The smell of grilled hamburgers wafting through the air, Kan Jam games in full swing and frenzied fans painting their faces in blue and red. It’s a scene played out at Ralph Wilson Stadium in Orchard Park for every Bills home game.

But this was no NFL contest. This was a high school championship game between two of the best teams in the state -- North Tonawanda and Orchard Park -- and Lumberjacks fans were jacked up for it.

Carloads of NT fans pulled into the stadium parking lot at 4:30 Friday afternoon, a full four hours before kickoff of the Section VI Class AA title game. “This is the only game that’s brought me out here in the past 10 years,” said Beverley Marrs, who was there in support of her son Jordan, a sophomore left tackle who was called up from the junior varsity squad for the big game.

“It’s an incredible feeling, just for the school spirit, for the community to get together for the team,” Marrs said in between shouts of “Go Jacks Go!” “It’s even more awesome when you have one of your children playing in the game. I could hardly sleep last night. To win would be like the Bills winning the Super Bowl.”

Unfortunately for North Tonawanda, a Super Bowl win it was not. Much to the dismay of the NT faithful, the buzz and excitement was relegated to the pre-game festivities as the Jacks, despite their opportunities, couldn’t topple the Quakers, who won, 28-13.

With under four minutes to go, an NT pass on fourth-and-9 fell incomplete, and the Lumberjacks fans hearts surely went with it. As Orchard Park took over possession, fans started heading for the exits, and more followed minutes later when OP’s star running back Jeff Tundo ran in for the clincher.

Despite the outcome, it was still a great experience for many North Tonawanda students, who after the game kept it all in perspective. “Our boys still did good,” senior Anna Baroudi said after the game.

Students clearly reveled in the experience of watching their football team, which had gone undefeated up until Friday night’s game, played under the lights at The Ralph.

Tom Brady, Caitlin Kirbis and Stephanie Lyon arrived two and a half hours early to meet up with several other groups of NT faithful. They had the full setup of a hundred hamburgers and hot dogs, Doritos and pop.

Students were well aware of North Tonawanda’s history at The Ralph. The Lumberjacks lost to Orchard Park in 2004 and 2005. It had been six years since they last won a sectional championship. “I’ve got butterflies right now and I’m not even playing,” said Kirbis, a blue “O” painted on her stomach to help spell out “Beat OP.”

Putting in perspective just how huge of a game it was, many NT fans said the excitement surrounding Friday’s game was far more intense than it was for the historic T-NT rivalry game. “It’s pretty big. NT has a lot of school spirit, and we love to show it off,” said senior Tom Brady.

That school spirit was still evident afterwards. “It’s been so much fun to watch them, and they’ve had so much success,” said Lynn Miller, whose son Kevin is a senior defensive back. Emotions ran “up and down” during the game, she said. “When you watch your own son out there, you ache for them and at the same time you celebrate for them.”

Fans said their emotions ran the gamut during the game, but they never gave up hope. “I was pumped. I was cheering the whole time,” said senior Sara Basior. “Up to this point, they did great. We still love them.”

Contact Reporter David J. Hill at 693-1000, ext. 115.