Like any high school, Senior Night is just an evening designed specifically for seniors. But at Kent Roosevelt High School, a special band tradition has made Senior Night a main attraction for people year after year. TV2’s Jon Huntsman has the story.

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Senior Night.

It’s a fun, memorable and truly emotional event that takes place year after year at high school sporting events.

This past Friday, Kent Roosevelt had their annual Senior Night home game against the undefeated Crestwood Red Devils.

But this wasn’t just about football. It was something far more significant than football.

“Script Kent.”

Similar to the infamous Script Ohio song performed by the Ohio State University Marching Band, Script Kent is the premiere fight song of the Kent Roosevelt Rough Riders.

The Script Kent song first came into existence back nearly 40 years ago to this day, when Jack Liles was band director at Kent Roosevelt High School. Liles was an alumnus of Ohio State University. At the time, Liles spent time as a music director at Kent Roosevelt.

Shortly thereafter, Liles decided to implement an alternate version to Script Ohio with Script Kent.

Four decades later, Script Kent is still heard throughout Rough Rider Stadium. Every year on the final home game of the season, the band members perform Script Kent as part of the tradition.

Dr. John Roebke is the Director of the Kent Roosevelt Marching Band. The band is made up of 144 members and there are 25 senior band members this year. Whether you’re a freshman or a senior, Roebke said Senior Night is always an exciting time for any band member.

“It’s always an exciting night for them because in the case of the band, it’s the first of the last,” Roebke said.

“And this is the first big event that will be the culmination of their year at the end when everybody graduates.”

One of those graduates, Senior Drum Major Luke Meyers, said that Script Kent on Senior Night is truly a blast.

“It’s a tradition, so we do it every year and it’s always a blast,” Meyers said.

“We always make it really fun. We try to add something every year.”
So what exactly makes the Script Kent performance unlike any other band performance? By using glow sticks.

In 1977, Tom Knapp introduced the idea of using glow sticks for the Script Kent performance and have stuck with it ever since. After the senior game, the stadium light shut off.

Roebke said that regardless of the outcome of the game, it’s the Script Kent performance that gets people out of their seats.

“It’s something that the kids here and the community as a whole looks forward to,” Roebke said.

“We always have a good crowd in the stands just to watch Script Kent at the end of the game.”

The spirit of Script Kent has withstood the test of time, nearly 40 years to be exact. This year, the senior band members were able to glow one last time and leave a lasting impression on the Kent Roosevelt community.