The Wake Forest High School Cougars won the 4AA state championship last fall – a first for the team which has narrowly lost in three previous tries – and the whole town can celebrate the win Saturday with a walking parade.
The Cougar Walk of Champions will begin at 1 p.m. in the Depot Parking Lot on South White Street, move south on the street, turn left at East Owen Avenue and conclude in Centennial Plaza in front of town hall on Brooks Street. Townspeople and local Cougar fans will join the football team and coaching staff, the marching band and the varsity cheerleading squad.
At the plaza they will be welcomed by Mayor Vivian Jones and members of the Wake Forest Board of Commissioners. The ensuing pep rally will include a few numbers by the marching band and brief remarks by local officials and school administrators, including Principal Patti Hamler and head football Coach Reggie Lucas. Former Wake Forest High School football player and current Stanford Cardinal Bryce Love is also scheduled to speak.
Kip Abshire, the WFHS public address announcer, will serve as the program emcee and local DJ Rodney Holmes will be onsite playing a variety of favorite party tunes.
Downtown restaurants will be open through the day and a variety of food and dessert trucks will also be onsite in the town hall visitor’s parking lot, including the VFW Chuckwagon, Charlie’s Kabobs, Kona Ice, and Lumpy’s Ice Cream. Cougar fans will also have the chance to purchase championship T-shirts and other merchandise.
The Cougar Walk of Champions will recognize the team for its consistency on the field, highlight the school’s place in the town’s history, and demonstrate the collective sense of pride shared by the Wake Forest community.
