With music as the overall theme for Winter Homecoming at Escalon High School, it was an energetic and tuneful week, culminating with the selection of Jake Sawyer as the new Homecoming King.
The Cougar Dome on the campus of Escalon High School saw three basketball games played on Friday night, Jan. 31 to celebrate Homecoming. The JV boys, varsity girls and varsity boys all earned wins on the court, defeating Trans-Valley League rival Hilmar.
The week leading up to the games saw lots of dress up days and special activities, including a Friday afternoon rally. Underclassmen also had the chance to be chosen as a Homecoming Prince: grade level winners were junior Ben Ferreira, sophomore Brien Novetzke and freshman Dylan Ball.
Members of the senior class Homecoming Court were Andrew Olmos, Ryan Lewis, Ryan Murphy, Tony Epps and Jake Sawyer, who was ultimately selected as Homecoming King.
“The most fun was getting nominated by my friends and being called King at the school, it’s mind blowing,” Jake admitted. “I think I feel more joyful than I ever have.”
The son of Richard and Crystal Sawyer, Jake is involved in the track and cross country programs at EHS. He is also part of the fire science class at EHS and plans to attend Modesto Junior College after graduation, with a career plan of later attending the fire academy.
When asked what three words his peers would use to describe him, the senior said funny, caring and energetic. He also said his dad is the person who inspires him the most, due to that fact that he is a “very hard worker and never gives up” when things get tough.
Fellow candidates celebrated along with Jake, with handshakes and high fives all around for the new king.
“It was really cool to be on the Homecoming court, I’m not upset at all that I didn’t win, I really wanted Jake Sawyer to win,” Ryan Lewis noted.
He also said getting the basketball victory on Homecoming night was satisfying, but he knows the Cougars have a lot more work to do as they try to get in a good position for the playoffs.
“There’s no breaks, no easy games, we’ve proven that we can’t really blow out a team by that much so we need to be ready for sure, we need to lock in at practice and just want it more than other teams,” Lewis said.
Fellow senior and candidate Ryan Murphy was also glad that the Cougars put a relatively easy win on the books, putting away Hilmar by more than 20 points.
“It felt good, especially coming off a loss to Sonora, hoping we can get back on the right track … get some momentum going into playoffs,” Murphy explained. “I thought we turned the corner today, coming off a really poor performance, we kind of improved every aspect that we were keying in on.”
For junior Logan Huebner, putting the exclamation point on the Homecoming Week with a big win was important for the team and their fans.
“It feels amazing, we had great energy since the rally that we had today, all the Princes and Kings got us really excited and amped up for this so to put them (Hilmar) away, it meant a lot and it was a great crowd, too, the best we’ve had all year,” said Huebner. “Second half (of league play), we’re just trying to go out with a bang … we want to try and win out, get a good seed for the playoffs and hopefully get a home game for the fans.”
Homecoming Commissioners Natalie Ruiz and Gianna Wilson handled the introduction of all the candidates at halftime, with reigning Homecoming Queen Lisa Murga and outgoing Homecoming King Shehab Algaheim presenting Sawyer with his crown and sash.
“A huge ‘Thank You’ to Seth Davis and his entire ASB class for all of their efforts in organizing a great Winter Homecoming,” pointed out varsity boys basketball head coach Nate Bartelink. “From the DJ, to the lights, to the decorations in the gym, there were so many things that they did to make the night a very memorable experience. I can’t remember a Homecoming night quite as good as this one. The Cougar Dome was electric.”
