This year has led to a lot of disappointments for students, but last Friday’s game gave some hope that the new school year might be alright after all.

This past Friday, the Tigers hosted the Mt. Lebanon Blue Devils for their third game of the season. It was the second home game of the season, but the first where both the entire Marching Band and Student Section were finally welcomed back into the stadium for the yearly blackout game.

Although the game looked much different from ones in years past — with fans wearing masks and a distance — it was refreshing for both the team and the spectators to feel some sense of normalcy after the turbulence of figuring out exactly what this year’s season would look like.

The game started out as a defensive battle for the Tigers, with the Blue Devils claiming a 27-yard field goal in the first quarter.

Even though the Student Section was limited to 170 students and was not able to assume their usual location at the Tigers’ starting end zone, they did their absolute best to make the team feel supported.

“It was tough to get loud without a lot of people,” Student Section leader JJ Dopkosky said, “but it was definitely good to be back.”

While the second quarter drew to a close with neither team having scored a touchdown, the Marching Band began to prepare for their first halftime show as a full unit of the year.

While the instrumentalists did not don their unusually large hats and remained stationary on the field, they sported brand new NA Marching Band sweatshirts, paid for in large part by Marching Band director, Mr. Stefan, to show their support instead.

“It was very generous of Mr. Stefan,” said trumpeter Theo DiBiasi, “It shows how much the band means to him. He always says we’re a big family, and it showed.”

Despite the band’s inability to move about the field, the NA drumline took center stage at the beginning of the performance, elevating a few tracks by Beyonce herself.

“Obviously things were different, but it was good to see everyone working together to make the most of a not-so-awesome situation,” Nolan Collery, a drumline  member, said.

The band was accompanied by North Allegheny’s Dance Team and the majorettes.

“I was nervous about the second game having a lot of people there, but it was done very safely and felt great to be back in that atmosphere,” said senior Dance Team member Kathy Reynolds.

The Dance Team and the majorettes took up different sides of the field, but they made the most of their space. Public health precautions kept all members of the band and the auxiliary units at a distance, but the show was nevertheless a spectacle.

“They shortened the season and skipped the first two games for the Band,” said band member Nate Bjorklund, “We only have one more game left, Homecoming. It’s sad that it will be our last game, but at least we have the opportunity.”

The Tigers came back in the third quarter, scoring their first touchdown of the game and taking a four point lead over the Blue Devils.

“We went into the locker room first half down 3-0, and going out into the second half there weren’t any huge changes,” said senior safety Ben Rohan. “A couple of tweaks here and there, but we knew we had to keep playing a solid defense and the offense would score eventually.”

The NA cheerleaders lost none of their spirit heading into the second half, despite having a much smaller audience to cheer for.

Though they faced the challenges of being on the opposite side of the field of the Tigers, the Student Section brandished their massive flags and signs so that even the parent spectators at the top of the opposite bleachers were able to appreciate their school spirit.

“We’re expecting homecoming to be even better now that we know what we’re dealing with,” Dopkosky said.

The band took center stage during halftime, but their work continued through the second half, playing rousing short numbers and rallying the fans each time the team made an exceptional play.

Drum Majors Luke Henderson, Kiera Wilkinson, and Nicholas Faber paid close attention to the game in order to seize on the right moment to queue their musicians into action.

The Tigers scored another touchdown halfway through the fourth quarter, taking a 14-3 lead over the Blue Devils.

“It didn’t really feel like Friday night football up until that game,” said Rohan, “The student section, even if it wasn’t the biggest, definitely gave us momentum when we heard them cheering. The band, too. Hearing them play after a big play or touchdown truly made it feel like everything was back to normal.”

The Blue Devils scored another 8 points with three minutes left on the clock in the final quarter, but it wasn’t enough to snatch victory from the Tigers.

The win leaves the Tigers as the only undefeated team in Class 6A and marks an 11th straight victory over the Blue Devils. Although this season has far fewer games in store for the Tigers, they’ve started off strong and hope to head into the playoffs as the top seed.

The Tigers face off against Norwin Knights next Friday at Norwin, and are returning for their final home game of the regular season against Canon McMillan on Friday, October 16th at 7:30 pm.