SoCal Student Section of the Week for Week 2: Mission Hills Growl Crowd

Off Student Section Buzz,

Photo credit/Laura Hinman

 

Another fantastic week in the student section. In fact, we had three fantastic student section in the Final 4 of the SoCal Student Section of the week voting.

We also had a surprise. We had a volleyball student section crash the party.

While we intend to checkout the volleyball student sections in the spring, it was still a surprise.

Redondo Union Flock of Redondo Beach went wild and packed the gym for their girls volleyball team as they took on Mater Dei of Santa Ana. 

A big time game, the Flock flew in the court and showed their support with loud cheers in the Seahawks victory. This was enough for me to have them represent the Los Angeles region on Saturday over West Covina Bulldog Nation.

In Orange County, we had a few student sections that came close to taking the top spot. El Modena Rowdy Rooters and Capo Valley Cage battled, but it was the Villa Park Black Pack that stood out. Road Warriors!

The Black Pack went to the road on their road show with their home stadium being rebuild from the ground up. Villa Park faced Trabuco Hills and had a student section battle with the Trabuco Stampede. Both student sections put on a light show and went back and forth with chants while showing support for their team. In the end, it seemed the Spartans controlled the field and the stands in their 42-0 victory.

In the Inland Empire, the Chaparral Fanatics of Temecula came close to representing the Inland Empire, but it was another Baseline League student section that just got past them as road warriors always impresses me.

Los Osos Grizzly Nation of Rancho Cucamonga rocked the green for Mental Health Awareness on the road against Alta Loma. Grizzly Nation rocked it and showed their support for their team and mental health in the Grizzlies 21-3 victory.

In the end, the Mission Hills Growl Crowd, which edged the San Marcos Blue Crew for the top spot in San Diego, came in ready for the summer matchup against Redlands East Valley.

With a beach party in the stands, the Growl Crowd went nuts for their Grizzlies in a final tune up before a big Avocado League matchup next week.

The Growl Crowd enjoyed a fantastic game and showed their love for their team. The perfect combo in their 52-7 victory over Redlands East Valley.

After going to the Final 4, it was time to vote and with over 3200 votes, the Growl Crowd roared to the top as the SoCal Student Section of the Week for Week 2.

We spoke with Growl Crowd leaders Noah Schloss, Delaney Smiddy, Nicole Rich on what it took to take the top spot in Southern California this past week.

 

You guys are the Week Two So Cal Student Section of the week, beating out Los Osos Grizzly Nation, Villa Park Black Pack and Redondo Union Flock. What did it take to stand out as one of the best in Southern California?

Schloss: To stand out this week I think all we did was our thing. Our boys came out and got a huge 52-7 win and we kept the crowd hype and insanely energized. I think what also helped us stand out was the turnout we had because the amount of students at that game and in our Growl Crowd was one of the largest numbers we’ve seen in a while.

Smiddy: It took a lot of spirit and Grizzly pride from the whole school. It was our first home game this year, so each student was extra excited to cheer on our team. 

Rich: To win best student section it took the collective effort of our whole student body. We want as many people there as possible to keep the energy high, and the students delivered. It’s because of them that we succeed. 

 

What is your most memorable game you have ever attended as a member of the student section?

Schloss: My most memorable game I’ve ever been to easily has to be our home game we just had. Finally getting the chance to lead the Growl Crowd and see all my friends smiling and cheering their hearts out was definitely my most fun experience yet with this crowd. 

Smiddy: One of my most memorable games I’ve ever been too definitely has to be the Discovery Bowl a few years ago when we all changed at halftime. Everyone in our crowd and even San Marcos’ crowd was telling us how cool it looked and how smooth it went. 

Rich: One of my most memorable games was the Discovery Bowl a couple years ago because of the outfit change during halftime when the whole crowd went neon after being dressed in all black. The best part was that everyone was getting texts from their SMHS friends saying that what we did looked super cool so we were proud of ourselves for pulling it off. 

 

Favorite theme?

Schloss: My favorite theme is definitely USA because it’s a theme everyone can support and everyone can dress up in. Seeing all my peers decked out in America’s colors having a fun time watching our boys play and honoring our country at the same time is something you can’t beat. 

Smiddy: My favorite theme is pink out. Not only is it for Breast Cancer Awareness month, but most students come completely decked out for that game in particular. 

Rich: Although it sounds boring one of my favorite themes to do is black out; I think it looks really cool to see a whole crowd in one solid color. If we are dressing up in a fun costume, I have always really liked beach or Hawaiian theme. 

Favorite chant?

Schloss: My favorite chant is the “I Believe” chant because the whole crowd always gets involved with that one and you can hear everyone from the front to the back screaming it out. I also love how it sounds with us 4 leaders yelling it as loud as we can and the Growl Crowd echoing us even louder. Also the way my voice mixes with one of our other leaders, Nathan Barraza, a recent D1 baseball commit, it all just sounds so hype. 

Smiddy: The best chant is definitely the “I Believe” chant before every game. It’s a great way for us to get the energy high before the start of every game. 

Rich: My favorite chant is the “I believe that we have won” chant. It symbolizes the end of of a well deserved victory and let’s the growl crowd celebrate the win.

 

What’s your least favorite chant that you hear from the other side of the stadium/gym?

Schloss: My least favorite chant I’ve heard is when San Marcos High School chants “Let’s go Knights” because it’s San Marcos so of course it is something I don’t like to hear. Plus, it doesn’t sound as cool as “Let’s go Grizzlies”.

Smiddy: My least favorite chant to hear is San Marcos saying “This is our town”. We all know that Mission Hills runs San Marcos.

Rich: My least favorite chant is probably anything our rival school, SMHS, says. Especially when they say “this is our town” or something like that because the discovery bowl record says differently. 

 

Outside of you guys, is there one student section that you have seen or heard about where you think, “Man, that is a good student section?”

Schloss: To be completely honest, I know that we feel extremely confident in our Growl Crowd and like to not take influence from anyone else because everyone has their own things that work for their school and don’t. We know we have one of the best teams in San Diego and the best Student Section acting as their 12th man in the stands. 

Smiddy: As being apart of the Growl Crowd we try to not compare ourselves to other student sections. Instead we try to focus on new and original ideas to set us apart from the rest of the schools in San Diego. 

Rich: There are a lot of cool student sections out there that do a lot of interesting things, however I try not to think about other student sections and focus more on continuously improving ours. I think it’s more about the energy from the crowd rather than the amount of things you throw into the air, so the goal is to get bigger, louder, and better every game to be the best we can be for our football team.