Valley high schools prep for another year of football

FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) -- It's that time of year again. High school football is back.

The season may be just getting started but for schools throughout the valley, preparation starts long before kickoff. And it doesn't just take a team, it takes a village.

"It's not just about the game on the field, it's about everyone who's involved in it." Sunnyside High School Athletic Director Sue Farmer said. "From band, to cheer, to the game, to the fans, to the community."

Before the players storm the field at Sunnyside Stadium Rick Perez spends the week getting it ready for game time. Sunnyside is one of two stadiums in Fresno Unified and both host seven teams and coordinate Thursday or Friday night football.

For Farmer, it's not just a game, it's a production.

"Go, everyone in the valley," she said. "This is going to be an exciting year in football and I hope everyone comes out to watch."

And the action doesn't just stay on the field, it's the energy in the stands that gets the season going.

The cheer squad at Firebaugh High School bring it when it comes to school spirit. And aside from school funding, schools like Firebaugh High School rely on boosters for fundraising.

"We get some funding but a lot of the equipment and gear and the spirit gear that the kids are wearing that is funded by the boosters," athletic director Kyle Yano-Goss said. "So they do a lot as far as that so they've been doing that basically since Dejon got here about 6 to 8 months ago."

It's not just the team rallying behind Firebaugh's newest football coach, former Fresno State lineman Dejon Kelly, the city is too.

"The kids are excited the community is excited so hopefully we just come out and play well," Kelly said.