By Brian Harris

Boom! Boom! The drum rumbles, bodies jerk in unnatural ways like the undead yet, together in sync as the Mount Vernon marching band performs “Thriller” for the halftime show. The Mount Vernon marching band prepares for their half time performance extensively because they want it to be almost perfect when they perform.

“The preparation was insane,” senior Austin Webster said. “We had to run every movement, musical note and everything and make sure we knew it and if we didn’t we had to go back practice in the areas we needed it and fine tune it.” The band practiced often for hours in the evening on the First Street field.

“The hardest part was memorizing all the moves and being mentally prepared to go out and perform,” junior Erin Fencl said. In addition to all of the marching within the performance, the band had the added challenge of learning the choreography of a dance.

“The hardest part was knowing that the performance was going to be our first run through the whole thing in front of a crowd of people,” junior Haley Hepker said. With such a big performance there are a lot of aspects to practice and memorize and be able to achieve while on the field.

“It went really well, it was the greatest reaction we’ve ever gotten from a crowd at a home game.” Hepker said. “You kind of feel like you’re receiving an award when the student section gives you a standing ovation.” Audience members stayed in their seats during halftime only to leave to get refreshments.

“The atmosphere was amazing just being able to see all the smiling faces and hear all the claps, roars and cheers was breathtaking,” junior Kelsey Kosman said.

“It was a team effort, we all worked where we needed to and when it all came together and played out the end result was amazing,” senior Austin Webster said.