LAURINBURG — At a pep rally outside of the A.B. Gibson Building on Thursday night, Scotland High football coach Richard Bailey urged fans to pack the stands at Pate Stadium this year.
“We need fans out there from the beginning,” Bailey said. “As (Athletic Director David Johnson) would say, we need people in the stands. We need to see that Scotland home crowd there every Friday night.”
The pep rally kicked off the three-day Summer Sidewalk Sale-bration. Scotland’s football and cheerleading teams were in attendance to generate excitement for the upcoming season, which officially begins on Aug. 23 when Scotland hosts Southeast Guilford.
Scotland’s drum line began the rally by marching in with the cheerleaders. After the cheer team put on a performance, Bailey stepped up to the microphone and spoke about his team.
Scotland has two full-contact scrimmages next week — the first one is against Dillon at the Battle of the Carolinas on Monday, and the second one is against Cape Fear at the Cumberland County Schools Football Jamboree on Friday. Bailey said his team’s mindset is to always focus on the next game, instead of looking too far ahead to the future. He said the Scots bring the same high level of intensity to practice every week, regardless of who they are playing.
“We practice the same way for Dillon that we’re going to practice for Richmond,” Bailey said. “… we treat every game like it’s the biggest game on the schedule. When you do that, you find that you win a lot of them. When you start looking ahead, you get in trouble.”
After Bailey’s segment, fans had a chance to greet and take pictures with the football team. Those in attendance could also donate school supplies to Scotland County Schools through the “Stuff the Bus” challenge.
Kona Ice and The Rocking Pig had trucks set up at the rally, which was held in the Gibson Building’s parking lot. Kona Ice was often the first stop for fans trying to cool down in the 90-degree weather.
Scotland’s scrimmage against Dillon is at 8 p.m. at Lumberton High’s Alton Brooks Stadium on Monday night. Discounted tickets have been on sale for $5 recently, although they were in short supply as of Wednesday. Tickets will cost $7 at the gate.
