Coast Union has homecoming without a football game

The Urban Dictionary defines homecoming as a time when “high school alumni come to see a home football game.”

Indeed, on Friday night Oct. 6, alumni, fans, students and community members gathered at Coast Union see a football game. The 4-2 Broncos had practiced hard all week in preparation for their homecoming challenge against the Cuyama Valley Bears — but sadly, there was no football game.

On Thursday night, Oct. 5, the Bears’ coach called Coast Union Athletic Director Ron Garcia to announce that a forfeit would replace the hoped-for homecoming game. Rumors have swirled as to why the Bears did not have enough players to travel to Cambria, but the impact on Coast Union is more compelling than whatever the problems are or were at Cuyama Valley.

Incidentally, Coast Union players who remember being badly beaten in the last two games against the Bears (64-42 in 2015; 66-16 in 2016) were looking forward to exacting a measure of gridiron revenge. But they never got the chance.

Still, the homecoming activities entertained a pretty decent number of alumni and fans who showed up to support the school.

First, players from all four fall sports (cross country, volleyball, tennis and football) were lined up on the football field and introduced to the audience; it was a well-received “meet the Broncos” event.

Next, each class performed a skit, and ASB leader Darcy Dobrec read the names of the nominees over the loudspeaker — and the winning princes and princesses of the freshmen, sophomore and junior classes.

The freshman prince chosen (by student votes) was Bibiano Mercado, and the princess was Carolina Lizzola. The sophomore prince selected was Emany Plascencia, and the sophomore princess was Alondra Mercado. The junior class prince announced was David May, and his princess was Diana Aquila.

Ashley Colin won the homecoming queen vote, and Roland “Eddie” Camacho was named homecoming king.

The next Coast Union game is against Desert High at Edwards Air Force Base, a nonleague contest Friday, Oct. 13. The game will be broadcast by KTEA-FM (103.5) — and streams on www.1035ktea.com — at 7 p.m.

This story was originally published October 10, 2017 at 9:32 AM with the headline "Coast Union has homecoming without a football game."