Selah Neal
FC's 40th annual Homecoming court winners take in the win after the packed agenda of the week.
As the sun sets on the Fresno Christian football field, families and friends arrive at Destination: Homecoming for a night of excitement. Homecoming is the largest and most anticipated event on FC’s campus, bringing together the central valley to support the community and partake in an eventful night. From homecoming floats to kings and queens, the wide variety of events makes for a night to remember at Fresno Christian’s 40th Annual Homecoming, Sept. 26, 2025.
FC Eagles vs. Cornerstone Cougars
The homecoming week comes to a close against Cornerstone Christian High School under the luminescent glow of Friday night lights. Homecoming and all of its glamour is centered around the football game, the main attraction of the night. Rallying together a large crowd and hundreds of big and little cheerleaders, the Eagles battled it out on the field against the Cornerstone Cougars. The Eagles fought hard in front of packed stands with consistent touchdowns and a secure defense, taking home a win for FC with a score of 48-22. FC football scored a total of 7 touchdowns and ran a total of 29 plays, making for an action-packed game on FC’s most popular night.
Bryce Smith, ’26, ran a total of 3 touchdowns on the field before strutting off down the red carpet as a member of homecoming court on his final homecoming night.
“My experience with an extremely busy night was fun; yes, it was a lot and yes I definitely lost some sleep during the week, but being able to learn silly dances and spend time with my friends on the homecoming court was totally worth it,” Smith said. “It felt really good to walk off the field with a win and see the improvement compared to last year. I feel that the friendships I made through school have helped my chemistry with my team and have helped us to perform well on game days.”
Homecoming Court:
Arriving at homecoming after a long week of games and preparation, FC’s Royal Homecoming Court took the field with anticipation. Voted by the student body weeks in advance, candidates get the honor to partake in school wide light-hearted embarrassment, princess and court games. Senior Kings and Queens practiced relentlessly to put on a show for the school, showcasing their hard work through the annual Royal Battle, a lively dance competition. Under the shine of the Friday night lights, the 2025 Homecoming Court was crowned as the stands erupted in celebratory cheers.
40th Annual Homecoming Podium:
Senior King: Braden Belmont
Senior Prince: Benson Elbert
Senior Queen: Danielle Arndt
Senior Princess: Jordyn DeGroot
Junior Princess: Mayalina Cortez
Sophomore Princess: Riley Price
Freshman Princess: Presley Meyers
2025 Senior Homecoming King Braden Belmont gave it his all in participation throughout the events of the week and gained both wins on and off the football field.
“This Homecoming experience was a lot of work, but it was overall super fun!” Belmont said. “It felt great to be nominated by my classmates and to be alongside many close friends throughout the week. This win means a lot to me. I feel so grateful to have been nominated HOCO King, and my biggest hope is just to have a positive influence on my peers for my last year at FCS.”
Float Results:
High school students prepared for homecoming for an entire month, putting together the focal point of their homecoming score results, the floats. Each grade choosing a dream destination, floats and grade themes were based on international cities to match “Destination: Homecoming.” Freshmen chose the enchanting foodie destination, Venice, Italy. Sophomores brought to life a famous travel destination and popular 2010’s movie, Rio De Janeiro, Brazil. Juniors captured the city known for cherry blossoms and unique culture, Tokyo, Japan. Seniors chose and recreated the city of love, Paris, France. Floats were judged during the continuous events of homecoming night, leaving a podium based on looks and creativity.
Destination Homecoming Float Podium:
1st Place: Juniors- Tokyo, Japan
2nd Place: Seniors- Paris, France
3rd Place: Sophomores- Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
4th Place: Freshmen- Venice, Italy
Junior Knox Beery proudly showed off his class participation with a cultural costume and advertised the junior class float throughout the course of the night’s events.
“Jonas Maxey and I wore our sumo suits to completely authenticate the Tokyo theme and we had a splendid time selling cookies and rice krispies treats to the crowd,” Beery said. “We expected to win, especially with our 100% student-made float and it felt great to win back-to-back years.”
Cheer Clinic:
FC high school and junior high cheerleaders had tiny shadows for Homecoming week, leading little Eagles to the big field. Over 140 elementary girls got the opportunity to join FC Varsity Cheer for a week of dancing, cheering and excitement. Grades K-6 spent 6 hours over the span of a week, practicing for the main attraction on Friday. From learning and perfecting motions to doing numerous fun cheers in a large circle, elementary girls gradually prepared for the upcoming show. Cheer Clinic started on Monday Sept. 22, continuing throughout the week, teaching dances, routines and cheers to all who signed up, leading up to Friday’s game. With cheer lines filled with matching bows and shirts, cheerleaders did their beloved “EAGLES” spell-out cheer and fun light-hearted dances. The week was ended with this pre-game performance in front of the overflowing stands, kicking off homecoming night.
Varsity Cheer Coach, Hope Villines, took past experiences into consideration when organizing FC’s cheer clinic and planning a memorable experience for the little eagles on the field.
“Elementary cheer clinic is a 40+ year tradition at FCS and is the one week that the K-6 grade girls look the most forward to the most,” Villines said. “The majority of our FCHS cheerleaders participated in cheer clinic when they were little and it left a huge impression on them! For some, this is where their love for cheerleading started and this one week brings together girls of all ages.”
Villines led cheerleaders of all ages to the big field on homecoming night for Elementary Cheer clinic-a popular annual FC tradition.
“We had a record number of girls join us for cheer clinic this year- over 140!” Villines said. “In my 13 years of coaching at Fresno Christian, we have never had an Elementary cheer clinic on the night of Homecoming, so it made for an absolutely fun and crazy night!”
Homecoming Recap:
Dress-up days, games, a royal battle and excitement were all compiled to make a memorable 40th Homecoming. Students, parents, friends and alumni all joined to support Fresno Christian’s most anticipated event of the year, bringing together the community and composing a timeless night.
Check out The Feather Smug Mug to purchase Homecoming photos.
To learn more about the Homecoming weeks events, visit:
Destination Homecoming: Day 1
Destination Homecoming: Day 2
Destination Homecoming: Day 3
Destination Homecoming: Day 4
To read more from The Feather, check out Column: Thinking of truth with Caleb Eldridge or World of Sports: NFL Season is Back.