With seven minutes to go in a tight race for the 2019 OmahaHSFootball Student Section State Championship poll, Westside’s Red Shield trailed the Millard West Crazies by one percentage point.

But, by the time the poll ended, Westside had pulled ahead of Millard West to gain an advantage. With replies counting as extra votes, the suspense loomed. Sam Kuany, who helps to run the OmahaHSFootball Twitter account, said that the process was long for everyone involved.

“It was a bit stressful,” Kuany said. “Our phones [were] going off every second with votes coming in.”

While the results loomed, the school buzzed with questions of what would happen next. When the results came in on Monday night, Westside was declared the winner, earning the title for the second straight year. Dylan Folda, who is a senior leader of Red Shield, said that this means a lot to the Westside student body.

“We had our sights set on going back to back before the year even started,” Folda said. “At the end of the day, we’re just a student section cheering on our classmates and representing Westside in the best possible way.”

Watch for Red Shield as they continue to support Westside athletics throughout the year.