Clarke Central High School varsity football cheerleader Kayla Walker, a junior, poses in the CCHS Competition Gym during the ODYSSEY Media Group’s Fall Media Day on Aug. 23. The team attended the Fellowship of Christian Athletes Cheer Camp at Emmanuel University and the Urban Cheerleading Experience at CCHS during the summer. “Everybody agreed that (the camps) helped on a friendship and the sisterhood standpoint, because we get to connect in a different way, other than just practicing and telling people what to do, we actually had fun (doing) other activities and competitions, and then kind of going back to that game,” Walker said. Photo by Iliana Tejada
The CCHS varsity football cheerleading team’s season is coming to an end, with one last game at CCHS on Oct. 30.
As the last game of the varsity football season approaches on Oct. 30 at 7:30 p.m. against Winder-Barrow High School, the Clarke Central High School varsity football cheerleading team will have cheered in seven games for the 2025-26 season, and now reflects on a semester of work.
CCHS head varsity cheer coach Sophia Campbell, who is in her third year of coaching, goes into the game with hopes of her team providing fuel for an end-of-regular-season win for the Gladiators.
“It’s our job to keep the crowd hype, (because) we are the cheer squad,” Campbell said. “When we get to (the) games, I tell the girls, ‘We are at work.’ From the time we arrive until the end of the game, it (is) our job to keep the boys up to par, and motivated and encouraged, as well as helping the crowd to add to that.”
“It’s our job to keep the crowd hype, (because) we are the cheer squad,” Campbell said. “When we get to (the) games, I tell the girls, ‘We are at work.’ From the time we arrive until the end of the game, it (is) our job to keep the boys up to par, and motivated and encouraged.”
— Sophia Campbell,
CCHS head varsity football cheerleading coach
For CCHS varsity cheerleader Kayla Walker, a junior, being a cheerleader is more than stunts and chants, but also keeping the crowd alive during the game. As a third-year cheerleader, Walker believes that team dedication and energy are the most important parts of her sport.
“The importance as cheerleaders, (is that) we cheer the crowd on, and most of all, we like to cheer our team. We’re loyal to them, regardless (of) if they win or not. That’s really what (cheering) is, just keeping spirit up while you’re there,” Walker said.
Campbell has seen the team evolve as a group and hopes that growth will continue and shine through in the Gladiators’ last game of the season, which they go into with an overall record of 4-5.
“(Cheerleaders) are especially important in those tight situations, and in lifting the spirits of the team when things are looking rough,” Campbell said. “(I’ve enjoyed) seeing how the girls grow together as a team.”
