The Week Starts Here

Homecoming Week is the one week the whole program goes all out. The school’s theme is Mamma Mia, so every day has a dress-up theme, and the football program owns the big moments: the parade Wednesday, two game nights, and the Homecoming court.

• Wednesday: Parade at 7:00 PM inside Gupton Stadium, then the pep rally and fireworks
• Thursday: Freshman vs McNeil 6:00 PM at Ranger Stadium, JV at McNeil 6:00 PM, varsity fajita dinner
• Friday: Homecoming game, Varsity vs McNeil 7:00 PM at Gupton, court at halftime
• Saturday: Homecoming Dance, 7:30 to 10:30 PM

Get Ahead Today

Thursday’s dinner and concession crews fill fastest early in the week, and Wednesday’s locker room crews need hands at 4:15 PM. Pick a slot in the sign-ups below. The court’s vehicles are covered, thanks to the families who stepped up.

The Night Before the Parade

Nothing on the calendar tonight, which makes Tuesday the night to get Wednesday right. Court drivers and group leaders: read the parade plan under Wednesday, print the two consent forms, and know that the staging lot closes to drop-off traffic at 5:15 PM. The court’s vehicles are covered.

• Drivers: licensed, 18 or older, not a current student. Driver consent form on file, participant waiver for every rider.
• Locker room crews: decorating is Wednesday, 4:15 PM to about 5:00 PM. Freshman families sign up below; JV families use the Homecoming slots on the JV season sheet.
• Sending supplies instead? The Freshman Locker Room Decorations and Freshman Wish List ship straight to the crew.
• Thursday’s fajita dinner still needs setup, serving, cleanup and desserts.

Tickets Go on Sale

LISD Athletics tickets for Thursday’s freshman game and Friday’s Homecoming game went on sale Monday at 10 AM; JV’s game at McNeil sells through Round Rock ISD. All three links are on the Tickets & Passes page.

Photos: Coach Scott

Parade, Pep Rally and Fireworks

The Homecoming Parade starts at 7:00 PM and this year it runs entirely inside the Gupton Stadium parking lot, not on the public streets. The route circles the stadium on the main driveway, with spectator areas along the north and east sides. A public pep rally follows at about 7:40 PM, with fireworks at about 8:10 PM. No candy will be thrown this year.

• 4:15 PMLocker room crews decorate the JV and freshman locker rooms for Thursday’s games, until about 5:00 PM.
• 5:15 PMThe West lot closes to everything but floats and float supplies. Riders get dropped at the front of the school or outside the stadium and walk in.
• 5:45 to 7:00Vehicles and floats get into position in the staging lot, each at its numbered spot on the lineup map.
• 6:00 to 6:30Riders and walkers meet their group at its spot: the school’s meet-up window on the participant consent form.
• 7:00 PMParade starts at the south drive.
• About 7:30Parade ends at the unloading zone behind the home stands.
• About 7:40Pep rally in Gupton Stadium, open to everyone.
• About 8:10Fireworks, then home.

Parking: park at Vista Ridge or Henry Middle School and walk over. The Gupton lots are for parade vehicles only, and the east lot is off limits under the fireworks. Please stay out of the neighboring business lots. Gupton Way closes to through traffic during the parade and reopens once the last group, the varsity football team, has entered the route. After the pep rally it is dark and full of pedestrians, so go slow.

Driving or Leading a Group in the Parade?

The football team supplies the vehicles for the Homecoming court (all spoken for this year, thank you), and every group in the parade follows the school’s rules. Drivers must be licensed, 18 or older, and not a current high school student. Every vehicle and float must be registered in advance with a driver consent form on file, and every participant needs a participant waiver. Print and sign the driver consent form and the participant consent form; each rider hands theirs to the driver of the vehicle they ride in.

Getting in: the float and vehicle entrance is from E Park St on the north side. Floats and vehicles stage in the large West lot behind the home stands. Park as close to the curb as you can so the vehicles behind you can pass, and never block the lot. Group leaders check in at the command center just outside the lot. Walking groups stage along the driveway from the Gupton Way entrance; small groups (fewer than 10) may stage with their float.

Lineup: the school’s lineup map numbers 29 spots. NJROTC leads, then the band, the Star Steppers and cheer, the elementary schools and Younglife; the Homecoming court’s Jeeps are spot 11, the Vista Ridge teams and clubs follow, Henry football is 27, and the varsity football team rides last at 28 ahead of the SRO. Floats line up in the West lot by number, walkers line up on the south road, and float participants park in the North lot.

After the parade: high school and middle school floats stop in the unloading zone behind the home stands to let students off, then re-enter the staging lot to clean off or head for the Gupton Way exit. Elementary floats continue on to the small south lot, where parents meet their students; sponsors stay until every student has been picked up. Floats may park in the West lot for the pep rally; leave room for others and keep clear of the marked no-parking areas under the fireworks. Leaving is by the yellow arrows toward Gupton Way.

Sub-Varsity Game Night

McNeil is fielding one 9th grade team and one JV team this year, so our Red and Black squads play together this week.

• Freshman vs McNeil, 6:00 PM at Ranger Stadium (the turf field on campus). Tickets through LISD Athletics.
• JV at McNeil, 6:00 PM at McNeil High School in Austin. Tickets through Round Rock ISD.
• Varsity dinner, 5:45 PM: Homecoming fajitas for the varsity squad, served by the parent crew.

Thursday’s Crews

The Ranger Stadium concession stand and the chains crew need hands for the freshman game, and the varsity dinner needs setup, serving, cleanup and desserts. All three sheets are in the sign-ups below. If you have not yet, cover your player’s Varsity Meals for the season.

Player Game Day Meals

Pre-game meals from Jason’s Deli are ordered per game, 24 hours ahead, on the Game Day Meals page.

Varsity vs McNeil, 7:00 PM at Gupton Stadium

Kickoff is 7:00 PM. The Homecoming court is presented at halftime, and Friday is also the end of the six-week grading cycle, so the week’s word, Effort, applies on and off the field.

• Tickets: LISD Athletics online, on the Tickets & Passes page.
• Can’t make it? The How to Watch page has the stream once it is posted, and the live score runs on the home page all night.
• Spirit wear: the merchandise table is open before kickoff and through halftime.

Friday’s Crew

Spirit wear sales at the varsity home games need a few people before kickoff and through halftime. The sheet is in the sign-ups below.

Getting In

Students enter at the Oak Tree entrance near the cafeteria. Doors at 7:30 PM, music until 10:30 PM. Details and ticketing come from the school.

Look Back on the Week

Jason Moody’s galleries are the record of the season: Dads and Decals, Senior Night vs Bowie and Vista Ridge vs Cedar Ridge and the Homecoming Parade are up, and the Homecoming game’s will follow.

That wraps Homecoming Week. Thank you, Ranger Nation.