Homecoming festivities kicked off at Watsonville High on Wednesday afternoon as hundreds of students participated in the annual parade.
The party continues this weekend when the Wildcat football team takes on visiting North Monterey County High in Pacific Coast Athletic League Mission Division-North action Friday night. Kickoff is slated for 7:30pm.
The ‘Catz are hoping to bounce back against a struggling NMC (1-5, 0-1) group that is currently dealing with several key injuries.
Josiah Carranza had a pair of rushing touchdowns for the Condors in last week’s 49-34 loss to Monte Vista Christian in the teams’ PCAL opener last week.
Teammate EJ Mellin added one rushing TD, while Jaycob Ducusin completed 6 of 10 pass attempts for 133 passing yards and a pair of touchdowns. Jacob Silva had three catches for 107 receiving yards and one touchdown, while Leo Cruz hauled in a 23-yard TD reception.
Watsonville (2-4, 0-1) is coming off a 21-14 defeat to St. Francis on Oct. 11.
“Every loss, especially this loss right here, 100 percent on me,” said Watsonville head coach Manny Contreras after last week’s game.
Mathew Silva, a senior, had another breakout game last week for the ‘Catz. He tallied 53 rushing yards and one touchdown, along with one interception on defense.
Others to watch for include senior defensive linemen Anthony Landa and Luis Marquez, and junior linebacker Mark Flores as they continue to cause havoc up front.
Themed “Haunted Homecoming,” the parade included seniors dressed as vampires, juniors as zombies, sophomores as clowns and freshmen as aliens.
“It was so close to Halloween, and we wanted to celebrate all week,” WHS Activities Director Erin Ashwell said. “We know that there’s a lot of suffering in the world right now, and with all that pain and fear, we can do something that brings joy right now.”
The event included students from the school’s Future Farmers of America academy, as well as the Health Sciences, the Education, Community, Humanitarian, Outreach (ECHO) Academy, and the Culinary Katz, a group of special-needs students who raise money by making and selling drinks to staff.
It also included the football and cheer teams.
Members of the Watsonville High ECHO academy rode one of the parade floats.
