Las Vegas Sun

March 28, 2024

UNLV football:

Rebels paint Fremont Cannon red amid party atmosphere

Rebels Paint the Cannon Red

Steve Marcus

UNLV mascot Hey Reb! attends a cannon-painting ceremony Monday, Oct. 5, 2015, at UNLV. The Rebels recovered the Fremont Cannon after defeating the Wolfpack 23-17 on Saturday in Reno.

Rebels Paint the Cannon Red

UNLV football players paint the Fremont Cannon red during a ceremony Monday, Oct. 5, 2015, at UNLV. The Rebels recovered the Fremont Cannon after defeating the Wolfpack 23-17 on Saturday in Reno. Launch slideshow »

Keith Whitely put the finishing touches on his paint job and couldn’t contain the emotion swelling inside his 5-foot-9 frame. He turned away from the Fremont Cannon and let out a roar in the center of a crowd approaching 1,500, despite rainy conditions.

Whitely, a junior running back at UNLV, is just so proud — proud of his teams’ 23-17 victory against UNR, proud of his 76 yards and touchdown that helped secure the win and, sure, proud of his paint job, which will live for a short time before the cannon gets a professionally applied coat of safety red and slate gray.

“Oh yeah, I gave it a little swipe, swipe, swipe, swipe. I did a good little job,” Whitely said. “Everybody’s smiling. We’re having fun out here. I think we’ve been missing that, just having fun playing football and enjoying the community that we live and play in.”

The Rebels (2-3, 1-0) paraded the cannon — the trophy for winning the rivalry game — across campus from the Lied Athletic Complex to a waiting crowd at the student union. The cannon is painted in the winning team’s school colors.

Coach Tony Sanchez painted the first swath of red and then a minute later, he opted for finger painting, spelling out GATA — get after that a** — the phrase that has come to define this year’s Rebels.

Click to enlarge photo

UNLV football players paint the Fremont Cannon red during a ceremony Monday, Oct. 5, 2015, at UNLV. The Rebels recovered the Fremont Cannon after defeating the Wolfpack 23-17 on Saturday in Reno.

It’s about being relentless and always pushing forward, which is why in the middle of a celebration UNLV has had only twice in the last decade, Sanchez was ready to focus on this weekend’s home game against San Jose State and beyond.

“It’s great to have this energy about the football program right now on campus. It’s got to translate to people coming out to the stadium,” Sanchez said. “I’m calling everybody out.”

Whether it’s this weekend’s home game, which kicks off at 6 p.m. and gives UNLV a chance to start 2-0 in league play for only the second time in the last 20 years, or raising money for an on-campus practice facility, Athletics Director Tina Kunzer-Murphy agreed now is the time to build support.

“We have a really busy next 10 days starting today,” Kunzer-Murphy said. “People are generous here in Las Vegas and Southern Nevada, and we have some things that we want to get done... We’ve got to get out and get some concrete pledges to get this facility moving along.”

As the administration moves forward working on the program’s infrastructure, the team will move forward to the Spartans (2-3, 1-1), the same opponent that awaited them two years ago after a cannon victory.

This time, they’ll go into the game with a backup quarterback, as senior Blake Decker recovers from a separated shoulder on his nonthrowing arm.

Kurt Palandech will start this week no matter what,” said Sanchez, who added that Decker would dress and be available for an emergency situation.

His injury couldn’t keep Decker from today’s festivities, though. His name will be among the 21 engraved into a plaque that goes inside Rebel Park for every senior class that defeats UNR.

With his arm in a sling, Decker thanked the crowd for their support.

“As much as this is for the guys up here that are doing the work on the field, this is about you guys as well,” Decker said. “This is for Vegas; this is for UNLV. Don’t get used to seeing this cannon blue, because it’s going to be red for a long time.”

In the Mackay Stadium locker room after Saturday’s victory, Decker had to lean very carefully on one of the cannon’s wheels for a celebratory photo. Senior tight end Jake Phillips can relate, as he exited the 2013 victory at UNR early with a knee injury and couldn’t jump around celebrating with everyone else.

Phillips made sure to get his partying in this time around, and now that it’s over, he and the Rebels want to get back to work.

“We were going crazy in the locker room,” Phillips said. “For the seniors and all the ups and downs, it means everything to finally get this cannon. But we’re definitely not satisfied yet.”

Taylor Bern can be reached at 948-7844 or [email protected]. Follow Taylor on Twitter at twitter.com/taylorbern.

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