Buchanan’s “The Herd” won the MHSAA Battle of the Fans II, which was announced this morning. ((Photo courtesy of Caryn DeFreeze, DeFreeze Photography)

In the end it was no contest.

Buchanan’s “The Herd” won the second MHSAA Battle of the Fans by more than 2,400 votes.

The Michigan High School Athletic Association announced the winner at 10 a.m. this morning.

In online Facebook voting, Buchanan amasses 4,522 votes, which is 63 more than the population of the city.

Zeeland East came in a distant second with 2,056 votes or 2,466 behind “The Herd.”

The popular vote and based on the following criteria – positive sportsmanship, student body participation, school spirit, originality of cheers, organization of the group, section leadership and overall fun – the Student Advisory Council and the MHSAA picked Buchanan as its winner.

There were 26 applicants this year and their videos were viewed more than 24,000 times. The MHSAA also made stops at select locations and those videos were viewed 10,033 times.

As of 8:30 this morning, the stories produced by the MHSAA on the five finalists had been viewed 17,206 times.

“We are extremely proud of the accomplishments of our student body, who under the leadership of wonderful staff members transformed “The Herd” into an exciting cheering section,” Smith said. “They met their goals of being load, organized and positive. They have changed the student culture at athletic events and made it a place to be.

“Most of all, they have found a way to have fun. They Buchanan Community Schools would like to thank the Buchanan community, southwest Michigan and fans across the country who voted for us in the MHSAA Facebook voting. ‘The Herd” would also like to congratulate the other finalists and all the schools who took part in BTOF II.”