While fans were wildly celebrating the Wildcats’ state championship victory, some students were too busy to join the revelry. They were finishing work on a television presentation to be broadcast repeatedly on Wildcat Television.

After leaving the Tacoma Dome at 12:30 a.m. Sunday morning and reaching Oak Harbor at 2:30 a.m., the student-run broadcast team had the game ready in time for viewing Sunday afternoon.

“This is the most professional crew of kids I’ve ever worked with,” teacher Chris Douthitt said of the students who filmed the game.

The students arrived at the Tacoma Dome at approximately 3:20 p.m. Saturday to set up their equipment. Then, at 4 p.m., the broadcast crew took a break and toured the broadcast area for FSN, on hand to broadcast the game live throughout the Northwest.

“It’s really nice to see them work,” said senior Harold Serrano, Jr., who filmed on the sideline during the game, adding it was good to see the behind-the-scenes work that goes into filming a sporting event.

He said filming from a hand-held camera from the sideline was challenging because he would normally film from a tripod.

Preparing for the event also presented difficulties by just making sure all of the equipment worked after the two-hour set up time.

The students enjoyed filming the game even though it required a lot of time and hard work. They especially enjoyed watching their team win the championship.

“I loved the game. The last five minutes was the best because we were winning,” Serrano said.

Students operated three cameras: on the upper level, one on the lower level and one cameraman roved the sidelines.

Douthitt said residents enjoy the student-produced broadcast because the announcers are familiar with the team, fans are interviewed and the halftime show is featured.

Once the game finished, the broadcast students’ work was far from finished. They had to tear down their equipment and make the trip back to Oak Harbor. They didn’t return until early Sunday morning. Some students got only a few hours of sleep before they had to be up again for their part-time jobs Sunday morning.