The school district expects many teacher and student absences today, and has plans to combine classes if enough substitutes are not found, spokeswoman Lorraine Shannon said. About 18 of 72 high school teachers are expected to take off, she said.

Journalism teacher Meri Elen Jacobs, 42, had plans to leave Wednesday so she would get to Austin in plenty of time. She is, without a doubt, a West Orange-Stark sports super-fan.

She gets to the basketball games at least an hour before tip-off, so the boys can start warming up in front of cheering fans. She attends all home games and will travel for tournaments.

When she started working at the high school in 2000, she would quiz her elementary school daughters on West Orange-Stark football statistics. She claims to have mellowed, yet her daughters continue to receive autographed photos of high school football players at Christmas.

"I don't know if as many people are excited about it," said Gay Cormier, high school Career Center secretary. "But I think everyone is wishing them luck."

Sports fan Cormier, 59, picked up four heads-up pennies before lunch Wednesday to ensure Lady Luck sides with West Orange-Stark. Friends gave her more throughout the day.

Mary Kirksey, a 59-year-old paraprofessional at the high school, will wear a white cowboy hat she bought at Walgreen's this week. She figures the hat complements the team mascot: the mustang.

Kirksey organized a chartered bus to leave Orange at 7:45 a.m. today and head to the game in Austin. The 57-seat bus is full of people who paid $32 for a roundtrip ride, she said.

Jerry Hughes, who put a pro-Mustangs sign on his 16th Street business Wednesday, said the boys' basketball team hasn't always been fun to watch.

"Obviously, a winning team draws more of a crowd," he said. "So do quality games, where you don't know the outcome. One-sided games aren't too much fun."

Before this year, the boys haven't given fans much reason to hop aboard. They have never progressed to state finals, according to the UIL Web site.

The last time an Orange team won state was in 1956, when segregated Wallace High School beat Lufkin Dunbar 49-46 in the black championship game.

The two varsity teams have been competitive since the season began, she said. It's strange to watch the boys advance and not go with them to Austin, Riggs said.

As the boys won more and more games, more people filled the bleachers. For the first time, the band played while sitting in the stands. The drill team came too, said 17-year-old Rebecca McMillon, who is on the Fillies dance squad.

"The feeling of the boys actually going to state, it's hard to express," cheerleader Vanquanisha Jordan, 17, said. "This year, they have so much heart."

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