Hayley Clark Will Cheer at Big 33
Emma Neely
Staff Writer
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The Big 33 football game is coming up, and Junior Hayley Clark has been selected as one of the cheerleaders for the Big 33 Football Classic. She will cheer at the game and also participate with the Buddy program associated with the game’s players and cheerleaders.
"I became a part of the Big 33 by first hearing about it my freshman year of high school cheer. I heard that some of the juniors and seniors were trying out and I was interested. Now that it is my junior year, I decided to tryout for the team," Clark said.
The Big 33 Classic is a football game to help out the Buddy program. "The Buddy program allows high school students with special needs and or disabilities to be able to experience either football or cheerleading,” Clark said. “During the game, the cheerleaders and players will be paired up with a buddy and we will show them what it is like to be a football player or cheerleader."
The event selects the best football players and the best cheerleaders from Maryland and Pennsylvania, and it is often referred to as the Super Bowl of high school football. "The state you represent was picked randomly. The cheerleaders who made the Big 33 team was split into team Pennsylvania or team Maryland no matter if you are from Pennsylvania or Maryland," Clark said.
"You have to go to one of the tryouts. They were only one day, and there were many throughout January. You could either go Saturday or Sunday. There will be multiple practices before the game, and the first practice is in April. You also have to make sure you can make it to all the practices and the game," Clark said.
The game this year is going to be held at Landis Field at Central Dauphin Middle School. The game is scheduled for May 27th and kickoff is at 2 pm.