It was an unusual morning for students at Bollman Bridge Elementary School as they packed the gymnasium dressed in a sea of purple to welcome surprise guests.

Even more surprised was Assistant Principal Christy Conklin, who received two tickets to Saturday’s wild-card playoff game at M&T Bank Stadium as the Ravens face division rivals the Pittsburgh Steelers.

A “Let’s go Ravens,” chant was bouncing off the walls from students bubbling with excitement. With a drumbeat and pom poms waving, Baltimore’s Marching Ravens and the Ravens cheerleaders filed in and took the stage, running down the aisle for high-fives as the kids cheered and screamed louder.

“It’s Purple Friday, we’ve got a game tomorrow night, make some noise for the Ravens!” a cheerleader yelled.

More screams ensued. The students chanted for the team’s mascot, Poe, and battled for the title of the loudest side of the room, with one portion screaming “Purple!” and the other half yelling “Gold!”

The band played through a list of songs while students watched in awe as the cheerleaders performed stunts, including basket tosses with cheerleaders flipping in the air, and one-man lifts where a cheerleader holds the flyer in the air with just two hands.

The mini-pep rally ended with Conklin receiving tickets to the game, presented by Dunkin’ through a partnership between the company and the Ravens. Conklin, who’s in her third year as assistant principal, said she came to the gymnasium to help with the assembly and was caught off guard when her name was selected to receive the tickets.

“This is a wonderful community, and to see the excitement in the kids is just magic,” Conklin said. “And we needed this.”

Conklin said it was nice to be able to celebrate the Ravens, have fun and highlight her school community “because they deserve this fun, too.” Friday’s event is something they will remember throughout their years at Bollman Bridge Elementary, she said. As she looks forward to Saturday’s game, she said she can’t wait to cheer on the Ravens and watch them hopefully play in the Super Bowl.

After the fanfare at Bollman Bridge Elementary, the band, cheerleaders and Dunkin’ mascot Sprinkles, a purple doughnut, were off to Phelps Luck, Worthington and Manor Woods elementary schools to surprise more Howard County educators with playoff tickets.

Earlier in the morning, the Ravens caravan made a stop at the Dunkin’ in Jessup for Purple Friday with a performance from the band and cheerleaders, giveaways, a chance to meet former Ravens players Jimmy Smith and Pernell McPhee, and the opportunity for drive-thru customers to have their cars sprayed with a Ravens stencil.

Savage resident Rhonda Rogers came out to Dunkin’ for “the love of the Ravens,” she said, and to meet the cheerleaders, band and players. A lifelong Ravens fan, she said her grandchild shares a birthday with Lamar Jackson, who recently celebrated his 28th.

For Saturday’s game, Rogers is looking forward to “kicking some Steeler behind,” she said.

Dunkin’ partners with the Ravens about seven or eight times per year to plan events with surprises for elementary schools, according to John Lunsmann, an area business consultant for the company.

It’s important to the company to give back to the community, and the surprise ticket events at elementary schools are some of the best ways to do so, Lunsmann said. During the playoffs, each customer who buys a coffee on a Purple Friday at Dunkin’ receives a free doughnut.

“We are absolutely a Ravens fan, and we are looking forward to continuing our season by beating the Pittsburgh Steelers,” Lunsmann said. “We think it’ll be a close game because it always is, but we know we’re going to come out on top so we can celebrate another Purple Friday the next week.”