A boisterous crowd of Herricks High School students and alumni did everything they could to make the first homecoming game held on the Herricks home field last Friday a success.
And their rousing chants were rewarded with early success in the Herricks Highlanders game against Calhoun High School, as senior Austin Stoner intercepted a pass and – moving to offense – caught a touchdown pass from quarterback Adrian Kwan to give the home team an early 7-0 lead.
“I never had a homecoming because I never went to high school,” said Austin’s father, Glenn Stoner. “I’m so proud for him.”
The energy level in the stands and on the field was high for the game intended to honor the seniors on the Herricks football squad and the cheerleaders.
“For the seniors, this is their last homecoming,” said Jim Petricca, Herricks director of athletics. “This is the first ever homecoming on Herricks soil where we have a night game.”
Kickoff was shortly after 5 p.m. thanks to the Herricks Athletic Boosters, who had provided 12 portable light stanchions to enable the game to continue in the early evening.
“We wanted to do it on the home field so the whole community could attend,” said Kevin Dowd, vice president of the Herricks Athletic Boosters.
Senior cheerleader Samantha Esposito said holding the homecoming game on the high school field made it a particularly special occasion.
“This is our last time to be together. Having our last homecoming here is special on our home field,” Esposito said.
Herricks Board of Education trustees Christine Turner, Jim Gounaris, Sanjay Jain, Nancy Feinstein and Brian Hassan were all in attendance. Hassan, a member of the athletics boosters, was manning the grill cooking hot dogs for the occasion during the pre-game activities.
“It’s festive. Everyone’s having a good time,” said Turner, who is president of the Herricks board.
That included youngsters from the elementary schools who – like the high school students – attended pep rallies at their respective schools before coming over to the high school field.
At the high school, they played on an inflatable playground and also played soccer and volleyball to the accompaniment of a live rock band.
As the lights came on, everyone enjoyed the finale of the day’s festivities, as the Herricks team prevailed 12-9.