As football season kicks off this year the players want all of the support they can get. People in the stands backing them up and cheering them on. But sometimes the players may not have anybody in the stands encouraging them the way that they may need.

The Senior Sweethearts are a group of senior girls who make the football boys’ baskets full of their favorite items and come to every home game to boost them up before and during it. The girls work hard to make sure that the players love their baskets and know that someone is always there to support them.

“It is really about having support and having someone backing you up, especially it being the last year of football for me,” Craig Penwarden said.

Senior Sweethearts have allowed girls to come closer and make new friends this year. The group provides a broader range of people who are all supporting the same team. Having the girls to be there with you doing the same things lets them all enjoy the game, even more, when watching “their” football player.

“All my Senior Sweethearts girls have turned into my friends, and it makes the games more exciting,” Lauren Tuttle (12) said. “I have a special player to root on and get to hype them up each week.”

The group that the senior girls put together allows for more connection and interaction between people they may not know. People with similar interests are able to cheer on and support the team on Friday night football.

“This is a really fun way to get involved,” Delanie Ewton (12) said. “I have been able to get closer with a lot of other people who are all in this.”

For the girls, being a Senior Sweetheart goes deeper than just getting the items and being at the game. It is more about showing the boys that they have endless support and people who genuinely care about them.

“What I love about being a Senior Sweetheart is being able to cheer on my football boy loud and proud,” Jessica Hershey (12) said. “Also, letting him know that no matter what happens, someone is always behind him cheering him on.”