Chris Yingling | Echo 
Shoes squeaked against the hardwood. The cheerleaders celebrated completed baskets in silence. Even the confused parents and alumni were too afraid to make a sound. Administrative assistants looked around, completely unaware of the chaos that was about to unfold.
No, this is not a Silent Night article.
A troupe of nearly 100 Taylor students clad in black travelled to Wes-Del High School in Gaston, Ind., for the second Wes-Del Apocalypse. Students made a caravan of vehicles to travel to the big conference matchup between Wes-Del and Blue River Valley.
Wes-Del Apocalypse started in Fall 2014 when a group of Taylor students were joking about going to root for a random high school football team. Before long, the joke became a reality as a group of students created 200 flyers, attempting to make it a huge event. Around 50 students showed up to create a big student section, cheering on the Wes-Del Warriors.
"We printed the flyers and turned it into a big thing," said sophomore Steve Lancaster, one of the event's founders. "We went nuts, and it took off from there. Slowly but surely, more ideas came and we wanted to make it into a big tradition."
Lancaster and the rest of the student leaders decided to evolve Wes-Del Apocalypse into more than just the football game and added a basketball matchup. This time around, the intention was to create an event that pulled in more of the student body and had additional interaction with the Wes-Del community.
Taylor students strutted into the court, clad in black for the big Black-Out game, and positioned themselves right in the midst of the Wes-Del student section. The students intermingled with the high schoolers, making one huge cheering block.
"It was a really great thrill," said Wes-Del senior Alex Callum. "We love that these guys come in and support us. It's pretty big."
Student leaders from Taylor brought cheering traditions with them from Silent Night. Sophomore Grason Poling led the cheer block in old favorites like "The Banana Peel" and "The Roller Coaster."
Wes-Del's student section had never seen anything like it.
"It's so loud and energetic in here," said Wes-Del senior Dylan Huff. "It brings us a lot of energy. Plus peeling the banana was so much fun."
The Wes-Del Twitter page exploded with positive tweets from the Taylor and Wes-Del students. Wes-Del athletic director Kye Denney thought the interactions between the two schools were beneficial to his students.
"As a school, we were very excited about the return of the Apocalypse," Denney said. "A number of students and administrators had been communicating for a month or two prior to the Feb. 20 return. You could feel the excitement in the hallways all day on Friday."
Taylor's cheering squad encouraged the Wes-Del players on the court. Unfortunately, it wasn't enough to overcome Blue River Valley as a shot off the front of the rim in the closing seconds sealed the win for the rivals from Mt. Summit, Ind.
However, the Wes-Del/Taylor relationship doesn't just stop after games. Efforts are being made now to integrate the Taylor community with the Wes-Del students on more than just an athletic level.
"Taylor is all about reaching the community and this was a tangible way to go to a school and cheer them on," said Taylor junior Landon Stuart. "Hopefully, we could do some ministry with the high school and middle school kids through Bible study or just hanging out with them."
Denney is excited for this new relationship with Taylor and thinks the interactions between Taylor and Wes-Del can be helpful and encouraging to his students.
"We spoke about how great of a partnership it could be for both student bodies," Denney said. "The Taylor students that have come so far have been nothing but respectful and great examples for the students at Wes-Del."
Plans are already being made to tailgate at a football game early in Wes-Del's fall season.
