On this week's episode of This Hits Different, Shelby Cassesse tells the Fan Morning Show about how members of Jeannette's marching band came to the aid of the school's football team and kept its season alive.
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Jeannette band comes to aid of football team
In the fall of 2020, Jeannette football was doing what it's known for: winning.
They finished the season with a WPIAL title and an appearance in the PIAA title game.
But by the time summer workouts rolled around, that team was in tatters.
“It was a little frustrating at the beginning,” said Jeannette athletic director Adrian Batts.
Batts had just started the job. Between transfers and kids deciding not to play, it looked like the school may not have enough players for a football team, until some unlikely heroes stepped in.
“Four band kids on the football field who knew nothing about the game,” said Tamarion Stevens-Blow, one of four senior band members who decided Jeannette just wasn't the same without a football season.
“Kids left the program for whatever reason they did, but they stepped right in and people just accepted them and treated them like they were there for four years,” Batts said.
Stevens-Blow, Nathaniel Gantt, Nate Christoff and Nate Moore all decided to put on the pads, despite never playing football before. Christoff says they were willing to work through the growing pains and the physical pain it to make sure their community had one of its most beloved pastimes.
“Jeannette, we’re all like family. I thought it would benefit the whole community if we helped,” he said. “Since football is a big tradition in Jeannette, I thought it would be nice to help them out this year.”
But that didn't mean band took a back seat. Each of them did both at the same time, and on a Zoom call last week, they were pretty honest about what that schedule — all while learning a new sport — was like.
“It was very physically demanding,” Christoff said.
“Some days we had football practice and, right after, we had band practice,” Gantt added.
Band practices and shows that Stevens-Blow said didn't exactly feel like a break from the physical and mental demands of football.
“The band part wasn’t easy, we still had to do a lot during the band shows,” he said.
And on Friday nights this fall, half time didn't mean a break. When the rest of the football team would head into the locker room, the four boys would play in the band for the half time show. Gannt explains the process.
“(We had to) hurry up and get our pads off and hurry up and get our drums on and our carriers,” he said. “And once that was done we had to hurry up, take that off and go back to the locker room.”
Overwhelming at times, tiring often. But worth it? Moore says all you had to do was look at the stands during a game.
“I think it shows how strong this community really is, by sticking together and supporting us through the whole process,” he said. “And, even though our team wasn’t as good this year, they still came out and supported us.”
And even though juggling band and a sport at the same time might not be something the four are itching to do again soon, Batts says the personal growth he's witnessed is evident.
“They were all really quiet guys before this,” Batts said. “Now they’re like folk heroes now. Football brings a little different out of you. Sports does in general. You see the maturity and them enjoying it, in high school. So that’s one of the great things.”