Chili, pulled pork, and cheese sauce — with and without broccoli — warmed in crock pots at Millard High School’s Friday night homecoming football game. Members of the girls’ volleyball team, their coach and parent volunteers were ready to serve baked potatoes to a steady stream of Eagles fans. They stood in front of pop-up tents and, after a few minutes of rain, under a double rainbow.
This is the second year since the volleyball team brought back the annual fundraiser in Fillmore, a city of less than 3,000 that sits halfway between Salt Lake City and St. George. Former volleyball coach Delise Fullmer, who stood in line for her dinner, remembers it from her days as a Millard student in the 1980s.
“It was like a whole community thing,” she said. “They came, and they just knew that homecoming night, you went to the potato bash and you brought your dinner over to the stands and watched the boys play.”
The tradition fizzled out sometime in the 1990s, she said, but recently, someone suggested bringing it back. Once again, it’s part of homecoming week, along with the Thursday night bonfire and Friday morning parade.
For junior Eliza Larsen, a 5’7” outside hitter, it felt good to help out and serve pulled pork, rather than just ask for donations.
“I feel like it's good because, you know, the community has your back, in a way,” she said.
The girls were fresh off the previous night’s volleyball win against Duchesne, when the football team showed up for them, said coach KJ Stevens. Larsen, clad in her dad’s football jersey from his time at Millard High, said the crowd’s enthusiasm gave her more motivation to win.
Her dad, Jaren, stood behind the pop-up tents at a smoker he made out of a propane tank. The names of his eight children are etched into the door, and the whole thing sat on a trailer. He built it years ago for a large family reunion, drawing on welding skills he learned while tinkering at his dad’s auto shop in town.
With two daughters who play and another coming up through middle school, he said the volleyball team feels like family. And after feedback that last year’s spread was lacking in meat, Jaren stepped up and said, “Hey, I can cook enough meat that we can serve 400 potatoes and meat along with it.”
As night fell, the Eagles took the lead against the North Sevier High Wolves and held it. The mascot passed out candy to home team fans, and cheerleaders kicked high in unison.
Up in the stands, Arlene Bartholomew and Elva Richman-Robins leaned forward in their seats to get a good view of the field. The sisters shared blankets across their laps. Both went to high school in Salt Lake City but put down roots in Millard County.
Richman-Robins’ husband was a high school principal, and her great-grandson now plays for the team. Bartholomew and her husband used to own the grocery store in Fillmore. The football coach is a cousin.
“No matter where the kids go, we travel to them,” Bartholomew said. “You know, sometimes it's hard, and we'll go with others, because we don't drive at night, but we go to the games and support them.”
After the third quarter, the announcer thanked Great Lakes Cheese for sponsoring high school athletics. The Ohio-based company has a packing plant in town and is the second largest Millard County employer, after the school district. Cheerleaders tossed string cheese into the crowd to cap off the promotion.
“There went one!” Bartholomew called out to a man sitting one row ahead. “Right over your head, Trav! Right behind ya!”
Fillmore residents take care of their neighbors, Bartholomew said. A local flower shop makes and sells salsa to raise money for neighbors going through hard times. Their church ward makes quilts for newlyweds.
“If anything happens around here, we're baking bread for them and taking them in dinner and, you know, it just, that's just how we are,” she said.
As the last few seconds of the fourth quarter ticked away, some members of the crowd shouted, “Three! Two! One!” and erupted in cheers. The home team won 42 to 7.
But the football players weren’t the only team going home happy that night.
Across the stadium at the potato bash, a parent volunteer estimated they’d sold 350 of their 400 potatoes. At $10 a meal, Coach Stevens said that would be a big deal for the team.
“For sure, we'll be able to get new uniforms and go to tournaments, and it helps us tons,” she said. “So we're super appreciative of everybody's support.”
By then, the sky was dark, and a cool breeze floated through the air. Fans gathered their blankets, seat pads and umbrellas and headed for the gates.
“Good Time” by Alan Jackson boomed through the speakers.
“Lord, we're having a good time,” rang across the field.
Macy Lipkin is a Report for America corps member who reports for KUER in northern Utah.
