South Forsyth celebrates its annual Homecoming game through a plethora of activities and traditions. Juniors (from left to right) Victor Wang and Kaden Hogan cheered on the football team at the Homecoming game on Thursday, Oct. 20.
SOFO HOCO 2022: Home is Where the Spirit (Week) is
From October 17th-21st, South Forsyth High School celebrated its annual Homecoming Week. With students and staff dressing up in their best attire to fit the days’ different themes, every day of spirit week proved to be a special surprise. The week culminated in a successful win for the War Eagles against Forsyth Central’s Bulldogs in the traditional Homecoming Game. To wrap up the week, South Forsyth held their Homecoming dance on Friday, which was also a generous day off from school for students.
What’s “Adam Sandler Day”? South Shows Their Spirit With Unique Themes
During Homecoming Week, students and faculty at South Forsyth High donned costumes of all kinds to show their school spirit. Each day had a new theme for everyone to show off their creativity, and they did not disappoint.
Pajama Monday was first and people came to school dressed in their favorite sleepwear. Some had their flannel pajamas while others wore their onesies. Dressed in such comfortable clothes, everyone was excited to see what the next few days would bring.
On Adam Sandler Tuesday, many people showed up in their long baggy shorts and loose t-shirts to replicate Sandler’s iconic paparazzi pictures. People took this iconic fashion sense to the level by wearing their favorite baseball caps on their heads with the brim turned around to add their own Sandler flair.
Next up was Wild West Wednesday. Students and staff sported wide-brimmed cowboy hats and jeans to look like the famous ranchers of the west. This theme had SFHS visit the Wild West in the middle of the week.
Game day Thursday was the day of the long-awaited football game between Central Forsyth and South. Everyone showed their support by wearing their class colors. Shades of white, gray, blue, and black were seen in the hallways all day. Topped off by the South victory, it was a satisfying conclusion to Spirit Week.
Students shared their retrospective opinions on South’s take on the high school tradition.
“Spirit week was good,” said freshman Alex Martinez. “It was fun seeing other people be creative in what they brought, and other people interacting with you to talk about the item that you brought.”
SFHS’s National Honors Society (NHS) serves the community through volunteer and community service, but this year, they also pitched in to improve engagement in this year’s Spirit Week.
We spoke with NHS President, Alex Gliwinski, who told the Bird Feed Staff about how the NHS officer team got their members to participate in school spirit.
“Spirit has really become a top priority at South this year. Naturally, we, as NHS, had to adapt to reflect this goal within our projects. We began sanctioning the Friday football spirit days which culminated in HOCO Spirit Week. We awarded half an hour for dressing up and taking a picture in front of our selfie station. In just the month of October, we had over 90 members submit spirit wear for hours. We also created the selfie station in the atrium (pictured in the slideshow) and throughout the year, the officers had been decorating it for each Friday football spirit day,” Gliwinski said. “We’ve incentivized members through service hours and comparing our first dress up day in August to our most recent in October, it’s evident that participation has skyrocketed.”
Thanks to Gliwinski and the efforts of NHS, South saw a positive change in the mood and school spirit of the students and staff. The school community is beginning to see past the support for just the football team, and Spirit Week has transformed into a week of unity and solidarity.
“To me, Spirit Week is really about building community. South is a huge school and it’s super easy to get lost in those numbers. By creating these days for us to all come together, no matter how goofy the theme, unity is growing,” Gliwinski reflected. “I think there’s lots of other fun elements of spirit week. Watching the game is fun, seeing creative costumes is interesting and obviously the dance is one of the key events STUCO (Student Council) puts on for students. To me though, I think bringing the student body together, even in something as simple as the same outfit, is the most important part.”
Each member of the court was individually announced along with family members who walked them down the field. The announcer talked about each member’s achievements, passions, goals, and who they were thankful for, sparking a touching moment between students and families.
The entire stadium was buzzing with anticipation as the Homecoming Queen and King were announced. Cheers erupted from the stands as senior David Kim was crowned Homecoming King and senior Haven Somerson was crowned Homecoming Queen.
When asked about how it felt to attend her last homecoming and win the crown, Homecoming Queen Haven Somerson said, “I just remember my jaw dropped and feeling so shocked, but also so grateful because I looked at my parents and my friends, and getting to see everyone was so exciting for me.” Somerson said it was “a great experience.”
