This season there is a new addition to DGS football’s pre-game. There is now a large inflatable football helmet that is blown up and used instead of doing the pre-game activities that were done in previous years.

Last year for pre-game, the players used to take the field after walking around the track with the cheerleaders and the band. But this year, the DGS football program has decided to try something new and introduced the inflatable helmet.

Varsity coach Mark Molinari was excited to finally introduce the helmet to the boys for his sixth season and try something different this year.

“I’m actually pretty excited about it. It’s an idea that I had. There were some other schools that were doing it and we the last couple of years had not won at home as I liked, so I was trying to come up with some ways to give us — you know just build us a different type of home atmosphere,” Molinari said.

Senior varsity football player Max Foster had prior knowledge of the helmet and thinks it’s cool to do something different.

“I think it’s really cool and something different. I knew about it from the start, My dad is one of the booster members, so I knew we were going to have it. And the first time I saw it I was like ‘wow that’s pretty cool,’” Foster said.

When asked where the funding for the helmet came from, Molinari elaborated on how the program’s fundraisers took part in the idea.

“Quite honestly we did a fundraiser where this company put a program together for us. All we had to do was organize the pictures and get things together, and they sold all of it, and they gave us a donation of $2,000,” Molinari said.

The idea for the helmet has been in the works for about a year now, but Coach Molinari has wanted this for the team for a few years now. He was told “no” several times but finally got DGS athletic director Randall Konstans and Principal Ed Schwartz to sign off and give the go-ahead last school year. The helmet was able to be ordered in March and was delivered this past June.

Freshman Beth Maddela has attended the home football games this season and has seen the helmet in action. When asked how she feels about it, Maddela thought it made the team look polished when out on the field.

“I think it’s cool and it makes us look professional when they run out of it,” Maddela said.

The helmet is also believed by many to affect the confidence of the players while taking the field. When Junior Ming Sun, a varsity football player, was asked if the helmet affects the team’s confidence, Sun believes the helmet is responsible for helping the team get jazzed up before a game.

“It does it makes us more pumped up for the game,” Sun said.

Coach Molinari had a similar response when asked the same question.

“Oh, I think so. This week they were so excited to go to the helmet — we do the anthem and then get into the helmet and this week they completely forgot about the anthem…Their focus and excitement to get into the helmet is definitely one of their top priorities,” Molinari said.

The inflatable football helmet doesn’t only get to be used by the DGS football team. There’s a way for DGS students to get themselves involved with this part of the pre-game. Each home game Mrs. Martinez and Mr. Schwartz will pick three Superfans that, according to them, have followed the Mustang Way and have been good leaders to run the DGS flags out with the football team. So one does not have to necessarily be on the football team in order to have this experience.

Coach Molinari spoke with the six students who have been able to run the flags out to get their feedback. He stated that they all believed it was a fun and enriching experience.

“The six people that have done it have said that it was awesome, and it was really hard but it was an awesome feeling to do that,” Molinari said.

All in all, the inflatable football helmet that has been in the works for at least three years now is being used on Friday nights when the DGS football team is home. If you would like to get a chance to see the players in action bursting through the helmet, come on out to the next home game vs. Leyden High School on Friday, Oct. 5 starting at 7:30 p.m. in the DGS stadium. Good luck Mustangs!