The Seattle Sounders have the Sound Wave band, the Portland Timbers have the chainsaw of Timber Joey, and the East Jefferson Rivals have a chorus of kazoos.

Showing their love for the high school boys soccer team, Rivals supporters celebrated the squad’s final home matchup with a pre-game parade through Madison Street Thursday evening.

While the boys lost 4-1 in their final home matchup to Klahowya Secondary School, the crowd atmosphere was at its peak.

Prior to kickoff, the kazoo chorus was in full effect as the signature buzzing sounds echoed around the stadium, resembling the notorious plastic horn (vuvuzela) harmonies of 2008’s World Cup, albeit at a much smaller scale. 

The Rivals got to work early, earning what seemed to be a penalty in the opening minutes of the matchup. After the foul was switched from a penalty to a free kick outside the box, the referees were met with jeers from the crowd, and more kazoo buzzing.

The Klahowya Eagles responded quickly with a breakaway five minutes in, but the opposing striker’s shot ended up going off-target.

Then Klahowya scored.

With a loose ball battle in EJ’s penalty box, the Eagles swooped in with a timely strike into the Rivals’ netting to go up 1-0 six minutes into the matchup.

Minutes later Klahowya earned another chance at goal, but a clever save from freshman keeper Emilio Lopez held the Eagles in place.

Forwards Connor Scanlon and Justice Beebe opened up space in the middle with daring dashes through the Eagles backfield, with sophomore defender George Lewis getting a shot in open space, but a little too much power sent the ball over the crossbar 15 minutes into the first half.

But the Eagles’ potent attack struck again, clawing through the Rivals back line to earn goal No. 2 on the night.

Right when Klahowya looked to be taking control of the game, freshman forward Armando Sanchez produced some offensive magic.

Leaping to connect with a midfielder’s cross, Sanchez completed a glancing header that lofted over the Eagles keeper, gliding into the goal like a work of art.

With the roar of the crowd behind them, EJ’s momentum returned with the score at 2-1 midway through the opening half. Both teams traded chances until half.

A Klahowya team with renewed energy bombarded the Rivals’ back line to open the second half. The Eagles glided into the home team’s side after 10 minutes with a dangerous counter attack, but a well-timed clear from freshman Rylen Kruse kept EJ in it.

But the Rivals’ energetic, aggressive play led to a red card for Beebe after a tackle from behind with 25 minutes left. He’d picked up a yellow in the first half, and the second yellow card left the Rivals with only 10 players on the field.

Taking on a weakened EJ squad, the Eagles capitalized with 15 minutes remaining to bring the score to 3-1.

Klahowya earned another fast break minutes later with an open run at goal. Sliding with desperation, freshman Grady White clattered with an Eagle forward in the penalty box, earning a red card for denying a clear and obvious goal-scoring opportunity. The opponents made it 4-1 to end any hopes of a miraculous comeback.

“I feel proud of the boys for putting in the effort and really showing a fighting spirit all the way to the end,” EJ Head Coach Robert Cantley said.

The coach praised his five seniors, Scanlon, Ashton Meyer-Bibbins, Isaac Gurney, Beebe, and Sean Botkin.

“They’re all great in each of their own ways,” Cantley said. “I’m proud of all of them, and I’m going miss all of them, especially Sean and Connor being our two most experienced guys … they have a lot of experience and leadership to offer the boys, so I’m definitely going to miss that.”

That being said, the Rivals’ sizable freshman class is poised to continue developing as a formidable future team.

“We have a very strong freshman core this season,” he said. “We have a lot of growing up to do, and a couple of years from now I think we’ll be pretty strong.”

The loss is always tough, but Cantley was sure to praise the energetic crowd that backed their boys from start to finish. 

“I love it. And I would love for soccer to be on an equal footing with the football games and the amount of attention and excitement that’s generated in the community,” he said.

EJ’s season wrapped up with a 1-0 win over Charles Wright Academy on Saturday, with the boys ending on a 4-9-1 record in the Nisqually League, missing out on the playoffs.