Roaming the sidelines, two mascots energized the crowd at the home football opener against Greenwood. In years past, Southside sports used one mascot. During the 2018-2019 year it was Jack Kincannon as Marshall the Maverick and during the 2019-2020 year,  Grace Spradlin introduced the first female mascot in Marsha the Maverick. 

   “The kids felt like we needed a new representation after the previous mascot. So, for the first year we had a male Student Council member who was interested in it and was involved in school spirit, but as the mascot gained popularity, we opened it up to the student body. A female student applied last year and thus Marsha was created. Then, this year, we decided it would be fun to do both,” Student Council sponsor Zoe Smith said.

   Senior Emily Fincher undertook the job briefly under unusual circumstances last school year. Although her time as Marsha was short-lived, she left a large impact because the student body wanted her back for the 2020-2021 school year.

   “I really like being Marsha; and, I like how we have a Marshall this year because instead of all the responsibility falling on me, I have a partner and it helps get the crowd more hyped. Really, I think it’s cool how I get to be a leader for school spirit,” Fincher said.

   Marsha performs alongside Marshall, played by junior Braxton Waller. Waller participates in numerous school activities and remains involved in heightening school spirit.

   “The best part of being a mascot is getting to watch and yell at games. When you yell as much as I do at games, it’s surprising to find out that less people see you as crazy after you put on an oversized hat,” Waller said.

   Together the two perform at games and spirit events. Both the students on the bleachers and the students performing at events prefer having two mascots over having one. 

   “I think having  two mascots is great and I think Emily and Braxton were good picks because they are really social people that get along with everyone.They’re making games really fun even though I’m on the field,” senior Jackson Morawski said.

   Due to COVID, the administration spaced out the student body, mandating each student be six feet apart. This created a lack of school spirit. However, the students believe that this lack of spirit was remedied by recruiting two mascots. 

   “On the field, you could tell there was a lack of school spirit and enthusiasm in the student section the first few games, but I think both of the mascots worked really hard together and you could definitely tell the difference. The games started slow but by fourth quarter they were so fun,” junior Maddie Davenport said.