Whether it’s snowing and sleeting or blazing hot, there’s one group of students who you can count on to be present at Panther football games: the paint gang. 

The paint gang is a group of upperclassmen with exceptional school spirit who band together to help create a fun atmosphere for the student section during home football games.

The paint gang usually was predominantly male. 

But in 2024, since there weren’t enough boys interested in joining the paint gang, a group of girls ran it. 

This year, there’s another new spin on paint gang – it’s coed.

“It is a good opportunity for everyone to be included,” senior Karlie Demel said. “All the years before last year, it was always boys only, so for last year to be all girls and this year to be the first time it is evenly both boys and girls is super cool to be a part of.”

The paint gang is responsible for multiple different aspects of school spirit, typically regarding football and basketball games during their respective seasons. They come up with themes for the games, cheer and make chants during games, and create an overall sense of community for all students.

“How we are doing it this year is 15 people spell out the phrase ‘#DERBY PANTHERS’ in paint.” Demel said. “The boys paint their whole chest, and the girls paint their stomachs. Then we pick a football player, usually a senior or a starter, to paint their nickname and number on our backs.”

They mix both traditions from prior years and new ideas in order to engage the crowd at football games.

“I think the boys and girls both bring a lot of energy,” junior Jack Trainer said. “The girls do most  of the creative stuff, and then the guys just show up and be loud.”

Demel was one of the only juniors to be a part of the paint gang last year.

“We were always loud and cheering for the team,” Demel said, “it was awesome to be one of the people that was a part of the first girls paint gang.”