Northwood falls while spirit shines at Pack the Gym Night

Although both Northwood Boys and Girls Varsity Basketball teams lost to Woodbridge High during Northwood’s annual Pack the Gym Night on Thursday, Feb. 11, the school spirit from both sides was nothing short of spectacular.

The fan base was easily both teams’ biggest home attendances this season. Northwood  students were attracted to the event not only by a V.I.P. raffle, the Northwood Jazz Band and free pizza, but also by the tense atmosphere that emerges whenever Northwood meets Woodbridge in a sporting event.

In what could potentially be the last games of both Boys and Girls Varsity Basketball this season, the Girls Varsity team took a difficult 65-18 loss while Boys Varsity lost 59-46.

Senior Melanie Kashanchi led the Girls with 10 points, while Woodbridge rallied behind seniors Sara McCutchan and Ashley Ward, who scored 15 and 16 points, respectively.

The Boys Varsity game began immediately after the Girls game, and the school spirit was high from the start. While faithful Woodbridge students took the trip to North Irvine to fill a majority of the visitor’s side, Northwood students supporting the home team completely packed the home bleachers and forced more seats to be rolled out to serve the overflow of fans.

During the Woodbridge Boys introductions, Northwood fans turned their backs and faced the wall. In response, most Woodbridge students refused to acknowledge the Northwood introductions by whipping out school newspapers and pretending to read those instead.

“I thought it was a great atmosphere. The little things like the newspapers that Woodbridge had and Northwood turning their backs made school spirit really high,” said junior guard Sunny Singh.

Inevitably, a barrage of chants was exchanged back and forth between the home and away sides, some of them getting Principal Leslie Roach’s head shaking.

Seniors James Hartshorne and Skylar Karol, the Spirit and Rally Commissioners, with the help of senior Austin Farmer and juniors Mattan Cohen and Jay Salahi, created a comedic music video that aired during halftime, stressing the importance of a friendly bond between Northwood and Woodbridge. Nevertheless, most Woodbridge students found this an opportune moment for their newspapers again.

Despite the support of the home crowd and the play of seniors Connor O’Brien, who scored 12 points, and Josh Elter and Austin Burt, who both scored 9, the Northwood Boys were not able to pull away a win to cap off an exciting Pack the Gym Night.

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