After a bus accident in Lubbock, the cheer squad attended Iraan high school’s football game in Abilene to support the team last Friday.

“I was devastated,” said coach Alexandria Reid. “A night filled with such joy and hope for the future took a drastic turn in only a few moments.”

This incident happened on Dec. 2 after coming back from their victory.

“Although I watch the news frequently, I did not know about the accident until our district offered to send all MISD cheerleaders that Tuesday,” Reid said.

There were seven out of eight people injured and one passed away.

“It was important to be there for moral support because if I were to lose one of my teammates in an accident like that I would want support from other people,” junior Aysia Williams said.

Williams said that this was the first time she has heard of this school.

“I didn’t know what to feel at first just because I didn’t know any of them on a personal level,” she said.

To acknowledge the team’s loss, Iraan High School invited squads around the area to their next game.

“If someone told me I would never see a part of my cheer family again, I would be crushed,” said Reid.

It took the cheerleaders three hours to get there with only one rest stop.

“When we could finally feel our fingers, we picked up the free pom poms we received upon arrival, and joined in with the chants all around us,” Reid said.

Other schools chanted their own cheers but, switched words around to coordinate it with Iraan’s team name.

“Some of the Iraan cheerleaders came in the stands and taught us some of their sideline cheers,” Williams said.

They got there at 6:30p.m. and left at 9:30p.m.

“Only a week after such a horrific event and with girls still grieving and injured, of course you show up,” said Reid. “With stands packed with the loudest people from around the state, there was no way Iraan was losing.”