A crowd turned out for the Kutztown Homecoming Game Friday to show their Cougar spirit. The Homecoming royalty vowed to raise school spirit amongst their peers.
‘This is the biggest crowd we’ve had all year. We must of had close to 300 I would say,’ said Harold Scheaffer, Rifle Team coach and retired teacher of 38 years.
According to Scheaffer, although homecoming is one of the biggest games, this year’s attendance is up from last year. He said there was a lot of high hopes.
2013 is an extremely spirited year for the Kutztown School District according to Suzanne Mixa, Student Council advisor and math teacher.
‘We had a great pep-rally at school today. My student council is really growing. We have over 50 kids involved and I’m really trying to let them do it,’ said Mixa.
Mixa said Student Council President Shelby Kuchenbrod, twelfth-grade, ran the pep-rally and spirit week was run by vice-president, Kailen Moyer, twelfth-grade. Treasurer, Megan Waidelich, tenth-grade, handled the Homecoming Dance. The students are working in committees and getting kids involved.
‘It’s self-driven and it was a really good spirit week,’ said Mixa. ‘It’s getting better and better every year.’
‘It’s a lot of cheering and a lot of supporting our teams,’ said junior Sarah Woodland.
Woodland and her classmate, Maddy Sanders, members of the soccer team, decked their faces out in the spirit of the school colors.
‘We go to every football game away and home,’ said Woodland. ‘We try not to miss any; we try to support all of them.’
Former alum, Jason Feiertag, said the games are fun to watch.
‘I lived it; it was very important. It’s the biggest game of the season,’ said Feiertag.
‘We just started coming this year because Greta is now in middle school and taking an interest in coming to the games now and we want to get spirited and we’re excited,’ said Feiertag’s wife, Donna.
For senior band member, Jordan Loeb, Kutztown’s homecoming game was not just his last homecoming, but also his only chance to run for Homecoming King. Loeb, son of David and Brenda Loeb, is the vice president of the senior class. He is captain of the soccer team and participates in jazz band, chorus, basketball and baseball, National Honor Society and the Tri-M Music Honor Society. He is also an Eagle Scout with Troop 104 and teaches Sunday school. Loeb plans to major in psychology at Arcadia University and hopes to pursue a career as a family and marriage therapist.
During halftime, Jordan Loeb was elected as the 2013 Homecoming King.
‘It’s just an honor to be acknowledged by the school for everything I do. It’s always been a philosophy to just treat everybody the way I want to be treated and give respect to everybody and I think when it comes down to it, respect is what wins,’ said Loeb.
A big fan of school spirit Loeb hopes to use his title to boost up school spirit. He wants to show kids it’s okay to be crazy and not to be afraid to be excited about a school. He said he can show this even if it means wild and crazy games with screaming cheers.
Kiersten Kistler was crowned the 2013 Homecoming Queen. Daughter of Mike and Marie Kistler, she is captain of the varsity soccer team, attends BCTC as a cosmetology student and also has plans to attend college as a psychology major.
‘I really hoped to win. It was really exciting and I’m really glad. I’m going to put it to good use and encourage school spirit and be a role model,’ said Kistler.
Marie Kistler, Kiersten’s mom, said, ‘She’s a very sweet girl. She likes everybody and I think everybody likes her and she’s respectful.’
‘I think what the kids tend to vote for are the kids who treat everybody well; they’re nice kids and they’re good kids,’ said Mixa. ‘If you heard their bios, some of them are involved. I’ve got a girl in a cheerleading uniform participating in the band and is on Homecoming Court. They’re just involved in everything. They know a lot of people. They’re just nice kids that people like.’
The excitement showed up in bright blue and white painted faces on many of the students. Three friends, all freshmen, stopped just long enough to talk about school spirit.
‘It’s awesome cause we’re freshmen,’ said Gabby Logsdon. ‘I’m probably going to end up going to every game.’
‘We have a couple of friends on the Varsity team so it’s pretty cool to watch,’ said Maddy Sanders. ‘I’m very loud so I cheer a lot.’
‘You should have seen us at the pep-rally today,’ Logsdon said.
‘There’s a parade coming up during half-time and we’re participating in the parade,’ said Dylon Becker.
Also eager to share their spirit were a group of four friends from the fifth and sixth grades at Brandywine as they hopped up and down till breathless while talking. For Piper Schwenk, the games meant much more to her as her brothers played on the teams. She said her brother, Brayden, eighth-grade, was out because of a concussion, but her big brother, Barry, was playing that evening.
‘He’s on kick-off, punt, and something else,’ said Schwenk. ‘He’s really good; he’s five-foot ten.’
‘He’s a really good player;’ said Emily Kohler.
Schwenk said she was the loudest one cheering. When asked why her face wasn’t painted, she put on a long face, rolled her eyes, and talked in a very dramatic tone.
‘I don’t have any at my house,’ she said.
‘Neither do I,’ added Kohler and the others chimed in the same.
‘My mom won’t let me take my blue marker,’ Schwenk said and made the motion of marking her face with stripes for the team.
While Kutztown fell to Hamburg 47 to 26, the evening was filled with loud chatter, band music, cheers, and lots of blue and white painted faces.