2019 SoCal Football Student Section of the Year: Los Alamitos Locos

1 Student Section Buzz,

I’m sure I said this before, but Los Alamitos Locos has the blueprint on how to run the perfect student section.

The themes, props, large crowds, home and away, big heads of local sports reporters and a ‘Manny-quin’, which is a mannequin of yours truly. Well played Locos!

The Griffins lost some big stars and had to face the challenge in a tough Sunset League. That’s where the Locos made their presence felt.

“Our student section rolls better than any section I’ve seen in 34 years of coaching.” Los Alamitos head football coach Ray Fenton said. 

The Locos rocked it from the get-go, taking the SoCal Student Section of the Week title on the opening week.

Normally when a student section wins it early, they quiet down a bit on social media, but the Locos kept it going and brought as an entire school.

“We wanted to be original and creative spirit ideas that were unique to Los Al,” Los Al ASB Director Tami Sciacca said. “Partnering with the Song and Cheer teams, band, and choir was super important and our theme this year was Better Together. Every theme, dance, and halftime performance included each group so there was great communication among everyone at the game. Planning and everyone having the same goal was pretty powerful. On the field and in the stands, we all worked together to make Friday football games a night people would never forget.” 

The school spirit was amazing and the big heads of myself and my co-workers from the Orange County Register was amazing, but no extra credit was needed to be the best the Student Section in Orange County.

The Final voting for the SoCal Football Student Section of the Year went wild and the Locos came back on the polls and finished on top as the 2019 SoCal Student Section of the Year.

We spoke with the Locos Spirit Commissioner as well as the Los Alamitos football teams as well as the rest of the Locos on what it took to take the SoCal Title!

You guys are the 2019 So Cal Football Student Section of the year! What did it take to stand out as the best in Southern California in 2019? 

Spirit Commissioner Carson Denyer: We wanted our football games to be THE place to go every Friday night!

Spirit Commissioner Kate Nelson: It took a lot of different approaches to reach as many people as we could, like our Pep Rally on Wheels, invite cards for students, and games for students to play at the game. – Kate Nelson, Spirit Commissioner 

Spirit Commissioner Jackie Junkes: One of the biggest challenges we faced was to come up with unique and exciting themes for our games that everyone would want to take part in. 

Los Al Locos: Social Media was super important and with each post, we tried to make the viewer feel like they were at the game and if they weren’t, they needed to come to the next one. We had prizes and random raffles for students who posted on their social media, we had scavenger hunts at stadiums for reporters, and tried to include as many people in our events as possible. We focused on cheering for our team, not against the opponent and we really tried to spread that message through social media.

If you’re a top student section, your football team will take notice. What have the Griffins players and coaches said about your team spirit? 

Los Al coach Ray Fenton: One of the best things about any sporting event is the pageantry of the game. A great football game is just a great football game if no one sees it. But when the band is playing, cheerleaders are cheering, and the rockin student section is rolling, you have something very special. You have an unforgettable experience that is often recognized as the “best time of my life.” 

Linebacker Giovani DeLeon: Many times the crowd kept the team in the game, they never lost in faith is us, and this pushed the team to perform its best.

Defensive Lineman Zatyvion Miller: From start to finish, the student section was UP!

Quarterback Cade McConnell: The constant support from the student section is something that made every game not only memorable and fun, but winnable. There were games that the students section kept us in the game and gave us a chance to be victorious.

Outside of you guys, who has been the best student section you have run into? 

Los Al Locos: Mission Viejo was solid all year long and competed with us every week. Villa Park and their Road Show took some serious dedication to get all those students coming back every Friday. Edison and their MESS showed up big time and they are going to be even better next year. 

The Vista Murrieta Bronco Bleacher Creatures, Carlsbad Loud Crowd and Valencia Viking Nation were in a close run for the top spot in the polls. What are your thoughts on those three fantastic student sections? 

Spirit Commissioner Presley Perez: To make it to the finals with such elite competition elevates all of us to a level of great sportsmanship, mutual respect, and over-the-top school spirit.

While this is a Student Section, Advisors, Coaches, Parents and Teacher had to play a role. Who played a role for the Locos this year outside of your classmates? 

Los Al Locos: Every single person on the Los Al campus had to pitch in to get this win. Los Al is really a small town with six elementary schools, two middle schools, and one high school that everyone attends. The school spirit and pride that every student, teacher, staff -even our security team – was integral to us winning this championship. 

Anything you’d like to say to your student section or your classmates? 

Los Al Locos: We sincerely appreciate everyone at Los Al who embraced the Loco spirit and spent their Friday nights at the football games. A Special shout out to the Loco’est of Locos-Trevor Hart, Sophia Bean, Sydni Jenkins along with countless others for showing up every week and bringing their energy to make our students the best in SoCal. 

Thank you to everyone involved with the Los Al family – teachers, staff, coaches, players, students, community members, and future Griffins – for contributing to our epic season. We hope that we made Los Al proud.