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It turns out, blood is thicker than school colors.

Brooke Klabunde has always made it clear that she is a big supporter of the Lyle-Pacelli Athletics, but now she and her son Dylan Christianson will have to team up with a conference foe this fall.

After a year of only having a JV football team due to dwindling numbers, LP has teamed up with LeRoy-Ostrander to form a football co-op this fall and that means that Klabunde will be cheering on Christianson as he represents the Cardinals, as well as the Athletics.

“To co-op with a team with so much potential, I think it’s a great, great adventure for them,” Klabunde said. “I’m excited. Football is a family and it doesn’t matter what color you’re wearing or what field you’re playing on. I’m excited to get to know people and to be a part of this new football family that we’re going to join.”

Klabunde has already joined a facebook group of football moms for the new co-op team and plans for pregame meal plans are starting to emerge. Christianson has gotten to know some of his new teammates and he’s ready to get back at the varsity level for his senior season.

“I’ve met them all and they’re pretty nice guys. They’re just there to play football and have a good time,” Chrstianson said of his LO teammates. “The goal is always the state title, especially with the team we have now and the guys we’ll have. The goal is to make it to state and win. (I’m not feeling pressure), it’s just football. It’s what I do.”

The Cardinals won their first ever state title when they captured the nine-man title in the fall of 2021 and they went 8-2 overall last season. LP, which is expecting to bring at least 10 players to the co-op, went 4-5 overall in its last varsity season in 2022 and it hasn’t experienced a season with a winning record in 19 years.

The raised expectations of playing with LO athletes is a welcomed one for Christianson, who did some growing up on the JV team last fall.

“It was interesting. I was in much more of a leadership role than I was as a sophomore,” Christianson said. “It was sad that we didn’t have a varsity team, but it wasn’t a waste of a year. It was still a useful experience.”

While the Friday night lights weren’t on last season for LP, Klabunde was still in the crowd, cheering as loud as she could. Klabunde is the mother of four, with Christianson being the youngest, and she has cheered on all of her kids, whether they were playing in a state championship game or an early regular season game.

“There is nothing better in life than being there for my kids and supporting them. They’re literally my everything,” Klabunde said. “My world revolves around them and that’s what motivates me to be there for them and cheer for them.”

Christianson said he usually can’t hear his mother’s voice during football games, but he certainly hears her when he’s playing basketball for LP. It’s a voice he loves to hear.

“It’s inspiring and it’s good to know that someone is out there cheering for you,” Christianson said. “It’s fun.”

The LO/LP co-op team will open its season at Kingsland at 7 p.m. on Aug. 30.