Along with the students, faculty members also had a chance to vie for the crowns. This year, the title of Faculty Homecoming Queen went to science teacher Erin Loggins. Social studies teacher Brad Frilot received the crown as Faculty Homecoming King.
When asked about how she felt about being chosen for Faculty Homecoming Queen, Loggins said, “I was shocked, but I was happy to represent the school, so that was exciting.”
Congrats to Faculty Homecoming King Brad Frilot and Faculty Homecoming Queen Erin Loggins. 👑🦅 pic.twitter.com/kArxSoHaNo
Loggins also commented on her favorite moments from Homecoming, stating that she loved “getting to see everyone dressed up because some of them were my previous students, so it was really fun… and getting to crown Haven was fun too.”
Homecoming Court 2022 was an exciting experience for everyone, and we could not be happier for students who made memories that will last a lifetime.
Victory at Home: War Eagles Win in the Nest
The South Forsyth Varsity War Eagles executed to perfection to secure an at-home win for Homecoming 2022.
On Oct. 20, 2022, fans, students, parents, and faculty gathered in school colors at South Forsyth High school’s football stadium to watch an intense game against Forsyth Central. The Varsity Football Team from South Forsyth had tremendous support from the marching band, cheerleaders and dance team as they faced the Forsyth Central Bulldogs.
Mikey Meersman, a junior on Varsity, always loves seeing the student section and everyone supporting the team.
Meersman said, “The fans are always excited to see us and play a part. It’s always nice to look back and know they are all there to support the team and cheer.”
South Football was also highly optimistic about how the Varsity team would perform on Homecoming Night: “The team felt very confident that if we did what we are capable of, we would win the game going into it,” Meersman said.
To begin the game, Forsyth Central won the coin toss and chose to defer. South Forsyth received and began the game with possession of the football. The War Eagles started slow with a failed effort on their first drive, resulting in a punt. This quarter only got more eventful as South Forsyth stepped on the gas and did not wait for Forsyth Central to keep up.
After getting a stop on a crucial fourth down play, South began their first scoring drive of the game in Central territory. A strong effort by senior quarterback Ty Watkins brought the ball to Forsyth Central’s one-yard line. To finish business, junior running back Maverick Schippmann ran the ball in for the first touchdown of the game with just under six minutes remaining in the first quarter.
With little time remaining in the quarter, South dominated the remaining minutes, scoring two more touchdowns before the horn sounded. The War Eagles entered the second quarter with a very comfortable lead of 21 – 0.
Not stopping there, South began the second quarter with the play of the game, as senior wide receiver Josh Nelson made a spectacular catch and stayed on his feet to run in for the score. This exciting moment brought the game’s score to 28 – 0 in favor of South Forsyth.
Close to the end of the first half, after a series of slow drives, South had the ball. Driving down the field, senior quarterback Watkins closed the half with a thriller passing touchdown to fellow senior James Margiotta. After missing the point after the touchdown, South Forsyth led Forsyth Central 34 – 0 at the end of the half.
At this point in the game, due to high school rules, the referees enforced a “mercy rule,” making the game clock run without stopping for the rest of the game. The game finished quickly after halftime with no scores for the remainder of the game, as the coaches for both sides played their Junior Varsity players for the half. As the crowd roared for the final time, the game came to a finish with a final score of South Forsyth – 34, Forsyth Central – 0.
South Forsyth dominated the first half to cruise to a 34-0 win over Forsyth Central Oct. 20 at War Eagle Stadium. https://t.co/su2YATGS5L
South was absolutely ecstatic to win its Homecoming Game, making it a sweet celebration. Meersman stated, “We felt very great after the game, being happy we delivered a [win on] HoCo night.”
All Panic, No Disco? Students Express Mixed Feelings About 2022 HoCo Dance
In the evening hours of Friday, Oct. 21, administrators pushed open the doors to the Blue Gym to commence South Forsyth High School’s 2022 Homecoming Dance. Blue, white, and purple balloons bounced on the ceiling and multicolored lights showered the crowd while streamers strung down the walls and music blared from the DJ stand.
To top it all off, disco balls hung from the ceiling to truly embody this year’s theme of “disco.”
Angela Tan, a senior at South, setting up decorations for the Homecoming Dance at SFHS’s Blue Gym in Cumming, GA. on Friday, Oct. 21, 2022. South Forsyth’s student council arrived at the gym before the dance and arranged the various decorations. (Maggie Craig)
On one side of the gym, the student council lined tables with water bottles, chip bags, and cookies. On the other end of the room sat couches and chairs for people to rest their feet. They also set up backdrops in multiple places for students to take pictures with whomever they like.
