Racine, Ohio — Southern Junior-Senior High School wrapped up its 2026 Homecoming festivities Friday night following two weeks of service, awareness, school spirit, and exciting activities for students, staff, and the community.
Southern kicked off its Homecoming season with Service and Awareness Week, held September 14–18. This year, the school added an awareness component to its traditional Service Week, giving students an opportunity not only to serve their community but also to learn about and bring attention to a variety of important causes.
During Service and Awareness Week, Southern students raised $754.41 through the annual Mad Hatters and Penny Wars fundraisers. Southern's Student Council selected Nationwide Children's Hospital as the recipient of the funds.
Students also collected more than 800 non-perishable food items, which will be distributed to families in need throughout the Southern Local and Meigs County area.
As part of the awareness portion of the week, students wore different colors each day to represent a variety of causes:
Monday, September 14 — Blue: Autism, Men's Health, Child Abuse P
revention, Human Trafficking Awareness, Anti-Bullying, Colon Cancer, Drunk Driving Prevention, Eating Disorders, and Water Safety.
Tuesday, September 15 — Red: Women's Heart Health, Substance Abuse Prevention, HIV/AIDS Awareness, Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy, and Alcohol Abuse Awareness.
Wednesday, September 16 — Yellow: Suicide Prevention, Support for Military Troops and Families, Childhood and Bone Cancer, and Mental Health Awareness.
Thursday, September 17 — White: Women's Suffrage, Anti-Violence, Health Awareness, Lung Cancer, Blindness, Bone Cancer, Poverty, and Diabetes Awareness.
Friday, September 18 — Purple: Alzheimer's Disease, Epilepsy, Lupus, Pancreatic Cancer, Domestic Violence, Animal Abuse Prevention, Cancer Survivors, and Homelessness Awareness.
Students then carried that enthusiasm into Spirit Week, September 21–25. Students showed their school spirit through a variety of themed dress-up days, including:
Monday: Sports Day
Tuesday: Clone Day
Wednesday: White Lies Day
Thursday: Class Color Day
Friday: Spirit Day — Purple and Gold
The week was also filled with competitive activities. A school-wide game of Knockout saw Dalton Clark emerge victorious. In dodgeball, the sophomore class claimed the championship.
The competition continued with Powder Puff football, where the sophomores once again came out on top, winning the game on a dramatic game-ending touchdown.
The boys then took to the volleyball court, with the senior class claiming the overall victory. Rumor has it that the seniors may have even followed that victory by taking on the staff in a best-of-three match!
Friday afternoon featured a district-wide pep rally, where students from across the district gathered to celebrate Homecoming. The elementary students made their presence known with an enthusiastic battle cry that was certainly loud enough to get everyone's attention.
Following the pep rally, Southern held its annual Homecoming Parade. The school would like to extend a special thank-you to the Racine and Syracuse Fire Departments, the Meigs County Sheriff's Office, Jordan Pickens, and Ryan Chapman for helping keep students and spectators safe along the parade route.
Friday evening brought the final and most anticipated Homecoming festivities.
Carson VanMeter was crowned the 2026 Homecoming King, while Izzy Cornell was crowned the 2026 Homecoming Queen.
The 2026 Southern Homecoming Court included:
Kindergarten Representatives
Jacqueline Musser
Lawson Davis
7th–11th Grade Attendants
7th Grade: Lyla Beasley
8th Grade: Harmony Brinager
9th Grade: Jillian Proffitt
10th Grade: Kailey Aldridge
11th Grade: Emma Leachman
Homecoming Queen Candidates
Katie Caldwell
Izzy Cornell
Piper Hill
Ali Norris
Keely Sellers
Homecoming King Candidates
Lane Edwards
Cohen Roush
Landen Smith
Braydin Thomas
Carson VanMeter
The Homecoming celebration concluded with the Southern Tornadoes taking the football field against Trimble High School. Southern defeated Trimble 39–12, earning a victory over the Tomcats for the first time since 1973.
From serving the community and raising awareness to showing school spirit, competing in class activities, celebrating the Homecoming Court, and finishing the week with a big football victory, Southern's 2026 Homecoming was a memorable one.
It was a great week to be a Tornado!
Final Homecoming results were:
