The Program: A season with Oakwood football, Part V
· Yahoo Sports
Sep. 17—FITHIAN — The 10 seniors on the Oakwood football team aren't just refining their plays and schemes this week.
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They're learning moves beyond what they work on during practices at the grass field located just behind the main set of bleachers at Marty McFarland Field.
That's because on Friday afternoon they have to perform a routine with the Oakwood cheerleaders during an all-school pep assembly. Which they're working on after school while also getting ready to play Clifton Central in a crucial Vermilion Valley Conference game that kicks off at 7 p.m. on Friday.
This is after five days of themed attire during the school days. Monday featured pajama day and anything but a backpack. Tuesday brought about animal print. Wednesday was swap day, while Thursday brings about dress your age day, with freshmen as babies, sophomores as toddlers, juniors as adults, seniors as senior citizens and staff as teenagers.
On Friday, it's more simple with class color day.
And then a parade is thrown into the mix right after school on Friday. Don't forget the dance, too, on Saturday night.
If you haven't figured it out by now, it's homecoming week at Oakwood High School. Amid all the light moments comes a concern for Cameron Lee. One he knows from his days attending and playing football at Oakwood, and one the 32-year-old now experiences as the Comets' football coach.
"I love the spirit that the town displays for this week," Lee said. "It's what makes Oakwood unique and special, but as the head coach, it's my job to be grumpy about it."
Lee was half-kidding about the frustrations he might feel at times in keeping his team honed in on Friday night's kickoff. Especially with Oakwood (3-1, 3-0 VVC) coming off its first loss of the seasons — a 22-14 road defeat against Dwight last Friday night — before Clifton Central (3-1, 3-1) visits on a three-game win streak.
"I've got to contend with float-building and dress-up days and assemblies," Lee said. "There are distractions. We'll see what kind of football team we have by the time Friday night rolls around."
But homecoming week isn't just geared around the 32 Oakwood football players. The school of 208 students also has cheerleaders, dance team members and marching band members helping out with all of the festivities and atmosphere at Marty McFarland Field on Friday night.
For Matte Lee, she is aware of what the week is like for her husband as the Oakwood football coach. But she has plenty of items to focus on, too, since she and Mackenzie Gayler are the Oakwood cheerleading coaches. The 12 team members — seniors Jett Pierce, Karsyn Vogel and Rylan Wilson, juniors Ireland Harrison and Chloe Vinson, sophomores Kylie Cross, Evie Johnson, Mackenzie Marcotte, Chloe Messmore, Lilly Myers and Dylanie Shouse and freshman Bonnie Hunsberger — they oversee will be on the Oakwood sideline on Friday night like they are for every Oakwood football game.
"This group is definitely a fun group to coach and be around," Matte said. "Most of them have cheered together for several years, so they are a very close-knit team. They can be goofy and like to have fun, but they also can be extremely hard-working and serious when necessary. They are a very talented group of athletes."
For Pierce, Vogel and Wilson, Friday night's game is bittersweet in a sense, too, because it is likely the last home regular-season game for the trio of Oakwood senior cheerleaders. The Comets were supposed to host Hoopeston Area/Armstrong-Potomac on Oct. 2 in their final home game, but the Cornjerkers announced last week they would forfeit the rest of the season after they host Momence this Friday night. Right now, Oakwood doesn't have an opponent for Oct. 2.
So Friday night is also Oakwood's senior night, with senior introductions set to get underway at 6:30 p.m.
"Cheerleading gives me an outlet to express who I am," Wilson said. "This sport has granted me so many memories with teammates and coaches that I wouldn't trade for the world. I love getting the students excited for games and getting them engaged."
Especially during homecoming week. This past Sunday, the cheerleaders decorated the football players' lockers and their own lockers inside the school. On Thursday night, the cheerleaders will plan on decorating the entire school — from floor to ceiling with posters, banners, streamers, balloons and an Oakwood tradition of throwing shredded paper throughout the halls.
On Friday, they'll have a team breakfast at Lelo's Cafe in Danville, attend classes, perform at the pep assembly and then make the short trip from the high school to downtown Oakwood for the homecoming parade. Then, back to the school for Friday night's game.
"It is a very busy and eventful week, but it is a whole different kind of experience when you are a cheerleader compared to just being a student," Vogel said. "I love showing the school all that the cheerleaders do. Seeing it all come together at the end of the week is so rewarding."
"The most exciting thing about being able to cheer at this year's football games is being able to finally put all the effort and practice we have worked all summer long to the test," Pierce said, "while being able to have fun with each other and feeling the spirit and energy from the crowd."
The Oakwood football team has given its supporters ample reason to cheer this season. Now, the goal is to make sure the Comets keep stacking wins the rest of the season to not only get a first-round bye in the playoffs, but a second-round playoff game at home.
Handling homecoming week, while also making sure the loss against Dwight doesn't linger, is the task the Comets are facing.
"The homecoming parade is one of the most well-attended events we'll have in Oakwood all year," Cameron Lee said. "I hope we'll play as good a football game as we do when it comes to throwing this parade."