INSPIRED SPECIAL SPIRIT CORPS DISABILITY WON'T KEEP FANS FROM CHEERING TEAM.

Byline: Bhavna Mistry Staff Writer

VALENCIA - For a few hours on a Friday night, Rachael Benson is just another Valencia High kid cheering on the Viking football team.

Wrapped in a blanket in the chilly wind sidelines">on the sidelines, the 17-year- old with the enormous smile can forget for a while the wheelchair that sets her apart from schoolmates all week long.

``Friday nights are my favorite,'' said Rachael, who rarely misses a game. ``I feel like a normal teen-ager. It's great that I can be at regular high school and I'm enjoying a regular Friday night.''

She was joined at a recent Viking football game by special education schoolmate Kari Josselyn, 18, a senior. Kari loves football and tries to make every game.

``I love cheering for the team,'' Kari said. ``I have a lot of friends on the football team.''

What the two don't realize is that they are as important to the Vikings as the team is to them, these able-bodied young men looking to these special fans for inspiration.

``It helps me just knowing they're there,'' said center Robert Miulli, 17, a senior. ``It's make me want to play harder and harder.''

Robert and Kari met in class and became friends.

``She looks up to us and I am proud to be able to give her something to look up to,'' said Robert, who also talks to Kari almost every night on the telephone. ``She's always on the sidelines supporting us.''

Kari, Rachael and other disabled students who come to the games prove inspiring, he said.

``Since I've met her I played for her,'' Robert said of Kari. ``And I play for some of her other friends when they can't be out there.''

The girls and other students in Valencia High's special education program have sideline seats at all football games, courtesy of Assistant Principal Les Luxmore, who for three years has seen to it that the group is included in special events. Luxmore said he wanted to make sure all students had the chance to get involved in extracurricular activities.

``We arranged bus transportation for all students interested in cheering on their team,'' Luxmore said. ``So we decided to arrange special bus transportation for disabled students as well.''

And Luxmore joins these special fans on the sidelines, explaining the game as needed, letting them know the score and generally keeping his crew company.

``You should just see their faces light up and the beam in their eye,'' Luxmore said. ``When you see that you know it's worth it.''

For Zack Sapp, a senior who played varsity football last year, seeing Kari on the sidelines was an instant spirit booster.

``When you see Kari three feet from you yelling, it just makes you feel really good,'' Zack said. ``She was always there to give me a high five when I score.''

Zack said that having Kari and Rachael on the sideline has its advantages.

``She just comes up to you and makes you smile,'' Zack said. ``You can't hear what most of the people in the stands are saying but you can always hear Kari.''

Rachael was born with cerebral palsy, a result of pneumonia she suffered when she was born that cut off oxygen to her brain. Kari was born with spina bifida.

Relying on wheelchairs, the girls don't get to do many of the things that their high school peers enjoy. But on Friday nights, they're part of the crowd.

``It's just great to know that I'm disabled but I don't have to depend on my mom to take me to every game,'' Rachael said.

Watching each move on the field intensely, she cheers nonstop.

``I'm probably one of the loudest cheerleaders here,'' Rachael said. ``Sometimes the chaperons have to settle me down.''

``Let's Go. Let's go get 'em,'' she screams from the sidelines. ``Win, win, win, win. I can tell they love it. They'll just look at me and give me a smile.''

CAPTION(S):

4 photos

Photo:

(1 -- color -- ran in SAC edition only) Driver Dwight Day helps Rachael Benson, 17, board a specially equipped bus, right, for a Valencia High School football game in Quartz Hill, while fellow hard-core Vikings fan Kari Josselyn, 18, waits her turn.

(2 -- color in SAC edition only) Never one to miss a game, football fan Kari Josselyn, right, joins Valencia High's center, Robert Miulli, in celebrating the Vikings' victory over Quartz Hill High.

(3 -- ran in SAC edition only) The special education program at Valencia High makes sure that disabled students like Rachael Benson, right, and Kari Josselyn never miss a football game, at home or away.

(4) Campus supervisor Rocket Collins, left, and special assistant Maureen Coughlin joke with Valencia High School student Rachael Benson while Assistant Principal Les Luxmore, right, stays focused on the game.

David R. Crane/Staff Photographer