Barnsdall Community Gathers For Homecoming Parade

Homecoming night in Barnsdall served as an opportunity for the people in town to come together since going through two devastating tornadoes in the spring.

It was a celebration for students, teachers and Barnsdall neighbors nearly six months after one of the most violent tornadoes in Eastern Oklahoma in recent history.

“Well, it just puts a little bit of a spark back into it, you know? I mean it’s something to be excited about and everybody loves a good parade,” Brandon Gay said.

“It’s so nice outside,” Kylea Bills said.

Bills is a senior who is hoping to be crowned homecoming queen Friday night. After her junior year was cut short because of the EF4 tornado, she is looking for a strong finish to her time in high school.

“It means so much just to have everybody come together again and just be supportive after everything that we have gone through,” she said.

Senior James Johnson is her escort. He is on the football team, playing his last homecoming game.

"It’s a little bit more pressure, you know? You've got to be able to be a role model to all the other people looking up to you, little kids and everything,” he said. “But other than that it’s still football so you've got to go out there and play.”

While everyone is anticipating Friday night’s game, the 8U football team is proud to say they're heading to their playoffs this weekend.

“We’re doing really good this year,” 8U Head Football Coach Brandon Gay said. “We haven’t lost a game yet and we’re looking to keep it that way.”

It’s that same positive momentum he hopes will keep pushing his community forward.

“I think everybody is starting to pull together and they’re getting it figured out at this point so the hope has really kept it alive and hopefully they just keep rebuilding and keep moving forward,” he said.

The Barnsdall Panthers will play the Afton Eagles for their homecoming game Friday at 7:00 p.m.