After safety issues last year led to the Homecoming game being changed to kickball, students will be able to compete in flag football for the annual PA/DA game.

“Playing the PA/DA game, and hosting it at the school, has given us some sort of normalcy compared to other high schools,” STUCO adviser Brandon Lafountain said. “Obviously, we don’t have sports on campus, so it’s nice to not only have an assembly where people can sit and chat with each other and listen to things that are going on, but also have an activity that people can cheer for and get excited for.”

The game will take place during the school day on Oct. 13 on the school field. Each academy will have a boys team and a girls team representing them. 

“We want to give students more opportunities to get involved in their academies,” Lafountain said. “Even if you’re not playing, you kind of understand during the game itself that ‘Oh, this is something that’s important, and I’m gonna root for my team because I’m proud of my program!’. It’s a fun way to try and increase school spirit, and have people take more pride in their academy.”

The event is one of the only opportunities students have to compete in an organized sports event. 

“I play volleyball, but right now it’s our off season,” PA sophomore Bryan Pratt said. “I wanted to be on PA’s team because there’s not much else to do at the school when it comes to sports, so I wanted to be involved in this.”

To be able to participate in the game, parents/guardians were required to fill out a waiver.

“I signed up because I thought that playing in the game sounded cool,” DA junior Izle Sebastian said. “I only transferred here last year, and I wasn’t able to do it then because I didn’t really know about the PA/DA game. Now that I’m a junior, I wanna have some fun before senior year.”

Each team is assigned a teacher to act as their coach during the event, and they will be with their teams to help them prepare and plan plays.

“We brought in coaches for two reasons. One is that the coaches help us manage the players and make sure that they’re on their right behavior,” STUCO Logistics Commission chair junior Brianna Scherschel said. “We also just want to make sure that [the players] have a support system during the game, and that they have the encouragement they need.”

On the day of the event, students will go to the field during their regular eighth period block to watch the game. Food, drinks, and PA/DA merchandise will be on sale.

“I like the idea of having a game like this because it’ll feel like I’m kinda at a real high school football game,” freshman Mason Rafferty said. “When I get out of my eighth period , I’m planning to meet up with some of my friends and find a spot on the field to chill. We’re probably just going to get some snacks and watch the game, and I’m gonna cheer for PA.”

The girls teams will be playing against each other first. After the first game, the nominees for Homecoming Court will be formally announced, followed by a game between the boys teams.

“When we announce the Homecoming Court nominees, we have a couple of fun activities, like a few minigames, planned out for them to do,” STUCO Logistics co-chair senior Sahib Rattan said. “I think it’s also a good idea to announce the nominees during the game, because the whole school’s already gonna be there. It’s a good time to show everyone who they’re going to be voting for during Homecoming.”

During halftime, Studio K will be performing Super Shy by New Jeans.

“I think it’s [Super Shy] a really catchy song, and it’s fun to listen to and dance to,” Studio K member sophomore Ava Nave said. “ It’s also a really good pick for the song because a lot of people know it, so people will be able to sing along with the music during the performance.”

The Homecoming dance will be hosted on the day after the PA/DA game. Student Council hopes that the game will serve to increase students’ excitement for the event improve school spirit.

“[Student Council] has been working really hard on the PA/DA game since the beginning of the year, there’s a lot of preparation that has to go into things like these,” Scherschel said. “I feel like everyone is so much more excited this year, especially since we’re playing flag football instead of kickball like how we did last year. I hope that this’ll be something that brings some more spirit into the school.”