Homecoming Spirit, Pageantry Trump Game Prowess for East

One of the most delicious moments – and there weren't too many – in the homecoming football matchup between the Tosa East Red Raiders and the Brookfield Central Lancers came before the game and far from the field.

Brookfield Central ran what you might call a misdirection that stalled behind the line.

At the iconic corner of Wauwatosa and Miwaukee avenues, the Homecoming Parade reached the intersection at the same time as did a big yellow school bus.

Tosa police officers halted traffic on Milwaukee Avenue for the duration of the parade, and so drivers who couldn't turn around had to sit and wait for it to pass.

The occupants of the unwieldy bus soon found themselves first in line, and no amount of coaxing and cursing by the bus driver could persuade a traffic cop to let her through.

She was in a hurry, you see. On her bus was the Brookfield Central football team – forced to idle in the looming shadow of East High School and watch the Red Raiders Parade march past.

The Lancers would have their revenge on the field, winning 48-13.

A record-setter for the Raiders

The game would not be without its high points for East, though. Senior Vince Cupertino would become the school's all-time career receptions leader, and on Senior Day, no less.

Cupertino came into the game with 91 receptions, coach Jake Wolters said, while the record stood at 92. He made five catches on the night to establish the new record at 96, but with one game left to play, Wolters said, he has a good chance to pass the 100 receptions mark.

Homecoming festivities began with a 2:15 pep rally, followed after school by a Powder Puff flag football game with a squad of senior girls taking on their junior counterparts.

At 6 p.m., the Homecoming Parade set out from Longfellow Middle School for the march to Hart Park behind the Red Raiders Bands.

The 7 p.m. football game featured a halftime show by the Tosa East Bands and dance squads dedicated to the memory of Sept. 11, 2001, and the game was followed by fireworks.