ARNOLD, Mo. — If you looked at a distance, it probably looked like another Friday night football game at Fox High School in Arnold.
The band and cheerleaders were there. But there was no crowd.
"It's different so that makes it hard," Cheerleader Ellie Simpson said.
Simpson is in her third year of being a cheerleader and she said she’s been used to having a full crowd, so this night was really odd.
Earlier this week, Jefferson County was placed in the highest status – a red alert status – due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.
And as a result of that status, school and health officials determined the highly anticipated football game would be played, but a majority of fans could not attend.
Seniors’ parents were given two tickets to the game.
Amy Willenbrock was one of the mask-wearing moms who practiced social distancing in the practically empty stadium.
"It's very very weird. Very strange," Willenbrock said. “In actuality, we weren't expecting to be here tonight. We were actually told there were going to be no spectators altogether."
And how was it for high school football teams playing before a small crowd of spectators?
"With the current situation i think they've developed a whole new level of tenacity." Fox High School Athletic Director Scott Leuthauser said. "They're taking it as it goes. They're very flexible."
They’re flexible in the face of an unpredictable pandemic, it’s not the tradition memory these seniors had hoped for.
"Our kids work so hard for this. It's just really sad," Willenbrock said.
"Our goals as cheerleaders is to keep the spirts up , so that's what we're doing," Simpson said.
