Choctaw Football Prepares For Homecoming Game, First Home Game Since Deadly Shooting

Choctaw players and fans will return to their home stadium Thursday. It's the first time they'll be back on the field since a shooting during a game left a teen dead.

“If you've never attended homecoming in Choctaw, it's like nowhere else,” Jake Corbin, assistant athletic director said.

Head football coach Jake Corbin said he's expecting the Bill Jensen field to be packed. He said the stadium can hold more than 5,000 fans.

It's not only their homecoming week, but their first home game since a deadly shooting. Corbin said fans can expect stricter guidelines before entering and at any other extracurricular activity moving forward.

“Obviously, we've upped our security since then with metal detectors in place, more police officers on hand, additional administrators,” Corbin said.

Any students in the stands must be from one of the schools playing. Plus, all middle school and elementary students will have to be accompanied by a parent.

After the shooting, their following game was canceled, and another game was moved to the competing school. Corbin said not having a home game is a financial loss for the district.

“It's hard to say an exact number but it's up to tens of thousands,” Corbin said.

So, this game is bigger than football.

“That gets passed down to all different sports and activities it funds a lot of things from uniforms to different equipment from middle school to high school,” Corbin said,

It's also impacting the community.

“There's vendors set up, there's food trucks, there's all kinds of different people that gather that kind of depend on Choctaw football as a lifeblood for their business,” Corbin said.

He's looking forward to bringing things back home.

“When the community has something tragic happen, we rally together, and we draw closer instead of separate. So having a home game so we can kind of come back together to show the unity in the community is exciting,” Corbin said.

Choctaw High will be playing Capitol Hill at 7 p.m. on Thursday.