Students pack the stands to cheer on the football team and find out Homecoming results
The annual Homecoming football game is never just about the game—it's an experience filled with traditions that gets the whole school involved. Students applaud the new Homecoming King and Queen. Cheering on the football team is just an added bonus.
Like every football game, the Homecoming game begins with a rendition of the Star Spangled Banner. The difference in this game comes from the quality of the performance—Variations members, including senior Andrew Pappas of the football team, crowded in front of mikes set up in front of the stand to deliver a masterpiece: practiced, polished and precise.
“Because of the hype that surrounds the Homecoming game, our performance subconsciously enhanced the experience of the audience,“ three-year member of Variations senior Joshua Ding said. “Even though the audience doesn’t think, ‘Oh, the Star Spangled Banner was played well,’ it still makes their experience more enjoyable.”
MVHS dominated the first half of the game, scoring three touchdowns to effectively seal the win.
By halftime, the eager crowd knew that there wasn’t much drama left in the game—they wanted to see the class skits and the Homecoming Court King and Queen crowned.
“The game was boring…[The football team] was dominating,” junior Jeffery Zhang said. “2012 was just really excited to find out who won Homecoming.”
Cheer, Song and Dance produced two well-rehearsed performances, and then the traditional Ford Thunderbirds began circling the track to drop off Homecoming court members in the middle of the field. The suspense made everyone nervous—senior Briana Zimmers dropped her rose box while waiting for the announcer to give the results. Finally, the drama ended, and seniors Yeshar Hadi and Kelly Woodruff were named Homecoming King and Queen.
Then, the announcer mentioned that the juniors won the quad decoration competition and a sea of green rose in the stands, cheering and screaming. The seniors, decked in purple, were silent—they might have just lost Homecoming.
The second half began and the football team became a sideshow—entertainment to keep the crowd engaged as they waited for the final results of Homecoming. With 14 seconds left in the third quarter, wide receiver senior Grant Manley scored on his 24-yard field goal attempt, making the score 24-0.
The announcement finally came midway through the fourth quarter—the seniors won Homecoming. The senior class advisers, Sarah Jensen and Jodi Johnson jumped up and down in celebration along with the rest of the seniors while the juniors sat stunned into silence.
“We thought that it was unfair, because of how the points added up,” Zhang said. “Looking back, it still doesn’t make sense.”
But the drama wasn’t over yet. Senior Vignesh Venkataraman was brought on the field with about two minutes left to go in the game on defense as a corner and within a matter of seconds, he was mobbed by the team for recovering yet another Fremont fumble. Venkataraman was rewarded for his hard work—the coach let him stay out on the field to see the clock wind down to zero.
“The crowd was amazing,” Venkataraman said. “We haven’t had this [many people before]. It’s tough to get the crowd to away games…and I wish that we could have this kind of crowd every game.”
And thus, Homecoming ended—for the football team, the student body and the staff. The football team walked off the field, filled with a sense of pride and accomplishment for their first league victory of the season and knowing that they too are part of the Homecoming experience.
The football team’s next game will be on Oct. 8, against Los Altos High School with kickoff at 7:30 p.m.
