Derby Night Lights 

Derby Night Lights is a night that kicks off the most anticipated season of the year for the city of Derby. 

 Derby Night Lights isn’t just a night for the football teams of Derby — including junior league and middles school teams — it also gives the people of Derby a look at the rest of the fall season sports. Other sports that will be honored include boys and girls cross country, girls golf, girls tennis, volleyball and boys soccer, as they walk across the track during team introductions. 

“It brings all ages together from first grade all the way up to the seniors in high school,” Derby football coach Brandon Clark said. “And a lot of the kids have been able to have been a part of it growing up young — and so have the parents.”

Freshman defensive end Samuel Same is in his first year in the Derby school district. But he has attended Derby Night Lights as a spectator.

“It’s a lot different because as a fan you see it in a different perspective than you do as a player — you’re, like, extremely just in the moment,” Same said.

The night kicks off at 5 p.m., starting with scrimmages from the second-sixth grade Derby junior football teams. Then the four middle school teams will get their scrimmage time, ending the day for the younger teams with all the teams stretching together. 

The freshman team will scrimmage each other around 8 p.m., and the varsity/junior varsity teams’ scrimmage will end the night.