Pepped Up for Homecoming!

As students streamed into the gym, they hummed with an energy that only a week of fun homecoming activities could bring out. The grades were each decked out in extravagant costumes: crowns and royal attire for the freshmen, nurse scrubs and stethoscopes for the sophomores, Hogwarts robes and house colors for the juniors, and Disney-themed outfits, including the classic Dalmatians, for the seniors. While we waited for the excitement to begin, I chatted with some of the SGA officers who work hard behind the scenes to put on our pep rallies. I asked Finley Becker, junior secretary, and Greta Christensen, junior director of spirit, what they were most excited about. In between passing out shakers to incoming students, they told me they couldn’t wait to watch the different performances and find out who would be crowned homecoming king.

The pep rally started with a beautiful performance of the national anthem from some of our choir students. The upcoming canned food drive was announced by the VHHS SGA. Then, several fall sports were recognized, including swim and dive, cross country, flag football, and volleyball. Club poster and grade float winners were declared, with HOSA (Operate Oak Mountain) and the seniors (Enchant the Eagles) winning, respectively. Next up, all of the class homecoming king nominees came out to the gym floor. The freshman king Price Lamaster ended up taking the crown home after raising the most money for Libby’s Friends. Congratulations, Price!

Following these exciting announcements, the varsity basketball and football cheer teams performed. Then, SGA proved dancing isn’t only for Saturday night by facilitating a dance-off between students from different grades. The seniors won, represented by Mark Rainey. Several teams performed next, including JV football and basketball cheer, the Rockettes, Color Guard, and the Rebelettes, who danced to Rihanna. The Majorettes gave us a stunning show that included turning off the lights and twirling light-up batons.

Coach Evans brought the pep rally to a close with a rousing speech. He invited one of his captains, George Wolf, to join him in amping up the players and students. The student body cheered a hearty “heck yeah!” in response. Finally, Coach Aaron presented the seniors with the coveted Spirit Stick and everyone gathered around for the traditional singing of the alma mater. Overall, the pep rally was a great close to the homecoming week and an exciting beginning to the game and the dance ahead. Thank you to everyone—SGA, Libby’s Friends, teachers, and all of the performance teams—who made this happen!