But in this competion, the students, like soccer player J.R. Hernandez, are hitching their competitive spirits to a good cause instead of a good game of their favorite sport.

On Friday, they held an American Red Cross blood drive and battled against other high schools for the record number of pints collected.

“It’s just great. This way it’s helping others not ourselves,” said Hernandez, a senior who will attend the University of North Carolina this fall. “This kind of competition is about changing people’s lives.”

What’s become a spirited battle between Knightdale, East Wake and Cary High Schools all started as a simple blood drive last spring. But Knightdale High broke the Triangle area Red Cross high school blood drive record with 151 pints collected.

“That was just huge,” said Michelle Iorio, a sports medicine teacher at Knightdale who coordinates with the students that organize the drives. “It was unheard of in high schools.”

That drew Cary and East Wake into competition against Knightdale, she said. East Wake broke Knightdale’s record this month with 225 pints collected, then Cary turned around last week and beat East Wake with 237 pints, Iorio said. On Friday, the Knightdale High School blood drive had 340 volunteers signed up to give. Their goal was 290 pints. The 57 students who planned the event could hardly contain themselves.

In Iorio’s class last week, they painted T-shirts they planned to wear at the blood drive.

Cheerleader Meisha Price wrote cheers on her bright-colored shirt: “Give the pints, let’s go Knights.”

“It’s an excellent opportunity to give blood,” said Price, who’s given three times already.

Price said she’s saved nine lives. Students learned that every pint they give saves three lives. Students also learned biological information about blood at a Red Cross student convention in Durham they attended recently. They won the spirit award.

“We are so excited,” said Kirsten Kruhm, the senior donor recruiter for the American Red Cross. “It’s been just incredible, just the challenge alone between all of the high schools, and especially the top three, just the growth last year from this year. But we really value the inclusiveness, more students getting involved this year is just incredible.”

Kruhm said the drive gives students valuable experience.

“The sports medicine classes have incorporated marketing, advertising, learning how to be persuasive, and educating potential donors into their class lessons,” said Kruhm. “It gave them real life experience.”

Iorio, a firefighter and an EMT when she’s not a teacher, knows the need for blood donations. She decided to introduce blood drives to her class to get students giving blood early. She didn’t expect it would take hold like it has.

“We just took over the competition and we just ran with it,” said Iorio. “When you talk about blood drives in this area, everybody knows Knightdale.”

But for all the play, the students don’t miss the importance of what they are doing.

When Caitlin Farmer donates her blood, she remembers her friend 16-year-old Heidi Johnson who was killed after a truck pulled in front of the motorcycle she was riding last spring.

“She needed blood, but they couldn’t get it to her fast enough,” Farmer said. “I think it’s important to have it in case they need it.”

Caleb Sapaugh, 18, thinks about his dad, Wake County Sheriff’s Deputy William Sapaugh and his line of work. He recalled the danger in his dad’s recent high-speed chase.

“He was always lucky,” said Sapaugh. “But if he hadn’t been, I would just hope there would be blood for him to have.”

The students sing the praises of Iorio who oversees the drives, though they, too, were scheduled to be up at 6 a.m., helping the Red Cross set up in the Knightdale High School gym. And they were to be there, helping take down all the equipment about two hours after the blood drive ended at 3 p.m.

Iorio was honored recently as a volunteer of the year. She headed last weekend to Charlotte for the prize of tickets to the Coca-Cola 600 and a night’s stay at a hotel.

“It was all because of them and what they’ve done for the blood drives,” said Iorio.

Students give credit to Iorio who cheers them on. She knows the state high school record of 391 pints is held by Watauga High School.

“We won’t break it this time around,” said Iorio.

“Just give her time,” quipped student Ashton Kuhns.