The good news is that Hurricane Joaquin stayed out in the Atlantic Ocean and did not hit Long Island directly over Homecoming weekend. The bad news is that enough of the fringe was present in Oyster Bay to cancel many of the Homecoming festivities, as well as the inaugural home Regatta for the new crew program at Oyster Bay High School (OBHS).
The week leading up to Homecoming is Spirit Week at OBHS, which caps off with a pep rally on Friday afternoon in the gym. The high point of the pep rally every year is the lip sync competition between the classes. Each grade level was given a different country as a theme. The classes then put together a lip sync performance depicting their country in song and dance. The freshmen represented Spain. The sophomores explored Egypt. The juniors hoisted the Union Jack of England while the seniors took the audience on a musical journey around the U.S.A.
The senior class won the contest with imaginative use of props and songs. Usually the winning class gets to perform their winning performance at halftime of the Homecoming football game. Since they were rained out on Saturday, the participants have been invited back for the next home football game on Oct. 24 to perform at halftime. Kick off for that game will be at 2 p.m.
Another event that is a staple of Homecoming is the recognition of the seniors and their parents at the game. Senior recognition has been rescheduled for the last scheduled home game of the season on Oct. 31. That game also kicks off at 2 p.m.
Unfortunately, the parade was canceled and cannot be rescheduled. The royal court usually is introduced to the community as they ride on the back of convertibles in the parade. The students got to cheer for their king and queen and princesses and princes when they were announced at the pep rally. They were: freshman prince, Ethan Guarini; freshman princess, Kayla McKenna; sophomore prince, Patrick Wygand; sophomore princess, Emily Vomvas; junior prince, Jack Casey; junior princess, Isabella Drabin; senior king, Corey Bolding and senior homecoming queen, Cristiana Reilly.
One constant throughout has been the energy spirit and hard work of the OBHS varsity cheerleaders, who braved the raw cold windy rainy weather to entertain the crowd that filled the bleachers in support of the 2015 Baymen Football Team coming in to the weekend with a 3-0 record to face off against the 2-1 Quakers of Friends Academy. Despite the weather, spirits were high and the stands were packed as the Baymen took a seven to nothing lead into the fourth, only to have their hearts broken by a touchdown and two point conversion by Friends with only six minutes left on the clock.
The cheerleaders kept the excitement level high with spirited cheers and even took to the rain soaked field at halftime to lead a cheer under the direction of new coach Christina Vaccaro.
The OBHS Booster Club braved the elements and had the grills going with their renowned Italian chef cooking fresh sausage and pepper and meatball heroes.
There are two more opportunities this season for the community to come together in celebration of community and camaraderie as the Baymen host home football games on Saturday, Oct. 24 and Saturday, Oct. 31. Both games kick off at 2 p.m. on Memorial Field. The first home Regatta for the OBHS crew team has been re-scheduled for Nov. 8.
