Homecoming is a time for celebrating Wildcat pride. It is a tradition where the school welcomes back alumni.

This year, Archer showed its spirit with a Homecoming dance, a football victory and a themed dress-up week. Junior Jordyn McLemore said she was scared to see how many people would show up at the band sponsored dance.

“There were actually more people there than I expected,” McLemore said. “We had a very good turn out and a ton of school spirit. I just wish we could’ve been more free with the music.”

The event was limited to only ninth through 12th grade students. This year, sophomore Grace Morris said she enjoyed her first Homecoming dance.

“The dance was really exciting and I had a lot of fun with my friends,” Morris said. “ My favorite part was when they played ‘Hit The Quan’ and everyone got up and danced.”

The band members worked for a week to prepare for the dance. Band director Karen Brunker and assistant band director Andrew Checki were the designated chaperones.

“There was about 75 to 100 students there.” Brunker said. “I wish we would’ve had more people but we had a fun group. Of course I enjoyed it; we always have fun. Maybe next year we can have even more people.”

Junior Joseph Crouse said he looked forward to the Homecoming dance because of his positive experience his freshman year.

“Although it wasn’t as big this year, it was still pretty fun overall,” Crouse said. “I was really excited for it. I was proud to see how many people came and showed their school spirit and had a good time.”

At the Homecoming game students had all the more reason to show their Wildcat pride. The varsity football team came out with their first win of the season beating Hico with a score of 19-15. Senior Tyler Diaz said it was the team’s great strategy and teamwork that earned them the victory.

“We all managed to work together really well and set aside our differences,” Diaz said. “We did our best and tried hard and brought home a win.”

With the Wildcat’s crusade to a victory ending in success, students celebrated by cheering and throwing victory parties. Junior C.J. Levy said he knew that the Wildcats would win.

“I was extremely excited for all the guys on the field and was proud of how they played,” Levy said. “I was gratified with the amount of toughness I saw our players put forward.”

Even staff were excited by the close victory. Jeanette Willett attended the game to show her support and help motivate the players. She said she hollered for the home team and celebrated when they won.

“I enjoyed watching the Wildcats win the Homecoming game,” Mrs. Willett said. “It was stressful but at least we pulled through. Way to go, Cats!”

The Homecoming queen was crowned before the game. The nominees were juniors Maeley Herring and Eliot Hilbers and seniors Bobbi Loran and Kaylynn Crow. Loran received the crown.

“I was really excited and surprised when I got nominated,” Loran said. “At first I didn’t believe it. I was in total shock when they said I won. It was a little stressful preparing for it but it was fun and I really enjoyed it. It was a great experience for my senior year and to top it all off we had our first win that night.”

The cheerleaders promoted school spirit during the week with dress-up themes each day. They included Wildcats are “tu-tu” good for Hico, let the Hocogames begin, we’re frat-tastic, tacky tourists and school colors. At the pep rally, three high school students were selected for the best overall costumes throughout the week. The winners were seniors Jenna Veith, Sarah Graves and Sydney Wilhelm.

“Even though it was uncomfortable at times, I still dressed up all week so we could get the ‘W’ and because I have tons of spirit,” Veith said. “I dressed up for everything and I rocked it harder than a boulder. I love Homecoming because if you ain’t coming home, where you gonna go?”

Wilhelm also dressed up all week to support the school. She said the school was lacking in spirit so she “wanted to try to influence others to dress up.”

“I went all out with my costumes,” Wilhelm said. “My personal favorite was the Hoco games day because the seniors got the capital theme. I went so big that day that people could hardly recognize me. My goal was to help other students flaunt their weirdness because Homecoming means more than just queens and kings.”