Homecoming as a Whole
*This article was originally posted onto the first DHS news site in October of 2021*
Davenport’s 2021 Homecoming was a great success thanks to the ambition of the school’s organizations, student body, and community. There are so many factors that go into producing Homecoming, especially this year with the school parade, pep rallies, game, and dance all being held within the same week. Many people had to prepare for this big event in only a small amount of time; school organizations decorated their floats for the parade, football players practiced for their home game, band members put together their show, cheerleaders and dancers worked tirelessly to get ready for their performances, and everyone was getting ready for this year’s Candy themed dance.
The first event that came up on the Homecoming schedule was Davenport’s first ever parade, that was held on Wednesday, Sept. 15, 2021. Multiple organizations came together for this momentous occasion. JROTC led the floats from Triumphant Lutheran Church through the Forest Waters Subdivision all the way to Paul Davis Park. 10th grade band member Robert Stephenson, said, “It was difficult to march one mile and play [our] instruments at the same time, but everyone tried their best. And I think that we all did great for our first parade.” As crowds gathered along the route, students participating in the parade waved and threw candy out to them, representing the organizations of Davenport High School with cheer.
At the end of the parade route, at Paul Davis Park, a community pep rally was held. The band started things off by leading the crowd through Davenport’s school fight song. With performances by the cheer and dance teams, as well as the cheerful words spoken by the football captains and staff, the evening ended with everyone in high spirits. Senior Lark Duecker said, ” I only went because my friend bribed me into going, but I ended up actually having a lot of fun. It was cool to see the whole school come together to make this happen.”
That Friday, students and staff met in the gym for another pep rally to celebrate the football game that night. After the traditional playing of the fight song by the Wolf Band, varsity Diamonds and the JV Dazzlers both took the floor for one large dance routine to Katy Perry’s “Firework”. The cheer team and assisting football players kept the energy high following the dance teams’ performance with a fun country line dance combination.
The cheer team also brought back a tradition they started last year called the Spirit Stick competition. For this, the student body was divided by their grades and a competition was held to find the section that cheered the loudest. This section would win the “Spirit Stick” and bragging rights, the Senior section ended up coming out on top.
The pep rally was brought to an end with another great performance from the DHS band, closing it out with the Alma Mater.
After school on Friday, Davenport had its homecoming game against the Jordan Warriors which the Wolves won 52-45. Immediately in the first quarter, Davenport scored 14 more points than Jordan, placing Davenport at 31 and Jordan at 17, giving the Wolves the lead for the entirety of the game and securing another win for Davenport.
Junior Liam Guinn, who was in the student section, said “Football is like life to me, it is my life support. I try to go out to every game to support our school here.”
The Homecoming court was announced at Friday night’s game, with two people chosen from each grade. The seniors were represented by King Caleb Pacheco and Queen Isabella Molina. The other grades were all represented by Dukes and Duchesses. The homecoming court dukes and dutchesses for the junior, sophomore, and freshman classes were Fatima Hernandez Rodriquez and Latrell Ross, Gage Dunovan and Elli Plummer, and Rheagan Hay and Tyler Mayfield respectively.
The next day on Saturday, Sept. 18. Davenport held its first official homecoming dance. Davenport’s PTA put in the work to set up this year’s candy theme. With paper decorations, multicolored balloons, and candy props such as giant lollipops, an entire candy bar, and a cotton candy machine set throughout the cafeteria, the atmosphere of the dance was quite sweet.
Junior, Joseph Martinez said “The dance was so fun and the PTA did a great job matching the theme.”
Dancing, socializing and much more were enjoyed by partygoers at the dance. Adding to the festivities of the evening was a photo booth where over 200 photos were taken.
“The music selection was varied in genres and gave every group of people a chance to have fun on their own right.” stated senior, Ariel Blanco.
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