A crowd of students cheers loudly in the stands. It is not just the student section, though their chants are certainly loud, but also the Madison Marching Band, clad in their iconic uniform of black, gold, and maroon.

Attending every home and away game to perform various stand tunes to hype up the team and waiver the resolve of any opposing team, the Madison Marching Band members are among the proudest supporters of the Dodgers.

“It’s always a pleasure to perform in the stands,” says Ben Colao, co-captain of the drumline and 4th-year member of the group. “Escorting the football team onto the field while blasting our cadence is one of the coolest feelings out there.”

Join the Madison Marching Dodgers in their boisterous support for the football team at Friday night lights this Friday, October 15th, for the only time this season. The Dodgers take on Verona at 7pm for this Senior Night game!

And speaking of football, if you haven’t been keeping up with the Dodger football season, they are 2-4 They have been facing some stiff competition with losses in their first four games against Immaculata, Morris Catholic, Caldwell, and Mountain Lakes respectively. Even though they lost to a very good Morris Catholic team, the Dodgers fought until the end, going into overtime not once, but twice.

At their game on Saturday, September 25th against Mountain Lakes, the team hosted a Go Gold fundraiser to raise money for senior Jake Mocko with the Brooke Healey foundation matching all donations up to $5000. All the proceeds went to Jake and his family for Jake’s treatment.

The Dodgers then had a convincing 42-8 win against Hoboken on Friday, October 1st. Junior Jayson Candelario, who was nominated for Morris/Sussex player of the week, had an impressive game, scoring three touchdowns.

They followed up with a second win in a row, beating Parsippany 49-20 at the game on October 8th.

Between coming off a COVID restricted season and dealing with injuries and tough losses, perseverance has been a theme for the Dodgers this year. Junior football player Will Baisch recalls key moments of resilience including younger players stepping up to make big plays at crucial times, injured players coming back with special accommodations, and important plays that have led to crucial rallies.

The tides are turning for the Dodgers and with enough support they will prevail tonight against Verona and at their last home game of the season on October 25th at 1 pm against Hanover Park.