Friday was a night of school royalty and class warfare

Published 8:00 am Wednesday, October 23, 2002

It’s a scene practiced every fall by students in cities and towns around the country. Teenage boys play football and young women wear crowns.

Oh, and high school seniors establish themselves as supreme and oppress the lower classes.

Though the parallels are there to compare homecoming at South Whidbey High School with feudal Europe, Friday’s homecoming celebration at Waterman Field was much more fun than that. Students, teachers, parents and everyone else who wanted to see high school students at their best and most boisterous packed the grandstands to watch the game and the crowning of homecoming royalty.

This year, homecoming was more exciting than it has been in a few years, as the Falcons defeated Lakewood 10-0. A 7-0 lead at halftime made a parade battle of class floats and the crowning of this year’s king and queen extra special.

Though the game was exciting, the highlight for many was the crowning. The royal court of four princes and princesses was driven onto the field by horse and carriage before the royal candidates mounted a stage in front of the grandstand. This year’s royalty, chosen by their fellow South Whidbey High School students, were seniors Scott Perkins, Michelle Schorr, Lucy Dauman and Julie Gabelein, Zach Taylor and Andy Wills. Balloting voted Perkins — a cross country runner and winner of last year’s farcical “Mr. Whidbey” boys beauty contest — king and Schorr, a soccer player, queen.

Crowning this year’s king and queen were the king and queen of South Whidbey High School’s class of 1983, Jeff Knaplund and Kerry VanderVeen.

Janet Hunter, the school’s homecoming coordinator, said having Knaplund and VanderVeen do the honors revives an old tradition.

“It is a tradition at South Whidbey High School to have the previous winners from 20 years ago crown the current winners,” Hunter said.

In recent years, the king and queen of the previous year returned to the school to do the crowning.

This year’s theme, “Once Upon a Time,” was played out on class floats built for a parade that rolled around the track in front of the grandstand during half-time. Each float depicted a fairy tale or children’s story.

The senior class float told the story of Peter Pan, the junior class Cinderella, the sophomore class Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, and the freshman class Alice in Wonderland. The junior entry won judges’ highest approval, upsetting the natural order of class domination.

Homecoming weekend, with Friday’s game and a Saturday dance, is the culmination of a week of events at the high school. Students held assemblies throughout the week, dressed in odd clothes and decorated hallways in anticipation of the weekend.