HOCO Need to Know

HOCO Need to Know

Arguably the best weekend of the school year, Homecoming weekend has finally arrived for the students here at East Leyden High School, and the students couldn’t be more excited.

Homecoming is a time where students, families, and staff gather together to celebrate a special weekend packed with a spirited Pep Rally on Thursday, football game on Friday, and a student dance on Saturday. Not only is this a great time to create memories with your friends, it’s a perfect opportunity to catch up with old Leyden alumni.

East Leyden’s Pep Rally was held on Thursday, September 19. This was a time where students’ excitement was raging as each fall sport/activity comes out to perform in front of both East and West Leyden’s students. Ten boys and ten girls from both East and West Leyden was chosen before the Pep Rally for Homecoming court. Andrew Parisi, a student at East Leyden that was chosen for Homecoming court, is “beyond excited” to be apart of this special group. “The best part of being on court is being with my closest friends.” Anthony Arnoni was officially crowned the Homecoming King, and Danalee Mata was crowned Queen.

Before the football game on September 20, Leyden will have a tailgating event, which will include food, music, and lots of dancing. Several students have shown their interest in this event. Anthony Arnoni, a student at East Leyden, stated he “can’t wait” to be there. “This is something new to Leyden, so students should take advantage of it and have some fun.”

This year’s Homecoming football game will be a tough matchup for Leyden, as they will be playing the Willowbrook Warriors. Even though Leyden lost their first two games, they demonstrated fight last week, crushing Morton Cicero 22-0. Past experience suggests this game will be a dog fight, as Leyden is 2-2 against Willowbrook in the last 4 years. Parisi, who starts at Wide Receiver, believes Willowbrook will be a “challenge”, but “it’s a challenge that we can overcome.”

When asked about the team’s focus this week, Parisi stated, “We have been working on our overall communication, and I think that will be the game changer this week.” Led by Coach Tom Ceresani, the Eagles look to win their first home game of the season. 

Don’t be fooled, though, the Homecoming Dance is the highlight of this action-packed weekend. This year’s theme for the dance is “Around the World”, which consists of areas in the dance with props from different countries. Places like Paris and London will be set up in the gymnasium for students to take pictures with their dates. 

All of these events will take place at West Leyden High School, which is located in Northlake, Illinois. If you want to have a great time, come out and support!