Attendees witness Eagle victory, cast votes on class floats

Over a thousand people flock to the Fresno Christian field for the 34th annual homecoming night, “Homecoming Happily Ever After”, Oct. 5. Weeks of preparation and festivities make way for a night of floats, football, and fun.

The scent of cotton candy and warm food filled the air as alumni, students and grandparents surveyed each of the classes Disney themed floats. Students worked the floats, selling different foods from New York style pizza to homemade baklava. All proceeds from the night go towards Kids On A Mission, an organization working towards empowering kids to use their time, talents, and treasures to help people in need.

Riley Goldsborough, ‘21, attended University High last year and didn’t have a homecoming to participate in. He appreciates the opportunity to help out with the float and seeing all the finished products.

“The floats are pretty amazing and everyone seems to be having a great time,” Goldsborough said. “From what I’ve seen I think the costumes are pretty cool so everyone could have a shot at winning. I liked the Hawaiian dress up one because I got to bring my ukulele to school. It’s a pretty good way to break up the schedule and just have fun.”

Football players take the field against Frazier Mountain Falcons

The stands filled up to watch the Fresno Christian Eagles face off against the Frazier Mountain Falcons. The Eagles defeated Frazier Mountain, 51-0, ending the evening similar to last year, when the Eagles defeated Riverdale, 61-12, Oct. 6.

In the following podcast, journalist Kyle Clem, ’21, interviews football coach Russ Counts about the events of the game and how the team continues to improve.

The game began with a crowd roaring 75-yard opening kickoff touchdown return for the Eagles, by junior Blake Burdan. The touchdowns continued with a 25-yard quarterback rush on fourth and ten by senior Anthony Leonardo. Eagles led midway through the first quarter, 14-0. With 6:57 left in the first quarter, junior Tyler Stotts caught a 10-yard touchdown to put the Eagles up, 21-0.

In the last two minutes of the first quarter, Blake Burdan rushed 55 yards for his second touchdown of the night, putting the Eagles up, 28-0. In the second quarter junior Richie Cortez kicked a field goal to finish out the half with Eagles leading, 38-0.

The third quarter included a spectacular 15-yard catch by Tyler Stotts for a touchdown and an 11-yard touchdown rush by Blake Burdan, who finished the night with three touchdowns. The night ended with an Eagle victory. Go to Max Preps to check for more highlights.

After winning three straight D-V State championships, coach Russ Counts pushes the players to give their best at practice and during games. Counts was proud of the team’s performance and the encouragement given to the younger players.

“New freshmen Owen McCann and Casey LaCroix are doing a great job and just coming in fresh,” Counts said. “They’re really doing a great job coming back up and Blake Burdan found a whole other level of speed tonight that was really fun to watch. I’m really proud of what he’s doing. I think next week’s battle against Orcutt is going to be a really good battle. Orcutt’s No. 6 in the state; we’re No. 10 right now and it’s just going to be a battle of strength and power.”

The Fresno Christian Eagles defeat the Frazier Mountain Falcons, 51-0.

Final score: FC defeats Frazier Mountain, 51-0, on #FChomecoming18, Oct. 5. @fresnochristian @PAGMETER @FresnoBeeSports pic.twitter.com/JrIoxJUaAf

— The Feather Online (@thefeather) October 6, 2018.

Disney-themed floats raise money for Kids On A Mission

This year’s homecoming floats were based on Disney movies, each class choosing a different film to represent. The freshman class represented Toy Story, sophomores chose Aladdin, juniors selected Up and the seniors ended their last homecoming with the Avengers.  

The high school classes work for weeks to produce a Disney-themed float for homecoming.

Here are the #FChomecoming18 float results!
First place-Juniors (Up)
Second place-Freshmen (Toy Story)
Third place-Sophomores (Aladdin)
Fourth place-Seniors (Avengers)@fresnochristian #thefeather pic.twitter.com/0fX2TpMjuQ

— The Feather Online (@thefeather) October 6, 2018.

