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FC’s 36th annual homecoming festivities culminated on Friday night’s football with an Eagle victory over Alpaugh, 47-6, Sept. 17. Guests overflowed the 1,000-seat stands to cheer on the homecoming court, inspect the floats, and watch the game.
This year’s homecoming theme was “Homecoming for Humanity.” Each grade voted on a charity to support, then raised money for it by sharing a link and selling products in front of their floats on game day. A record-breaking $5,135 was raised for the nonprofits. The seniors, who also raised $1042 for the Cal Fire Benevolent Foundation, won first place in the float competition.
Eagles football face-off Alpaugh
The Eagles held a strong lead the whole game. By the end of the first quarter, they were up 34-0.
Frank Kazarian, ’23, scored the opening touchdown. In total, he had 5 carries for 87 yards and 2 touchdowns.
“I’m really proud of all the younger guys that were able to play,” Kazarian said, “and come out and just prove that they are working hard and are a part of this team. They got a lot of good playing time and really proved themselves.”
The defense also had a strong performance. Senior Braden Walters, a defensive player and kicker, scored a touchdown on a fumble recovery. The Eagles lead 40-0 at halftime.
Despite a slow second-half and rotating substitutes on the field, freshman Josh Kubota, got a touchdown early in the 2nd half. With a comfortable lead, younger players filled the field to gain experience and playtime.
Riverdale Christian scored a late touchdown in the 3rd quarter. Running back senior Santiago Conchas, No.40, from Riverdale Christian ran into the end zone. Riverdale went for two but failed on the conversion.
Fresno Christian ran the clock out in the 4th quarter and played conservatively. They ended the game in victory formation, quarterback kneel. The Eagles were able to take the win on homecoming night 47-6.
The next football home game is Saturday, Oct. 2, against Orcutt Academy starting at 6 p.m.
Homecoming court
At halftime, the glamorous queen and princess candidates rode in luxury cars, including two Lamborghinis, a Porsche and a Chevrolet Corvette and Camaro, to the front of the stands. They joined up with their parent escorts and the senior king candidates on the field. Prerecorded messages introduced the court members.
The winners were announced in front of the roaring crowd. Last year’s honorary king and queen, Bryson Graham, and Natalie Arndt, presented the court with a crown and flowers.
Congratulations to the homecoming court winners:
King – Owen McCann
Queen- Ashley Logan
Senior prince – Kamdon Marquez
Senior princess – Emily Penberthy
Junior princess – Brandy Penberthy
Sophomore princess – Gabby Hutcheson
Freshman princess – Milly Morgan
Senior Ashley Logan stayed busy all week between being involved in leadership, cheer, choir, and the royal court. On Friday, she set up decorations before returning home to dress up.
“I definitely have enjoyed the royal battle the most,” Logan said. “I liked all the group practices, preparing for it was really fun. We were all nervous, but it went really well.”
To purchase photos of the candidates and other homecoming scenes, go to The Feather Online Smug Mug.
Floats raise money for nonprofits
On Friday after school, students on the float building committees gathered by the football field to put the finishing touches on their displays. The goal in making these floats is to raise awareness and money for each classes’ charity.
Seniors
Raising the most money and voted the best build, the senior class students constructed a shed-sized recreation of Cressman’s General Store, a landmark on the way to Shaver Lake that burned down during the Creek Fire and is now reopening. Beside the building, a mural of trees, mountains and a fire in the distance set the scene. Onlookers could feel the heat emitted from a flame thrower located above the roof of the float.
The class raised $1042 for the Cal Fire Benevolent Foundation, which gives assistance to firefighters and their families. They also collected $1200 for Cressmen’s through selling cookies and apparel from the store.
Juniors
The juniors supported the Make-A-Wish Foundation of America, a non-profit that grants the wishes of children with critical illnesses. A total of $665 went to the cause.
They raised money through selling homemade rice Krispies, star-shaped sugar cookies, and butterscotch coconut bars.
