Center Hill High School kicked off Homecoming Week after the long Labor Day weekend. On Tuesday, the halls were packed with sleepy Mustangs for the “Sleepin’ on the Warriors” Pajama Day. Wednesday, the teachers slipped into the casual sweatpants and shredded jeans popular among the student body, and the students tried their hand at professional dress for “Teachers vs. Students” day. The Center Hill campus turned into a time machine on “Throwback Thursday.” The week was finished out with, of course, Spirit Day.

The clubs, sports and other organizations of CHHS put on a parade Friday for nearby Overpark Elementary and Center Hill Middle School, and at the end of the day, the whole school packed into the football stadium for a pep rally.

At seven o’clock Friday night, the stands were packed again. The Mustangs fought a tough battle, but came up a little short to the Corinth Warriors with a final score of 35-21.

“I thought we did some good things, but we have yet to put a complete game together,” head coach Alan Peacock said. “We just have to come back in and work.”

Peacock said Homecoming is a special time for CHHS. “We are still a young school without a huge alumni base, and the kids now are the ones building the traditions,” he said.

At halftime, the Homecoming Court was presented. Niyah Odum took home the crown.

“It felt amazing to be crowned Homecoming Queen of Center Hill,” Odum said. “I was very emotional. It means a lot to me to be queen because I’ve been on the court all four years, but to have people still vote for me after seeing me every year, really touched me because it lets me know that I am doing something right at school. I am just so thankful and blessed to be a part of such a great school, and be associated with such great people at Center Hill!”

Homecoming isn’t just important for football players and the girls on the court. Homecoming is, after all, about coming home.

“Homecoming means returning to Mustang Stadium, where the big moments of my high school career were spent,” said Katie Hogan, former Center Hill drum major who is now a freshman at Mississippi State University. “Homecoming reiterates the fact that once you are a Mustang, you’re always a Mustang.”