The junior class ended the night with the winning float, the freshmen coming close behind in second place. Putting in numerous float building times, the junior class rallied together to earn their victory. Junior participants share their excitement over the win and how they all contributed.

Deborah Ingerson, ‘20, looks forward to homecoming festivities every year. She enjoys watching the king and queen Royal Battle and dressing up on all the theme days. Ingerson contributed to her class’s float by painting and drilling in wall structures.

“This week was really fun,” Ingerson said. “I always look forward to the game, the float building contest, and seeing our Eagles win the game. I’m so glad we won the float contest because we worked so hard on this thing. Our theme this year was Up and I went to almost all of the float building meetings. It was a lot of work but it was definitely worth it. I did lots of painting and drilling for the walls to go up, thanks to John Foster there was a waterfall.”

Colten Allen, ‘20, used his musical talents to enhance the float, singing and acting for people who stopped by. Not able to contribute to the float building, Allen spent the evening dressed up and getting involved with his peers.

“Nothing’s better than hanging out with friends on a Friday night,” Allen said. “The best part about last years homecoming for sure had to be the milkshakes and rock wall that the seniors did. I played the old man from the movie Up and I did entertainment, playing some Disney songs on guitar and anything else I could do to contribute.”

Homecoming court shines under the Friday night lights

Fathers dressed in suit and tie, sitting in borrowed BMWs, escorted homecoming queens and princesses to the field during halftime. A recorded message from each candidate played as they rode in, sharing a favorite Bible verse with an encouraging word for their class.

Freshmen princess winner Makayla Davila enjoyed watching everyone who dressed up, and how they contributed to homecoming. Crowned freshman princess, Davila felt honored to be chosen and shares her appreciation for the events this year.

“I loved all the games we played this year, especially the Disney trivia on Tuesday,” Davila said. “This is my first year being apart of homecoming so this means a lot to me. I feel very honored and blessed that my classmates selected me to be a princess candidate this year. I hope this event will start off a great year.”

Scott Rurik, father of homecoming prince, Alex Rurik, 19, enjoys spending time with his son and is proud of his accomplishments as a student. Rurik loves to reconnect with old friends at homecoming and participate in the festivities.

“What I like about the Fresno Christian homecoming is seeing people that you’ve never seen before that have a common bond of a Christian worldview,” Rurik said. “So even if you haven’t seen somebody for twenty years, you reconnect right away, because there’s a connection in the Spirit. I’m very happy for Alex, that he has the privilege of being in the homecoming court, and I’m very proud of him.”

Congratulations to the winners of the homecoming court:

Freshman princess: Makayla Davila

Sophomore princess: Mackenzie Beckworth

Junior princess: Lindsay Weimer

Senior princess: Kamryn Schultz

Senior queen: Julia Fikse

Senior prince: Alex Rurik

Senior king: Kyle Friesen

In the following video, The Feather media team captures homecoming evening.

Homecoming 2018 from The Feather Online on Vimeo.

For more homecoming articles, read today’s recap, Homecoming Happily Ever After: Spirit Friday. For more information on Kids On A Mission, check out their mission statement. We’d love to hear your feedback! Comment your favorite part of homecoming and share photos and videos.

To read last year’s homecoming article, check out Homecoming for Humanity: 33rd annual FC homecoming.

For recap days leading up to homecoming night, read the following articles:

Recap day 1: Captain America Monday

Recap day 2: Goofy’s Wide World of Sports Tuesday

Recap day 3: Sleeping Beauty’s Wake Up Wednesday

Recap day 4: Moana’s Tropical Thursday

Recap day 5: Spirit Friday

Addison Schultz can be reached via email and via Twitter @SchultzAddison.

Slideshow images from the 34th annual Fresno Christian homecoming, Oct. 5.

Gallery • 1 Photos