A Friday night in September at 326 Joliet Street buzzes with energy: loud whistles radiate from the field, cheerleaders’ poms flutter, trumpets blare, and safari-dressed students yell and cheer. Friday Night Football is one of the loudest stages for school spirit. Week after week, students, staff, players, and parents pack Memorial Stadium to cheer on the Wildcats – with Pep Club leading the charge.
At the start of the season, students, staff, players, and parents filled Memorial Stadium to watch the Wildcats take on the Glenbard South Raiders. Seniors stood in the front of the student section, with a gradient of lower grades further back – an unspoken rule at high school football games.
Although football stands out as Pep Club’s biggest spotlight, members also bring energy to other sports throughout the year – from volleyball in the fall to basketball in the winter. No matter the size of the crowd, their goal is the same: to build spirit and keep WEGO traditions alive.
Pep Club is a senior-only organization, giving the Class of 2026 a chance to take the lead in rallying the school. Members meet weekly, plan themes for games, and coordinate with coaches, cheer, and administration to keep the energy high year-round.
Seniors Adriano Rotger, Dylan Mason, and Joaquin Juarez pose for a photo taken by Pep Club leader and social media expert Thang Thang. Leadership in Pep Club means more than just standing in the front row — it includes brainstorming themes, helping set up for games and assemblies, and keeping the student section energized.
“Helping Profe [Elizabeth Mastroianni] with ideas and helping set up for football games and assemblies,” senior Pep Club leader Gracie Perry said in describing the role.
When the Wildcats score, Pep Club helps amplify the moment — hands shoot up in the air, confetti flies, and the section erupts in cheers.
Around the stadium and in the gym, spirit shows up in other ways too. Senior football players’ posters hang along the fence, celebrating their dedication and hard work.
“The student section means everything,” Carter Naranjo, senior quarterback, said. “The environment sets the tone of the game. When the student section is loud and can affect the game, it’s a bigger upper hand on the other team.”
While not as cutthroat as the varsity football program, the girls’ Powderpuff flag football game brought its own intensity, with players holding practices before school on Tuesday and Thursday. The game, run by Pep Club, includes senior and junior girls, with male students and flag football players stepping in as coaches.
As Homecoming approached, Pep Club is preparing for its biggest event of the year: the Homecoming pep assembly. On Friday, October 3, all grades gathered at Memorial Field for the event.
After attending weekly meetings on Wednesday mornings, Pep Club members were excused from classes on the half-day, Friday, Oct. 3, to run through the games and events of the day to ensure they ran smoothly. Members “dove into” practicing the games to also see how long each one would take since a game that drags on can lose the crowd’s attention.
Senior Kuba Slupski leapt head first into the middle of the circle during the practice run of “Mad Dash,” the musical chairs–style pep assembly game.
A few hours later, the practice turned into reality as students packed Memorial Field for the Homecoming pep assembly. Games, cheers, and performances brought the school together – the culmination of Pep Club’s weeks of planning.
When the pep assembly began that afternoon, the stadium pulsed with heat and excitement — the culmination of Pep Club’s weeks of planning. Members spread across the field, directing students to their sections, setting up equipment, and keeping the crowd on its feet. Their efforts powered every moment, from the games to the performances. Classes faced off in musical chairs, sponge relays, and Bead Wars, while cheer and dance teams brought energy to the center field. The event built to the crowning of seniors Tristan McWilliams and Alina Baranska as Homecoming King and Queen, and ended in laughter as senior Pep Club leader Thang Thang smashed a whipped-cream pie into math teacher Aaron Hayes’s face — a spirited finale to Pep Club’s biggest day of the year.
From fall kickoff to winter tipoff, Pep Club’s job is far from finished, however. Whether in the stadium or the gym, its senior leaders keep WEGO’s spirit alive – showing that school pride does not end when football season does.
Check out Aly Dusing and Roxanna Santiago’s photo essay on the 2025 Homecoming Pep Assembly on the Chronicle to see Pep Club’s work. Following the assembly, Food Fest, the parade, powderpuff game, and the Homecoming football game against Elmwood Park took place at West Chicago High School.