Almost all of the students at Stoughton High School are familiar with Homecoming, a great Stoughton tradition that includes the pep assembly pre-game ritual, which gets everyone pumped for the big game. Each grade selects one of its own to compete in challenges against the other grades in a friendly race to win the most points. The games included tug-of-war, human Hungry Hippos, ping pong ball shakeout, a relay race, and a spontaneous dance battle. The senior class won the whole pep assembly, as well as human Hungry Hippos, tug-of-war, and the dance battle. The junior class won the relay race, and the sophomores won the ping pong ball shakeout.
Student Council president, Becca Royston, said, “The pep assembly really gets people excited. I feel like Friday, if it weren’t for the pep assembly during the day, there wouldn’t be that much to look forward to, especially leading into the football game. I feel like it gets people hyped for the game itself, especially like helping the players get all excited about everything because then there’s a parade and tailgate, which are definitely super fun, but I feel like are not as energetic as a pep assembly gets.”
Royston continued explaining the pep assembly games, saying, “Our first game is Hungry Hippo, which is a new game, so that will hopefully be really exciting with, like, the scooters, and then like all the balls in the middle and getting them. And then we have musical chairs, which is kind of a classic one, which I’m excited to see. And then our last one … It’s like the pingpong ball shakeout … So I’m really excited for that one, but it’s last on purpose because it’s my favorite.”
Brainstorming for the pep assembly and all the games takes place during the summer meeting for Student Council, but the plans are not finalized until a week or two before Homecoming Week. Royston said, “Planning was not as advanced as I wanted it to be because we still had to plan the pre-assembly then.” Overall, it turned out to be a successful assembly that fulfilled its purpose and got everyone extremely excited for the big game.
Before the pep assembly on Friday, many people participated in Spirit Week with elaborate and funny costumes. Monday was white lies, for Tuesday, seniors were the past, juniors were the wild west, sophomores were the 80s, and freshmen were the future. Wednesday was a family reunion, seniors were senior citizens, juniors were adults, sophomores were college students, and freshmen were kids. Thursday was rhyme without reason, and Friday was spirit day. Abby Schmidt, the treasurer of Student Council, helped plan the theme days for Homecoming along with Ms. Jemilo, and Mr. Masters, and other students in Student Council.
Many students participated, making Homecoming week that much better. Student Council’s contributions to the pep assembly and spirit week made it a success, which brought great joy to the whole school.
On October 10th, the event everyone was waiting for was the Homecoming game. Not only was it Homecoming, but it was also Senior Night, celebrating players Colyn Kotlowski, Andy Perkins, Moses Harris, Logan Hedstrom, Parker Selnow, Reid Blackburn, Jayce Turner, Owen Corbet, Malcolm Perry, Gatlin Empey, Miles Hoselton, Steven Sess, Dylan Clark, Theodore Chose, Max Nelson, and manager Mikayla Becker and their final season of football.
Despite the 0-24 loss against Sauk Prairie, the team showed great effort and determination, and the student section cheered relentlessly. The defense only allowed one touchdown in the first half of the game and three interceptions in total. The offense struggled in the beginning, but slowly improved throughout the game, particularly with passing plays. Some key players in the game were Selnow, Jackson Keis, Blackburn, Empey, Hedstrom, Devin Rodgers, and starting quarterback Kotlowski. Luckily, no one was injured during the game. However, a few players who were injured were able to return and play for part of the game: Corbet, Turner, Perkins, Lawson Lang, and Luke Bonjour.
Football wasn’t the only highlight of the game; the band performed their show “Dreams Falling Dark” at halftime, led by senior drum major Morgan Luick. Cheer soon followed, wowing the crowd with their halftime performance of “Starship” by Nicki Minaj. The dance team also had a great performance. It was truly a great time for both the fans and the cheerleaders. Not only was it senior night for football, but also for cheer and dance. Senior cheerleader Tobie Bluel said that she will miss the cheer team when she graduates. “The team made me feel super special, and it was an amazingly kind group of people that I found I was always laughing with,” said Bluel. Although performing in front of a sea of people is nerve-wracking, Bluel found it rewarding and felt good about her performance.
The collaboration of different clubs and sports made for a spirited and united atmosphere for Stoughton’s homecoming game.
Every year, the Homecoming Dance changes into something new. The Student Council, which is around 70 students, is in charge of choosing the theme. According to Ms. Fischer, “We [Student Council ] all start brainstorming possible ideas in May. We typically end up with 10-15 different possibilities. After that, we narrow it down to top three… By the end of that meeting we have a final vote.” After a close call, Mamma Mia won, giving ‘wild western’ second place and ‘Rio’ third. The Student Council really put in work this year for the theme, from streamers to banners, completing the look with a little photo-op spot of Mamma Mia-themed decorations.
Student Council members help with the pep assembly. Then, the Friday before the dance, they set up the gym with all the decorations, changing the atmosphere from high school gym to Mamma Mia island vibes.
For those not in the know, Mamma Mia is a popular musical about a mother planning her daughter’s wedding. The daughter, wondering who her father is, invites three of her mom’s old flings in an attempt to find out. Her daughter is on a mission to find her father so he can walk her down the aisle. The men all show up and the movie turns into a comical account of trying to find the real dad.
With all the Mamma Mia songs playing at the dance, it really set the upbeat mood, especially with teachers throwing glow sticks down to the kids. This took the dance from good to GREAT. Some even brought glowsticks home as a trinket. Many kids got onto the dance floor, Caitlin Kreger said “”The dance was fun, the energy from everyone was great and we had a great time! My favorite part was the dancing and jumping around with everyone because it was just a vibe.” Catlin herself stayed for an hour and a half, leaving once things started to die down. In the end the crowd stayed and danced longer than usual in the fun vibe that the staff and Student Council members created.
It made for a memorable Homecoming – I mean how could you resist it?
The homecoming tailgate before the game is always a hit. This year, student-led activities lined the pavement along the side of the high school and it was a chance to get a glimpse of different student organizations/clubs. Each table had a little something for Homecoming. Many football fans sported tattoos that made claims like “purple power” from the Norwegian Dancers. Others tossed balls into a return net with the baseball team.
The Stoughton Band Boosters had food covered, they were selling hot dogs, hamburgers, chips, soda, and candy. All of their earnings went right back into the band; this helps the band with show shirts, marching expenses, and the tailgate itself.
The band played at the tailgate with all its classic pep tunes: Alzo Sprock, Rock Lobster, and Sweet Caroline among them. The band had a bittersweet ending, saying their goodbyes with Senior Night. All the seniors had flowers pinned to their uniforms and had a rousing send-off one by one from Mr. Schmidt before gathering for one last senior photo. The moment wrapped up with our school song before the band headed into the stands for The Star Spangled Banner and the launch of the game.
