LAURINBURG — Scotland High School was presented with the ABC 15 WPDE Spirit Award — the first North Carolina recipient to win the award since the South Cariolina-based station began the weekly contest two years ago.
Scotland won the final contest of the year by posting photos and videos that featured school-spirited content.
The station asked the school to use the hashtag, #WPDESpiritContestScotland, so they could see all the entries. The Scots were competing with Lumberton High School for the award, since the two teams played each other on Friday night.
Members of the Fighting Scots football team, cheerleading squad and marching band accepted the award at Pate Stadium after school on Friday. Scotland was featured during a special sports segment on WPDE on Friday following the 63-7 win over the Pirates on Senior Night.
“WPDE was giving us the Spirit Award,” said Scotland head coach Richard Bailey. “They are a TV station out of the Myrtle Beach area, it’s great for them to be here. Mark Haggard was here and I go home and watch that highlight show a lot and they do cover us really well. It’s exciting to get an award of any kind and it’s really about the spirit and atmosphere here at Pate Stadium. We have an unbelievable fan base and great cheerleaders and band, so it’s a great award and I’m happy for our school to get it.”
The Scotland football team, cheerleaders and Bailey were featured on WPDE’s End Zone highlight show accepting the award as well. The cheerleaders got the players excited for the broadcast with their “We are Scotland” cheer.
This was the final WPDE Spirit Award for 2016, the contest will return again next August before the start of the 2017 football season.
The Fighting Scots football team now turns its attention to Richmond to end the season. The two SEC rivals are set to play in Rockingham this Friday at 7:30 p.m. Gates will open at 5:30 p.m. and fans are encouraged to come early. Tickets for the game are on sale at Scotland Bling and Shirt Tales for $7. Fans should note that tickets for the game are not on sale at the high school for the general public.
Amber Hatten can be reached at 910-506-3170.
