Beginning the week of Oct. 3, North Little Rock High School celebrated Spirit Week for homecoming. They also had a pep rally to showcase the homecoming maids of all the classes and excite people for the football game later that night. 

“Spirit Week was 100% a success,” says Drevain Doson, a junior who attends NLR. The student council came up with fun and exciting themes for the week that the majority of the staff and students participated in. 

On Friday, Oct. 7, Spirit Week ended with the homecoming pep rally, where students, families, and teachers came out to watch and support the homecoming maids. 

All of the maids were escorted by football players onto the football field. “Oh my god it’s so amazing, I love the opportunity to get this experience,” said Kayden Ousluy, a sophomore maid. The student council also engaged the crowd with games such as musical chairs and lip syncing battles played by students and staff.

Towards the end of the rally, football coach Randy Sandefur encouraged everyone to come out and support the team as they took on the Southwest Gryphons. He stated,  “I want everybody to come out so our student section can be full for our homecoming game tonight.”  

The game took place at NLR’s home field at 7 p.m. 

It began with the walk by the homecoming maids where the queen Ashley Ponce was crowned by last year’s queen, Shaliyah Johnson. Afterwards, the football game began.

“Practice was good this week and year,” said NLR football player Amari Johnson, explaining how the NLR Wildcats felt prepared. The game started with NLR in the lead throughout all quarters. SW eventually scored a touchdown during the 4th quarter, but it was not enough to secure a win. NLR won the game 50-6. 

After a successful game, students celebrated at the NLRHS in the cafeteria with a homecoming dance. 

“I enjoyed seeing all of my friends looking so pretty,” said Markael Thomas, a sophomore who attends the school. Homecoming started at 7 p.m. on Oct. 8. The dance had a casino theme and students came dressed and ready to have fun. They had games set up in the lower cafeteria and a DJ upstairs. 

“The energy was very positive and exciting leading up to homecoming,” says Saraya Howard, an NLR sophomore on the student council.

All in all, this year’s homecoming festivities were a success.