The sun has just dropped behind the Pocono Mountains, its afterglow silhouetting plain wooden bleachers rapidly filling with fans. The Palmerton, Pa., high school band struts along the end zone, then turns smartly down the visiting team's sideline toward a roped-off section behind their players' bench. On the near side of the field, the band for Pleasant Valley High is already in place, alternating Sousa with the theme from Rocky, while cheerleaders flash blue and white pompoms. Five candidates for Pleasant Valley Homecoming Queen wait with feigned casualness in a special section, shyly...
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