The Oxford Area High School Marching Band rounded the corner and marched onto Third Street, the percussion section rhythmically pounding out the school’s fight song. The marching band was followed by the cheerleaders, and they were followed by a series of floats and a long line of fire trucks that were a part of this year’s Homecoming Parade. The gathered crowd cheered as the parade moved through the center of town, and a larger group of spectators awaited the parade’s arrival at the school campus.

Hornet Pride was on full display last Friday evening as Oxford Area High School celebrated its 2017 Homecoming. Many of the stores in town were decorated with tributes to the Hornets, with signs like, “Go Hornets!” and “Beat Rustin!”

The parade was just the start of a busy night for the band and the cheerleaders, who would take the lead in pumping up the large home crowd during the football game between the Hornets and Bayard Rustin.

The cheerleaders led off the halftime show with a performance, followed by the marching band doing its 2017 field show, which is inspired by the music of Pentatonix.

Next, the Senior Homecoming Court was introduced. This year’s Homecoming Court included Sarah Robinson, Jessica Green, Marisa Anthony, Grace Tipton, Lakeya Caldwell, Jake Giles, Chandler England, Brandon DeShields, Julian Nadachowski, and Brandon Holz. Holz and Caldwell were selected as the Homecoming King and Queen.

The senior class float, with a theme of “I Have a Dream,” was awarded first place in the parade competition. The “Back to the 1980s” float won second place for the sophomores, while The “Junior’s Diner” float of the junior class took third place.

In the week-long spirit stick competition, the senior class collected the most points to earn a first-place finish, followed by the junior class. The freshman class finished in third place during the competition, and the sophomore class finished in fourth place.