Homecoming games are the convergence of many aspects of high school life. The band plays pep tunes throughout the game while football players run between end zones as cheerleaders cheer them on. Per usual, students and families fill the stadium. But, most of this can’t happen without everything that occurs the behind the scenes.

The football team does not want to change the normalized routine because they feel that a change would create a different atmosphere that players aren’t accustomed to.

“There wasn’t a JV game beforehand so we didn’t have to be at the team room until around 5 p.m. to suit up,” junior and varsity football player Esteban Mendez said.

Students elected to be on homecoming court practice to make sure each person knows their position during halftime. The Associated Student Body communicates with band and the cheerleaders to coordinate music and how to best arrange halftime festivities.

“This year, Danielle [Gould] and I made a model of the halftime set up to help explain it more clearly,” ASB adviser Heidi Cissell said.

The band performed Gene Krupa’s “Sing Sing Sing” during halftime, lining the homecoming court’s red carpet.

“The homecoming game is pretty different than our usual games. We have to learn a new piece of music that fits the theme of the [homecoming] dance that we perform instead of our normal halftime performances,” senior and drum major Morgan Cole. “The crowd is much larger than usual, which can be intimidating, but the extra enthusiasm can be really encouraging at the same time.”

The difference between the homecoming game and the rest of the games is the increased crowd which can sometimes add pressure for the players and musicians.

“It’s homecoming and nobody wants to lose especially since those games usually draw the biggest crowd,” Mendez said.