It’s that time of the year again! On Friday’s annually renowned football game, the Mustangs will be playing against our rivals, the Esperanza Aztecs. Of all the weeks throughout the entire school year, this week is probably one of the most, if not the most, spirit-filled weeks. The ground is covered in hundreds of posters, the alma mater hangs proudly around the banisters of the quad, the school bleeds navy, crimson, and silver pride.

However, this week is not only just dedicated to the rivalry between the YLHS Mustangs and the EHS Aztecs. This week is also devoted to many charitable and fundraising events. The annual canned food drive is currently taking place and ends on Thursday, October 29th. Students can bring in cans, Top Ramen, or any packaged, non-perishable food items to their Language Arts class, and the class with the most cans wins a free lunch. These cans will be donated to the homeless and food shelters to feed the hungry.

This is also the second year of the Chick-fil-a fundraising battle. For this event, which will happen on Thursday, October 29th, ASB students from both YLHS and EHS come and decorate their respective school’s half of the Chick-fil-a restaurant. On the day of the event, students from both schools come in and order whatever they want and state what school they are from, and the school with the most money by the end of the night wins. All the money the winning school raised goes to that school, while Chick-fil-a keeps the profits from the losing school. Last year, Esperanza won, so this year, Mustangs, let’s make sure to go and help fundraise for the school!!

The rivalry between the YLHS Mustangs and the EHS Aztecs exceeds just sports. This rivalry is motivating charitable events, like the canned food drive, as well as fundraising events, like the Chick-fil-a competition. The competitive nature fuels both events as both schools try to collect more cans than the other, which in turn leads to a massive amount of food for the hungry, which results in a win-win situation for all. Ashray Kapuria (11) stated that “I believe this benefits all: the homeless, the school, and the city. The battle of the high schools is a great thing.” The Chick-fil-a fundraiser also uses the rivalry to try to raise as much money for the winning school as it can. So Mustangs, keep those cans rolling and come out to Chick-fil-a in Savi Ranch this Thursday, and on Friday make sure to come to The Stable to cheer and support at the football game!!