Big Red Indian and Patriot get ready for the Crosstown Showdown

PARKERSBURG, W.Va. (WTAP) - The Crosstown Showdown features a significant amount of school pride throughout the week.

But there is nobody on either side as excited for this game as the opposing mascots: the Parkersburg high school Big Red Indian and the Parkersburg South Patriot.

Meet Christian Marshall, a freshman stepping into the role as Parkersburg high school’s Big Red Indian.

A position with the cheerleading team he didn’t know about prior to taking it on.

“Well, I didn’t realize that PHS really had a mascot at the time,” says Marshall. “And what had actually happened was the cheerleaders were asking me if I wanted to be a cheerleader. And I said, ‘Well, I really wasn’t interested in that.’ And then they said they needed a mascot, and I was like, ‘Well, that sounds cool!’”

And less than four miles away is Zach Parsons, an upperclassman who was asked to take up being the Parkersburg South patriot.

A lot of this because of his friendship to last year’s patriot, Gunner Sands.

“I was really good friends with the previous Patriot. And so, I’m really close with him,” says Parsons. “And I went to him for the advice and everything. And then they asked me to tryout for it. So, I tried out for Patriot and that’s how I got it.”

Both Parsons and Marshall got a chance to talk with former mascots about the responsibilities of the role.

“He’s told me a lot of advice about like watching flags after touchdowns, make sure I don’t shoot too early or too late, reloading. All that stuff,” says Parsons. “He’s been a really good help.”

Parsons with Sands and Marshall with last year’s Big Red Indian, Yuan Uy.

“And I asked him if he could help me do the dance, do the ‘Indian dance.’ And he said, ‘Yeah, sure, I’ll do it.’ And we practiced the dance together and he told me a couple of things about what to expect being the Big Red Indian,” says Marshall.

And with these roles, both Marshall and Parsons are understanding of what the duties of the mascot mean: getting the crowd to cheer on their team.

“Being as loud as you can. Screaming, jumping around, running around. I mean you got to be kind of crazy with it,” says Parsons. “So, I think that definitely gets everyone involved.”

Both mascots predict each of their teams to win tonight in the Crosstown Showdown with full confidence.

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