By Liz Beavers
lbeavers@newstribune.info
Tribune Managing Editor
KEYSER – It was an historic occasion ... and one which went mostly unnoticed after being overshadowed by the controversial pepper-spraying incident at the Keyser-Frankfort Mineral Bowl last week.
For the first time in as long as anyone can remember, the Keyser and Frankfort cheerleading teams stood together on the brand-new turf at Tornado Alley and held hands as the National Anthem played.
The mood was jubilant. After all, the classic county rivalry was about to be played.
But the moods of the young ladies and their coaches were undoubtedly also a bit quiet as they contemplated the events that had brought them together.
It all started with some comments made earlier in the week on a social website that the Frankfort cheerleaders might not receive such a friendly welcome to the new KHS field.
“I got a phone call from a Frankfort mom,” KHS assistant principal Patti Twigg explains. “There was supposed to be something happen to the kids when they got here and they were afraid to come.”
Twigg quickly got together with head cheerleading coach Tina Stephen to discuss the potentially volatile situation.
“She immediately gathered her girls together, along with Deputy Paul Karalewitz, so we could have a discussion about the seriousness of these threats,” Twigg said.
“We explained to them that this is not the kind of stuff we need. This was a big game for both schools.”
Twigg said it didn't take long for the Keyser cheerleaders to decide what needed to be done.
“They immediately said, 'We want to apologize.'”
“At first they wanted to write them a letter, but then they decided they'd rather do it face-to-face,” Stephen said. “They said it would be more personal.”
It was then that Twigg called Frankfort head cheerleading coach Robin
(See CHEER P. 12A)
Puffinburger to invite her and the girls to an unprecedented get-together before the game.
Not everyone liked the idea.
“It was said that I was setting them up,” Twigg said, obviously upset by the thought.
Both she and Stephen persisted, however, feeling strongly that “there was nothing bad that could come out of this. Either things would stay the same, or they would get better, but nothing bad could happen.”
When the Frankfort cheerleaders arrived at Keyser High School, both teams and their coaches met inside the school.
The often unnoticed connections between two rival schools that exist in the same county quickly became apparent.
“The captain of our team said, 'We wouldn't do anything to your bus because my boyfriend's grandmother drives that bus!',” Twigg said.
“Well, some of them started crying and I did, too.”
It was then that Twigg and Stephen proposed that the girls join each other on the field during the National Anthem.
With both schools recently having experienced a program from Rachel's Challenge – a movement named after Columbine victim Rachel Scot and geared toward helping students reach out to each other with acceptance and respect – it was the hope of the coaches that the young women would join hands on the field and bring an end to the unsettling situation.
“We went out into the hallway to let them talk, and they came out and said, 'Our girls want to do it,'” Twigg said.
“I said, 'You all have just proven the leadership you have and what sportsmanship is.”
“I was really proud of both squads,” Stephen said. “They represented both schools as a perfect example of what a friendly high school rivalry should be.”
Puffinburger agrees.
“I was really proud of my kids. I was proud of the Keyser girls too. They all wanted to take the higher road and we were glad it turned out to be such a positive thing.”
Puffinburger said she was also grateful for the leadership provided by the coaches and staff to head off what could have been a scary situation.
“We need to set the example for the kids, and parents do too,” she said.
“My girls said it was one of the best games they'd ever cheered at.”
Keyser, W.Va. —
