Brycen Rummel, a high school student and football player from Norwood, told the San Miguel Basin Forum it's homecoming week for the Mavericks — but that includes Nucla players too.
The Norwood girls volleyball team, which is not combined, will play first on Friday at 4 p.m. And, Nucla and Norwood will actually face each other as rivals for that game. Rummel said regardless of the girls' outcome, the guys are wholly united and ready for the Friday night lights. They plan to take down Plateau Valley beginning at 7 p.m.
Opposite of the girls, Norwood and Nucla are combined for football, and Rummel said all of the guys are a very close group.
“We have such an unbreakable bond,” Rummel said of his teammates from Norwood and Nucla. “There are 27 of us. Everyone is friends with everyone. There is no back and forth chit-chat. We are one team, united, and there for each other. … Whether who wins volleyball, we want a good relationship on the field. … Those eight men on the field will do the job for football and get it done.”
Last Friday Rummel and other student council members were decorating the inside of Norwood High School. This week they’re working on building floats and participating in other festivities. They’ll have their powder puff football game and also she-man volleyball, too. True North Youth Program is sponsoring activities, like a big hide-and-seek event, and also capture the flag, to support team-building.
Rummel is hoping that community members come out and support school spirit for the pep assembly and then the parade. He said the last few years have been more quiet for homecoming, and the students are looking for more community support. School classes are entering their respective floats in the parade, which should be big.
Rummel would like to see people lined up on the streets, cheering by the parade start at 2:30 p.m.
For Norwood’s homecoming event, there will be the traditional half-time festivities. King and queen will be crowned then, and the attendants will be honored.
(Nucla will have its own Mustang homecoming later this fall.)
Rummel said he hopes to see the fans show up Friday, from both Norwood and Nucla. Whether people are cheering for the girls and taking a side in the old rivalry, or standing with the guys team, which is combined and solid, he wants to see both communities out.
“Football is on a roll right now,” he said. “We’ve won nine straight games, including last year. It’s a nine-game winning streak, and we are going into Friday with our heads held high.”
Ben Kirk, high school teacher for Norwood and the student council advisor, said he and the teens are grateful for the Lone Cone Library allowing use of their space for the homecoming dance. The group is also appreciative of DeeAnna Burbridge at the San Miguel Basin Fairgrounds for permitting the bonfire tradition once again.
Kirk said True North Youth Program has also been generous with their time and donations for the floats and other activities they help with for homecoming.
“They really like helping us out,” Kirk said, “and we always appreciate them.”
