On Friday Sept. 15, the Wahawks played on their home field for the first time in three weeks for their homecoming game against Davenport North.
Despite over a dozen penalties throughout the game, the Wahwaks were able to defeat the Wildcats, claiming their third victory of the season with a final score of 19-3.
At the beginning of the first quarter, senior Jacob Muller scores an interception touchdown for the Wahawks, “It felt surreal scoring since I’m mostly a defensive player and I don’t get many opportunities to score,” Muller shares.
With this, Muller was up for the KWWL Hero Play of The Week, “It’s definitely an honor to be up for play of the week since there were only three other plays up for title. It was special to me since the video [of his play] got me celebrating with my teammates as well,” he said.
Shortly after, the Wildcats fought back earning three points from a field goal just before the first quarter came to an end. The rest of the first half would remain with the Wahawks 7-3 lead over Davenport as both teams were unable to score.
Walking into the third quarter with a four point lead, the Wahawks were able to bring out more of their offense as they scored another touchdown by sophomore Torian Doss.
Senior Keegan Nystrom shares the effort his team has put into this year so far, “With all the seniors and experience that we have we are very prepared for this season.” Nystrom believes the dedication from his team will help the Wahawks reach various goals they have set for themselves.
As he talks about the teams goals for the 2023 season, Nystrom shares that the main one is to compete at the state tournament and to hang a banner in the gym “I think these last couple games have shown that our team is ready to compete against the best teams in the state,” he shares. Keeping a lead over the Wildcats, sophomore Ben Frazier ensured the Wahawk victory with a touchdown in the end of the fourth quarter.
Before the kickoff of the varsity game, the 18 members of the West High Homecoming Court stood before the stands as the 2023 homecoming coronation began. Seniors Talan Nelson and Ava Holmes were voted by their peers to be named the 2023 Homecoming King and Queen.
Holmes shares the rewarding feeling she experienced as she received her crown, “Being crowned queen is an amazing honor. Knowing that I was voted by my peers means so much to me.” She shares that she believes every other Queen nomination was just as deserving as she was, and was overall grateful for the homecoming experience.
Nelson shares that he had a different experience with being crowned King, “I never realized I wanted to be Homecoming King until it actually happened, once I found out I was on court I thought how cool it would be to actually win. So when they announced my name Friday night it was surreal,” he says.
Both Holmes and Nelson share that their favorite part of their homecoming experience was all of the events Friday included. “From the assembly in the morning, the parade in the afternoon, and the football game at night, it was such a fun-filled day!” Holmes states. Nelson shares that the parade specifically was the best part for him, “Getting to see all of my classmates and riding with Lucy [Prescott] really made it real for me.”
