With autumn around the corner, that means one thing, football season is upon us. At Edmond Memorial High School (EMHS), that equals a packed house at every Friday night lights. The students don’t take the sport lightly and it shows with the swarming student section. With Homecoming the earliest it has been in the last couple of years, the Bulldogs were anxiously waiting to hear about this year’s homecoming event schedule. A new experience that was added to the lineup is the Homecoming Tailgate. 

On Tuesday, Sept. 6th, while the faculty and staff were polishing off their skills, the students were outside enjoying the sun. Starting at 11:30 am, the Student Council (StuCo) had everything rocking and rolling. They had food trucks parked right up front, music blasting out of the loudspeakers, and all of the games ready to go. 

Due to having Monday and Tuesday off the week of the big game, StuCo knew they had to put the time to good use, and what better way to kick off a week filled with football centered festivities, then by hosting the first ever tailgate. 

“Whenever we found out there wasn’t going to be school the first couple days of homecoming week, we knew we needed a big idea,” senior StuCo member Ryley Watkins said. “We were already planning on having a tailgate but the Edlam [Bedlam but Edmond] theme was going to be perfect for it.” 

The main events of the day were the spike ball, corn hole and 7v7 football tournaments. Dressed in their best Memorial athletic gear, the students were ready to play with everything they had. Everyone wanted to boast the title of the first tournament winner. The winner also earned the money from the player’s pot so that meant another incentive to win. The winner of the spike ball tournament was especially proud of his accomplishment. 

“It took a lot of heart out there and we really competed. Brock Coleman is a great competitor but at the end of the day, the best man won,” junior Cade Youngblood said.

Even if not everyone wanted to play on the field, they could still have fun with their friends. Watching the games and eating snacks from the food trucks was a great way to beat the heat. 

“I came today to make new friends and to hang out with everyone,” freshman Anna Rowntree said. 

StuCo also had the players help with filming the Beat North video for the Homecoming assembly. It was a lively way for the Bulldogs to show their school spirit. 

Even with this being the original, the tournaments had a large turnout. EMHS is strong about supporting each other and bringing others up. 

“There were a lot more people here than I had thought,” Watkins said. “The Spike ball and Corn hole tournament winners were able to take home $80 each so that means that there were a lot of teams.”

With room to grow, the tailgate will hopefully become a Homecoming tradition that will continue for years to come. 

Contact Bridget Nye at [email protected]