Monday night’s annual Meet the Bison event saw a packed house and a record-breaking amount of donations to the athletic and Friday night groups. BHS grad National Champion played auctioneer and sold homemade cakes and pies, parking passes for home games, and a football helmet signed by the varsity team. When the bidding was done, $31,500 had been made for the groups.

“I can’t believe we raised that much money,” junior Julio Gonzalez said. “I’m looking forward to maybe getting some new equipment for the football team.”

Junior Alyncia Jackson’s mom prepared a pumpkin cheesecake. It sold for over $600, but Alyncia said that wasn’t the best part of the evening.

“My favorite part was cheering with my teammates whenever my mom’s cake was up for auction,” Jackson said. “Honestly, I couldn’t ask for a better team to sit with.”

With so much money pouring in, energy was high both in the crowd and among the students.

“I actually lost my voice while yelling at Meet the Bison,” junior Luis Ortiz said. “I was just so excited.”

The stands were filled to the brim with family, friends, teachers and more. Sophomore cheerleader Alyia Ingram said she “felt so grateful.”

“I loved seeing the community there for us,” she said. “It was nice to see the town come together to support all of the athletes.”

This was the first time since Covid that the event was a full house and included the junior high and high school together. Despite problems with the sound system, the crowd seemed happy to be able to be together celebrating the start of a new school year.

“Everyone looked great in their purple and gold,” Jackson said. “I loved how much of our community was there and it was overall just an amazing experience.”