The build consisted of wavy blue walls and hanging lights across the top. It featured a working fountain that donators could try to throw pennies into.
Sophomores
The sophomores raised the most money, with $2134 put towards Doctors Without Borders. This organization provides medical aid and responds to humanitarian crises across the world.
For the float, the sophomores constructed a white tent complete with a mock hospital bed. Throughout the game, class members manning the float in medical scrubs spontaneously role-played emergency surgeries.
The class sold four flavors of cotton candy, which is meant to represent gauze, as well as Shirley Temples and water. The seniors raised $574 from these sales, adding to $1,560 they raised online throughout the week.
Freshmen
The freshmen supported Water for South Sudan, an organization that seeks to improve the quality of life for the people of South Sudan through building and fixing wells and educating communities on hygiene.
Students raised $1320 through online donations and selling snow cones. The float was made to resemble a South Sudanese village with a scaled-down round hut with a cone-shaped straw roof.
The back wall depicts a setting sun and the silhouette of a tree. The freshmen also painted the South Sudan flag and built a faux well.
Alumni return for game night
Because of Covid-19 restrictions, the ’20-’21 football season was not possible. This meant that homecoming was also canceled, which gave more reason to last year’s seniors to return and join in homecoming this year.
Caleigh Alday attended past homecomings as a cheerleader. She graduated from Fresno Christian in ’21 and is currently studying at Clovis Community College.
“I’m most excited to see all the floats, and just regular homecoming since we missed it last year,” Alday said. “This year just felt totally normal, and we seniors deserve it for this year.”
Jewel Chandler is also a ’20 alumna. As a “lifer,” she attended Fresno Christian from kindergarten to high school.
“I thought it was just really cool to come out and see the different floats and all my colleagues from before,” Chandler said. “I thought it was almost like reliving the event through them. I’m really happy that they had this opportunity to do it; we had our own thing, so that was good. It felt like I was almost in it with them in a way.”
Choir, cheer, band rally the crowd
The chamber choir, directed by Susan Ainley, opened the night by leading the crowd in the “The Star-Spangled Banner.”
Middle school cheer performed in the first half, while the varsity high school team, both led by coach Hope Villines, cheered during the second half.
Although the FC band usually plays in the stands, during homecoming they moved down to the field to make room for the crowd. They performed pompous short melodies after touchdowns and other important moments of the game.
Kemya Hopkins, ’24, plays the snare and bass drum for the FC band. Homecoming night was her first time playing at a football game.
“I enjoyed homecoming night because I love to play and it was good and easy songs,” Hopkin said. “But I didn’t like how hectic it was. We usually practice in sections, then met up and practice altogether.”
The week before…
While kickoff started at 6 p.m., homecoming began much sooner. This main event of the year requires weeks of planning and hours of preparation. Students sacrifice their time to build floats and practice for cheer, band, and/or football. Leadership students took on the challenge of planning princess pageants and decorating for the game.
As a leadership, cheer, and choir member, sophomore Paige Deffenbacher felt the stress of planning and participating in her first homecoming.
“There’s only so much you can plan for,” Deffenbacher said. “We did a great job in being prepared in advancement for this week, but there are those things you can only do the week of and day of. That has been a little crazy. I’ve been across this campus upwards of fifteen times today.”
Below are daily wrap-ups leading up to homecoming night.
Day 1 – Matching Monday
Day 2 – Timber Tuesday
Day 3 – Mathlete vs Athlete
Day 4 – Country vs Country Club
While the seniors had the top-rated float, the sophomore class won a lunch party by earning the most points by the end of the week. These points were calculated by dress-up day participation, princess pageants, float competition placement, and total money raised.
What were your favorite homecoming memories from this year’s event? Please leave comments at the bottom of this article.
For short videos from each day of homecoming, see The Feather Online’s Instagram reels.
To read about past homecomings, read Homecoming Happily Ever After: 34th annual FC homecoming and 35th annual homecoming unifies community, supports local nonprofit.
