ST. JOSEPH -- Brayden Waller heard the chatter.
The disappointment. The complaints.
And decided to do something about it.
The St. Joseph-Ogden sophomore has spent his time after school this week practicing with the Spartans' football team he is a backup linebacker for this fall. Getting the undefeated Spartans (6-0, 5-0 Illini Prairie Conference) ready to play Pontiac (0-6, 0-6) at 7 p.m. Friday at Dick Duval Field.
But he's also had his mind on another event taking place on Friday before the Spartans kick off: the SJ-O homecoming parade.
"Since I've been in school and speaking to my peers, they say homecoming here isn't like it at other schools. It's kind of died down in the last couple years, and I'm just trying to bring back the old traditions," said Waller, who is in SJ-O's student council that helps put on the multiple homecoming activities. "I know how important it is to be able to look back on this when you have kids and you can say, 'We used to do this in high school.' For kids that were seniors last year, they didn't have a parade, and the town was pretty mad about that. I just want to make all the people that were once on a team here and once went to school here proud of homecoming."
St. Joseph will have a parade this year. The event starts at 4 p.m. Friday and features 43 different entities, starting at St. Joseph Middle School and then making their way down Main Street before the route ends at the high school.
Various SJ-O sports teams, the SJ-O marching band, the SJ-O cheerleaders, the SJ-O dance team and other school clubs, along with a plethora of businesses in town, from Country Financial, Philo Bank and Loman-Ray Insurance, among others, will either walk the parade route or ride in a golf cart, car or sit on top of a trailer during the parade. The St. Joseph Middle School baseball team that won a Class 2A state title last Saturday will participate, while every class at SJ-O will have a float.
"Having a homecoming parade is important in a community like St. Joe because it brings families together," said Sydney Reitmeier, a senior at SJ-O who is involved in the school's student council, National Honor Society and Assistant Mentoring Program. "Instead of just the students celebrating their homecoming, it gives the families and businesses in the community a chance to celebrate, as well."
The parade is the culmination of week-long activities geared around the SJ-O homecoming. Tuesday night featured the Powderpuff football game, with the senior girls winning the annual flag football game. Wednesday night brought about the Spartalympics, with each class playing eight different games at the school and seeing who would come out on top.
A pep assembly in the school's gym on Thursday afternoon is planned before Friday's parade, Friday night's football game and Saturday night's dance inside the high school commons.
"My favorite part of homecoming week is watching everyone perform at our pep assembly," Reitmeier said. "We have a lot of groups that perform, and they always put a smile on everyone's face."
SJ-O junior Kayla Osterbur, who plays volleyball and girls' basketball for the Spartans, is part of student council, National Honor Society, Fellowship of Christian Athletes and Students Against Drugs and Alcohol. The Spartalympics is her most enjoyable part of the week.
"The competitive nature is within most people in attendance at the games and it always becomes a mess of screaming at each other to do our best to win," Osterbur said. "The chaos of it all is what makes it so fun."
SJ-O football coach Shawn Skinner knows it's a juggling act this week with his players, who clinched a playoff berth last Friday night following their 38-19 win at Bloomington Central Catholic.
"Obviously, I want our kids focused because the most important thing is the game on Friday and playing well on Friday," Skinner said. "Also, the reality is this is a special time as a kid. You get four of these in high school and when you're a player, it's different. There needs to be a balance where the kids are able to enjoy the moment and everything that goes with it while also balancing it and making sure you're taking care of business that matters. These guys, for multiple years now, have not given us reason to not trust them. That's the key. Every season is different. I don't anticipate these guys not doing their job."
A chance for SJ-O to reach 7-0 for the first time since the 2015 season isn't lost on Skinner's players. Nor their fellow classmates.
"The guys have kept a pretty small head about their record," said Osterbur, who is part of a group of students who help keep statistics for every SJ-O football game. "I never really hear them brag about how the season has gone so far. They always just seem so excited to play and for that next victory. I think their energy is what makes a big difference about how the rest of us feel about the season. I know that it has been a long time since the Spartans have had a team like this, and it makes me excited for them. The homecoming game is always fun, whether we have a winning record or not, but I do think this year, it's more of a determination to continue the season undefeated."
The SJ-O homecoming court will be introduced before Friday night's game against Pontiac, with SJ-O Hall of Fame inductees Henry Berry, Chelsea Blaase, David Immke and Larry Williams recognized at halftime.
By that point, Waller will have a good idea about how his first time helping organize the SJ-O homecoming parade went. And whether the Spartans' football team he contributes on will increase their odds of hosting an IHSA first-round playoff game the first weekend in November.
Either way, he knows what he feels to win before he hits the dance floor Saturday night.
"A win on the football field and just seeing everybody enjoy the week," Waller said, "especially the seniors because this is their last one."