Homecoming or Home-going?
Even with all the flashy lights and trending music playing through the speakers, Homecoming wasn’t necessarily everything one might expect it to be. South students had mixed experiences, with some recounting a fun-filled night with lots of dancing and laughter, while others recalled a boring night that could be improved upon.
Praneeth Yalamanchili, a senior at South, was in the first group. He said he enjoyed “getting to spend time with [his] friends” as they “had a lot of fun on the dance floor.”
Yalamanchili said an early dinner “allowed us as friends to converse and connect over a meal, while the dance itself [allowed] us to let loose and have fun in a completely different way.”
On the other hand, Grace Forero, a freshman at South, suggested ideas for various aspects of the dance that could be changed.
“I thought [the Homecoming dance] was boring … I felt they could put more effort into it to make it better,” Forero said. “[They should] add more [activities] to do.”
Similarly, Kevin Lu, a junior at South, also shared his thoughts on the events of the night.
“It was boring how everyone just stood there and talked,” Lu said. “There really wasn’t anything interesting. [They should] have something for us to do instead of just talking to people for an extended period of time.”
With the crowdedness of the gym, a “mosh pit” was born.
“It was in a gym, and everyone was very closely packed together,” Lu said, adding the dance should be done “in the plaza or any open space.”
While it indefinitely raised students’ spirits as they came together and relinquished weeks of stress with friends, it was also common for people to become collateral damage of “rough” dancing while being stepped on and pushed around.
Words of Wisdom
While there’s no right way to enjoy a school dance, those who enjoyed Homecoming ’22 also walked away with thoughts on how to make next year’s celebration the best it can be.
“This was my first Homecoming…so I would advise [other students] to spend time with your friends before going to the dance to make it a more memorable experience,” advised Leah Scherer, a sophomore student at South.
When asked what the most memorable moment of the night was, Forero responded by saying, “when they carried the kids on their shoulders, and they were running around,” tying in the whole “classic homecoming” vibe.
At the end of the day, Yalamanchili shared a cheerful piece of advice for future freshmen, encouraging them to “just have fun!” He said they “will come to cherish these nights as [they] move through high school,” ultimately uplifting them to “make the most of it.”
Disco-ing Home
This year, students from all different grade levels eagerly participated in South festivities and showed their South spirit. From spirit week to the Homecoming game, students rocked their Adam Sandler looks and cheered on the football team as they represented South pride.
To top it off, South’s War Eagles won the Homecoming game by a landslide on Thursday night. On Friday night, the students dressed up in fancy suits and dresses as they attended the Homecoming dance at South and celebrated the representatives on the Homecoming Court.
“The DJ was really good this year and the setup in the gym was fun to see. I loved being able to hang out with my friends and see everyone having a blast,” said junior Jackson Waddell. “Compared to last year’s Homecoming, the music was way better, and the dance took place inside which I really liked. Overall, it was a great night, and I would most definitely go again.”
Overall, South students were elated to spend time with their friends and break some dance moves on the disco-themed dance floor.
The Bird Feed is the student news site of South Forsyth High School. We serve the student body by providing timely and relevant content to our readers.
We place an emphasis on objective news, but The Bird Feed does have a character that represents our staff which we will present occasionally. We also give significance to multimedia and believe that it is vital to maintaining a diverse and engaging news site.
Brady Lynn is a senior at South Forsyth High School beginning his first year writing with The Bird Feed. He joins The Bird Feed with the intent to be a sports writer. He is a dedicated sports fan as he follows all Atlanta related sports, his favorite team being the Atlanta Falcons. As a football player at South Forsyth High School he enjoys being around sports and has a dream of being a distinguished sports writer traveling the country with his favorite team. Sports are everything to him and he wants to keep them in his life forever. When he is not playing football or going to school he loves to be with his friends or family and work on cars.
Maggie Craig is currently a senior at SFHS and is super excited to be this year's Editor-in-Chief for The Bird Feed. If she isn’t writing stories, you will find her jamming out on her guitar or ukulele. She is a performer at heart and is a member of the voice company at RISPA. Maggie loves musicals such as Waitress and Miss Saigon. In her spare time, she binge-watches anime and plays on her Nintendo Switch. Never hesitate to approach her and say hello because she loves meeting new people. You can contact her through her email @[email protected] or through her Twitter @Smrcraig108.
