The first few lyrics of a sappy homecoming love song came from an unlikely source.

“And I-e-I will always love you,” crooned teacher Kirk Slater, completing the chorus to the Whitney Houston classic. By popular vote, Slater clenched the win and the trophy for the first Faculty Singing Bee at the homecoming assembly Oct. 4.

“It was exhilarating being in front of most everybody at school and impressing them,” said junior Spencer Tilley, who played the host of the Singing Bee.

With a whole day to prepare, students could “Come Sail Away” by the time of the homecoming game and dance Oct. 5. Many took advantage of having the time out of school.

“We went to lunch at Buffalo Wild Wings,” sophomore Ellie Webb said. “It was casual and we still had time to go to the game.”

The 7 p.m. battle against the Rolla Bulldogs ended with the Falcons victorious at 38-26.

Senior Kathryn Bergmann claimed the queen’s crown at halftime.

“I was really surprised because I thought it was really close,” she said.

The dance began at 9:30 p.m., giving students the chance to get from the game to the festivities with time to spare.

Cruise ship-themed decorations lined the humid hallway as students stepped into the sauna of the cafeteria.

Dancers were coated with sweat as boys loosened their ties and girls hitched up long dresses.

The 840 attendees jammed until midnight with radio station Power 96.5’s deejay J. Fotch playing the tunes.

“The day of the dance we had 12 songs cut off of our song list because the lyrics were inappropriate,” Kylie Stack, senior cabinet member, said. “But 96.5 really stepped up by playing songs that were still crowd-pleasers.”