SALEM — It was 11:15 a.m. on Thursday. The Division 6 Super Bowl at Gillette was less than four hours away, and Salem High School students were still in class, Witches football players included. An intercom announcement was about to change that.
“If you’re registered for the fan bus and plan on taking the fan bus to Gillette Stadium, please head to the field house once the bell rings,” a voice boomed throughout the school. “Again, please, immediately, head to the field house once the bell rings.”
The bell rang, and within minutes, the hallway outside of Veteran’s Memorial Field House was full of students decked out in black and red sweatpants, blankets, face-paint, and spirit.
Soon, the sea of students parted as student-athletes filed through, their charter bus and a police escort awaiting them outside.
“This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity coming,” said Jean Brietzke, a Salem High parent mixed in with the students for a caravan of buses shuttling from the high school to Foxborough. “Most of these players are graduating this year. … I’ve watched them play since youth football.
“Now it’s another chance for them to make history, to win another Super Bowl in their senior years,” said Brietzke, alongside her partner Phil Giglio Jr., as they waited for their son, high school junior Phil Giglio III. “I want to see them make history… Corey Grimes, Shane (Field)… I want to see these boys take it home.”
In addition to the fan buses to provide transportation to Gillette, school was dismissed early Thursday so Salem High could turn out strong to the game, according to Principal Glen Burns.
“Our families, student body, and so many teachers wanted to be at Gillette to be behind the Witches,” Burns said. “After 24 years of not attaining this level, we’re back here. The kids worked really hard, and it just brings this attitude about excellence, that hard work will lead to excellence — and that’s what we believe about our Salem High scholars.”
Many students turned out in black and red clothing to match the city’s colors, and some took things a step further by adding face paint.
“Face paint goes to this girl named Dyanna,” said 17-year-old senior Mya Leausa, who had half her face painted red and the other half sporting a witch silhouette and the city’s name done in black. “Not a lot of people do face paint, but it’s school spirit. I think it’s great, because it gives us the opportunity to enjoy it.”
Standing alongside her, 18-year-old Jailen Bradley had a spider catching a fly painted across his forehead with the words, “CATCH THEM!”
“It’s amazing,” Bradley said, just after being cleared to board a bus to Gillette. “The opportunity for everybody to be able to make it there and watch the game… it’s an amazing idea for everybody.”
Tom Furey, a former city councilor and School Committee member of 35 years who today serves on the Planning Board, was among the first in the hallway for the trip to the ‘Ship. But for him, it wasn’t the first time there — Furey’s nephew Matt Horgan was a member of the ‘99 Witches that won it all.
“I was there for his Super Bowl, so I’m looking for another exciting time,” Furey said. “We’re hoping for a zenith with the Witches in 2023.”
As the bells rang for dismissal Thursday and the field house hallway started to fill with students buzzing for a win, Furey said the energy couldn’t be stopped.
“If we could bottle that energy,” he said, “we wouldn’t need a power plant down in Salem.”
Contact Dustin Luca at 978-338-2523 or DLuca@salemnews.com. Follow him at facebook.com/dustinluca or on Twitter @DustinLucaSN.