Homecoming week was highly spirited this year, with students enthusiastically participating in a variety of activities while dressed in theme. Homecoming, commonly referred to as “hoco,” has always been filled with lots of events including Play Day and the homecoming football game, all leading up to the homecoming dance on Saturday night. This year, the theme was Star Wars, which turned out to be very fitting as the Lancers battled it out against “Darth Mitty” at Friday’s game.
Multiple students have shared thoughts on the Star Wars theme. “I like the Star Wars thing better, like better than last year,” Mary Egan (’26) said. She mentioned how during her freshman year the theme was Stranger Things, so this was a similar experience for her. As this was her last homecoming, she hoped to make good memories.
Junior Samantha Hegel applauded ASB for their great job at getting people involved in the themes, with lots of Star Wars based games, rallies, and videos, which she thought were “really well put together.”
The first theme of the week was “The Force Awakens.” Students came to school in pajamas, and were amazed by a magician’s mind-reading tricks during lunch. After school, the annual homecoming thrift shop took place, where students could look through the clothes donated by others, try them on, and take them for free. “It’s always a great event to just help out anyone who needs a dress,” said Bonnie Hung (’27), one of the thrift’s organizers.
The following day marked the commencement of the “Dodge Wars,” a lunchtime dodgeball tournament, where the winners from each lunch faced off on Friday at the first rally. The theme for the day was “Clone Wars” and groups wore matching outfits, from In-N-Out workers to Alvin and the Chipmunks. Additionally, a three-legged race was held during each lunch.
Wednesday was “Yo’da Best,” a day centered around Yoda-themed fun. At lunchtime, students could either participate in green slime-making organized by the Bring Change to Mind club in the Sobrato Commons, or go to the lightsaber duel on the pool, also known as Gungan City.
Next came “Jawa Junk Jueves,” with jueves being the Spanish word for Thursday. Students wore old “junk”, such as thrifted clothing items or middle school sweatshirts. This theme also tied into the second thrift store event of the week, called “Bartering Bazaar.” It occurred during the lunches in the quad, displaying 12 tables lined with not just dresses but a mix of free shirts and pants as well. Included in the dress code for Thursday was also “Anything But a Backpack” and “Anything But a Lanyard Day,” so students could bring, for example, a tote bag or even a shopping basket rather than a backpack to carry their things.
Last but not least, Friday was Play Day. Play Day consisted of two rallies with a break in between. Each grade was decked in their respective Star Wars planet’s colors. During the rallies, the homecoming court candidates got the school pumped by performing three different skits. During the second skit, Lia Payne (’26) played a confident bride, while in the third skit Henry Withers (’26) wowed the crowd as he sang from the bleachers—each solidifying their spots as the 2025 homecoming royalty. The school also watched a team of seniors, led by John Hove (’26), win the final dodgeball game.
Later, that night was the homecoming game against Archbishop Mitty High School. The Rage Cage was ready for an exciting match, and students wore all white in accordance with the Cage theme, “Rise of Lancelot,” contrasting with the Mitty Monarchs fans dressed in black.
The game started off with Mitty scoring two touchdowns, bringing them to 13 points. Soon Saint Francis scored two touchdowns as well, taking the lead with 14 points. Saint Francis kept this lead until the last few minutes, when Mitty came back with another touchdown. It wasn’t until the last minute that the Lancers made another touchdown, allowing them to take home the victory. In the final three seconds, Mitty attempted to make a long field goal but was unsuccessful, causing the Rage Cage to explode in cheers as the game concluded. The Lancers celebrated the homecoming win with the final score at 20-19.
Homecoming week concluded with “A Night in Naboo,” a magical night to spend time with friends. Many had a fun and exciting experience at the dance, while others had mixed feelings about it.
Freshman Saranya Duggirala said she thinks it would’ve been better with more pop songs, rather than mostly rap songs that she didn’t know. She also wished they had food, since there was food at previous dances she’s been to at her middle school. “I thought it would be better, but it was still pretty fun, I guess,” Duggirala said.
On the other hand, freshman Maya Nagaraj described the dance as both enjoyable and interesting. “It was really fun because it was my first hoco, and it kind of lived up to my expectations,” Nagaraj said, “I had a lot of ideas of what hoco is supposed to be like, and I think it hit all of those things.”
