The Homecoming football game will always go down in high school history as the biggest event of Homecoming week. Between the school spirit, the alumni, and the football team’s energy, it is arguably one of the most anticipated events of the school year. This year, the football team plays Central Dauphin on Oct. 1 at Memorial Field. 

“Everyone is welcome to be a part of all of these events and we hope to continue to have the best student section in the state that Friday night to watch our band, cheerleaders, dance team, homecoming court, and football team at Memorial Field,” Matt Lintal, head coach of the football team, said. “With all of that being said, homecoming this year has an extra meaning.  With missing many of these celebrations last year, we hope homecoming is extraordinarily special for all of our students, especially to our graduating class of 2022.”

The game is sure to be a tough and exhilarating one. Central Dauphin shows up to compete in every sport, but makes their presence in football pretty clear. Last year, they had a record of 5-1 overall, showing that they are here to win. However, this is nothing that the football team isn’t ready to take on with grit, skill, and resilience. 

“I think that we can beat Central Dauphin. We just need to be able to execute our game plan and be psychical, like every week we work to be. We also need to focus on taking things one week at a time in order to stay on track to beat them[Central Dauphin],” said TJ Yoder, a senior captain on the football team. 

Even though the main focus of the night is football, there are many other festivities as well. The State High marching band will be performing throughout the night, in addition to the cheerleaders, dance team, and colorguard.

In addition, the Homecoming court will be recognized and the king and queen will be announced at half-time. Crowning the Homecoming king and queen has always been a tradition, but has morphed to become more inclusive over the years instead of simply being a popularity contest. Seniors had the opportunity to nominate other seniors to be homecoming royalty in September, and the student body gets to vote for who they want to win. In previous years, the crown had been passed down from the old winners to the new winners. 

Even though the football team has the skill set to win the game, the energy from the student section is always guaranteed to bring out their fighting spirit on the field. The student section is in the bottom left of the stands at Memorial Field and is always packed with screaming students. For students who really want to be immersed in the energy of the game, the student section is a must-do. The theme for the Homecoming game is a white-out, so students should show up decked out in white outfits.

To read about the Homecoming parade, click here, and to read about the Homecoming dance, click here.