Ellen Trinklein
Reporter
(View more pictures from the
Homecoming Game)
This past Saturday at 1:30 pm, New Canaanites came together at Dunning Stadium to watch the much-anticipated homecoming game, and no one was disappointed by the outcome. New Canaan beat St. Joes 35 to 25.
“Winning is really important because it sets the mood for the rest of the night,” junior Marissa van der Voort said.
Having tied with St. Joes last year and lost to them the year before, many expected the score would be close.
“We knew it was going to be a hard-fought game,” said Cody Newton, co-captain and starting wide receiver. But the team wasn’t nervous. “We just wanted to get back at them,” he said.
The crowd kept the team going. “I come to homecoming to support the team and show spirit,” said junior Sarah Kaiser.
Senior Caroline Blasco said that her favorite part of coming to the game was, “The rollercoaster that we do in the stands.”
The student section is the most spirited section that New Canaan High School has had in years, according to old-timer Bernard Capuario, a past school administrator. “There were times where there were no students [coming to the games],” he said, “and now they’ve come back to have a really good student body with lots of school spirit and good cheerleaders. That goes a long way for the school.”
“[The cheering] gets both the offense and defense really hyped up,” Cody said. “Joe [Gallo] does a great job.”
It seems the only downfall of homecoming this year was the rain. “A lot of people will leave early because of it,” said sophomore Andrew Gruseke.
Sara agreed. “Some people don’t want to sit out in the rain and be all gross before homecoming,” she said. Indeed, the student section had dwindled down to a mere fraction by the fourth quarter, when the rain really began to hit hard.
Nonetheless, the team was able to pull through. Despite the rain, the game plan never changed. “I mean, catching the ball needed more concentration, but we didn’t change the game,” Cody said.