On Friday, Sept. 30, Huntley High School kicked off their Homecoming weekend with their annual pep rally held in the east gym.

Students filed into the gym as they walked up into their class-designated bleacher sections to sit next to their friends before the pep rally officially started.

“My first impression [of the pep rally] was amazement of how such a huge school could come together.  The energy and excitement were overwhelming and it made me proud to be a raider,” freshman Shruti Shakthivel said.

The pep rally started with volleyball, which was then followed by a performance from the Huntley Orchesis. Multiple games of sumo wrestling were soon to follow.

Before the varsity Poms team walked into the center of the gym to perform, the school participated in the annual “blackout”, but at least half of the school forgot to bring something black to wear.

“I more people bring black shirts for the blackout because a lot of people forgot, including myself, and it’s so cool when the whole gym becomes one big, black blob,” sophomore Erica Bishop said.

But the one performance everyone was arguably looking forward to was the Guys Poms routine.

“One of the main reasons people who [have the option] to leave, stay for the pep rally, is because Guys Poms is awesome and everyone wants to see it,” Bishop said.

The Guys Poms closed up the assembly with their performance with two Homecoming proposals before everyone rushed out of the gym to leave the school and begin their preparation for this Homecoming weekend.

“As a freshman, it lived up to my expectations. The entire school got together and had fun. The event and routines were amazing,” Shakthivel said, “During the pep rally, I learned how great of a school Huntley High is and how proud I am to be a part of it all.”