Varsity Vikes Shut Out Platteview 50-0
The Waverly Viking Varsity football team strived for more than just tackling their opponent last Friday. The Vikes also came out wearing their pink socks in an attempt to tackle cancer.
The event was meaningful to junior Hunter Radenslaben because he has been extremely impacted by breast cancer when his mother passed away in 2013 due to the deadly disease.
“The game meant a lot to me knowing what I’ve gone through in losing my mom to breast cancer, knowing that the game was a pink out game dedicated to those that are fighting it, those that are have fought it and those that will fight. So it was just really cool that the community came together and supported this cause,” Radenslaben said.
Pink was seen in balloons, pom poms, tattoos and the “W” on the south side of the field was lit up in pink lights which showed huge dedication from the parents who helped out around the clock. Russ Kraft, Candy Kraft, Sue Underwood and Cory Radenslaben all helped out in this enormous task.
“Both my husband and I are on the pink out committee,” Candy Kraft said. “This game is important to us because we lost one of our best friends to breast cancer. Our kids lost their best friends parent who was practically their mom.”
The Viking Crew definitely did their job to make this game an amazing sight to see. Thanks to the Crew, the tradition of “I Believe That We Will Win” was supported by pink chalk powder flying everywhere.
“The importance of a pink out game is to show our support within the community along the lines of breast cancer awareness month and to show that we are here for anybody that has a parent, family member or friend that is suffering from breast cancer,” senior Viking Crew leader Kyle Holton said.
None of the events could have been possible without the support of head coach Tim Williams and the players on the team.
“It was an electrifying evening,” Williams said. ”The game itself was fun, everybody got in, the fans were great, the band sounded great, everything was good.”
This game meant a lot to Williams due to his own personal experience with cancer.
“The game was pretty significant, especially when I have people in my family that have suffered from it but survived,” Williams said.
The football team played extremely hard in the match up against the Platteview Trojans and pulled away with a 50-0 win.
This annual night of celebration, remembrance and awareness was a community event that brought crowds of people from all over. Community members can see Waverly athletics supporting cancer awareness again next year in the fall of 2016.
