WHAT IS A DAY LIKE AT SECOND BAPTIST SCHOOL?
Unlike the average day, Homecoming is a special day in a week filled with exciting theme days, fun events for students and of course, the pep rally and Friday night football game.
At Second Baptist School, providing the Homecoming experience for its upper school students was a priority, bringing a sense of normalcy to an abnormal year.
Starting early Friday morning, student-athletes and members of the cheer team and Golden Girls dance team welcomed the youngest students to campus at lower school carpool. Little ones were welcomed, helped out of the car and sent off to start the day with a burst of school spirit and excitement.
SBS lifer and senior Michael DiCecco said, "I've been at Second Baptist School since prekindergarten. It means a lot to be the kid everyone looks up to now, being the kid I wanted to be when I first started here. It's a pretty cool experience."
As the day went on, the preparations for Homecoming ramped up. The maintenance crew prepped the field for the big game, including painting on the Second Baptist School eagle logo. The locker room was decked out with jerseys hung in every locker.
Soon it was time for the pep rally, which was held on the outdoor football field instead of the gym, allowing for more room and adherence to social distancing needs. The upper school students filed into their respective sections, ready for the festivities to begin.
The Second Baptist School band played a few classic hits – including Queen's "We Will Rock You." Performances by the cheerleaders and Golden Girls invited school spirit. Next, a field goal kicking contest ensued followed by a spirit contest between the classes – the seniors winning, of course.
As the day progressed, Athletic Director Mike Walker could be seen working his way in and out of the building throughout the day, taking care of different items and paving the way for the day's key events. In between it all, Walker said it takes a team effort to pull off an event like Homecoming.
"We get great support from our office of communications who does a lot of our print and social media items; our office of advancement works with the booster club and sets up the posters of the students and balloon towers at the gates," Walker said. "That's what it takes to do athletics well. My office does the game – the nuts and bolts – and then the whole school collaborates for the rest. It's great for the kids to see the teamwork it takes to make an event like this really pop."
As the clock ticked towards 4:30 p.m., the building started to buzz again.
Football players made their way into the weight room for pregame lifts, pregame meals were carted in, other players made their way over to the locker room, and then before everything really got going, it was time for a pregame devotion. Wes Yeary, Second Baptist Church Pastor and former Baylor Athletic Chaplain gave the talk.
The message was based off Hebrews 10:35-36, "So do not throw away this confident trust in the Lord. Remember the great reward it brings you! Patient endurance is what you need now, so that you will continue to do God's will. Then you will receive all that he has promised."
As Pastor Yeary stood there talking to the football team, the message was clear: do not throw away the gifts God has given you; take advantage of every opportunity.
In the world we are in, with the global pandemic impacting our way of life, he stated you never know when your last game or play will be.
While the football team got ready to go out for warmups, another pregame devotional was taking place, this time in a comfy media room upstairs where the Golden Girls were meeting. One of the team members, Cate Calderon '23, took her bible to the front and started.
Her message was about hope.
She opened her devotion by saying that earlier in the week she had felt pessimistic, considering everything going on in the world. Hope doesn't come easy, she said, it is something that can be hard to come by at times, so Calderon dove into her bible, hitting on Romans 8:24-25, "For in this hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what he sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience."
This was a strong message from a high schooler.
Inside the locker room with players dressed and ready, football coach Terry Pirtle gave his team a rousing pregame speech – one that was Hollywood-worthy – about defending their "porch," the district title, and going out and taking care of business.
The Eagles did not disappoint the hometown crowd, winning 49-0.
From morning pickup to the pep rally to pregame devotions and finally, the game, Second Baptist School spirit was stronger than ever in a year that has been trying for all.
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