SUAMICO — Bay Port High School has a thriving football program and an active student council to support it.
"We're obviously very involved with the football team. It's just about being involved and being active in engagement," Seth Van Noord, student council president, said. "What do the students think about this? What do the students want?"
The student council at Bay Port works to keep the school's spirits and morale high throughout the year, especially during game days. Co-advisor Mitchell Meyer said the council has 30 members, including students in all four grades.
Student council is responsible for planning events like dances, pep rallies and spirit weeks in school, as well as blood drives and holiday activities in the community.
"We are a large school. There's almost 2000 kids here," Meyer said. "It doesn't feel that way, and I think student council has a big part in that in everyone feeling kind of connected to each other."
This week, they're getting students and the community excited about Bay Port's advance to the state semifinals. Many of the senior student council members are leaders in the student section, and there are even two football players on student council.
Griffin Murphy is one of them. He's a general student council member, and he's also playing against Kimberly in Friday's game.
"If we make it to state next week, it would be only our second time making it to state as a program," Murphy said. "It's obviously very scary to think about, but also very exciting because I think we have a very good chance."
Madysen Poppe said she enjoys being a part of student council because she loves the chance to give back to her school while lifting her fellow students' spirits and her own.
"Our school has a ton of spirit," Poppe said. "I hope we win. I hope we go to state."
"We need all the support we can get for tomorrow night's football game out in Menasha," Murphy added.
The last time Bay Port went to the Division 1 state championship was in 2019. They faced a 21-10 loss to Muskego at Camp Randall Stadium.
