March 29, 2024

Have a seat on the homecoming couch

The springs were loose and pointy, and the upholstery was ripping, but the East High School tailgating couch was our Friday night football sanctuary.

Scarlet tailgating in the early 2000s would not have been the community it was if not for the old broken down sofa sitting on the south parking lot lawn of Williams Stadium on Des Moines' east side. For those four short hours before and after every EHS football game, a schoolyard click or classification did not matter. Jock or band nerd, prep or goth — all were welcome to grill a burger, hot dog, brat or veggies while sitting on it the 5-foot student plush student thrown.

Next to the couch was Jared Gravey's pickup truck. The tailgate was always down to provide extra seating for fellow students, and a bed sheet with a spray painted EHS emblem always flew on a wooden flagpole suspended in the truck bed. The giant hood of my 1974 Ford Gran Torino would also provide ample lounging space. It was a senior-led tradition passed from class to class.

At homecoming celebrations throughout Jasper County last weekend, I saw moments that reminded me of my high school tradition. While I was driving to the Collins-Maxwell/Baxter game on Highway F17, a young runner in American flag shorts was carrying a football with other joggers and a support car in tow. It was the CMB cross country team on the final leg of a 30-mile run, carrying the homecoming game ball from opponent Nevada's home field to Baxter.

As the team entered the stadium, the Raider flag and ball-carrier led the way down the track to greet full bleachers of students, teachers and families. The runners met the football team at 50-yard line to exchange a handshake and hand off the ball like the Olympic Torch finishing the journey from Athens to the host country.

Colfax may be a town of just more than 2,000 people, but that won't stop its people from having a homecoming parade. At 2:45 p.m. Friday before the big game, Colfax and Mingo Fire Department trucks, hand-made floats and pickup trucks carried the Colfax-Mingo fall sports teams and homecoming royalty through the streets, entertaining the townspeople who were all planning on a night at the football field.

Newton honored former-Cardinal football star and Newton High School sports historian Avery Wilson as the grand marshal of its homecoming parade. While a reporter at the Newton Daily News several years ago, I had the honor of interviewing Mr. Wilson and seeing his Newton football museum displayed throughout his home. Each jersey and every helmet has a story, and Wilson can tell it in detail.

At EHS in 2003, the Scarlets made the state playoffs for the first time since 1989. Although the spirit of the couch was passed down to the 2004 senior class, the couch itself was not. Following the last regular-season game, nearly 300 EHS fans congregated at my friend Nate's country house for a post-game bonfire. There was not talking — only silence as the crowd listened to the final prep game of the night when Southeast Polk clinched their game, qualifying us for state. In superstitious and ornery teenage fashion, the tailgate couch was sacrificed — ceremoniously burned and fueled the fire during the celebration.

Every school has homecoming celebrations unique to its fans. All are important and all are about community.