On Saturday, October 2 at 7:00 p.m., hundreds of high school students dressed up in formal clothes and dresses to enter the “Outer Space” themed field house for a night full of dancing and laughter.

Every year, homecoming is planned and set up by Student Council, which is sponsored by social studies teacher Jenna Berzy. The members of student council show up in the morning the day of homecoming to set up for the event happening later in the night. This year, they started their setup at 8 a.m. They originally planned to have the dance in the newly opened courtyard, but issues with the weather forced them decorate the field house with items that fit the theme “Outer Space” instead, such as aliens and UFO’s. 

The freshman this year experienced their first formal dance and pep rally. The girls were asked to the dance for the first time and the guys asked someone for the first time. The seniors experienced their very last homecoming while having the chance to be on homecoming court. The seniors on homecoming court this year were Kyle Retic and Peyton Willis, Chris Olsen and Kelsey Price, Christian Gray and Katlyn Arya, Mariah Leonard and Ian Clark, and Kylie Bell and Kyle Atkimson. They had the chance to walk across the football field in front of the hundreds of people that came to watch the football game. Olsen and Arya were got the most votes and were  crowned homecoming king and queen during halftime. 

This year the boys took on the Boone Grove Wolves on Homecoming night. The game kicked off at 7 p.m. Students who planned on attending the game wore black, gold, and white to show off their school spirit. There was a $6 entry fee into the game for students and adults that did not have a Panther Pass.

Before the game, the homecoming parade began at 5 p.m. The cheerleaders, Pantherettes, football players, class council members, and more started at the YMCA, went down Broad street, and traveled back to the high school, showing off their dances, uniforms, and floats that they made for the event. Each class council made a float that correlated with the theme. Before they began the parade, a few staff members voted and choose the most creative float. The Senior class won this year for their UFO inspired float. 

Showing school spirit helped to pump up the football players for their big game that Friday. After all, homecoming has been a tradition since the 19th century. Since then, students of all ages have dedicated a week to the team. Every year, a spirit week is planned. Each day of the week, students in all four grades dressed up. This year, dress up day was on Monday, 60’s day was on Tuesday, neon day was on Wednesday, jersey day was on Thursday, and black and gold day was on Friday. For Seniors, their spirit week included celebrity day on Monday, senior citizen day on Tuesday, gender swap day on Wednesday, jersey day on Thursday, and black and gold day on Friday. 

Gender swap day is a day that most seniors look forward to every year. This is a day where seniors dress up and do their best to look as similar to the opposite gender as they can. This year, the girls drew on beards and mustaches while wearing hats. The boys wore dresses, wigs, and heels. They also put on makeup to look as close to the opposite gender as possible.