Homecoming 2010

Wednesday, September 29, 2010
Jordan Vivier poses with her younger brother, Easton, after the Mountain Home High School senior was crowned this year's homecoming queen. Photo by Brian S. Orban

The crowning of Senior Jordan Vivier as this year's homecoming queen highlighted a close first-half gridiron battle Friday evening during Mountain Home High School's annual celebration.

A week-long rally of support across the community turned to cries of disappointment in the second half as the Mountain Home High School varsity football team fell to the Middleton Vikings in a 36-13 loss.

The yearly football contest culminated several days worth of contests and inner-school competitions aimed at fueling support for the Tigers, who entered last week's game with a 2-1 season record. Fueled by their unorthodox 42-7 win over Kuna the previous week, Mountain Home set its sights on extending its winning record.

Mountain Home High School's Class of 2011 leads the chant during Friday's assembly in the school gymnasium. An ear-splitting roar of support from each class sought to propel the Tigers varsity football team to victory later that evening during this year's homecoming contest versus the Middleton Vikings. Photo by Brian S. Orban

Activities in the days before Friday's game allowed students from each grade level a chance to express their support for the school's varsity football team as they prepared for the Middleton skirmish.

For Principal Jeff Johnson, the 2010 homecoming week was the best he'd seen to date.

"It gets bigger and better every year," he said. "The kids did a great job."

"The school spirit was great," added John Clark, the school's activities director. "The kids put a lot of effort into everything. It was a great showing of school spirit."

The homecoming week celebration started over the past weekend as each class pitched in to decorate their respective hallways in themes selected by each grade level. From an indoor circus to a haunted house, each hallway often included not-so-subtle references to Mountain Home's desire to dominate the Vikings on the football battlefield.

Johnson credited each class for their outstanding efforts and creativity during the hallway contest. In his years as an educator, he'd never seen so much time and energy poured into this competition.

The school principal also credited the students for ensuring the hallways were cleaned and in immaculate condition after the contest ended Thursday afternoon.

"It was a fun week and the best we've ever had," he said. "The kids really took a lot of pride and ownership in their building -- their school."

The inner-school rivalries continued into the evening hours earlier in the week as students duked it out during a series of contests aimed at securing bragging rights for their respective class.

It started last Monday as an eardrum-shattering roar filled the school gymnasium as the seniors battled the juniors at the net during a best-of-three "macho man" volleyball match.

A smaller but equally competitive group of freshmen and sophomores gathered at Hacker Middle School the following day to lock horns in what turned into a dodgeball free-for-all. Even Johnson got into the spirit of things that evening, serving as both a ringer for the short-handed squads and as an all-too-tempting target for some students.

Despite its usual popularity in past years, attendance in the grandstands remained less than average at last Wednesday's powder puff football game. The match up pitted girls from the senior and junior classes, all of whom volunteered to defend the gridiron for their respective class.

Although these contests generated some rivalries between the classes, the students realize that these are friendly competitions meant to inspire teamwork, Johnson said.

"In the end, they understand that we're all Tigers," he added.

These earlier competitions set the stage for Friday's main homecoming events, which started with the student assembly in the gym. It featured skits performed by each class, each of which sought to give the varsity football players added motivation for their game later that evening.

The rally culminated with the naming of this year's homecoming king. But to get to that announcement, each of the four candidates vying for the crown had to successfully navigate through a multi-stage obstacle course that included chugging a bottle of milk from a baby bottle and crawling across the gym floor with their hands tied together. In the end, Colton Zamora walked away as this year's king.

Mountain Home's winning spirit continued into the afternoon as hundreds of students took to the streets for this year's homecoming parade. Fans young and old lined American Legion Boulevard and East Jackson Street next to Hacker Middle School to give the Tigers one final motivational push before the night's game.

Johnson applauded the Mountain Home community for their unwavering support of their hometown football team while asking nothing in return.

"The kids see all this support, from the flags on American Legion to the people lining the parade route, and they think it's super cool," the principal said. "It's so rewarding for these kids to have such strong support."

More photo's available in the Mountain Home News Photo Gallery

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