Homecoming football games and celebrations are always memorable but thanks to several Tribal members from the Soboba Band of Luiseño Indians and others, the night of Oct. 4 will stay emblazoned in the minds of Noli Indian School students for a very long time.
Phillip Basquez, Mark Valdez, David Bentiste, Nick N. and Soboba Fire Captain Frank Martinez spent several days prior to the game clearing brush in the hills that overlook The Oaks football stadium on the Soboba Reservation.
“It was something we thought would be special to add to Noli’s Homecoming and we wanted to start a tradition in lighting the “N” year after year,” said Basquez, who helped spearhead the project last year with great success.
To accomplish the glowing goal, the group had to pick a place that would be visible from the stands. “Once we found that, we hiked up the hill to start clearing the brush and we outlined the area with chalk to make sure it was visible from the stands,” Valdez said. “Our mom (Johnna Valdez) bought the lights that were strung along the outline of the N, and we used a small generator to light them.”
The area they chose has no road access, so they began by hiking their way to the site. Eventually they began to use RZR off-road vehicles to make the trip easier.
The white chalked letter was visible from the stadium as guests began to arrive for the 6:30 p.m. game. The school hosted a carnival that began an hour prior to game time and fit in with the night’s theme of Masquerade Ball. That theme carried over to the homecoming dance held at the Old Tribal Hall after the game ended. New this year was the addition of a bonfire to recognize all seniors and their families at the game.
Another anticipated Noli tradition is a parade from the school’s parking lot to The Oaks, which is about a 2.5-mile route. In the past, classes have built floats for the parade but because students were involved with the carnival, the parade consisted of the homecoming court members in their decorated vehicles. Noli serves Native American students in grades 6-12 but only the high school students vote on who is named to the royal court.
Each vehicle in the procession also gave out gobs of goodies to kids who had Halloween buckets and oversized bags ready to be filled as they watched and waited near the roadway that was closed to through traffic with the help of the Soboba Fire Department.
Homecoming court members were Freshman Sweethearts Phyllis Morillo (Soboba Band of Luiseño Indians) and Christopher Lagunas (Cahuilla Band of Mission Indians); Sophomore Duke Howard Toro (Morongo Band of Mission Indians) and Duchess Nevaeh Ochoa (Soboba Band of Luiseño Indians); and Junior Prince Ronald Morillo III (Soboba Band of Luiseño Indians) and Princess Audryna Lopez (Cahuilla Band of Mission Indians). Also included were the nominees for senior King and Queen, with those winners being announced at halftime to a cheering crowd of spectators.
Daigan Cyhan (Pechanga Band of Indians), Johnny Gutierrez (Soboba Band of Luiseño Indians) and Robert Valencia (Cheyenne/Arapaho) were nominated for King and Rosalina Hamilton (Cahuilla Band of Mission Indians) and Arionna Ward (Torres Martinez Band of Cahuilla Mission Indians) were vying for the title of Queen.
Leading the parade was Grand Marshal Stacia Cozart, who was chosen by the ASB students. She sat in a chair set up in the bed of a pickup truck with her grandson and Noli student Jesse Venegas. They had a huge container of candy they tossed by the handful to kids who were waiting with their families along the parade route. Another grandson, Samuel Venegas, escorted her to midfield during halftime.
“This is such an honor,” Cozart said. “When they called me, I accepted right away.”
Noli science teacher Sabrina Smith works closely with the student body to facilitate the annual event. “And all the staff helps in many different ways,” she said.
Several clubs and departments eagerly got on board to host a booth at the carnival. Soboba Tribal Preschool Administrator Lenora “Ponie” Mojado and Kindergarten Instructional Aide Elena Vega Castello set up a mask-making booth, which fit the theme perfectly. They had crayons, markers, feathers and bedazzlers that could be used to create a personalized design on a white paper mask.
Students Veronica Kolb and Nayeli Brittian volunteered to do face painting and temporary tattoo application at the ASB booth. There was also coloring, rock painting and ring toss and bean bag toss games courtesy of the AVID student volunteers, according to AVID coordinator Lorin Alvarez. Jacquelin Phillips of the reading department offered a free book giveaway and photo backdrop decorated by Andrea Duran, who teaches Spanish and AVID and decorates for all special events.
The Noli Booster Club offered a Sweet Treat Cake Walk and member Jennifer Resvaloso had the perfect energy level to keep the music flowing, until she stopped it to determine a winner with each round. Her son, Jonathan, is a freshman who is on the school’s football team this year.
The Noli Indian School Braves faced the Knights of Foothills Christian School from El Cajon.
Photos courtesy of the Soboba Band of Luiseño Indians