EAST BREWTON, Ala. — W.S. Neal High School students have chosen their Homecoming court, and the school has laid out a schedule that runs from a morning pep rally to a 7 p.m. kickoff.
Hayeslee Hodge was selected Homecoming Queen for the 2026 celebration.
The Court
Senior Maids: Kendall Lowery and Laila Likley
Junior Maids: Makenzi Johnson and Alexa Shanklin
Sophomore Maids: Madalyn Ward and Emmalyn Coleman
Freshman Maids: Julianne Findley and Alaina Findley
Friday’s Schedule
Homecoming week includes a variety of student activities building toward a full day of celebration on Friday, Sept. 25.
- 9:15 a.m. — Alumni Social Area opens in the volleyball gym
- 9:45 a.m. — Basketball gym opens
- 10 a.m. — Pep Rally, open to the public
- 11 a.m. — Students released
- 12:15 p.m. — Float line-up
- 12:30 p.m. — Required float driver meeting, main lobby
- 1 p.m. — 2026 Homecoming Parade
- 6:30 p.m. — Homecoming Court presentation at W.S. Neal Stadium
- 7 p.m. — Kickoff, Eagles host B.C. Rain
The Parade Route
The 2026 Homecoming Parade follows the usual route, winding from the school campus to Forrest Avenue. It ends at the intersection of Forrest Avenue and Snowden Street, with all floats returning to the school campus afterward.
The required float driver meeting at 12:30 p.m. is a practical necessity rather than a formality. A parade with student-built floats pulled by volunteer drivers through public streets requires everyone to understand the route, the spacing, the speed and the rules about throwing items — and a single driver who did not get the briefing can create a problem for everyone behind them.
The Alumni Social Area
Opening the Alumni Social Area at 9:15 a.m., before the pep rally, is a deliberate piece of scheduling.
Homecoming is nominally a student event, but its enduring function in small towns is the return. Graduates come back, find people they have not seen in years, and watch the school’s current students do what they once did. A dedicated space opened in advance of the day’s first event gives that gathering somewhere to happen rather than leaving it to occur in a parking lot.
Opening the pep rally to the public serves the same purpose. A school that invites the town into its gym on a Friday morning is treating homecoming as a community event rather than a school assembly.
Two Findleys on the Freshman Court
The freshman maids, Julianne Findley and Alaina Findley, share a surname — the kind of detail that is unremarkable in a small school and impossible in a large one.
W.S. Neal serves East Brewton and the surrounding area of Escambia County, and in a school of that size the court represents a substantial fraction of each class rather than a narrow selection from a large field.
The Game
The Eagles host B.C. Rain High School with a 7 p.m. kickoff, following the Homecoming Court presentation at 6:30.
Homecoming games occupy an odd place in a football season. The opponent is chosen with the occasion in mind, and coaches generally regard the week as a distraction to be managed — a shortened practice schedule, a parade during what would be preparation time, and a student body whose attention is elsewhere.
The players, for their part, are in the parade.
Why the Ceremony Comes First
Presenting the court at 6:30, half an hour before kickoff, rather than at halftime is a scheduling choice some schools have adopted.
It avoids the halftime crunch, where a court presentation competes with the band, the coaches’ locker room time and the concession rush. It also means the court and their escorts can watch the game rather than spending the first half preparing for an appearance.
Homecoming Week
The activities leading up to Friday follow the familiar pattern of spirit days, class competitions and float construction — work that happens in driveways and barns across the community in the evenings before the parade.
For the students on the court and the ones building the floats, it is a week they will remember. For the alumni arriving at 9:15 Friday morning, it is a week they already do.