Once a Saint, Always a Saint: Homecoming 2025

Nansemond-Suffolk Academy welcomed current families, alumni and friends to the Main Campus Sept. 26 for Homecoming Weekend 2025.

On Friday morning, students, faculty and staff arrived at school dressed in their best blue and gold to show their support for the Saints. Varsity Football players and members of the Marching Saints filled the carpool loop, greeting Lower and Middle School students with high-fives, fist bumps and the sounds of some of our favorite game day tunes. Upper and Middle School students started their morning creating spirited crafts with Lower School buddy classes and taught them about all the excitement that surrounds Homecoming Weekend.

Following buddy activities, everyone gathered in the Thomas W. Johnson Gymnasium in the Beazley Center for the annual Homecoming pep rally. Fall sports teams were introduced, and team captains spoke to the student body about their seasons and the importance of showing support for the Saints at upcoming athletic contests. Students participated in various pep rally activities, and members of the Upper School Homecoming Court were introduced. Michael Watson '27 was named Homecoming Prince and Shane Rogers Johnson '26 was crowned Homecoming King.

To cap off the school day, Upper and Middle School students gathered at the Arthur E. Jones Athletic Field for the annual break food sale and powder puff football game. While the powder puff game remained competitive between juniors and seniors, the Class of 2026 ultimately emerged victorious.

Saints returned to the Main Campus Friday night to cheer on the Varsity Football Team in the Homecoming football game against Hargrave Military Academy. Before kickoff, NSA recognized our state champion student-athletes from the 2024-2025 academic year, including the Varsity Softball Team, Colton Beale '27 (Varsity Indoor Track, 4x200 relay), Howard Casterlow '25 (Varsity Indoor Track, 55M dash), Cole Goodman '27 (Varsity Indoor Track, 4x200 relay), RJ Lane (Varsity Indoor Track, 4x200 relay) and Henry Ross '26 (Varsity Indoor Track, 300M dash and 4x200 relay; Varsity Track and Field, 200M dash). After these student-athletes were honored, the Marching Saints took the field to open the game with a performance of the National Anthem.

The Varsity Cheerleading Team kicked off the halftime show with a dynamic performance that pumped up the crowd. The Marching Saints followed with their halftime show, "Five Seconds to Blastoff," which takes listeners on an intergalactic musical adventure featuring songs from Queen, the Star Wars franchise and more.

After the Marching Saints wrapped up their performance, NSA honored a special group of alumni celebrating a milestone reunion. Members of the Class of 2020, who reconnected five years after graduating from NSA, walked across the field with a special banner to recognize their resilience, determination and accomplishments. Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Class of 2020 faced extraordinary challenges and missed out on many of the traditional celebrations that mark the end of a high school journey.

One of our favorite Homecoming traditions is recognizing our alumni families who have a child enrolled in kindergarten at NSA. This year, those families included Corey Baggett '38, son of Heather Walton Baggett '05 and John C. Baggett '02 and grandson of Dennis Baggett '72; Holden Hedrick '38, grandson of the late Brenda Holland Mansfield '76; Ted Deeley '38, son of Meg Eason Deeley '03; Brooks Henderson '38, son of Adam Henderson '03; Jack Kennedy '38, son of Kelsey Tuck Kennedy '10 and grandson of Nancy Martin Tuck '82; James Paul '38, son of Meredith Law Paul '03 and Todd Law '03; Driggs Pecora '38, son of Morgan Coghlan Pecora '07; Rawls Pruden '38, son of Martha Rawls Pruden '08 and Taylor Pruden '02; Elaina Rowe '38, daughter of Alex Rowe '12; Ellie Simons '38, daughter of Anna Park Simons '06; William Blanks '38, son of Kelsey Blanks '10; Augustus Taylor '38, son of Nicholas Taylor '06; and Margaret Tuttle '38, daughter of Matthew Tuttle '05.

After alumni families were honored, we celebrated the members of the Homecoming Court. Head of Upper School Kim Aston '88, with the help of Ellie Simons '38 and Margaret Tuttle '38, crowned Makenna Kuehl '27 as Homecoming Princess and Eliana Carson '26 as Homecoming Queen. Thank you to the Duke family, who provided the vehicle for our Homecoming Princess and Queen!

Thank you to everyone who made our 2025 Homecoming Weekend a success! Please enjoy the Homecoming photo gallery linked below.

Homecoming 2025 photos