone for the whole school year. And that's why it doesn't just feature football players, cheerleaders and the band, but all 50 of West High School's extracurricular groups, said Principal Debbie Crick. "We try to celebrate everyone," Crick told the Victoria Advocate. "Last year, we filled up one side of the stadium."

There is no cost of admission, and booster clubs will sell concessions and fan gear while some of the school's 1,719 students get introduced and perform on the field, Crick said. Channel 25's Don Brubaker will be the master of ceremonies.

Crick said it was first a struggle to inspire spirit in a student body that'd been torn away from their friends after the Victoria school district's West and East campus were built almost three years ago. "There was a little bit of sadness," Crick said. But it's a problem no longer. "We've continued to build spirit each year," she said, noting last week's freshman orientation was a prime example.

West's volleyball team plays against Rockport at home at 7 p.m. Tuesday. And its football team, classified by UIL as 4A, has an away game against Lockhart on Friday.