by Chloe Van Pelt, EIC
Blue and purple flashing lights, music pounding the walls of the Gil Asa Gym. This kicked off the start of the Homecoming Pep Rally on Oct. 11, 2024.
On Sept. 23, the spirit days were first announced for this year’s homecoming. Monday: Flower Power. Tuesday: Tropical Tuesday. Wednesday: Hit by a Tornado. Thursday: Explorer Day. Friday: Crimson Wear. Students began to come to school the week of October 7-11 in their spirit wear apparel to show their support for the events at the end of the week.
The first event the Bearcats were shown was the Pep Rally held during their fourth period on Oct. 11. Bearcats were sat in their respective class year section around the gym, graduating years ranging from 2025 all the way to 2028.
Senior leadership students Slone Beasley and Cody Van Horbek introduced the fellow Bearcat and led the Pep Rally with two games and three performances for students. Different grade level students volunteered to go head to head in an intense game of life size Hungry Hippos and a race on mattresses to the finish line.
After the games came to a close, the red carpet was rolled out to introduce this year's homecoming royalty. Freshmen winners were Riley Moore and Blake Rede. Sophomore winners were McKinley Huffman and Emmett Dobroth. Junior winners were Jazmin Villareal and Ricardo Alvarez-Aranda. Three senior class nominees walked the red carpet as they would soon find out who won the king and queen title at the football game later that night. The senior nominees consisted of three couples: Kylie Troy and Preston Luster, Naomi Velasco and CJ Mercado, and last but not least, Natalie Dewhurst and Kenyon Rickson.
The pep rally concluded with a performance by PRHS Band as they sent off the student body to support the varsity football team later that night.
The varsity football team faced St. Joseph High School at War Memorial Stadium starting promptly at 7PM. The Bearcats battled in the first quarter as their opponent managed to score within the first three minutes. As the clock continued its countdown, Bearcats fought until halftime, with the score being 0-26.
Halftime began with student performances by varsity cheer, beginning, intermediate, and advanced dance, and color guard. Students rallied against the fence and throughout the bleachers to see the student body perform for the town. Each performance lasted about two minutes and was followed by the introduction of the homecoming court. The same students from the Pep Rally earlier in the day were announced yet again but with a few slight changes.
Students on the court were walked out with family members to the Pandora themed stage placed in the middle of the football field. Names were announced and the final crown was to be placed on the homecoming king and queen’s head. The crowd goes silent as they wait in anticipation to see who’s name would be said over the loudspeaker.
“And your homecoming king and queen is Natalie Dewhurst and Kenyon Rickson,” an ecstatic voice from the loudspeaker said. Both recipients stepped forward and were presented with a sash and dazzling crown showing their royalty. They beamed in front of the crowd and applause erupted around the stadium.
“After my mom passed away, I closed a lot of people off and it meant a lot to me that people still thought of me enough to vote for me,” Dewhurst said after reflecting on this moment.
As the homecoming participants made their way to the endzone and off the field, the boys varsity water polo team sprinted from one end zone, to the other in their speedos and capes to participate in the tradition that has taken place for at least 10 years. Crowds cheered as they waved their “H2O Polo” flags and showed their school spirit.
After the water polo players exited the field, football players came rushing out from the locker room, ready to face the Knights for the remaining half an hour of the game. Determined to put something on the scoreboard, quarterback Marcus Garcia passed a sailing ball to wide receiver Tre Clark where he raced into the endzone.
“I was just thinking ‘don’t drop it, don’t drop it, don’t drop it’ as the ball was coming to me and then when I caught it, it was like a sigh of relief because it was my first time getting in the end zone all season,” Clark said when recollecting the only touchdown of the game.
As the game continued on, the Bearcats did not let up and prevented the knights from scoring the rest of the game. The game ended in a final score of 7-26 with St. Joseph Knights taking the victory home.
Bearcats traveled from the student section in the stadium, to the quad of Lewis Flamson Junior High where the homecoming dance took place. Students were greeted with hues of purple and blue and immediately took to the dance floor. Songs of many genres played from 2010 throwbacks to modern hits such as Chappel Roan’s “Hot To Go” and Travis Scott’s “Fein.”
Senior Shane Mullinix saw the dance as another chance to experience his last firsts of the school year.
“Being a senior made the homecoming dance kinda nostalgic. I’m really grateful for any chance to create a few more memories with my friends before the school year is over,” Mullinix said.
From seniors to freshmen, they danced through mystic Pandora and welcomed the Bearcat back home.