Mountainside’s football team started the homecoming weekend off with a bang by winning 21-20 against Sunset High School on October 7th. The student section was a mess of neon and noise, their chants echoing across the field. Although not many were surprised by the score, considering the team’s winning streak, this start to our homecoming weekend was still exhilarating. 

On Saturday, the real party began. But before the music and the dancing, pictures and dinner were a must. At the popular location for pictures, Jenkins Estate, senior Cody Johnson said that seeing friends dressed up was his favorite part of homecoming. He was able to see his friends and take pictures with everyone. In his opinion, the pictures all turned out great. 

At the homecoming dance, a record 1,523 students showed up. With so many people, the dancing was bound to be lively. “My favorite part of Homecoming was the dancing,” senior Jack Dunlap, who was voted court jester, said. “The water that the school offered was good, too.” According to Dunlap, the dance floor was tightly packed with hundreds of students jumping to the beat of the songs.  “It was nice to dance with all my friends.” As one of the senior court jesters, he said that he was honored to be nominated and was enjoying being a part of the homecoming assembly. 

Anyone who was at the assembly would remember Dunlap’s entrance with Sofia Montero, another court jester, where she ripped off his black slacks to reveal the short jorts he had underneath. But Dunlap’s and Montero’s entrance was not the only memorable moment from Mountainside’s homecoming court. Candice Tsai and Aaron Pham, voted most charming, entered the assembly with a handshake, sunglasses, and a pose. According to Tsai, they had made the handshake the day before and were surprised by the volume of the crowd’s applause. The court’s entrances into the assembly were full of tales of brave moments, embarrassing stories and silly poses. 

At the end of the dance, by school tradition, Sweet Caroline by Neil Diamond began to play. The students’ voices rang out, singing loud and proud. Many held the hands of others in the air at the famous lyric, “hands, touching hands, reaching out, touching me, touching you.” A surge of students jumping to each beat, shouting the chorus as loud as they could.

And finally, as the last song ended, the students began to leave, tired, sweaty and happy.