South Side shows pride at Homecoming

Overcast skies could not dampen the spirit and enthusiasm of Rockville Centre students, officials and residents last Saturday as South Side High School celebrated its annual Homecoming Day with a parade, festivities and a Cyclones football game.

The parade started on Sunrise Highway and headed up Long Beach Road before taking a right on Shepherd Street and into South Side.

The high school had celebrated Spirit Week the previous five days, which included a series of friendly competitions, including float-making. The theme of this year’s parade was music, and each class assembled a float that represented its assigned musical genre. The juniors clinched top honors with their country music barn motif, which featured cowboy and cowgirl mannequins with photos of Principal John Murphy’s and Assistant Principal Maureen Dockery’s faces plastered on their heads.

“I think it came out phenomenal,” said Anthony Zito, a high school special education teacher who was the juniors’ float adviser.

The seniors came in second place with a rock ’n’ roll float featuring Elvis Presley, dressed in a white sequined jumpsuit, holding a microphone and standing in front of a full drum set.

“We thought [we should] really go with the king of rock,” student Brian Ferro said. “It took a lot of work. We built a stage on top of it. The weight of the drums really kept it up.

“It’s a little bittersweet,” Ferro added. “This is our last one, but it’s also our last one so we don’t have to do it again.”

The sophomores relived the 1970s with a disco-themed float, complete with a disco ball and smoke machine. Class treasurer Drew Beatty was dressed as a disco dancer, with a black wig and a black and white polyester suit.

“I wore this during the lip-synch competition, and that was Thursday, so I figured I’d use the costume again today,” he said.

The sophomores also had fun tossing miniature candy bars to the spectators on the sidewalk. Those that went undistributed were gobbled up by the Rockville Centre Titans youth football team, which also participated in the parade, along with their cheerleaders.

“I liked the cheerleaders because I got to see some of my friends,” said 6-year-old Kate Ollendike, who watched the parade with her mom and younger twin brothers. Four-year-old Jack was especially taken by the police cars, while Matthew enjoyed seeing the South Side senior football players, who sat atop two fire engines near the end of the procession.

Their votes were seconded by sisters Francesca and Angelina Ingigneri, who were enjoying the festivities on Shepherd Street. “I liked the police cars because my daddy is a policeman,” said 3-year-old Francesca. Angelina, 5, said she liked chanting along with the cheerleaders.

The freshmen made their parade debut with a hip-hop-themed float, and decorated it with a DJ cutout, turntables and albums hanging on a makeshift brick wall.

“It was very exciting,” student Savannah May said. “It was a lot of work, and we were really happy with how it turned out. It was really a great experience.”

Fellow freshman Kassie Zangari was especially impressed by the help they received from not only their group, but also their fellow competitors. “Everyone coming together was really great, and all of the older kids were really great with helping us get this together,” she said.

Senior football players got to enjoy one last hurrah from the community as their final season heats up. Many in the crowd shouted support and chanted “Let’s go Cyclones!” as the engines passed. Then, before the kickoff of the game against Valley Stream North, the senior cheerleaders and football players were recognized and escorted to the field by their family members.

“It’s a great thing to do for the school,” senior linebacker Jimmy Barrett said. “The whole community had a great day.”

Barrett helped make the day complete later that afternoon by recovering two fumbles, including one for what proved to be the decisive touchdown, as the Cyclones defeated the Spartans 24-12.