Floats, game, nominees star on field 

UPDATE Oct. 10: With so many distractions on homecoming, the campus football fans and players cheered at the Eagles defeated Riverdale Christian, 61-12, Oct. 6. Senior quarterback Tyler Villines led the home team with five touchdowns (3 rushing and 2 passing). FC led 28-0 after the end of the first quarter and 48-6 at the half. 

Villines’ longest TD was a 68-yard scamper and ended up with 241 yards rushing on the night. He also had a 34-yard TD pass to junior Tyler Stotts. Villines finished with 71 yards passing. Junior Anthony Leonardo ran for 2 TDs, including a 39-yard run for touchdown and finished with 86 yards on the ground.

Sophomore Blake Burdan,  and senior Roman Endicott each rushed for a TD while Junior Brandon Brogan caught on for TD as well. All in all, FC had 443 yards total offense to only 166 yards for Riverdale Christian.

The Eagles next go on the road to face Kings Christian in Lemoore, Oct. 13. Kickoff is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.

Original article, Oct. 6

After a hectic week of rallies and dress up days, homecoming night finally arrived, Oct. 6. The air crackled with anticipation as students, alumni and families gathered for FC’s 33rd homecoming. This year’s theme, ‘Homecoming for Humanity,’ raised money for a variety of non-profit organizations.

The Eagles football team faced off against Riverdale Christian. Last season, the Eagles defeated Riverdale Christian in the 8-Man championship game, 63-6, Nov. 13. And this year, the result would be similar on homecoming night. The Eagles defeated the Christ Ambassadors, 61-12. More on the game at the bottom of the article.

Yet before the kick-off at 7 p.m., the freshmen, sophomore and junior candidates were introduced to the boisterous crowd. The high school ensemble, featuring alumni from the group, opened the night with the national anthem.

Ensemble member Macie Thompson, ‘19, enjoyed singing the national anthem at her third homecoming game. With experience from previous national anthem performances, she hoped to give her best rendition yet.

“It was definitely a fun experience,” Thompson said. “I am glad I got to spend my junior year of homecoming with my friends. As for the national anthem, it’s become easy over the years since I have such great ensemble girls to accompany me. We have grown together throughout the years and it’s amazing to see how far all of us have progressed in singing and in each other individual relationships. I am looking forward to hopefully singing the National Anthem at my senior homecoming with the rest of the ensemble!”

In the following podcast, Keith Zhu interviews student leadership advisor Aubri Foster on her homecoming impressions.

Students reflect on their homecoming experiences

During the game, many also stopped to view the class floats which represented each class’ not profit organization they chose to support.

Enjoying the sophomore float’s coffee Hurbert Yuan, ‘20, expressed his excitement for the game and seeing all of the class floats.

“My favorite part about the game was the food and watching the game,” Yuan said. “I liked the sophomore float the most because they had coffee. This was a special moment for me because in China we have nothing like this. We only have parties but they are nothing compared to the scale of this game.”

Natalya Hill, ‘18, has participated in float building since 10th grade and enjoys the friendly atmosphere it provides. Hill appreciates the senior class’ speedy creation of their float.

“Float building this year was an amazing bonding experience for the senior class,” Hill said. “The whole process, from coming up with an idea to building a foundation to putting on the finishing touches, promoted unity every year no matter which students attended. Float building meetings are never really about working as much as they are about bonding with your classmates.”

Building the class floats always takes a lot of time and effort, but they are the center of homecoming. Joshua Oakley, ‘18, is excited to see how the crowd will react to the senior float.

“I am anticipating seeing all the hard work of the people who worked on our float,” Oakley said. “I am excited to see how the other classes’ floats look. I always am amazed by how the floats turn out and I am sad that this is my last year.”

Megan Raynes, ‘19, shares her thoughts on the homecoming experiences. She talked about how she loved to see the candidates dress up and the participation of each class together.

“I thought it went great, we did a great job at coming together and finishing our float at the last minute,” Raynes said. “I love the fact that we did milkshakes, that was great. It was awesome that everybody can come back and join together. Getting to see the candidates all dressed up and voting for them was awesome.”

