Willie playing football/the bullies

Willie succeeds in scoring a touchdown (with Skip's help) and Big Boy Wilkinson makes a sardonic comment: "Not a bad run Willie, for a sissy". Right before Willie grabs the ball and starts his run, we see Rivers Applewhite cheering him on from the sidelines. Was Rivers really supposed to be there or was she in Willie's imagination (was he imagining her presence/her encouragement). I noticed that at the end of the scene when the three bullies tackle him and Skip climbs on top of the human pile-on, she is nowhere to be seen.

Also, Big Boy Wilkinson seemed to be the leader of the bullies, but Spit McGee was the most talkative one (e.g. when it came to the initiation ceremony) and was arguably the most resentful of Willie (at least in some of the earlier scenes in the movie). The third bully (Henjie Henick) appeared to be rather passive and more good-natured (he doesn't really say much).

Btw, it's really nice that Willie's patience and non-aggression paid off and he managed to convert the bullies into becoming his followers (e.g. the puppet Hitler scene shows Willie in a leadership role) and they also redeemed themselves in the end (by showing compassion for Willie when he was crying for his dog and helping him find Skip).