Loyal Ponder High School Football Fan Follows Team Around Texas
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BOWIE (CBS11) — The final home game of the season for the Ponder High School Lions did not happen as many had envisioned.
A violent stormed knocked down the stadium lights on Thursday, forcing the team to drive more than 50 miles to Bowie to play their final game.
"They're here to play as good as they can, and we're here to cheer them on," said Hershel Vanover, a fan of Lions.
Most fans are not like Vanover. He is not related to any of the players. But he still came to the game even though it was an hour away.
"Just about every game. Home and away. I don't know if we've missed any," Vanover said.
Parents like David Ferryman confirm Vanover has been in the stands for every game since Ponder High started a team six seasons ago.
Ferryman said on a night when he is watching his son play his last football game, seeing Hershel in the stands helps both him and the teens on the field.
"Kind of a role model. Someone to look at and say, 'I want to keep going and help them,'" Ferryman said.
And even though it was not the home-field crowd the Lions were hoping for, sometimes it is not how many show up, but who shows up to the game.
"It's football. Give us a field, give us some lights and we're going to play," Coach Rusty Ballard said.
No matter what the score or where the game is played, fans like Hershel will be right up there in the stands.
"I'm still coming, until I can't get here anymore," Hershel said.
The team plans to hold senior-night activities at a later date during a home basketball game.
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