The Eagles played aggressively out of the gate, scoring 42 points against Riverdale’s six in the first half. At halftime, the king and queen candidates were introduced to the crowd, while the float winners announced in the third quarter. 

The 2017 homecoming court announced at halftime is as follows:

Freshman princess: Caleigh Alday

Sophomore princess: Serena Zhao

Junior princess: Kamryn Schultz

Senior princess: Maicy Luginbill

Senior queen: Mariana Fikse

Senior prince: Wyatt Koop

Senior king: Tyler Villines

Sophomore princess Serena Zhao is appreciative of the support of her peers at school. Zhao is the one of the few exchange students in FC homecoming history to earn the title of princess.

“It’s very exciting,” Zhao said. “I feel so honored to be the sophomore princess. I want to thank my class because they always support me and are by my side. I also want to thank my family and friends. I can’t actually believe this because I don’t really talk to a good amount of the people. This is totally crazy.”

Homecoming queen, Mariana Fikse, ‘18, feels blessed by the student body for electing her into the royal court. Fikse will miss her classmates and hopes to make the most of her last year of high school.  

“I’m just completely excited and I’m honestly so happy to be nominated with that group of girls,” Fikse said. “I love each and every one of them and these last couple weeks spending time rehearsing with them; it’s just been so amazing. I would never have seen myself as homecoming queen during my freshman year.”

In the following podcast, Logan Lewis interviews football coach Russ Counts on the field immediately after the game, asking for his comments on the Eagles’, 61-12, win over Riverdale Christian.

Homecoming brought many alumni back to campus to reminisce old times with teachers and students. Alumna and elementary parent, Nancy Flores enjoys the memories homecoming brings to her. The event occasion allows her to reconnect with old friends.

“I am an alumnus and my daughter is also in elementary cheer,” Flores said. “Homecoming brings back lots of old memories and it’s nice to see old friends. It’s exciting to see my daughter following along in the same tradition. My favorite part of her being here is she’s in a school where the faculty and the staff care about the students and they’re able to pray openly. I hope that she realizes how blessed she is.”

Congratulations to the freshman class float for placing first

In the end, the freshmen came out victorious in the float building competition. The float, which represented Miss Winkles Pet Adoption Center, received the most votes from the judges. The sophomores placed second while the seniors third. The juniors finished last this year.

Despite her busy dance schedule, Addie Richardson, ‘21, made time to contribute to the freshman float building over the last couple of weeks. She attended each float building day and expresses her excitement regarding the unexpected win.

“It feels so great to win,” Richardson said. “I thought the 3D clouds were an awesome touch and they really brought this float to life. The bright red doghouse drew people in and our handouts gave people a good idea of what we are trying to do and support. My favorite part of the float was definitely the big red dog house. I had my hopes up for our float, but once I saw the sophomore float, I started to wonder if we had a chance. But the moment I heard our name called, I was totally stoked!”

As time expired, the scoreboard glowed, 61-12, in favor of the home team. This pushed the Eagles to 2-0 in the Valley 8-Man league and 3-4 overall. Homecoming king Tyler Villines led the game with five total touchdowns. More stats will be added Monday, Oct. 9. Return to The Feather Online for updated football and overall homecoming information.

The class that received the most spirit points during the week will be declared the overall winner. Leadership is scheduled to announce the winning class on Monday.

For more homecoming articles, read today’s recap: Homecoming for Humanity: Spirit/Sports Friday. For more information on the non-profits each class represented, read Homecoming for Humanity: Leadership add non-profits to fall program. The Feather editors would love to hear from the student body in the comment section below. Share your favorite homecoming moments, photos or events. Or send a letter to the editor via the right menu bar option.

For last year’s homecoming article, read 32nd annual FC homecoming promotes, excites 40th anniversary crowd.

For more on days leading up to Spirit/Sports Friday and homecoming night, visit the links below:

Recap day 4, Homecoming for Humanity: PJ Thursday.

Recap day 3, Homecoming for Humanity: Wish-Upon-a-Star Wednesday.

Recap day 2, Homecoming for Humanity: Topper Tuesday.

Recap day 1, Homecoming for Humanity: ‘Merica Monday.

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